Blue Moon Rising: Toronto Blue Jays (MLB '11)

[theaub]

"Swing and a belt! Left field! Way back! Blue Jays win it! The Blue Jays are World Series champions as Joe Carter hits a three run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning and the Blue Jays have repeated as World Series champions! Touch 'em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!"

If you were a baseball fan in 1993, you admired the Toronto Blue Jays franchise. The team was en route to its 2nd straight World Series title, the first team to do so since the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978. They had developed a consistent winner through all three possible avenues; drafting stars like Pat Hentgen and John Olerud, acquiring players like Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter and Devon White via trade, and signing big name free-agents such as Dave Stewart and Paul Molitor. The Jays had the highest payroll in the league, and drew over 4,000,000 fans every year in the SkyDome, the new-age technological masterpiece that was the envy of the sporting world. And they weren't just Toronto's team, or even Ontario's team. During their runs to the World Series, fans from as far west as Vancouver would travel to the city just to be a part of the atmosphere. In what was a true testament to how the sport was being viewed in Ontario's capital, baseball overtook hockey and its beloved Maple Leafs as the number one sport in the city.

This was nothing new either. While Toronto had historically been labelled as a "choker" in the post-season until their first championship in 1992, the franchise had rapidly turned from an expansion squad to a contender. Throughout the 1980's, the team had discovered and developed a litany of stars, including 1987 AL MVP George Bell, Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez. The latter two were turned into key parts Alomar and Carter after the 1990 season, one of the last true blockbuster trades in Major League history. The team was also able to use their strong farm system to acquire key players at critical times. In 1992, they traded Jeff Kent to New York to pick up starter David Cone, while in 1993 they shipped Steve Karsay to Oakland for stolen base king Rickey Henderson. Even with those trades, heading into the 1994 season, Toronto had top prospects such as Carlos Delgado, Shawn Green, Alex Gonzalez, Chris Carpenter and Shannon Stewart in their system. There was no reason to believe that the team, who had reached the playoffs for three straight seasons and four of the last five, were anywhere close to being finished.

"So let's look at Toronto now...is there a more irrelevant franchise in baseball? They're not good enough to win, they're not bad enough to lose, and no one really shows up to their games."
- B.S. Report, March 2008

It's been over 17 years since Joe Carter touched home plate, setting off those coast-to-coast celebrations. It also remains, to this day, the last time the Toronto Blue Jays participated in the post-season. To be completely honest, its the last time the Jays were even in a playoff race; since then, the team has never been within three games of a playoff spot in September. You probably wouldn't know it, but Toronto has won 85 or more games in three of the past five years. But yet, the playoffs have been nothing more but a pipedream for Blue Jay fans.

The stock answer that people give for this dramatic downfall is the rise of the Red Sox and Yankees, both in terms of personnel and payroll. However, the cause is deeper than that. Its often said that the strike killed baseball in Montreal, but Canada may be a far more accurate assessment. Fan interest dipped dramatically, and team owner Interbrew stopped caring about the Jays. As a result, the payroll was significantly lowered, and by the late 1990's, the team was in danger of leaving the city. Furthermore, as teams turned to a classical ballpark renaissance, Toronto was left with a "cement spaceship" that lacked atmosphere and had the least forgiving turf in the league. In six short years, the city had gone from one of the most favourable free agent destinations in the league to arguably the least.

The franchise ended up being saved by Rogers Communications, the Canadian media mogul that also bought the SkyDome and branded it for themselves, giving it a modern renovation along the way. However, Toronto has never come close to caring about baseball like they did in the early 1990's. Even with marquee players such as Delgado, Green, Roger Clemens and Roy Halladay, interest has still waned. The Maple Leafs started a run of conference final appearances in the mid-90's that brought the NHL back to the forefront, and then the expansion Raptors and Vince Carter (when he cared) legitimized basketball in the city. Even after both those teams fell off in the latter part of the 2000's, Toronto FC took the city by storm with its game day experience and loud, boisterous fanbase.

That brings us to the present day. The Leafs are currently en route to their 7th straight season without a playoff berth, and after yet another star player toyed with the city before leaving, the Raptors are headed to the lottery once again. Even TFC has lost some steam, as the team has failed to make the postseason in its first three years of existence while alienating portions of the fanbase. On the other hand, optimism is abounding when Torontonians talk about the Blue Jays. Behind general manager Alex Anthopoulos, the team has revamped the farm system, moving from 29th to 4th in Baseball America's rankings in two years, and are stocked with young talent. The success of the Tampa Bay Rays has shown that a team with a very strong farm system and smart management can compete with the powerhouse Yankees and Red Sox on a yearly basis, and the hope is that they will be the 4th power in the AL East very soon. For the Toronto Blue Jays, the future starts right now.

