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Since the Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins made a deal on 11/13/12 that sent Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, and Jose Reyes up North to Toronto, Red Sox fans have looked greedily upon the Blue Jays roster. And rightfully so, on paper Toronto looks to have set themselves up to compete in October for the first time since the 90′s.

Looking at a depth chart, the casual fan usually gravitates toward big names. So when Toronto acquired 3 of the game’s best at their respective position, the Blue Jays depth chart was all the sudden stacked with names. As we know from experience, names are just that – names. You can pump a roster full of the best names in baseball and still not get anywhere. Carl Crawford, John Lackey, and Adrian Gonzalez taught us that. Albert Pujols & CJ Wilson taught the Angels that same lesson as well. What looks like overkill on paper seldom comes to fruition. In comparing rosters on paper it’s become apparent to me that the Blue Jays, even with their names are only marginally better than the Red Sox. Looking around the diamond, I can understand the hype around the Jays roster. But really, it’s not a landslide.

Santoki wrote:I agree with the overall sentiment. I think the Blue Jays are being overrated. They certainly shouldn't be World Series favourites.

I still think quite a lot has to go right for this team to make the playoffs.

Defensively, I have never heard Brett Lawrie regarded as "one of the best third baseman in the game". Forgive me but I just don't think a player who commits 17 errors qualifies as one of the games best third baseman.

Santoki wrote:The Blue Jays have gone from a last-place finish in the AL East to World Series favourites overnight. There are still holes in the lineup (Rasmus/Lawrie production, can Bautista/Encarnacion continue their pace, no big left-handed bat etc.), the bullpen (no solid long man with Villanueva gone, can Janssen repeat success and Santos return to be the guy we traded for) and in the rotation (will Romero bounce back, can Morrow/Johnson stay healthy and if not are there AAA guys who can come up to fill in).

The Jays, on paper, look great. But, we've seen time and again, teams built well on paper not succeeding - especially in their first year together. I'm being cautiously optimistic with this team because they haven't proved anything yet and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them miss the playoffs. What I'd hate to see happen is them have a terrible year and blow up the team after one season together. That's the worst case scenario. I think they're much more likely to compete all year long, but I don't expect them to win the division to be perfectly honest. I could see them just missing out on the wildcard and then going into the offseason retooling for a big run in 2014 and 2015.

b0na f1de wrote:In the comments he writes:

Defensively, I have never heard Brett Lawrie regarded as "one of the best third baseman in the game". Forgive me but I just don't think a player who commits 17 errors qualifies as one of the games best third baseman.

b0na f1de wrote:In the comments he writes:

Defensively, I have never heard Brett Lawrie regarded as "one of the best third baseman in the game". Forgive me but I just don't think a player who commits 17 errors qualifies as one of the games best third baseman.

My favorite sport by far is baseball and more intimately, the Red Sox. Therefore, I'll be covering the Sox for CLNS Radio so be sure to check out my weekly articles!

b0na f1de wrote:In the comments he writes:

Defensively, I have never heard Brett Lawrie regarded as "one of the best third baseman in the game". Forgive me but I just don't think a player who commits 17 errors qualifies as one of the games best third baseman.

Al_Oliver wrote:

Santoki wrote:The Blue Jays have gone from a last-place finish in the AL East to World Series favourites overnight. There are still holes in the lineup (Rasmus/Lawrie production, can Bautista/Encarnacion continue their pace, no big left-handed bat etc.), the bullpen (no solid long man with Villanueva gone, can Janssen repeat success and Santos return to be the guy we traded for) and in the rotation (will Romero bounce back, can Morrow/Johnson stay healthy and if not are there AAA guys who can come up to fill in).

The Jays, on paper, look great. But, we've seen time and again, teams built well on paper not succeeding - especially in their first year together. I'm being cautiously optimistic with this team because they haven't proved anything yet and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them miss the playoffs. What I'd hate to see happen is them have a terrible year and blow up the team after one season together. That's the worst case scenario. I think they're much more likely to compete all year long, but I don't expect them to win the division to be perfectly honest. I could see them just missing out on the wildcard and then going into the offseason retooling for a big run in 2014 and 2015.

RedStockings were last, not Toronto.

While you make some reasonable points, which team in the AL East made as many and as sizable improvements as the Jays? It is arguable that from opening day last year, everyone but Toronto has gotten worse

a solid everyday player vs a possible MVP candidate obviously always goes to the ladder

Schadenfreude wrote:Mike Schmidt regularly committed 20-25 errors a year. Garbage defensively.