Team Preview: Toronto Blue Jays (Must Read)

[LittleOzzy]

Toronto really is the dark horse candidate in the vaunted American League East division. The club will face an uphill battle for division supremacy against the likes of Boston, New York and Tampa Bay. But each club has its weaknesses, so a fourth or fifth place finish for the Canadian club is not guaranteed. New manager John Farrell is a bit of a wild card. Fans of the team have no idea what to expect from the first-time manager. The strength of the team appears to be its pitching, so the former big league hurler and pitching coach should be the right man for the job.

The Starting Nine
CF Rajai Davis
SS Yunel Escobar
3B Jose Bautista
1B Adam Lind
DH Edwin Encarnacion
2B Aaron Hill
LF Juan Rivera
RF Travis Snider
C J.P. Arencibia

This is not a lineup that will strike a lot of fear in its opponents. With any luck, though, the grip-and-rip approach of the 2010 Jays under now-deposed manager Cito Gaston is long gone. But hitting coach Dwayne Murphy kept his job during the off-season so it remains to be seen how quickly the old approach will morph into a more balanced offensive attack. General manager Alex Anthopoulos has given the team flexibility on the base paths with the additions of Davis and (currently injured) Scott Podsednik. The club loses some pop with the surprising trade of former No. 1 draft pick Vernon Wells, who played parts of 12 seasons in Toronto. To help fill the power void, Rivera – obtained in the Wells trade – could see his power output increase with the move to the homer-happy home stadium, while rookie catcher Arencibia has the potential to produce a .200+ ISO rate (He might, though, hit just .220).

The club will look for big bounce-back seasons from Hill and Lind. The second baseman produced a Major-League-low BABIP of .196, which is unsustainably low to the extreme.

Click the link: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.ph ... blue-jays/

This is a Must Read!

[LittleOzzy]

AL East Preview: Blue Jays Staying Competitive as they Rebuild

The Toronto Blue Jays aren’t all that different than the Baltimore Orioles coming into 2011. They both are more or less overlooked (even the O’s get more hype than the Jays), both are relying on a young, unproven staff, and both are coming into Spring Training with a new(ish) manager. The bullpen is going to be a strength after losing Kevin Gregg (you’re welcome), with the additions of Jon Rauch, Octavio Dotel, and Chad Cordero. However, that is where the similarities stop. While the Orioles will be relying on young players in the field with the exception of Derrek Lee (if he ever happens to take the field) and Luke Scott (if he can straighten out his swing), Toronto has a few more reliable commodities to count on to make an impact. Mind you, this does not mean that they are high-producing players- but you know what you are going to get. Remember, this team still went 85-77 last season in this ultra-competitive division. The Blue Jays will get overlooked, but they aren’t going to be an easy out.

The starting rotation looks rather familiar to O’s fans, as it relies on promising young arms, but those arms outperformed the Orioles pitchers last season, at least on paper. Maryland product Brett Cecil continued from his promising rookie year en route to a 4.22 ERA in 28 starts, and Brandon Morrow emerged as a strong power thrower with 178 strikeouts in just 146.1 innings. And I haven’t even gotten to Ricky Romero, who has emerged as the ace of the staff after improving across the board in his second season in the majors. They traded Shaum Marcum, the lone veteran on the staff, to Milwaukee in the offseason, and didn’t add anyone to bolster their rotation- though star prospect Kyle Drabek (the jewel of the Roy Halladay trade) should be ready to take his spot. This unheralded group is going to be dangerous if they can all stay healthy, despite a battle in camp for the 5th starter spot. From the sounds of it, they will be in good shape whether they go with star or Jo-jo Reyes or Marc Rzepczynski and will be deep enough to handle an injury or two. There is no #1 slam-dunk ace on the staff, but there are enough twos and threes to put together a strong season.

New Toronto manager Mike Farrell wants to have clearly defined roles for his relievers (despite evidence that roles don’t matter), and he will have his pick of a number of solid options. They managed to sign veterans Octavio Dotel, Jon Rauch, and Chad Cordero to bolster an already solid group that included Jason Frasor and David Purcey. The fact is, the Blue Jays will be able to have confidence in whoever gets the ball in the 7th or 8th inning, and will have depth at AAA to bring up in case of injuries. Rauch performed very well as a closer last year in Minnesota, and again, while the bullpen has no singular star, they have plenty of solid role players.

http://baltimoresportsreport.com/al-eas ... 13477.html

[LittleOzzy]

2011 Toronto Blue Jays preview

The Toronto Blue Jays have a problem with geography, and this has nothing to do with the fact that they are the lone team in Major League Baseball that resides in Canada. Toronto plays in arguably the toughest division in baseball, the American League East, and not the much easier AL Central.

The Blue Jays are a respectable 25/1 to win the AL pennant, but that ranks fourth in the AL East behind favorites Boston and New York (5/2) and Tampa Bay (10/1). Toronto is also a 50/1 long shot to capture its first World Series since Joe Carter was running around the bases in the early 1990s. Other teams with 50/1 odds entering the season are the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Florida and Oakland.

