Justin Morneau appears ready to make up for lost time due to a concussion he suffered last season. In February, Jose Bautista was given 65 million reasons to prove he's more than a one-year wonder.
Ready to play his first game since July, Morneau and the Minnesota Twins begin their bid for a third consecutive American League Central title Friday night at Toronto, where Bautista is again expected to lead a high-powered Blue Jays' offence.
Despite winning a division title in 2010, there was a certain lament for the Twins as they played the entire second half of the season without Morneau and were swept out of the division series for the second straight year after going 94-68.
Morneau, the 2006 AL MVP from New Westminster, B.C., never fully recovered from being accidentally kneed in the head by Blue Jays infielder John McDonald while sliding to break up a double play in a July 7 game at Toronto, unable to be completely free of post-concussion symptoms. Morneau had been enjoying a stellar season, batting .345 in 81 games with 18 homers and 56 runs batted in.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/story ... eview.html
It's Opening Day in Canada
Opening Day arrives at last - launching a flood of emotions, especially for baseball fans in this area. Time begins, winter ends, the baseball poets wax on with extra-base metaphors, but what matters is the cry of "Play Ball," even if the season began meekly, with just six games on the schedule Thursday. There are nine more openers today, including the Minnesota Twins at the Rogers Centre to meet the Blue Jays.
Toronto has a bright team, led by some great, young arms and Jose Bautista, newly armed with a fat longterm contract, but face a seemingly impossible task in the American League East, where the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles figure to gang up.
It should be enough, it says here, if the Blue Jays provide entertainment and promise, without really threatening the Sox, Yankees or D-Rays this summer. Give general manager Alex Anthopoulos, in his second full season as an MLB GM, some time to put his fingerprints on the organization -prints already developing, with the major trade of Roy Halladay and the re-signing of Bautista.
Anthopoulos hails from Montreal, cut his baseball teeth in the front office of the Expos in 2000. Not that it started with a bang. After deciding to pursue baseball as a career, Anthopoulos put a call through to then-Expos GM Jim Beattie. Hearing Beattie's voice on the phone, Anthopoulos was so nervous he hung.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/O ... story.html
Bloggers Panel: Picking apart the Jays
On Thursday, our panel of baseball experts tackled 20 questions about the Major League Baseball season. Here, four Blue Jays bloggers put their heads together to answer 10 questions about Toronto’s team.
THE PANEL
Getting Blanked
Dustin Parkes is the editor of The Score’s baseball blog Getting Blanked and the co-creator of Drunk Jays Fans. He runs a monthly baseball book club at Opera Bob’s Public House and a monthly baseball movie series at the Revue Cinema in Toronto. He does not currently live in his mother’s basement.
Ghostrunner on First
Drew Fairservice writes about baseball for ghostrunneronfirst.com and for Getting Blanked. He feels stats enrich his appreciation and understanding of the game but loves that no number quantifies the singular greatness that is Ichiro.
Mop Up Duty
Callum Hughson fell in love with baseball when he first saw a pitcher rock back and uncoil, and rose with the crowd when the ball was hit deep. He gave himself to something larger, something that might possibly be called beautiful. Woody Allen said it best: You know it doesn’t have to mean anything, it’s just beautiful to watch.
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/04/ ... -the-jays/
Blue Jays bask in genuine optimism
“I always thought Opening Day was the start of hope.” — New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, March 31, 2011.
****
Hope is a funny thing, really. It means different things to different people, and different things to different baseball teams. For the Yankees, hope means a chance at the World Series, every year. Hope means rings and Champagne and a parade in the Canyon of Heroes. So in other words, Girardi is right, sure. Easy for him to say.
For the Toronto Blue Jays, hope is a smaller thing and harder to come by. But it’s here.
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/04/ ... -optimism/
What to expect from the Blue Jays in 2011
Once again this year, the Toronto Blue Jays could turn forecasters into fools.
