In honor of Ken Jennings, here's a grab bag of various thoughts, rumors, pure speculation, and the occasional journalism:

1) The "Days of our Unit" soap opera go on. Randy Johnson *will* be traded, but it's a big question of when. There's no real reason that the D-Backs (yes, I know they're still in the league) need to trade him now. They're not going to pay more and as the various free agent pitchers get signed, the value of a known great pitcher only goes up. The only downside I see is that the D-Backs may need some cost certainty to sign some free agents of their own, like Troy Glaus and Russ Ortiz. The Yanks big head fake opened up a bit of room for the Cardinals
2) I would almost singlehandedly support a Peet's store in Indianapolis. I'm now not only hooked on their coffee, but their tea is top notch as well. I'm still trying to ease back on the coffee a bit - I really hope there's a handy Starbucks in Anaheim - so tea's a nice step down. I also like the "ritual" of making it.

3) Pedro Martinez to the Mets is pretty intriguing to me. The money looks to be pretty intriguing to Pedro. I don't think this one will happen quickly, though. Pedro's clearly shown a preference to go back to Boston, all things equal. Both sides can wait for many things to play out.

4) No one's talking about non-tenders this year. Last season, everyone thought the market was going to be flooded and then, not so much. Many thought all the non-tender talk was related to collusion - how did everyone seem to know who would be available? - and perhaps the clampdown this season that Jayson Stark has detailed brilliantly has held down the non-tender talk.

5) Bryan Smith knows more on this than I do, though I do see some intriguing names on the Rule 5 eligibles. I'd love to have a full list and confirmations on a couple of them. Even teams are confused over who goes where when. If I were a GM or such, I'd look for players that have lots of raw skills that could translate into performance rather than performance. Yes, losing a year of development hurts, but I think if a team can't develop a player on the bench, they've got some issues. Yes, I'm looking at you, Wily Mo Pena.

6) There is a study about to be published that establishes whether or not being stronger helps someone hit better. No, it's not a pure steroid question because you simply can't do a credible study using humans and steroids. I've seen it and will have a big piece at BP the second it's published and available.

7) I find myself really watching the Devil Rays. I simply don't understand their organization at all, yet they remain a fun team to watch. Not a good team mind you, but fun. They have more speed than any other team I've seen, always seem to play hard (if often out of control), and their pitching just blows. I can sit watching MLB.tv and play armchair pitching coach all day. Add in that Lou Piniella alternates between Bowa-level head-explosion possibilities and late-Leyland I could give a crapness and every Ray game's worth watching.

8) Keith Woolner is God.

9) "House" is definitely worth checking out. Sure, they flooded the World Series with ad after annoying ad, but it's a great show. If you remember "Gideon's Crossing," you'll like this.

10) This one's interactive, so I think I'll save it for another post ...