Joe Maddon came out yesterday and stated that he's prepared to go with the dreaded "committee" approach for his closer, to start the year.  It appears there are a number of options, but they all come with some form of baggage.  

I have listed the closer candidates below, but being a "casual" Rays fan (actually I'm intigued with their collection of young talent), I'm wondering what the more knowledgable guys and the followers of Drays think.

With last night's signing of Benjie Molina, the Blue Jays have completed their makeover.  In my opinion, they improved themselves more than any other team during this off-season.  I believe it could be arguably stated that they improved in 5 positions:
Catcher - Molina may not be much better, but at least Zaun won't have to catch 140 games.
1st base - I'll take my chances with Overbay over Hinske.
3rd Base - Glaus beats the Koskie / Hillenbrand daily double hands down.
Starting Pitcher - It's been hotly debated on this site but Burnett does give the Jays a solid option at #2.
Closer - B.J. kicks the crap out of whats-his-name.

The only place they may have weakened themselves is 2nd base...but its a little too early to tell how young Mr. Hill is going to fare.

My questions are these.  Are the Jays the most improved team?  Will they be improved enough to make the playoffs?  If they're not the most improved, who is?

Reading the can't miss prospects thread from yesterday was very helpful in my preparation for our upcoming rotisserie draft.  But even more helpful would be a list of minor league players in American League Orgaizations that are the best bets to make a serious major league contribution in 2006 (400 AB's or 150 IP)...or at the very least be a sure fire choice to make the 2007 major league roster out of spring training.  I'm thinking Delmon Young, Jon Papelbon, Brian Anderson and Francisco Liriano certainly fall into this category.  Any other thoughts?

This just posted at ESPN...

First baseman Paul Konerko and the White Sox have agreed to a five-year, $60 million deal, the team announced Wednesday. The deal also includes a limited no-trade clause, sources told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.

and this...

A source told Stark that the White Sox had recently jumped back into active negotiations with Konerko. And according to another source who has been in frequent contact with the White Sox, the team was simply laying back to let someone else establish Konerko's market value -- with the understanding that if Chicago matched the years and came reasonably close on the dollars, Konerko would re-sign with the White Sox. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Looks like the Sox are serious about a repeat!

Hi, guys:  I was wondering what the prevailing opinion is.  How will Brian Anderson fare as the starting Centerfielder in Chicago in 2006 and beyond?  Will he even emerge with the job in April or will the Sox go outside the organization to get a replacement for Rowand?  Thanks for any opinions on this matter...