Thoughts on the 2010 Toronto Blue Jays?

If anything, the Blue Jays played over their heads this year. Anyone expecting a repeat performance from Batista is going to be sorely disappointed. There is a reason the guy bounced around 2nd rate clubs as a journeyman outfielder.

Next year: Hill & Lind won't be as bad. Wells and Batista won't be as good. Call it a wash.

The pitching continues to improve - Romero, Marcum, Morrow & Cecil make it a pretty solid starting rotation. The bullpen has a lot of arms.

J.P. will do the catching next year (upgrade from Buck) and hopefully Wallace will be at first base (I like Overbay, but they needed to move him while they could get something for him)

Snider will continue to improve, especially if he's healthy, and Lewis and Escobar were solid additions.

The Jays have a legit shot at 85-90 wins next year. Not enough to make the playoffs, but enough to be in contention all year.

Who will be managing next year will be a big question. They need someone capable of managing the ups and downs that come with having young players, who by their very nature are erratic.

Stay the course, let the kids in AA/AAA that they have acquired mature. And may Dustin McGowan could finally get healthy and pitch. Now that would be a great 5 man rotation, which could challenge anyone's 5 man rotation.

So first things first, I am a huge Braves fan, have been my whole life, and I must say to the Toronto Blue Jays thank you for taking Yunel Escobar off our hands(: Goodness gracious it was absolutely horrible in Atlanta! I would love to know what the Toronto front office was thinking when they traded for him! It's not that he's a bad player, but he's a horrible teammate! Even Tim Hudson made a comment after they traded him about how the clubhouse was like a breath of fresh air without Yunel. No team should want that negative chemistry unless they have a manager that can really have it under control (don't know too much about Cito Gaston, so maybe he's that type of manager). That Roy Halladay trade is going to be great for the Blue Jays in my opinion! I know that Roy Halladay is a great pitcher, but those prospects are great and I think they'll do a gerat job in the majors. The only other trade that I think was big was the Brandon Morrow trade, and another one that I think the Blue Jays will benefit from. Only watched a few of his starts, but I think he's gonna be great. The biggest problem for the Blue Jays--their division. They've got three powerhouses in that division in the Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox. No matter how good the Blue Jays are, it's gonna be a dog fight every year trying to win that division. They're gonna need a big turn around to make a run for the playoffs with that division.

--Kelly (http://gtlbb.mlblogs.com/)

Great post man. I feel like the Blue Jays are a very underrated team, like the Marlins in the National League. The Marlins also have 2 titles in 97 and 03, and on a consistent basis are a .500 ball club or a little under or better. The Blue Jays play in the toughest division in baseball, which makes it very hard for them to have to play so many games agaisnt probably 3 of the top 5 teams in baseball so many times. Next year, I feel the Blue Jays will do the same thing, maybe have a little better win percentage in the end, but the Yankees and Red Sox alaways seem to improve. The Rays will also be a good team next year, and I feel bad for the Blue Jays playing in such a tough division. However, this team does hit alot of homeruns (the most in baseball so far this season) but there best BA is only .270 thats not good at all. average of under .250 BA is not good either. They need to be more consistent. Sure homeruns win games, but not like hits do consistently, because most players wont hit a homerun every game, like alot of players get hits and contribute. The 4.16 ERA is pretty decent for starting pitchers though. Just like the Marlins they got some very good young and up and coming players, and you dont hear about them that much. The Marlins also play in a tough division with the Phillies, Mets and Braves, (Braves are usually not that good though) and have a team like the Nationals, who are like the Orioles. Who knows, maybe next year they could start hitting more consistent, and start winning more games agaisnt their division rivals, and possibly take the wild card spot. Of course, the wild card sport most likely comes from 2nd in their division like every year, so they need to win those division games!!!! I say underrated team, and looks pretty decent in the road ahead. Great facts and post bro!!!

I was reviewing MLB Channel's preseason picks. Pretty much all of the analysts picked the Red Sox in the World Series. Most were against the Colorado Rockies. As mentioned, the injuries really limited the Red Sox this season. The main factor that hurt the Red Sox were the injuries to their OF. Ellsbury and Cameron were supposed to lock down the OF defense with their great range. Bill Hall did a decent job of adding his bat to the lineup while playing the OF but his defense was not good.

No disrespect to the city of Toronto but the Jays ownership should try to move to a different city or ask the commissioner to be in the NL because they can't challenge the Yankees(money), Rays(they're young) or the Red Sox(money) in the AL East. This franchise needs to develop their own players through Triple A and Double A and learn from the Rays how to utilize a low budget team. In conclusion the Jays have not under achieved due to being in the AL East.

They are building a respectable pitching staff with Romero and Marcum signed up long term.

Jose Bautisa is a shock, with 44 HR's, we hardly heard of him before.

Escobar is a money saver on minimum salary....but he is an upgrade on Gonzalez with the glove, but with the bat, he's just average.

Historically, even now, most of their sucess has been with Cito Gascon as manager.....next year will be a struggle because the Red Sox will make moves to keep up with the Yankees and Rays....that keeps the Jays and Orioles in no mans land.....even if they improved it would not be enough.

But since they make money, the management will be seen as ok....

The Jays are a good team, in a tough division. What else is there to say?

I guess I would sum up their season by just saying that hitting a gazillion home runs doesn't help you win ball games when there is nobody on base.

if the jays didnt have bautista they would be last place believe me and now with showalter in the AL EAST without jose bautista forget this team

this is the longest question that no one cares about.