RealGM

The good news for fans in '09 is that the Blue Jays will most certainly be a better team by the end of the season than they are in April. That is if they hang on to ace Roy Halladay at the trade deadline and if young starters don't hit the wall in September.

The bad news is that, in the meantime, they may not be able to keep pace in the extremely competitive AL East ... or even close. The Jays' core fans will stay with them, no matter. Casual fans, affected by the economy, may find other things to do.

So, what is their biggest area of concern regarding the only realistic goal, finishing above .500? The pitching staff, last year's strength, is this year's problem.

Consider that Wells has a .283 lifetime batting average, but is just .268 from the seventh inning on and just .246 in late innings with the game within three runs.

At 30 years old and in the midst of a huge contract, ranked among major-league centre fielders, one would take Grady Sizemore, Curtis Granderson, B.J. Upton, Josh Hamilton and Torii Hunter ahead of him in the AL alone.

Wells is running out of chances to change that perception and at the same time the fortunes of the '09 Jays.

chocolateSensi wrote:I don't have the stats, but I wonder how the Jays bats fared after Cito took over last year. I'd think they were solid, or good enough. But they'll obviously have to be better than that to make up for the talent and experience at the 3,4,5 spots in the rotation.