Now that the 25 man roster is pretty much set (save for 1-3 bullpen slots)  the question becomes who is likely to slump and need replacing and who are the replacements should a player get hurt/be ineffective.

The Jays and Mets have rached another deal, in a roundabout manner, filling the void left behind when R. A. Dickey packed his bags for Toronto. Former Jay hurler Shaun Marcum has signed a one-year deal with the Metsies and will slide into the #4//5 slot in the rotation, bumping all others up one notch, as the team attempts to cover for the loss of the 20-game winning 2012 NL Cy Young Award recipient.

Marcum won seven games (in 11 decisions) for Milwaukee last season.

Read all about it on ESPN New York. So, Bauxites, once again ... what's your take?

To celebrate the acquisition of R.A. Dickey by the Toronto Blue Jays, some friends and I watched the documentary Knuckleball! (recommended) followed by Dickey's destruction of the Orioles last June. It was a fun night.

When we paused the game to get more snacks, we accidentally discovered that Wilson Betemit looks exactly like Grumpy Cat when he strikes out.

Behold:

As I'm sure I've mentioned, I actually saw Stan Musial play baseball.

I wish I could actually remember it. I was a little wee kid, and my dad took me to see the Cardinals playing their A ball team, which was in Winnipeg at the time. Apparently the Cards made a practice of visiting a minor league affiliate on an off-day and playing an exhibition game against the prospects. I'm told The Man started, went 1-2 and came out of the game. My memory tells me the game was played at an open baseball field, with no outfield fence at all, and trees along the foul lines. I'm pretty sure that didn't happen...

When we're children we can believe that baseball players are heroes, people to look up to and admire without reservation. We all grow up, we all learn otherwise. But Stan Musial never let me down.

Now that everyone who qualifies for arbitration has been signed we have a solid idea of 2012's payroll.  Who is getting what and what positions are the pricey ones?

Now that we are deep into the offseason and dreaming of the future, lets see how the Jays have done at various positions in the past and who has had the most amazing season by various measures.  Also do any of our new players have a shot at breaking these records?

Anyone who has hung out in section 518 with me can tell you that I can yell. I've always had good control of my voice, but a high school drama teacher taught me about my optimum pitch and altered the way I speak forever.

I thought nothing would ever again change the way I speak in such an extreme way. I was wrong.

The 2013 Hall of Fame ballot has been released, and it's a big one. There are 37 names this time around, ten more than last year. There are 13 players returning from last year and 24 who will be on the ballot for the first time. And some rather notorious names are among them.

We did this a few years back, and it seemed like an obvious idea to put it up again...

It's still only November, but recent events have us already thinking about 2013, right?

Or so Bob Elliot believes.

Snakes and Ladders is a board game from my distant youth;  I use it to identify those teams that improved by 10 games (climbing the ladder) or declined by 10 (slipping down the snakes.)

Well, that was a tough year. A big question now is who was worth the money and who wasn't.

There are certain rituals I conduct once every season is in the books...

It's time for the 2012 Jays to receive their grades.

This won't be pretty.