The Blue Jays finished in their customary fourth spot in the division compliments of an 85-77 record, 11 games behind Tampa Bay and 10 games out of the wild card. But Toronto is expected to fall off that pace from last year, and has been installed with a season win total of 77 games.

http://www.donbest.com/mlb/mlb-betting- ... 12229.html

[LittleOzzy]

Toronto Blue Jays 2011 Preview

The Blue Jays got younger in their rotation by subtraction and leaner in the lineup with trades for veterans Juan Rivera and Rajai Davis in the outfield. Higher-priced offense was sacrificed in the name of Wells, first baseman Lyle Overbay, and catcher John Buck. Anthopoulos didn't shy away from wheeling and dealing this offseason, using the trade of Wells to land former Rangers closer Frank Francisco to anchor the bullpen. The Jays scattered a large quantity of arms from their bullpen and a few choice starters and re-loaded with the signing of powerful right-hander Jon Rauch and effective veteran Octavio Dotel while trading to get Carlos Villanueva from the Brewers. The rotation should improve with the full-time promotion of top prospect Kyle Drabek to the fifth starters role.

The 2010 season was a sign things are working for Anthopoulos as Toronto finished eight games over .500 despite a third consecutive fourth-place finish in the competitive AL East. It stood as a 20-game improvement over 2009. Charged with leading the club to even loftier goals during this rebuilding phase is new manager John Farrell, who was tabbed to replace the retiring Cito Gaston after his second stint guiding the team. Farrell spent the past four seasons as the pitching coach for the Red Sox and has never managed in the majors or minor leagues. He was also director of player development with Cleveland for six years.

Below we take a capsule look at the 2011 edition of the Blue Jays, with a personnel evaluation and prognosis included therein:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/25/2 ... eview.html

[Kaizen]

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/1485 ... -dangerous

[SharoneWright]

Props to the Miama Herald for posting such a long story on the Jays...

[LittleOzzy]

Jays Preview: GM Alex Anthopolous on life, year 2 and Vernon Wells

It's been 16 months since 33-year-old Alex Anthopoulos took over as GM of the Jays and he has rebuilt the farm, moving the club from an organization rated in the mid-20s out of 30 by Baseball America to now ranking as the fourth best minor-league system in baseball. In the meantime, he got married to wife Christina, had daughter Anna, and actually has fans in Toronto buzzing again. Anthopoulos sat down in Dunedin, Fla., during spring training for a wide-ranging interview.

RICHARD GRIFFIN: Your first winter as a father, was there enough time to both do your general manager's job properly and still be a father?

ALEX ANTHOPOULOS: Really good question. I was telling my wife when I got back around eight or nine o'clock and walked into our place in Florida, my mother-in-law was holding our daughter (Anna). She's five months and I don't think she really knows who I am, but the way she smiled at me and how excited she was and, I know everybody says this and it's not news to anybody, but what an unbelievable feeling. I can't wait for when she starts running and she runs to me when I come home. What an incredible feeling to see her smile, be happy.

At the same time, I know how competitive this job is and I know the way I'm wired too. It's a battle for me personally because obviously you want to be a good father, but you also want to be great at what you do. I find that I'm learning to manage my time. It's funny, when you ask that question one of the things that comes to me is Pinball Clemons came and spoke to us at mini-camp ...

RG: Yeah, I heard Vernon and others talk about how great Pinball was.

AA: You should ask Brett Lawrie about that. I get goose bumps just talking about that speech right now. It was the greatest. I've seen a lot of speeches, just by being in this job. There is no No. 2 behind Pinball's one. The next guy's at 100. There's something that he said and I wrote it down. It was about a father and a career. He talked about why he stopped coaching. The line was where ‘being a successful coach does not mean they're a successful father, but a successful father means they're a successful man.' It makes a lot of sense. Sometimes I find myself saying, ‘Am I not doing as much? Am I not working as hard?' I'm learning to work more effectively, more intelligently. I worry about am I slowing down? Am I losing something off my fastball because I'm trying to balance everything? One thing is we're starting to build a better staff. I'm learning to delegate more. Thank God I had the first year and now I had the daughter because I feel that much more prepared in this role in year two than in year one just like anyone in their job. I'm learning to balance it out like anybody who's in sports. You don't have the support of your wife you don't have a shot. My wife probably wants to kill me every day ...

http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/ ... wells?bn=1

[LittleOzzy]

Toronto Blue Jays, Young and Strong, Begin 2011 Full of Optimism

The Toronto Blue Jays 2010 season marked the start of the Alex Anthopoulos era and the end of the J. P. Ricciardi one. After a poor 2009 season in which the Blue Jays finished with a 75–87 record, 2010 saw the team improve by 10 games, finishing with a 85–77 record for a third consecutive fourth place finish in the American League East.

Despite the fourth place finish, the Blue Jays surpassed all expectations, surprising teams with their young talent. Led by José Bautista, whose 54 home runs set a franchise record and led the Majors, the team also set a franchise record with 257 total home runs.

What to Expect in 2011

In the offseason, the Blue Jays got younger and stronger with trades for veterans Juan Rivera and Rajai Davis in the outfield. Higher-priced offense was sacrificed in the names of centre fielder Vernon Wells, outfielder Fred Lewis, first-basemen Lyle Overbay, and catcher John Buck.

