ESPN offers its first Power Rankings today and the Blue Jays merit ninth place. In Buster Olney's opinion, the "Jays will cause problems for the Red Sox and Yankees, but a couple of pitching injuries would be devastating."

The Jays' AL East foes New York and Boston top the list, followed by the Phillies and Cubs, with Detroit logically anchored at the bottom.

A few other thoughts:

Only after you've read Jonny German's splendid piece on the Padres should you read what the local fishwrap is saying about the Jays. What are they saying about the Jays anyway?

With 98 losses in 2003, the Padres have bottomed out and are ready to start rising to the top of the NL West.

(This is the final installment of our conversation with the Jays reporter at MLB.com. Part One appeared Monday, Part Two yesterday.)

(Second in a three-part series, concluding tomorrow. Part One appeared yesterday.)

When I was younger, the time between the end of one Jays' season and the beginning of the next was of indeterminate length, a span which contained within itself school and Christmas. These filled time effectively, but never truly filled the void.

Now I fill the same period with school, Christmas, and work; the void within me remains empty, bereft of substance. But like the fat man's stomach, growling loudly at the sight of a Tim Horton's sign, the void knows it will soon be filled.

Baseball is coming.

Once again, it's one of my throw out a bunch of articles and see what sticks threads. Here's what various media outlets are talking about when they're talking about the Jays.

Barry, Brian, and a waterfront ballpark: a winning trio -- but for how long?

On December 8, 1992, Toronto traded Kelly Gruber to the California Angels for Luis Sojo. That same day, the Blue Jays also signed Danny Cox and Dave Stewart, the Tigers granted Jamie Moyer free agency, the Yankees nabbed Steve Howe, and the A's picked up Storm Davis. In other news, the San Francisco Giants signed Barry Bonds to a six-year, $43.75 million deal, making Bonds the game's highest-paid player. With new skipper Dusty Baker writing "Bonds, LF" onto the lineup card every day, the Giants soared, going from 72 wins in 1992 to 103 in 1993 -- which sounds impressive until you place it next to these unpleasant facts: there was no Wild Card yet, and the Braves, in the NL West then, won 104 games. Yes, Virginia, there is life, and it sucks.

Some folks like the Blue Jays' farm system more than others. At Baseball America, the Jays don't yet rank in the organizational Top Five; we'll have to wait till the 2004 Prospect Handbook is released to see where the club placed. But over at Baseball Prospectus, Toronto has made some true believers: a whopping six of their Top 50 Prospects are in the Blue Jays system.

In a market with three daily newspapers, three cable sports channels and many other TV and radio stations, one of the best sources of Blue Jays news is www.bluejays.com, where Spencer Fordin covers the team. Especially during spring training, when most of the mainstream media slip baseball stories in between wall-to-wall hockey coverage, there’s no place to get as much solid information about our favourite team as the MLB Official Site.

Today, for example, in addition to the article linked above on Cy guys Halladay and Hentgen, there's Fordin's latest notes about Jason Arnold's beefier physique, Joe Breeden's work with the catchers, Ted Lilly's sore wrist ("not an injury that will sideline him for an extended amount of time") and Gil Patterson's enthusiastic early assessment of his staff.

We're delighted that Spencer agreed to step into Da Box. First, let's get to know him a bit better. Tomorrow, we’ll find if there really are differences between print reporting and working on the Internet. On Wednesday, he shares some thoughts about the Jays, the AL East, and the state of the game.

I sat the whole Batter's Box Roster down last month and we talked about the Tigers' chances in 2004 and beyond. This is the first of 30 team previews Batter's Box will be running over the next month or so.

Enjoy!

A day after the welcome news that Roy Halladay is taking minor-leaguers under his wing, Spencer Fordin reports from Dunedin that another Blue Jay hurler is sharing his wisdom with his new teammates. Miguel Batista, who calls Curt Schilling "the master of the mind game," is willing to pass on a few things he's learned. This can only be a good thing for Aquilino Lopez, who replaces the questionable influence of Kelvim Escobar with a true mentor.

Batista has earned all his knowledge the old-fashioned way: He asked for it. He's gone out of his way to pick the brains of all-time greats, and not just ex-teammates like Schilling or Randy Johnson. In a brief conversation, Batista mentioned advice he's gleaned from a trio of Hall-of-Famers: Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Tom Seaver.

Fordin fans will be pleased to know that Spencer knocks the dirt off his cleats and steps into Da Box for a three-part interview, beginning tomorrow.

Normally I'm not big on intangibles, but you have to like to read about Halladay's leadership on the team. The Star had a piece on Halladay leading workouts with several of the Jays top pitching prospects which Doc has dubbed 'The Breakfast Club'.

You've heard the rumours, seen the telltale signs, read the writing on the wall. I'm here to tell you it's all true. No no no, not that bunk about the Cabal. Not the hearsay about Moffatt threatening to walk if the Cabal doesn't properly acknowledge his personal "Economic Impact" round here. Not even the gossip about Jordan’s... well, you know as well as I do, and it's pure fiction anyways.

Thanks to Gary Geiger Counter over at Primer for drawing this to my attention. The Providence Journal had a great article on Sunday about William E. White, who was recently established by SABR researchers as the first black player in the major leagues. It was long believed that Fleet Walker of Toledo in 1884 was the first black player, but White (who previously was a "mystery player", one of those guys from the 19th century about whom nothing was known) played one National League game, at first base for the Providence Grays in 1879.

White's story is fascinating, and definitely not to be missed. Do yourself a favour and take five or ten minutes for the article. It's worth it. Incidentally, GGC's excellent blog, Baseball History, has lots of excellent baseball history stuff in the archives.