By a 16-2 margin, current BBFL owners chose to double the size of the league and add a 2nd 20-team division that will start play this season. Eighteen of the twenty current owners voted on all 11 propositions, with one team abstaining, and one person simply not showing up. In a rather close vote, the league decided to have three teams relegated between divisions each season.

Now on to the important information!

When it comes to fielding metrics, there seem to be more and more on the market these days. The Raindrops is a Mets-focused blog. The author takes a look at various defensive metrics, using new Mets centrefielder Mike Cameron, and attempts to integrate them (and express the results in runs saved/cost versus average).

On the whole, he does a very good job. There are a few caveats to heed when you read through the article:

Now, I'm as big a Yankees fan as you'll find anywh ... well, here on Da Box, anyway. And in just over a month, I'll post the 2004 "Yankees Season Preview" as part of that ongoing Box series.

In the meantime, can someone please stop this "Is this the greatest offensive lineup ever put together?" hoo-ha? Or is there some chance that it actually might be?

Let's take a look, with a nod to what is generally considered the best offensive gathering of the last half of the 20th century (the 1976 Cincinnati Big Red Machine) and what is generally considered the best offensive gathering of the first half of the 20th century (the 1927 New York Murderer's Row Yankees).

That's right ...

That's what Greg Maddux might be humming to himself today, as the future Hall of Famer has returned to the windy city where his career began, signing a three-year, $24M contract with the Cubs. Personally, I think the deal is one year too long, but the per-season price is about right for a pitcher who's still solid, but is not the Cy Young favourite he once was. The signing also has a full-circle symmetry to it that I like.

Hearty congratulations to Alexis Rios, our 2003 Batter’s Box Blue Jays Minor League Player of the Year.

Congratulations to Roy Halladay, our 2003 Batter’s Box Blue Jays Major League Player of the Year.

All the way back in October, we asked the Batter’s Box faithful to vote for our Batter’s Box Blue Jays Players Of The Year awards. Dozens of voters responded, each picking one Player of the Year from the Blue Jays, and one Player of the Year from the Blue Jays’ farm system.

Sick of the trade talk? We here at Da Box understand, so Scott Lucas and I have opened new threads. I won't speak for Lucas, ever, but no A-Rod discussion is allowed in my thread. Instead, let's return to unsubstantiated/gut-level predictions for some 2004 Blue Jays. No thinking or research required here (welcome to my world), just ol'-fashioned hunches.

With the current thread approaching a tick-like bloat of 150 posts, it's time for a new thread. Potential topics for discussion:

Is the Onion not only the most accurate newspaper in America, but also the most prescient? Who is that guy at far-right?

How much is the deposed Dan Evans to blame for the Dodgers’ current situation, and what can new GM Paul DePodesta do NOW to improve the team so late in the offseason?

I got engaged on Sunday, just as my favourite team was trading the best player in baseball to my least favourite team. Should I get married this fall or next spring?

Here's a site many of you will enjoy. At JockBio.com -- their slogan is "Get a Life!" -- the latest baseball feature is on Vernon Wells.

This detailed biography was written by Andy Collins, a former sportswriter who now works for a Syracuse ad agency and is a SkyChiefs season-ticket holder. It's especially good as a chronicle of Wells' long journey through the minors. About the only thing missing is Vernon's current role as Blue Jays player rep, which underscores his status as a respected team leader.

There are numerous other sports bios on the site, which also offers its books and memorabilia for sale. Among a couple of dozen on baseball players is a Carlos Delgado feature. In addition to the bios, check out the 'Facts', 'What They Say' and 'My Say' buttons for more information and quotes. Oh, and please don't blame me if you spend a couple of hours there. Our mission here at Da Box is to reduce productivity, one workplace at a time.

No division in baseball has improved more than the AL East this winter. Most observers already considered it the best in the game, and with Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown, Curt Schilling, Keith Foulke, Javy Lopez, Miguel Tejada and Rafael Palmeiro among the newest stars on display, it's not getting any easier for the budget-minded Blue Jays. Can they compete with the big spenders?

Batter’s Box caught up with J.P. Ricciardi last week in his last scheduled visit to Toronto before April. During a whirlwind day, between morning TV interviews and an evening with more than 400 season’s ticket holders, the Blue Jays GM found time to talk to us about the club’s offseason moves and take a look ahead to Dunedin and the 2004 season.

The recent February ennui thread featured a long discussion about the benefits and risks of various drafting strategies, with a few tangents into using minor-league performance to project major-league success. This wasn't the first thread we've had on this subject, and they all tend to get rather repetitive:

Person A: X is true.
Person B: There is no evidence for X. Y is true.
Person C: Y is obviously not true.

[I've partaken in these discussions many times myself, so cut me some slack on the parody.]

Here are some paraphrased assertions from the February ennui thread; we've all heard them stated and denied many times over:

With Spring Training rapidly approaching, and Opening Day not far behind, it's time for many of us to prepare for our fantasy drafts. With most of us in a league or 2 (or more) I'm sure there's a lot of expert analysis in these parts. If you have any fantasy advice, tips, or questions (and aren't afraid to disclose them) feel free to post them in the thread.

In a blockbuster deal that appears to have been struck relatively quickly, Alex Rodriguez has been dealt to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and at least one additional player.

North of the Mason-Dixon Line, most coverage of the swap is centered around the impact on the Evil Empire, whose payroll is now close to $200 million. Largely looked over is what this does for the Rangers. John Hart just got his club off the hook for around $120 million in payments over the next 17 years and in doing so, still managed to acquire a legimate All-Star to complement Hank Blalock and Mark Teixeira. The offense will take a bit of a hit but Texas can use this newly found budget room quickly improve its woeful pitching staff and hopefully return to the playoffs quicker than it would have with ARod.

Eagle-eyed readers will notice a couple of new additions to the Box Navigation area on the left. Thanks to the efforts of Gerry McDonald, we've added an organizational Depth Chart, with links to various player pages. It's not 100% accurate, of course, but it's a start. After spring training, it will be modified to reflect who is actually on the rosters, and we'll keep it updated when there are promotions and demotions throughout the season. Obviously, there are no listings yet for Auburn and Pulaski, which will feature mostly players selected in the June draft.

We're also pleased to present a new Frequently Asked Questions page, courtesy of Craig B., the inimitable Answer Man for Da Box. The Analysis link is now called Analysis/Stats, and includes a handy link to Jonny German's recent "Where's Where" of Internet baseball stats. Finally, we invite anyone who wants to get to know the Batter's Box contributors a little better to check out our all-new Roster page, where we share our favourite players, most unshakeable baseball beliefs and other information. We're going to try to get future interview subjects to answer similar questions, and welcome everyone to do the same in this thread.