Jays to be featured on This Week in Baseball 4/16/11
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 10:44 pm
Playing in the mighty American League East, the Blue Jays sometimes are overshadowed by their division rivals. But in the upcoming edition of "This Week in Baseball," to air on Saturday, the program will showcase how Toronto is building an organization to be reckoned with in the years to come.
The show airs in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet at noon ET and in the United States on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The first block of the show will focus on 2010 breakout star Jose Bautista, who slammed a Major League-high 54 home runs last season and signed a five-year, $64 million contract this offseason to become the new face of the franchise.
"We got all-access with him on game day," TWIB lead producer Matt Anderton said. "We started in the locker room, we were with him in [batting practice] and had the in-game wire on him."
The most interesting part of the segment is Bautista's pregame preparations, during which he breaks down film of how he is going to face the opposing starter that day, Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano.
In the MLB Network "Diamond Demo" feature, analyst Harold Reynolds will look at the changes Bautista made to his swing prior to 2010 that led to his All-Star season.
TWIB continues its look at the Blue Jays in the show's second segement, shift to the mound and focusing on Toronto's starting staff. Highlighted by early rookie sensation Kyle Drabek -- who was acquired in the Roy Halladay trade in December 2009 -- the Blue Jays have six potential starting pitchers 26 years old or younger: lefties Brett Cecil (24), Ricky Romero (26) and Jo-Jo Reyes (26) and righties Jesse Litsch (26) and Drabek (23), along with injured right-hander Brandon Morrow (26), who is on the disabled list with a forearm injury.
The same segment also will highlight 25-year-old catcher J.P. Arencibia and how he and the pitchers are becoming comfortable with one another.
Chevrolet's "Going all out" segment will have a Blue Jays' feel, as TWIB goes to the archives to show Joe Carter's game-winning, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6 to give Toronto the 1993 World Series title.
Can't wait!