Baseball Preview: The Toronto Blue Jays
The strength of the Blue Jays team is definitely their starting pitching. They are anchored by former Cy Young Winner Roy Halladay who has electric stuff. Last year he made a run of his own for the CY Young and started out with an amazing start. However injuries hurt him heavily. Still, he ended up with a very low ERA, lower than 2 and had a very good win loss record. He would have gotten even more wins if his team could’ve scored runs every once in a while when he pitched. He has to face the best lineups in baseball with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Orioles and he has proven he is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. Halladay can strikeout a lot of batters with his excellent control, good velocity on the fast ball and change and ability to change speeds very well.
In the off season the Jays signed fireballer A.J. Burnett hoping he would emerge as a star. While there is no question Burnett has talent he has never truly been able to put it all together. Every year he approaches 200 strikeouts and has an ERA around 3. However he always has a .500 record or worse and his career record is around .500 as well. He has never been considered a great pitcher or a winning pitcher and the Jays have committed a lot of money hoping he proves doubters wrong. He is getting paid nearly 10 million per year for the next 4 years and the Jays are gambling he can pitch well against some of the best offenses in the league in his division.
The other addition was closer B.J. Ryan who came through free agency from the Orioles. He too receives a hefty contract for 4 years and a contract that makes him the highest paid closer in baseball, even more money per year than the best closer in baseball, Mariano Rivera. Ryan has electric stuff and piles up a lot of strikeouts. However I don’t think he is worth his huge contract at all. He hardly has that many years of experience as a closer and hasn’t piled up that many saves with the exception of last year as he had more than 40 saves.
Another addition was 3rd baseman Troy Glaus from the Diamondbacks. He is a power hitter, something that the team desperately needs. He 37 homers and 97 RBIs last year and his numbers are bound to increase this year on a much better offense in Toronto. The only concerns I have with him is his poor average, .258, he strikes out a lot and he also has injury concerns. He has had back problems that have limited his mobility in the field and kept him out of the lineup.
Finally, there is Lyle Overbay. Overbay came through free agency from the Brewers. His contract is actually pretty reasonable and he is worth it. In his prime at age 29, he showed promising signs last year. He is a solid fielder and can hit more a good average. He had 19 homers and 72 RBIs last year on a bad Brewers offense. His numbers should also go up.
Overall, the rest of the Toronto team is average at best. Eric Hinske who also plays 3rd base has been bothered by injuries but does have promise as he won the AL Rookie of the Year Award a couple of years ago. Shea Hillenbrand who plays first and third can hit for average and has some power but is still an average player. Their all star is Center Fielder Vernon Wells who is in his prime at age 27 and has made a few all star teams. He has power, he hit 28 homers last year, and had 97 RBIs. On top of that he plays gold glove defense in the outfield. While his average could be better, he is still one of this team’s best hitters.
In conclusion, the Blue Jays have a very good rotation and bullpen. I just don’t think they have enough offense to keep up with the monster powerhouses of the Yankees who will score close to 1000 runs and the Red Sox who have two dangerous sluggers in Ortiz and Manny. They will still be a competitive team and make a run at the division but they will fall short like they have the past couple of years.
