Toronto Blue Jays Thread

[Travis007]

Huge win in the season opener last night against the Twins. Looks to be a positive start to a promising season.

Solid pitching performance by Kyle Drabek so far today...

[Paul29]

We knew offense wouldn't be a problem for these guys, but if we can keep up the pitching it'll be a fun season.......................that's a big "if" though.

[Skybean]

Every baseball guru is rating the Jays to be either last or second last in the AL East. Do you think we can beat the Rays, Sox or Yanks?

I like what has been done with the bullpen. Don't like letting go of Marcum for Lawrie who isn't even playing at the major league level. We would have a kick-ass rotation now.

2-0 so far. But usually the Jays go on a long losing streak sometime mid season.

[vancouverite/to'er]

I'll put money down on us finishing ahead of the Orioles.

[Paul29]

Originally Posted by Skybean

Every baseball guru is rating the Jays to be either last or second last in the AL East. Do you think we can beat the Rays, Sox or Yanks?

Ah, no, no and no. But if the pitching holds up they will at least be competitive.

They won 85 games last year and with the young pitchers this year, it will be a stretch to match. But, a mid season hot streak may get them close. Typically they lost steam near the end of May to beginning of June. It's a different team this year, the guys seem excited to be here. We haven't seen that in a long time. Last season I think most were still getting over losing Halladay.

On the plus side, the Yanks pitching is suspect with Sabathia being the only one to fear. The Rays may be a bit old in the hitting department. I think they also lost one of their top starting pitchers, the one who owned the Jays the last couple of years........can't remember his name though.

I'm not in a dream land like most Leaf fans are, the Jays will do well to win 80 games, but it will be an exciting season with this bunch either way.
The Jays have long said they have great young talent, this year that seems to be true. It'll take a couple of years to really be competitive.

I'm not sure if Uncle George Steinbrenner had a stipulation in his will that money will still be spent, they may be on the down side if that's the case.

[Paul29]

Originally Posted by Skybean

I like what has been done with the bullpen. Don't like letting go of Marcum for Lawrie who isn't even playing at the major league level. We would have a kick-ass rotation now.

Sorry, I edited too much before I posted a response.

Losing Marcum hurt more than losing Wells. I loved Wells, he was a gamer who played hurt more than most ever knew, but a bat and glove are replaceable.
Solid, experienced pitching always hurts losing.

Everybody expected Halladay to go. He had everybody's respect in Toronto and around the league. I was happy he had a great shot at a World Series last year. But Marcum was out of the blue.
We'll also see if Dustin McGowan ever comes back. He had a great start with the Jays, but I think too much time has passed for him to return as affective as he was. But, we can hope.

FWIW, I have zero faith in Jesse Litch. I think some days he loses he way to the park and has to call someone for directions.

[MattToronto]

Generally the Jays always start World Series strong, but by the 20th or so game its a struggle to stay at 500.

[winnipegger]

The offense still looks pretty good, winning 13-3 but the pitching staff is really young. I think they'll need 2-3 years to develop but its definitely going to be an interesting season

[Travis007]

@ Paul29; I think the former Rays pitcher that you mentioned is Matt Garza, who's with the Cubs now.


The Rays are an annoying team for the Jays to play against, but were a fun team to watch. But I think we'll see them decline a bit and be a fringe wild card team. I totally agree that trading away Marcum was a bad move considering the pitching rotation isn't even stable yet. I honestly see the Jays finishing slighty over .500 but will finish 3rd or 4th in the AL East. The Jays will continue to be cursed in mediocrity as long as they remain in this division.

I've been generally pessimistic towards the success of Toronto sports clubs in the past decade or so, but I'll be content with the Jays as long as they play competitive and consistent baseball throughout the season.

[Paul29]

Originally Posted by Travis007

@ Paul29; I think the former Rays pitcher that you mentioned is Matt Garza, who's with the Cubs now.

Garza, that's him.

[BrandonK]

Originally Posted by Travis007

@ Paul29; I think the former Rays pitcher that you mentioned is Matt Garza, who's with the Cubs now.


The Rays are an annoying team for the Jays to play against, but were a fun team to watch. But I think we'll see them decline a bit and be a fringe wild card team. I totally agree that trading away Marcum was a bad move considering the pitching rotation isn't even stable yet. I honestly see the Jays finishing slighty over .500 but will finish 3rd or 4th in the AL East. The Jays will continue to be cursed in mediocrity as long as they remain in this division.

I've been generally pessimistic towards the success of Toronto sports clubs in the past decade or so, but I'll be content with the Jays as long as they play competitive and consistent baseball throughout the season.

Yeah, the Rays have declined a bit but the Orioles have improved. The AL East is all competitive now.

[Travis007]

Impressive come from behind win today! I have zero faith in Jo-Jo Reyes though, got blasted today. Pre-season performances mean nothing in the big leagues. His career stats with the Braves are also pretty pathetic.

[HipHopCanada]

Talk about clutch Yunel, that game was disgusting. And yeah Jo-Jo's a no no in my opinion.

[Paul29]

Nice to see this group has some fight. In years past they would have packed their bags after being down by 5.
Maybe this bullpen is a bit better than I'd thought at first too.

[Diesel_Power]

Frasor's pitching screwed us from sweeping the A's today. Could have been leading our division if we won today.

Lets hope the Jays perform well on the road and spoil the Angel's home opener tomorrow night.

Bwahahahahah! Red Soxs still haven't won a game yet!

[Paul29]

IIRC, Frasor is usually a slow starter. He also gave up the homer in game one against the A's in the 10th inning.

Don't worry, the Red Sox will pick up their momentum when the Jays arrive in Boston next week.

[Travis007]

Drabek continues with another quality performance. And another clutch game winning homer this time courtesy of Nix!!

[Skybean]

I stopped watching after the 3rd inning or so as the game seemed destined for a loss. I was surprised when I read the final score!

I think Jayson Nix has won 2 games for us already.

[Paul29]

With so much hype over Drabek's potential near the end of last year, I was bracing myself for a couple of blow out losses on days he started.
This kid looks great.

[Paul29]

Now if we could just get Jesse Litch to shave and lose a few pounds.........maybe be able to find Toronto on a map....