[theaub]

So if you made it through that essay/history lesson/whoamg wall of text, congrats and welcome.

I haven't run a dynasty in awhile...I think the last one I did was my Blackhawk one in '09. If you have followed any of my stories, you pretty much know what you're getting.

This dynasty will have an extensive focus on baseball as a whole. One great thing about baseball is that its an 162 game season, and thus every week there is a lot of new information to process. I won't play every game each season (I'll play about one per series, with recaps on a series by series basis), so I'm hoping to get through at least 2 seasons and see if I can turn the Jays into a contender by the end of 2012.

I'll be using Knight's rosters when they arrive, but over the next two weeks or so before they're released, I'll be going through the spring, and doing a general MLB preview.

I hope you enjoy reading. As always, questions, comments, concerns, criticisms are always welcomed.

[Avsfan192]

Bring us back to glory!!!!

[BlueNGold]

I'll be following this.

Awesome set-up with the first post.

[spencedee]

this sounds like a fantastic franchise to follow...are you waiting for the full OS minors rosters?

spence.

[theaub]

Quote: Originally Posted by spencedee

this sounds like a fantastic franchise to follow...are you waiting for the full OS minors rosters? spence.

Yup...I'll pass the time by doing some MLB/Jays previews and playing a few ST games.

[theaub]

MLB TONIGHT
February 24, 2011

Greg Amsinger (GA): Hello everyone, and welcome to MLB Tonight, on the MLB Network! Its February 24, which means that the long winter is over, pitchers and catchers have reported, and spring training baseball is about to get underway. With me is Matt Vasgersian, who will be joining me all season long to discuss what's going on around the Major Leagues. How's it going partner?

Matt Vasgersian (MV): Well I agree with you, it has been a long winter, but the hot stove season is finally over and now the teams will start the month-long trek towards opening day on March 31st. And there sure are enough storylines to look at heading into the season.

GA: That's for sure. Last year, we saw two teams that no one really expected to be around in late October show up in the World Series, as the San Francisco Giants ended a title drought that lasted for over 50 years, beating the Texas Rangers 4 games to 1. While both teams are still very strong, I don't think there's any doubt that each league has one team that the majority of people expect to dominate, and if they're correct there won't be a repeat for either side.

MV: In the American League, the Boston Red Sox repsonded to their first non-playoff year since 2006 by going out and acquiring Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. When you add them to Kevin Youkilis, who returns from injury, along with a pitching staff featuring two great young starters in Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester, you would have to think that they are the favourite to advance out of the AL.

GA: And most years, you would put them down as the World Series favourites as well. But in the city of brotherly love, the Philadelphia Phillies have put together a pitching staff that rivals any in baseball history. Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt were powerful enough, but when Cliff Lee shocked the baseball world by rejecting more money from the Yankees to sign in Philly, I mean, all of the sudden you have an unreal top four.

MV: Yeah that's for sure. And I think Lee was one of the talking points too. Rejecting that massive deal from New York meant that the Yankees have CC Sabathia, and then a bunch of question marks behind him in that always powerful American League East. They're going to need big years from Phil Hughes and AJ Burnett if they're going to make it into the postseason.

GA: It will be a very interesting thing to watch, that's for sure. Anyhow, we're here to make a major programming announcement. Starting on April 10th, we'll be introducing "MLB Weekly," a Sunday night program on MLB Network. Hosted by Matt and myself, and featuring insights from analysts and insiders like Harold Reynolds, Mitch Williams and Ken Rosenthal, we'll be taking a look back at the week that was, and provide analysis regarding games, injuries, and transactions. We hope that you will join us throughout the year from Opening Day all the way to the World Series.

MV: Yes Greg, I'm really looking forward to that. For those who are itching for a baseball fix a bit sooner than April, we'll also be showing a bunch of spring training games, starting tomorrow as Arizona and San Francisco go at it. To get you up-to-date with what's happened in the last six months, we'll also have an American League preview show on March 13, a National League counterpart on March 20, and then we'll tie it altogether on March 27 with our playoff and award predictions.

GA: Well, that's about it for us tonight. We hope that you've enjoyed the return of MLB Tonight, and invite you to come follow the season with us. From Studio 3 here in New Jersey, good night!