Consider last April, when the Jays started their first season of the century without Roy Halladay. They had a largely untested rotation and a leadoff hitter named Jose Bautista. Sure, Adam Lind and Aaron Hill would hit. But come on, the soothsayers said, how can this team win more than 75 games?
They won 85, without big years from Lind and Hill, with an unprecedented power surge from Bautista and with young starters who often pitched beyond their years.
The Jays start 2011 with a new, meticulous manager and cohesive coaching staff, a new emphasis on aggressive baserunning and signs that Lind and Hill are back in the groove. They have a leadoff man who can run. The young starters are presumably a year wiser.
How can they not win 85 again?
Well, two national baseball writers — Ben Reiter of Sports Illustrated and Rob Neyer of SB Nation — pick the Jays to finish last in the American League East. Among other things, they cite the departure of Vernon Wells and Shaun Marcum, predict a return to Earth by Bautista and talk up the alleged improvement of the Baltimore Orioles.
Most critics look for the Jays to finish third or fourth. But whatever your view, it is imprudent to predict a playoff berth. And yes, the Jays could take a step back.
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/04/ ... s-in-2011/
HOPE FOR THE BLUE JAYS
Don't bother telling Alex Anthopoulos what the critics think of his team's chances this season in the perpetually high-rent American League East. You still won't spoil his enthusiasm for Opening Day.
“You're not a baseball fan if you're not excited about Opening Day,” Anthopoulos said this week as he roamed the back fields of Toronto’s spring training complex. “My favourite part of the year, no doubt about it. It's the one time that the baseball fan comes out in you again.”
Too bad then that there aren’t many who figure the 2011 Jays will do much more than spend a fourth straight season stuck firmly in fourth place. Some are even forecasting a slide to fifth.
But with four first-round picks in the rotation, baseball’s reigning home run king locked up for five years, two Silver Sluggers on the right side of the infield and a pair of promising youngsters coming up on the left, at least there’s reason for optimism. And how many of Toronto’s woeful teams can say that?
http://www.toromagazine.com/sports/egos ... Blue-Jays/
10 essential questions about the 2011 Blue Jays
Springtime is synonymous with optimism -- and for good reason. Nature returns from its winter slumber, thick, concealing jackets are tossed aside to reveal skirts and winter gloves are replaced by ball gloves.
And for the first time in recent memory, Toronto Blue Jays fans have every reason to be optimistic about the future -- albeit, not the near future.
The Rogers Centre will likely see its only sellout of the year tonight as the Jays take on the Minnesota Twins in the season opener, but what can fans expect to see the rest of 2011?
CTV's Matthew Coutts and Josh Visser tackle the ten essential questions about the 2011 Toronto Blue Jays.
Was Jose Bautista's monster 54-homer, 124-RBI season a fluke?
Matthew Coutts: It wasn't a fluke. But the only person who might think Bautista will hit that level again would be his mother. He can't repeat his 2010 season, but he could match that of the man he replaced as the face of the franchise. Vernon Wells' output last season (31 homers and 88 RBIs) did not match his swelled contract, but I would set that as the bar for Bautista this season. And I expect he'll easily pass it.
Josh Visser: No. But you can't expect anyone in the post-steroid era to hit 50 home runs, back to back. He'll have another great season, but he won't see as many hittable pitches this year. 100-plus walks though, you can put that in the bank.
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/ ... ntoNewHome
Blue Jays season opener tonight at Rogers Centre
The Toronto Blue Jays will open their 35th season, Friday, when they host the Minnesota Twins at the Rogers Centre to a soldout crowd.
Gates open at 5 p.m., with the first pitch set for exactly 7:07 p.m. A pregame ceremony will honour both past and present players.
There will be more than 50,000 people watching Ricky Romero throw his first pitch. Romero won fourteen games last season, Brett Cecil won fifteen and Jojo Reyes has earned a spot with some strong work in the pre-season.
FAN590's sports reporter Peter Gross said that there is always optimism at the start of a baseball season; however, this year, the Blue Jays seem to show even more promise.
http://www.680news.com/sports/article/2 ... ers-centre
Blue Jays might surprise fans again this season
Once again this year, the Toronto Blue Jays could turn forecasters into fools.
