Over the next week, West Collier Street will be previewing the upcoming Toronto Blue Jays season in a feature called "Five Thoughts On..."
The last installment here will look at the competition the Blue Jays will face in trying to complete their dream season:
1. New York Yankees
Doubting the Yankees hasn't been this popular since Don Mattingly wouldn't trim his sideburns. Sure, they're missing their starting first baseman, shortstop, centrefielder and the highest paid player in the history of the sport, and sure they're relying on the likes of Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay, Juan Rivera, Kevin Youkilis and Travis Hafner to produce runs, and sure their shortstop is 38 years old, their right fielder 39 and their best relief pitcher 43, but these are the Yankees and... um... wow. That is sad.
Nope, I'm not buying it. The Yankees still worry me because throughout all these injuries their pitching staff has remained mostly intact. C.C. Sabathia is still monstrous, Hiroki Kuroda is still quietly excellent, Andy Pettitte can still put that put cut fastball wherever he wants and David Phelps is a guy who I think will really open some eyes this year. The fact is that the Yankees still possess a starting rotation good enough to keep them in games, and as long as that part of the team stays healthy I expect them to still be in the playoff mix come September.
2. Tampa Bay Rays
They lost B.J. Upton to free agency, but here's Desmond Jennings to replace him. They traded away James Shields, but good thing they still have David Price and Matt Moore and Jeremy Hellickson and, well it goes on. Tampa Bay is a team with such absurd minor league depth and if you're curious why look so further than the trade that sent Shields to Kansas City. The Rays got back an uberprospect in Wil Myers, a promising young arm in Jake Odorizzi, and a talented pitcher who has fallen from grace in Mike Montgomery. Not to say it's going to work out perfectly for the Rays (I sure as hell hope not) but these are the kind of moves they constantly pull off, and it seems there are more successes than failures. Also it's going to be very annoying if Kelly Johnson and or Yunel Escobar rediscover themselves this season for the Rays. Very annoying.
3. Boston Red Sox
It seems like the Red Sox plan this offseason was akin to a dart player grabbing ten darts and throwing them all at once at the board. A couple of them will probably hit the bullseye, but it's impossible (or at least extremely unlikely) that all of them land in the centre, and that's kinda what Boston is counting on. I mean sure, Jacoby Ellsbury could stay healthy and rediscover his 2011 form, Clay Buchholz and John Lackey could start pitching like it's 2010 again, but those are a lot of "coulds" and I'm getting very close to a run-on sentence here. The Red Sox offense likely will be dangerous (assuming good health, also a "could") but I really don't believe in that pitching staff, even with whatever magical pitching advice John Farrell was saving until his dream job became available.
4. Baltimore Orioles
There's just no way they can do that again. No way. I mean, last season they were like 1000 and 3 in one run games and 50-0 in extra innings and there's no chance they do that again. (I'm too lazy to look up the actual numbers) That being said, I still think this is a solid team, particularly in the bullpen, and there are enough interesting young players that could take a step forward. Guys like Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy sure look impressive, but I don't think this is the year they make a big impact. At the very least, the Orioles will be a tough opponent for our hometown heroes.
5. The American League West
If you look at the other American League divisions, the AL West certainly looks like where one (if not both) of the wildcard spots will be claimed. Much has been made of the Angels being a much improved team yet again, adding Josh Hamilton to an already formidable starting nine. The Rangers have lost some key players but still boast a deep lineup, strong starting pitching and a fertile farm system. The Oakland A's of course are the defending division champs, riding the emergence of several young arms they're certain to depend upon this season. Let's also not forget the factor of the Houston Astros joining this division, a team not likely to win more than a third of their games and thus adding a few more wins to each contending AL West foe. If the Blue Jays are fighting for a wildcard position down the stretch this season, one of these teams will be in that mix.
Thanks for reading my sorta kinda preview of the upcoming Blue Jays season. I'll have some more thoughts as the season goes but for now I have only one thing left to say: let's play ball!
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