Many of you are familiar with Terrance and Phillip, South Park’s Canadian comedy duo. Their jokes are infantile and usually involve flatulence, their talent minimal, and yet they stir up so much hatred and bile in South Park’s overprotective adults that they lead to a war between the United States and Canada. Well, Canada’s only MLB team, the Toronto Blue Jays, are nothing like that. They’re a talented group of players who don’t tend to stir much hatred in their rivals (mainly because New York and Boston fans spend their waking hours attempting to torture the other fan base). Plus, until last year’s second place finish, Toronto hadn’t finished above third place in the AL East since 1993, the year that they last won the World Series.
The Jays have been given permission to open up the wallet the past few years, and they’ve obliged with lavish, semi0outrageous free-agent signings of A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, and Frank Thomas. For good measure, they also signed their MVP, Vernon Wells, to a $126 million extension. That money will go far, Vernon, even when you have to come to the States. The Jays have a good team, and have the potential to win the East. At the very least, the normal two-team AL East dogfight will probably welcome a third member this year. Oh, and the Jays are funnier than Terrance and Phillip, although that’s pretty much by default. Here’s what to expect from the Blue Jays in 2007:
Biggest reason for hope: They may have as much talent as the Yankees and Sox. Their offense is probably better than Boston’s and comparable with New York. Underappreciated Reed Johnson and Lyle Overbay get on base nearly 40 percent of the time, and set the table for run producers Wells, Troy Glaus, and Thomas (welcome back to relevance, Frank!). The staff has two aces in Roy Halladay and Burnett, and even though his contract is ridiculous, was there a better closer in baseball than Ryan (38 SV, 1.37 ERA, 86K, 0.85 WHIP) last year? OK, maybe Papelbon or Mariano, but that’s a debate for another time. The pieces are here.
Biggest potential nightmare: The back end of the rotation is a bit frightening. Tomo Ohka is a good investment, but Gustavo “Beer Goggles” Chacin is more than a bit shaky, no pun intended. I’d also sooner trust Marion Barry with my taxes than Josh Towers with a start every fifth day. There may also be a vacuum in the setup role now that Justin Speier has left. And what if Thomas, Glaus, or Halladay get hurt – again?
Player to watch: Burnett. Many snickered when the Jays signed the oft-injured pitcher who resembles a Motley Crue groupie to a 5 year, $55 million deal last winter (although after the Gil Meche signing, Burnett’s deal seems more reasonable). They may still be snickering. Burnett missed two months with elbow pain that he feared was related to his previous Tommy John surgery. Jays doctors couldn’t diagnose the injury and team management pretty much accused him of being an incredible wuss. There’s no doubt that when healthy, Burnett’s stuff is electric, and with Halladay he could form the best 1-2 starting tandem in the American League. However, he’s still only 59-58 for his career. It’s just as likely that Burnett could be spending July and August getting more body piercings as it is he’ll be mowing down the Sox and Yankees.
Why do we still have to watch this player: Royce Clayton. Clayton is slated to start the year as the Toronto shortstop. The Jays had to go deep into the barrel to find him. If you’re scoring at home (or if even you’re alone), the Jays are Clayton’s 10th team. Absent a decent year in hitter-friendly Colorado in 2004, Clayton hasn’t scored more than 75 runs in any season in his career, and hasn’t had a OPS over .700 since 2001. On the bright side, he’s had four kids since 2001, so at least he’s producing on some level.
Telling Statistic: Toronto was second in the majors in 2006 in OPS, trailing only the Yankees. So it looks like they’ve got that hitting thing down.
Interesting fact signifying nothing: The nickname “Blue Jays” was chosen by Labatt in reference to its beer, Labatt Blue. Labatt’s hope was that fans would refer to the team as the “Blues.” Great marketing, guys. Similarly, I can’t wait for the Red to play the Devil this year.
Projected record & finish: 87-75, 3rd place, AL East
Prediction that won’t come true but should: The Jays win their first pennant since 1993, largely due to their impenetrable defense. The Jays improve when they finally realize that they can play 11 men on the field instead of 9, thanks to the 1.2 to 1 exchange rate with American teams.
The Jays have been given permission to open up the wallet the past few years, and they’ve obliged with lavish, semi0outrageous free-agent signings of A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, and Frank Thomas. For good measure, they also signed their MVP, Vernon Wells, to a $126 million extension. That money will go far, Vernon, even when you have to come to the States. The Jays have a good team, and have the potential to win the East. At the very least, the normal two-team AL East dogfight will probably welcome a third member this year. Oh, and the Jays are funnier than Terrance and Phillip, although that’s pretty much by default. Here’s what to expect from the Blue Jays in 2007:
Biggest reason for hope: They may have as much talent as the Yankees and Sox. Their offense is probably better than Boston’s and comparable with New York. Underappreciated Reed Johnson and Lyle Overbay get on base nearly 40 percent of the time, and set the table for run producers Wells, Troy Glaus, and Thomas (welcome back to relevance, Frank!). The staff has two aces in Roy Halladay and Burnett, and even though his contract is ridiculous, was there a better closer in baseball than Ryan (38 SV, 1.37 ERA, 86K, 0.85 WHIP) last year? OK, maybe Papelbon or Mariano, but that’s a debate for another time. The pieces are here.
Biggest potential nightmare: The back end of the rotation is a bit frightening. Tomo Ohka is a good investment, but Gustavo “Beer Goggles” Chacin is more than a bit shaky, no pun intended. I’d also sooner trust Marion Barry with my taxes than Josh Towers with a start every fifth day. There may also be a vacuum in the setup role now that Justin Speier has left. And what if Thomas, Glaus, or Halladay get hurt – again?
Player to watch: Burnett. Many snickered when the Jays signed the oft-injured pitcher who resembles a Motley Crue groupie to a 5 year, $55 million deal last winter (although after the Gil Meche signing, Burnett’s deal seems more reasonable). They may still be snickering. Burnett missed two months with elbow pain that he feared was related to his previous Tommy John surgery. Jays doctors couldn’t diagnose the injury and team management pretty much accused him of being an incredible wuss. There’s no doubt that when healthy, Burnett’s stuff is electric, and with Halladay he could form the best 1-2 starting tandem in the American League. However, he’s still only 59-58 for his career. It’s just as likely that Burnett could be spending July and August getting more body piercings as it is he’ll be mowing down the Sox and Yankees.
Why do we still have to watch this player: Royce Clayton. Clayton is slated to start the year as the Toronto shortstop. The Jays had to go deep into the barrel to find him. If you’re scoring at home (or if even you’re alone), the Jays are Clayton’s 10th team. Absent a decent year in hitter-friendly Colorado in 2004, Clayton hasn’t scored more than 75 runs in any season in his career, and hasn’t had a OPS over .700 since 2001. On the bright side, he’s had four kids since 2001, so at least he’s producing on some level.
Telling Statistic: Toronto was second in the majors in 2006 in OPS, trailing only the Yankees. So it looks like they’ve got that hitting thing down.
Interesting fact signifying nothing: The nickname “Blue Jays” was chosen by Labatt in reference to its beer, Labatt Blue. Labatt’s hope was that fans would refer to the team as the “Blues.” Great marketing, guys. Similarly, I can’t wait for the Red to play the Devil this year.
Projected record & finish: 87-75, 3rd place, AL East
Prediction that won’t come true but should: The Jays win their first pennant since 1993, largely due to their impenetrable defense. The Jays improve when they finally realize that they can play 11 men on the field instead of 9, thanks to the 1.2 to 1 exchange rate with American teams.
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