Consider last April, when the Jays started their first season of the century without Roy Halladay. They had a largely untested rotation and a leadoff hitter named Jose Bautista. Sure, Adam Lind and Aaron Hill would hit. But come on, the soothsayers said, how can this team win more than 75 games?
They won 85, without big years from Lind and Hill, with an unprecedented power surge from Bautista and with young starters who often pitched beyond their years.
The Jays start 2011 with a new, meticulous manager and cohesive coaching staff, a new emphasis on aggressive baserunning and signs that Lind and Hill are back in the groove. They have a leadoff man who can run. The young starters are presumably a year wiser.
http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Blue+Jay ... story.html
Opening Day will forever be cherished
Baseball season has arrived. Can't you tell by the snow?
The events of Thursday provided a desperately needed respite from this never-ending winter. Although there are a few signs of spring -such as temperatures barely above zero, and some melting -the most uplifting development was Opening Day.
When examining the larger picture, the events of Opening Day barely register. One game -one longawaited game, mind you -comprises but 1/162nd of a Major League Baseball team's schedule.
But when you see it, and soak in every precious pitch after five months of craving, the result is a treasured day in the life of an inveterate sports fan.
Thursday's game of choice, from this perspective, was a matinee between the New York Yankees and the visiting Detroit Tigers.
Home runs by Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson -the latter of whom snapped a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning -powered the Yankees to a 63 victory. The ageless Mariano Rivera, 41 going on 29, came in for the save.
http://www.leaderpost.com/business/Open ... story.html
It's unanimous: Jays will stink
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 today against the Minnesota Twins (Rogers Sportsnet, 6 p.m.) at Rogers Centre. The atmosphere should be electric in what will likely be the lone sellout of the season
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports ... 48209.html
Arencibia a vital cog in Blue Jays' machinery
There's no question that one of the keys to success for the Blue Jays this season will be the continued development of catcher J.P. Arencibia.
Perhaps most important, the 25-year-old will be expected to do his part in guiding Toronto's young starting staff.
Arencibia is expected to be behind the plate for starter Ricky Romero in Friday's Opening Day tilt against Minnesota, and the two may likely be batterymates throughout the season.
On Thursday, before the Blue Jays' workout at Rogers Centre, Romero was asked what the transition has been like from throwing to the veteran John Buck last year and Arencibia during the spring. The left-hander made sure to give a vote of confidence to his young catcher.
"It's kind of hard to compare them, because John has more experience and J.P. is still a young pup trying to make a name for himself," Romero said. "But we have the most confidence in him, and we know he is going to get the job done."
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd ... iate&c_id=
Twins-Toronto series preview
TWINS UPDATE
The Twins are playing their first season opener in Toronto since 2006, when Roy Halladay defeated Johan Santana in a 6-3 Blue Jays victory. Since 2005, the Twins are 5-13 at Rogers Centre. In two starts in Toronto last year, Pavano gave up 12 earned runs and five homers. He held the Blue Jays to one earned run over seven innings on Oct. 1 at Target Field. Drew Butera caught most of Pavano's starts last year, but Joe Mauer will get the nod on Opening Day. Mauer, who is coming off arthroscopic knee surgery, might not catch Saturday's day game. He sat Wednesday's day game in Atlanta after catching the night before. "Actually, he feels really, really good," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He was ready to catch [Wednesday] if we wanted him to."
BLUE JAYS UPDATE
New manager John Farrell takes over a team that went 85-77 last year under Cito Gaston. The Blue Jays led the majors with 257 homers but stole just 58 bases. That balance probably will change, even with Jose Bautista coming off his 54-homer season. Toronto traded Vernon Wells to the Angels, shedding his huge contract, and lost John Buck and Lyle Overbay to free agency. It traded for CF Rajai Davis, who stole 50 bases last year. Toronto likes its starting pitching, but Brandon Morrow opens the season on the DL because of a strained forearm. With relievers Frank Francisco and Octavio Dotel injured, the closer will be Jon Rauch, the former Twin. LF Travis Snider (hip) is a game-time decision.
http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/119032349.html
Blue Jays defence still a work in progress
It is true that Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells had exceeded their best-by dates with the Toronto Blue Jays well after they’d exceeded their best-buy dates. But going into Friday’s opener, the defensive ramifications of their absence ought not to be dismissed.
