Well, Maybe Next Year?
Okay, so I’m guilty. Although I criticize fans of teams from the city of Toronto for having what I call ‘The Toronto Mentality,’ I too find myself falling victim of this terrible way of thought. So we didn’t get them this year and we were, honestly, not even close – so what? The pieces are there: strong bats, great defence, and a fantastic coaching staff. So what’s missing? As I have continually pointed out, it’s simple – we’re missing the arms.
Toronto has been notorious for creating or housing incredible arms, but eventually let them go as they begin to reach their potential. Just off the top of my head: Roy Halladay (pitched for Philly in this years playoffs), A.J Burnett (pitched for the Yankees in this years playoffs), Chris Carpenter (pitched for the Cardinals in this years playoffs), and Shaun Marcum (pitched for Milwaukee in this years playoffs). This is some incredible success – and any Jays fan could have told you that these are top calibre pitchers; when placed together in a line up, with today’s Jays’ bats, would be an unstoppable force.
I love watching playoff baseball, and will continue to be glued to the screen until the World Series concludes; I just wish that I could do this while cheering for my favourite team. Toronto has no choice but to go out and get an ace for their rotation. How else can they even dream of competing in the American League East Division?
There are talks of Texas attempting to sway C.C Sabathia into joining their team if an agreement cannot be reached with his current club. A player like this with Toronto would make a world of difference. The equation is simple – win more games – get more fans attending games. If Toronto went out and got a pitcher like C.C – and began winning more games than usual, seats would fill!
Will Toronto finally put it together? Who knows….but maybe they will….next year…
I actually think the Jays have made some great moves to position themselves as a contender once the extra wild card spot is put into place. Doc in his later prime years in order to get optimal value. Drabek needs work but is seen to be a good number two down the road. Marcum for Lowrie is going to be a steal as Lowrie is an instant crowd fave and is on his way to being the next Evan Longoria. Marcum proved his worth in the playoffs this year, aka lousy. Lastly although arms are nice to have lets just see where they got teams this year. The Phillies had the best rotation since the braves in the early 90s and still didnt manage to make it into the World Series. The two teams that made it have terrible rotations. Pitching as a whole is getting better and better, especially over the past two years. So bats are the new goldmine. Go sign Prince Fielder, put Lind in the field. Lineup containing Lowrie Bautista Fielder Lind as the 2,3,4,5 hitters compares to the best of the league. Throw in another 20hr from arencibia and u have a very dangerous lineup.