Blue Jays will finish third, again!

With only a week until players report to spring training, questions have already risen about the starting rotation and if J.P. Ricciardi has done enough to make this team a contender again.
Are we destined for another third place finish? Maybe that is a role that all Blue Jays fans must accept; at least for one more year. The Jays are very close to being able to take this division. With the roster as is right now, the Jays would need the bats to do what they should and the starting pitchers to stay healthy. I really just don’t see that happening until ’08. Not because the Jays don’t have a good team assembled, but because the Yankees are really, still better. And even if they are not to begin with, they will certainly buy their way back into contention. Oh ya, and those Red Sox kinda improved too. How are we to compete in a division that has the two highest spenders in baseball? Will Teddy “Ballpark” Rogers ever give J.P. $200 million a year to spend? Probably not…and we shouldn’t get our hopes up. Although, he has been wetting our appetites and raising payroll every season over the last four years. He has made major improvements to the SkyDo..err..Rogers Centre, to give it more of an American baseball feel. He has even showed up to a few games here and there! This all coming from the man who once saw Carlos Delgado walk on four pitches and asked “Who is that?” “That is the man we pay $16 million a year.” “Why are we paying him so much? He didn’t even swing the bat!”

Okay J.P., our fate is in your hands.

The Rotation

1. Roy “Doc” Halladay- RHP
If the best pitcher in baseball gets at least 35 starts, 20-22 wins and a Cy Young is his.
2. A.J. Burnett- RHP
Health will always be an issue, but a nasty, 98mph fastball is fun to watch and should be good enough for 16 wins.
3. Gustavo Chacin- LHP
Being scary looking doesn’t make you a scary pitcher. I’ll be surprised with 14 wins.
4. John Thomson-RHP
Could provide some valuable innings. He did win 14 games in ’04 with the Braves. He’ll give us 12.
5. Tomo Ohka- RHP
Will start the season as number 5, but look for another busy year for this position from guys like Janssen, Marcum, Towers and Zambrano.

The Line-up

1. Reed Johnson-LF
Left is all his now with the Cat gone. Look for him to lead the league in getting beaned and be one of the best players on the Jays in ’07.
2. Alex Rios-RF
Could still get traded early on. In the meantime, look for his power numbers to increase along with his running.
3. Vernon Wells-CF
I usually dislike guys coming off massive contract signings( $126 million for 7 yrs ), but look for V-dub to carry this team on both sides of the field.
4. Troy Glaus-3B
I just don’t trust this guy’s knees. 30 and 100 should be there, but he’s gotta bat better than .250 for me to be a fan.
5. Frank Thomas-DH
He went from a base salary to over 9 million a year. If he even gets close to last year’s numbers, J.P. will save face.
6. Lyle Overbay-1B
Smart move locking this guy up for another 4 years. Who wouldn’t want this guy batting sixth in their order?
7. Greg Zaun-C
After negotiating is own contract and wearing amazing suits on TV during the playoffs, the real leader of the team finally comes in as the number one catcher.
8. Aaron Hill-2B
No O-Dog, but is great student of the game that can play anywhere in the infield.
9. Royce Clayton-SS
This looked like one of the Leafs signings. Closer to 40yrs old but I’d rather him then Russ Adams.

The Pen

Closer: B.J. Ryan- LHP
• Look for another All-Star performance from the man who runs out like Wild Thing.
Set-up: Brandon League-RHP
• Guys who tattoo their last name across their backs can throw hard. This Hawaiian throws 100mph
Mid and Long Relief:
• Jason Frasor and Scott Downs will again be the go-to guys here. The rest are young but with plenty of upside.

Final Standings

TEAM WINS LOSSES GB

NY Yankees 103 59 --
Red Sox 96 66 7
Blue Jays 94 68 9