Chicks Dig the Longball

I was thinking with all the power the likes of Aaron Hill and Marco Scutaro have been showing; who will lead this team in homeruns this season?

In my opinion Snider will struggle for a long period of time at one point in this season. He is just a rookie - Combine that with the fact that he will receive limited at-bats vs. left handed pitchers. I see him finishing the season with 15-19 homeruns. I know those comments will ruffle some feathers because he is the sexy choice amongst young Jays fans, but we have to be careful with Snider. He is a big part of our team moving forward.

Adam Lind is the wild-card regarding homeruns - This kid is very strong and when he makes contact he hits bombs. I can see him hitting 20-22 homeruns.

Hopefully Rolen and Overbay can hit in the 14-18 homerun range. Anything higher then that will be a real bonus. I am not going to guess how many Hill may hit because honestly I think his range is from 5-25.

However the million dollar man Vernon Wells is the likely favorite to lead this team in homeruns (probably the 25-30 range if he stays healthy), while Rios is proving himself to be a non-factor.

The Snider Dilemma

Many posters and bloggers are barking at Cito's decision not start Snider against left handed pitchers. Here is my opinion - Take if for it what is worth...

Cito is 100% correct by not starting Snider against lefties.

Trust me, I have my issues with Cito(the way he handles his starting pitchers), but this is not one of them.

Snider is a rookie, and rookies need confidence. Snider is not going gain confidence by going 0-4 against lefties at this stage in his career. Let him continue to mash righties and slowly install him into situations where he will face southpaws.

This is so correct it's funny.

Oh and the Jays are 7-3 to start the season....

The Beej

Lot's of people are crapping on The Beej, but I for one thought his outing was a positive. A matter a fact he was one of the many positives that came out last nights comeback win. Also, lets get serious here, at least he is not Brandon Lyon.

IMO game 2 positives are;

1) The offence coming back - That is quite obvious.
2) Purcey pitched a great game - That is quite obvious.
3) Aaron Hill and Scott Rolen - The more confidence these guys get the better.
4) BJ Ryan - Besides one pitch he looked very good. The radar had him at 88mph, which is a GREAT sign.

Opening Day is Over-rated in Toronto

Well folks - It's that time of the year again. The time when every team has hope, and a time when every team has the same record. Opening Day! A day when every team is in first place and has dreams of the post-season.

Ok enough of that crap.

I don't have season tickets, never have, and likely never will. I still manage to get to 15-20 games per season, and I am happy with that. However I will never go to the home opener at Rogers Centre, never.

Sure the home opener is the one game we sell out, and the one game when the majority of fans in the centre are under the age of 40, but it just doesn't have appeal to me as it does to most Torontonians.

Lets get serious here; 85% of the people that went to yesterday's game will not go to another game this season. They aren't the hardcore's like you and I, and last night they proved me right again. Look, I am all for having a good time, but when it almost costs the Jays a win that pisses me off, not to mention it makes our city look bad.

You don't go to ballgame and throw crap on the field -- esp. when your team is on the verge of winning a game. Jim Leyland was correct when he took his players off the field, and it really pissed me off how Cito had to apologize to Leyland on behalf of the Toronto "fan."

I just want to say one thing to each and every person who threw something on the field last night....

Go f%$k yourself.

Oh and the Jays won 12-5.

Viva Italia - WBC Update

Canada lost to Italy 6-2 in a game that was anything but exciting.

Justin Morneau had a great game at the dish and Bay was solid, but nothing after that. Pete Orr had a hilariously bad World Baseball Classic.

Call me sappy, but I wanted to see Corey Koskie get a plate appearence in a meaniingful game.

However let's get serious here; No Francis, No Harden, No Bedard, No Dempster = No chance..... not that the bats helped much.

Spring-Time!

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen - It's been a long time!

Spring training has arrived and some very interesting developments have already occurred in Jays land.

Our million dollar man Vernon Wells has hurt his hamstring again. I think it's pretty safe the say that the good Verno's days in CF are numbered. Wells has lost a little step out there (but he is still great mind you), so Rios should be taking over. Add in the fact that Vernon hits more like a corner outfielder then Alex does. However we all know that won't happen quite yet.

Matt Clement is apparently pitching with no pain, while our good friend Mike Morath is determined to pitch through leg ailments all season. Scotty Downs experienced a set back, while Aaron Hill seems to have fully recovered for concussion like symptoms.

Through 9 Spring Training games the Jays are a respectable 5-4, and as we speak are ahead of the Yankees 5-2 moving into the bottom of the 7th.

Some players who have been performing well at the dish so far include; Russ Adams, Jose Bautista, Brad Emaus, Jason Lane, Scott Rolen (good sign!!), Kevin Millar, and Travis Snider (good sign!!).

In other news - Canada lost a heart-breaker to the USA in their first game of the World Baseball Classic 6-5. The Toronto crowd was amazing. I have heard nothing but good things from people who attended the game. This makes me both proud and a little annoyed. Proud for obvious reasons, but a little annoyed because - where are these fans for Jays games!!

Anyways - I am looking forward to opening day. It should be an interesting season in Jays land.

Sleepy Times - News and Notes

Sorry for the lack of posts, but frankly there just hasn't been a heck of a lot of exciting stuff to blog about in Jays land.

Of course the major news in the baseball world is that A-Rod admitted to steroid use, but since that doesn't have much impact on the Jays I decided to ignore it. Unfortunately I have taken the stance that the majority of ball players have experimented with performance enhancing drugs. However I believe it is being done out of necessity. If player X has an edge, then player Y needs that same boost to keep his career moving forward. Basically a domino effect.

Back to the Jays - Toronto's most recent acquisition is that of a player by the name of Matt Bush. Apparently Bush was the 1st overall pick in the 2004 draft (who knew!), but couldn't hit a lick in the minors, which subsequently lead to a failed attempted to turn him into a pitcher. Anyways - he is now in the Jays organization.

The Jays remain the only team not to sign a free-agent to a major league contract this off-season. There are still rumblings of Kevin Millar coming to the Jays, but that again would likely be a minor league signing with an invitation to Spring Training.

In more interesting news former Jays star Roberto Alomar's ex-girlfriend is claiming that Alomar has "full blown AIDS." Here is a link to the my source: http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2009/02/lawsuit-claims.html

"Ilya Dall, the former girlfriend of baseball star Roberto Alomar, claims in a lawsuit that Alomar has full-blown AIDS. Dall, 32, lived with Alomar for three years. The infielder played 17 seasons and had stints with seven teams including the Mets, Baltimore, Toronto and Cleveland. (Photo by Winslow Townson, AP)This from the New York Daily News"

For all of those of us who grew up during the glory years, Mr. Alomar is one of the all-time great Jays and was a extreme fan favorite while playing in Toronto. I am going to hold my opinion to myself until we get more information on these allegations. Hopefully everything works out for all those involved in this situation.

All in all - This has to be the most boring off-season in Jays history.