RealGM

Maybe they'll have to sell this Blue Jays team as the “Boys from Hope.”

Face it, when you tell your fans right up front you're rebuilding, then it would seem wins and losses become secondary in your sales pitch to the overall experience provided by a good nine-inning ball game.

More important than the final result may be any individual and team improvement? Is there reason to believe? Reason to attend, to pay attention, to even care?

On Monday, despite the Jays' loss to the Rangers in the season opener, 5-4 on a walkoff single in the ninth, the answer is, “Yes.”

But you have to be a fan of baseball more than a fan of the Jays.

“Guys don't have anything to be ashamed about,” manager Cito Gaston offered post-mortem. “Just take the day off, come back and see what we can do. They played a good ball game out there.”