That is less the case with Wells since his centre-field replacement, Rajai Davis, looks the part of somebody who can more than adequately fill in. That from no less an authority than Jose Bautista, a minor-league teammate of Davis’s while both were working their way up through the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization and who has a vested interest in Davis’s performance now that Bautista will be in right field.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/b ... le1966402/
Twins-Blue Jays Preview
Justin Morneau appears ready to make up for lost time due to a concussion he suffered last season. In February, Jose Bautista was given 65 million reasons to prove he's more than a one-year wonder.
Ready to play his first game since July, Morneau and the Minnesota Twins begin their bid for a third consecutive AL Central title Friday night at Toronto, where Bautista is again expected to lead a high-powered Blue Jays' offense.
Despite winning a division title in 2010, there was a certain lament for the Twins as they played the entire second half of the season without Morneau and were swept out of the division series for the second straight year after going 94-68.
The 2006 AL MVP never fully recovered from being accidentally kneed in the head by Blue Jays second baseman John McDonald while sliding to break up a double play in a July 7 game at Toronto, unable to be completely free of post-concussion symptoms. Morneau had been enjoying a stellar season, batting .345 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs in 81 games.
Manager Ron Gardenhire decided on putting Morneau in the opening day lineup, looking beyond the slugger's .152 average in 10 spring training games as he eased him back into play.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/gametracke ... ys-preview
Jays' Davis ready to entertain
Rajai Davis may never become a hall of famer like Rickey Henderson or Roberto Alomar, but he does have one thing in common.
The guy can downright steal a show with his fancy footwork. And, this is his moment to shine for an extended run; his moment to prove he can become the reincarnation of Devon White, a Shannon Stewart clone or an amalgam of whatever carried Alomar towards the Hall of Fame.
Davis is the Blue Jays’ new leadoff hitter, a demon on the base paths, a pitcher’s nightmare and at age 30 and four teams into a major-league career, this is his penultimate opportunity to steal the hearts of a city.
If poise and self-esteem are a measuring stick, perhaps he may yet steal into a corner of the game’s consciousness like his mentor, Henderson. But, that is the future. For now there are smaller victories to be won.
“This is a stepping stone to bigger and greater things. Just getting the opportunity to play leadoff for a major-league team says a lot. It’s hard enough to play this game ... so, yeah, there’s pressure for me to get on base and score runs for this team. But you can’t worry about that, you just have to keep it simple.”
So far simple has worked just fine for Davis. Last year his 50 stolen bases ranked third in the majors and Henderson has predicted he could swipe 80 in a season some day.
For the Blue Jays, he is a game-changer. Davis changes the face of a club that had just 58 stolen bases last year; a club that had become stagnant on the base paths. Davis will change that. How successful remains to be seen.
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/baseba ... 30591.html
Jays' Hill in limbo about contract
As of Thursday’s workout, the Blue Jays hadn’t yet informed Aaron Hill whether they are going to pick up all the remaining years on Hill’s contract.
Hill’s $5-million salary for 2011 is guaranteed but until this season begins, the Jays have the option to lock him up for 2012 and 2013 at $8 million a season and for 2014 at $10 million. If they choose to wait until after the season, they can only pick up the options for 2012 and 2013.
“It’s natural to think about it,” Hill said. “But the Jays know I want to stay here, so hopefully I’ll be here for a long time.”
Since Hill underperformed in 2010, there is little incentive for the Jays to lock him up right now. If he has a strong season in 2011, there is every chance they would renegotiate for 2014 anyway.