[theaub]

bluejays.com l 2/25/2011

Blue Jays looking to build on '10 success
Pitching staff main question mark for youthful team

DUNEDIN - After an eventful winter that saw the team's opening day starter get moved to Milwaukee, the trade of one of the all-time greats in club history and a long term contract extension for the new face of the franchise, the Toronto Blue Jays kick off the spring season against the Detroit Tigers tomorrow in Dunedin.

New manager John Farrell, unlike most first-timers, will inherit a team that had modest success in the previous season. The Blue Jays went 85-77 last year, and although they did not come close to the playoffs, this generally unexpected success has led many to believe that the only Canadian major league franchise can compete in the vaunted American League East in the near future.

However, 2011 will likely be another building year for Toronto. In November, the Jays shipped off ace Shaun Marcum to Milwaukee for top prospect Brett Lawrie. While he played 2nd base in Huntsville last season, the Jays plan to convert Lawrie into a 3rd baseman, and hope that he will be able to contribute at the big league level by 2012, or even sooner. The biggest trade of the offseason was general manager Alex Anthopoulos sending Vernon Wells and the $86 million remaining on his contract to the Los Angeles Angels for Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli; the latter was then flipped to Texas for Frank Francisco. With the extra payroll flexibiiliy, it is expected that Toronto will take a legitimate run at Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder if they hit free agency after this season.

As we make the trip to every spring training destination, we look at five key questions that will be answered during the season.

1. Is Jose Bautsita for real?
The Blue Jays sure hope so, considering that they just signed him to a 5 year deal worth $64 million, with a team option for a 6th season. The 30 year old had never hit even 20 homers in a season before absolutely destroying the league with 54 in 2010. Bautista was actually better in the 2nd half of the year, so pitchers weren't able to find any weaknesses in his swing. Nobody expects him to hit 50 again, but if he could hit 35 and provide adequate defense at third base until Lawrie arrives, the Blue Jays will be very happy.

2. Who will fill out the back end of the rotation?
After the trade of Marcum, the Jays have three pitchers who are guaranteed to come north if they are healthy; Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow and Brett Cecil. The other spots will be up for grabs among a handful of starters with limited experience. The favourite for the 4th spot is Kyle Drabek, the centrepiece of the Roy Halladay trade who made three starts in September. Behind him, lefties Mark Rzepczynski and Jo-Jo Reyes will compete for the 5th spot. The sleeper is Jesse Litsch, who had success with the team in 2007 and 2008 before elbow and hip problems derailed his last two seasons. If he stays healthy, he should have an inside track to make the team.

3. Can Aaron Hill and Adam Lind bounce back?
The biggest disappointments for the Blue Jays last year were Hill and Lind, who appeared to prove themselves as legitimate all-stars in 2009. However, after hitting 36 homers, Hill's average dropped over 80 points and landed at .205. He was hurt by a horrendous .196 average on balls hit in play, and as long as he gets a touch luckier, he should improve.

Lind's biggest issue was his complete inability to hit lefties. After a Silver Slugger season in 2009, he had a pathetic .341 OPS against southpaws, and slugged only .425 overall. Now that he is moving to first base, the Blue Jays hope that being in the field will mean that he doesn't dwell on his hitting failures, and similar to Hill, it should be expected that he will bounce back.

4. Who takes over in the bullpen?
Over the offseason, the team lost closer Kevin Gregg to Baltimore, and star set-up man Scott Downs to the Angels. Instead of building from within, the Jays went to free agent and trade markets to shore the 'pen up. Via free agency, Toronto brought in Octavio Dotel and Jon Rauch, while picking up Francisco and Carlos Villanueva in trades. Along with incumbents Jason Frasor, David Purcey and Shawn Camp, there will be plenty of competition in the spring for a late-March trip to Toronto.

5. Will the philosophy of the Jays change?
Last year, the Blue Jays hit an amazing 258 homers, smashing the previous team record. However, this came at the cost of hitting for average and getting on-base, as the team finished near the bottom of the league in both categories. Furthermore, the Jays were last in stolen bases last year. Toronto has brought in Rajai Davis, who singlehandedly had more steals than the Jays last year, as well as Scott Podsednik to attempt to inject some more speed into the lineup. However, with Bautista, Lind, Hill, Rivera, Edwin Encarnacion, Travis Snider and AAA home run king J.P. Arencibia expected to be in the opening day starting lineup, the ball will still be flying in the Rogers Centre in 2011.

The Blue Jays will have three spring training games broadcast on Sportsnet heading into the regular season, which kicks off as Toronto hosts the Minnesota Twins on April 1. The three games will be the Jays hosting the Philadelphia Phillies on March 15, followed by trips to the spring training homes of the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, on March 23 and 30 respectively.