The Jays lost Shaun Marcum as a starter and departed with several bullpen arms but reloaded with the addition of Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch, Octavio Dotel, and Carlos Villanueva. These bullpen arms will prove to be quite important as Kevin Gregg, Jeremy Accardo, Brian Tallet, and Scott Downs have all found new homes.

Not to be forgotten is new manager, John Farrell, who spent the past four seasons as the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox and is anxiously ready to take over from the recently-retired Cito Gaston.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/sports/ ... 53791.html

[ItsDanger]

No link, but Sports Illustrated predicts the Jays win 77, 5th place ALEast. I cant see that myself.

[LittleOzzy]

Where will the Blue Jays finish in the AL East?
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Toronto Blue Jays

The Jays will open the season with two-thirds of the same offence that they used for most of 2010, with the only defections being Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells and John Buck. The club addressed their lack of speed in the offseason, adding Rajai Davis. The bulk of the offence will fall to 2010 home run leader Jose Bautista, as well as second baseman Aaron Hill and first baseman Adam Lind. Despite losing some power, the Jays will still be able to score enough runs.

In the long haul, the Jays starting rotation should be alright, but they'll start the season without Brandon Morrow. Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil and Morrow will be the big three, with the emerging Kyle Drabek and Jesse Litsch rounding things out. Jo-Jo Reyes will start until Morrow returns. If Drabek can develop the way that Morrow and Romero did last season, the Jays starting pitching should hold up against their rivals.

The bullpen, without Gregg and Scott Downs, will be affected by injuries to start the season as both Frank Francisco and Octavio Dotel are both starting the year on the disabled list. That gives Jon Rauch the ninth inning responsibilities to open the season. On the whole, it's a group that can mix and match with teams, but really lacks a back end stud that other teams have.

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=360228

[khin_s]

Thx for the extensive pre-season coverage, Ozzy. Eventually they all start sounding the same - can't wait for the 1st pitch.

[LittleOzzy]

2011 Blue Jays season preview: How to build a winner

Development always takes precedence over winning in the minor leagues. But if a farm team enjoys some success, all the better. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, succeeded on both fronts last season. Many of the Jays’ top prospects—including pitchers Kyle Drabek and Zach Stewart, as well as shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria—blossomed, and the club finished second in the Eastern League’s Eastern Division with a 79-62 record. The result: plenty of post-game dance parties. “There was a strobe light hooked up to the rafters in the clubhouse,” says left fielder Eric Thames, his face brightening at the memory, “and there was a fog machine.”

Though the party ended abruptly in the semifinals when the Fisher Cats were swept in three games by the Trenton Thunder (the New York Yankees’ AA club), the way the club groomed its players has become a model for what the Jays hope to achieve system-wide. This season, the organization will implement what assistant general manager Tony LaCava calls “a major-league-centric approach” to player development. The plan is to institute uniformity throughout the organization when it comes to coaching, ingraining the game’s fundamentals from one level to the next.

The goal is to create “an expectation that when you come to the major leagues, you do things a certain way,” says LaCava. “It’s really going to be a lot of the mechanical things. Certainly the different bunt plays, pick-off plays, our approach to stopping the running game—every aspect of the game.” In theory, this would prevent players from needing to decipher different coaching philosophies as they rise through the ranks, allowing them to focus instead on adjusting to the stiffer competition.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/03/31/how- ... -a-winner/

[LittleOzzy]

Rebuilding Blue Jays ready for tough challenge in American League East

The predictions are in and they're not pretty.

Sports Illustrated is forecasting that the Toronto Blue Jays will be last in the American League East at 77-85. ESPN weighs in with a prediction of 79-83 and a fourth-place finish. A trio of Yahoo! Sports baseball writers all expect a fourth-place result and sub-.500 record.

It makes for plenty of bulletin board material for a young squad that is itching to become a contender in one of the toughest divisions in baseball.

"We're a competitive group," new manager John Farrell said Thursday on the eve of opening day. "We went through six weeks of spring training to come north and win, not to be prepared to be an opponent for someone else."

Toronto surprised many baseball observers last year by posting an 85-77 mark in a rebuilding campaign, good for fourth place in the division. The Jays have several top prospects and many of their young players seem to be on the cusp of becoming solid major leaguers.

What's unclear is how long it will take for Toronto to make its long-awaited return to contender status. The team still has a loyal base of fans but many have become discouraged at the long run of mediocrity since the Jays last won the World Series in 1993.

Toronto kicks off its regular season Friday against the Minnesota Twins (Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m. ET) at Rogers Centre. The atmosphere should be electric in what will likely be the lone sellout of the season.

Fans have always packed the downtown stadium for opening day but attendance levels have usually dropped off significantly after that. Taking a run at the contenders in the A.L. East would change that and bring some atmosphere back to the park.

"We're hopefully in the early stages of regaining that same environment here whether that's this year or sometime in the future," Farrell said. "We're hopeful to change the mindset of a hockey town going back into a baseball town."

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports ... 24374.html