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/baseba ... 30316.html
Jays ready to make you believe
The Blue Jays know what a lot of people are thinking. They know they have been deemed baseball’s Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time-Players. It just stiffens their resolve.
In many pre-season polls they are picked to slip below the Baltimore Orioles, into last place in the American League East. Bring it on, they say.
“We’re a tight group and we feel that nothing is going to tear us apart,” said Ricky Romero, poised to make his first opening night start Friday against the Minnesota Twins.
“We carry that chip on our shoulder now and we’re going to carry it all year. Like I told the guys: ‘Let’s have a little swagger to our rotation.’ Not in a bad way but just to know that we’re the baddest guys out there.”
The skepticism about the Jays around the continent is not without some merit. In saying so long to Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay, John Buck and Shaun Marcum, this is a team that lost a lot of experience, an important commodity, especially in the AL East.
“Our clubhouse has been loose,” Romero said. “We know we lost some key guys in Vernon, Shaun and Lyle and some other guys who moved on but our clubhouse has a strong bond. It’s not just the pitching staff, not just the relievers. It’s all of us. It’s something that’s very special. It’s something that can take you a long way when you realize we have each other’s backs.”
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/2011/0 ... 30151.html
The old ball game brings together Canadians of all stripes
Whether they’re leading a nation, a basketball team or a legendary rock band, there’s one common thread that brings together a wide cross-section of Canadians: the pure enjoyment of watching a thrilling baseball game.
The Star asked a number of sporting celebs and prominent politicians about their favourite baseball game ever, and the answers were as varied as the participants themselves:
http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/ ... ll-stripes
Rajai Davis centre of attention in the field and on the bases
When Rajai Davis steps to the plate on Friday vs. the Twins as the leadoff batter for the 2011 season, he represents the Jays’ hopes for a renewed offensive personality, a more balanced attack that includes the real threat of the stolen base for the first time in many years. Last year, the Jays stole 59 bases as a team. Davis stole 50 all by himself. Sure the Jays, even with the speedy leadoff man will still be known for their home runs, but if that’s all they rely on to score runs, they will never take the next step.
Davis is key. The differences between the 30-year-old native of Connecticut and the man he is replacing in centre, Vernon Wells, could not be more stark. Vernon, the multi-millionaire first-round draft selection, is smooth and effortless, with a powerful bat and gliding speed, a former Gold Glove outfielder. Rajai, the journeyman, is an overlooked 38th round selection, who, when he’s running, looks always in high gear, taking seemingly unusual but often successful routes to fly balls in the alleys. However, the added weapon of speed at the top of the batting order is what the Jays were seeking.
“He’s a different type of player than I am,” Davis said of the departed Wells prior to the final workout at the Rogers Centre before the real games. “I’m a little more wiry (at five-foot-10 and 195 pounds) as far as speed and quickness. He’s just a little different. I’m not trying to be like him.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/ ... -the-bases
Emotional night in store for Gillick
Around 7 o’clock on Friday night Pat Gillick will take the mound for the ceremonial first pitch at the Rogers Centre.
He’ll bite his lower lip — to stop it from quivering — look around at the soldout house, with fans applauding in appreciation.
Beside him will be his five-year-old grandson Cooper.
“It will be like the old days,” Gillick said Thursday afternoon referring to the early 1990s when the SkyDome sellouts were routine and the Jays drew four million people a season to set attendance records.
Then, the lefthander will throw the pitch to get the Jays 2011 season underway.
On the other end, will be Robbie Alomar, catching a strike, Gillick hopes.
Baseball has a way of joining people at the hip for decades.
Like George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin.
Like Mookie Wilson and Bill Buckner.
Or like Gillick and Alomar.
Gillick tried unsuccessfully to sign Alomar in 1985, but the second baseman joined his brother Sandy with the San Diego Padres.
Not to be deterred, Jays scout Wilbur (Moose) Johnson did the leg work identifying Alomar as the best second baseman available and Gillick made the trade.
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/baseba ... 29481.html
