This was going to be the Rangers advance scout.

Thanks to the stupefying greatness of Sean Forman's BaseballReference.com. we can now view the Opening Day starting lineup for every team, every season, ever. Here are Blue Jay Opening Day lineups dating back to that Opening Opening Day back in '77. Go take a look, revel in a trip down memory lane, then come back here and answer these questions ...

Happy Wednesday, everyone. Anything going on?

QOTD: What other ballplayers can you name, Blue Jays or otherwise (past or oresent) who can be given a TV character moniker? (Yes, yes, the creepy little girl Wednesday's name was "Addams" with two d's ... what, you want extra "D" from Russ?)

And what else is happening?

It's family day in Ontario and Presidents day in the US, meanwhile almost all players should be in camp for the Blue Jays.  Spring training games will start in less than two weeks with intra-squad games coming up next Monday.

We don't often devote a whole thread here on Batter's Box to a single article published on another site, but if you have not yet read Tom Friend's From San Diego's favorite son ... to spoilsport for ESPN: The Magazine (and available free on ESPN.com), please do so.

It's long -- more than 4,500 words -- but truly a masterpiece, compellingly telling the story of one at-bat that took 15 years to set up. So read it, then come back here and tell us what you think.

This is kind of a cool idea:  You can buy a piece of a ball player for a percentage of his future major league earnings.

What kinds of starting pitchers do the Jays have? And how does it affect their handling of the left field and shortstop positions?

I'm not sure exactly when the Winter Baseball Solstice falls on the calendar, but we have to be getting pretty close. Hall of Fame voting is starting to monopolize headlines. Irrelevant signings are becoming a source of wonderment. Dreaming of the winter meetings 11 months from now feels perfectly reasonable. It's beginning to feel a lot like January...

Every year here on Batter's Box, we gather on Christmas Day to recount our blessings of the past year and to share ....

Oh hell, no we don't. We come to brag about what baseball-related gifts we found under the tree left by that irascible never-aging prospect, Kris Kringle (DH, North Pole U.) ... so, Bauxites, what did YOU get (or give) that relates the Winter Holidays to the Summer Pastime? Don't hold back! Best gift story gets, you guessed it, a Yuletide No-Prize!

• I think the "Welcome Back Kotter" theme is appropriate as the original Jays logo is back!!   Hey, the song is pretty much the same age as the franchise itself!!

The Jays Double-A affiliate has introduced new logos and new uniforms for the 2008 season. 

Shaun Marcum has a torn meniscus in his knee and will have surgery later this week with a 4 to 6 week recovery period.  Here is the Blue Jays upcoming schedule:

Tuesday - Vernon Wells shoulder surgery
Wednesday - Lyle Overbay hand surgery
Thursday - Shaun Marcum - knee surgery

Frank Thomas and Scott Downs are day to day.  John McDonald is back in the lineup Sunday.

Every year, there are a few numbers that just jump off the Sunday sports stats wrapups (okay, these days, off the ESPN.com MLB screen) screaming, in a Harry Carey voice, "Holy Cow!"

Oh, I don't mean the Bonds-73 and McLain-31 types of numbers -- those jump off the page/screen at even the most casual of fan. But in just skimming the nearly-complete 2007 season numbers, I found myself shaking my head a number of times. For instance, did you realize ...

The recent Greatest Padre poll ("spoiler" alert: Gwynn, and big) brings to mind this thought ... what franchise can build the best lineup made up of players best known for what they did with other teams?

In other words ...

Today is July 17, meaning we are now exactly two weeks from the supposed "trading deadline" of July 31. Of course, trades and waiver acquisitions will happen well beyond that "deadline," but for now, at least we are seeing the first stirrings of a potential trade market flurry. The Cubs have acquired former All-Star catcher Jason Kendall from the A's for a couple of warm bodies, a catcher they had already placed on waivers and a minor-league relief pitcher.

So the questions before you are these ...