The 2011 version of the Toronto Blue Jays has a few bright spots and a few that could possibly step up and be a bigger help to the club that some of us think that they might be. With the exit of manager Cito Gaston and John Farrell becoming the new manager and this being his first season as a big league manager, this season is all up in the air for the Blue Jays.
The starting pitching rotation would make me extremely worried if I were a Toronto fan. As a huge baseball fan myself, I have honestly only heard of two of the five projected starters for the Jays. If you haven't heard of these guys, you're not alone. It may take the media a little time to get acquainted with who these pitchers are. They aren't the Dave Stewart, Dave Steib, Pat Hentgen, Jimmy Key, David Cone, Al Leiter, Jack Morris, Mark Eichhorn and Juan Guzman's of the 1992 and 1993 Blue Jays rotation. They've got a quite the learning experience ahead of them. Their names sounds like five names drawn out of a hat:
1- Ricky Romero
2- Brandon Morrow
3- Brett Cecil
4- Kyle Drabek
5- Jesse Litsch
The bullpen is just about as unknown as the starting rotation. Signing a closer in RHP Frank Francisco from World Series runner-up Texas, RHP Jon Rauch from Minnesota, RHP Carlos Villanueva from Milwaukee and right-handed set-up man Octavio Dotel from Colorado, things seem to be looking up for pitching coach Pat Hentgen's bullpen. Rauch and Dotel combined for 43 saves and 121 strikeouts for their respective teams before coming to Toronto in the off-season. Those two would be a huge lift with way too many questions about the starters lasting longer than five innings.
The Jays also added some offense in the lineup over the off-season.
OF Scott Podsednik
SS Yunel Escobar
OF Corey Patterson
RF Juan Rivera
Those are just a few names, but when they're added to an already potentially potent lineup, it's got to make first-year manager John Farrell just a little easier as spring training continues.
C Jose Molina
1B Adam Lind
2B Aaron Hill
SS Yunel Escobar
3B Jose Bautista
LF Travis Snider (or Corey Patterson)
CF Scott Podsednik (or Rajai Davis)
RF Juan Rivera
DH Edwin Encarnacion
I honestly see the 2011 Toronto Blue Jays as finishing 4th in the American League East. It's way too tough to climb out of the bottom of this division. They will probably fight with Baltimore to not finish last, but could also possibly surprise some people out there and finish 3rd right behind either the Red Sox or Yankees.
Check back soon for a quick flash of the American League Central Division previews, starting with the Chicago White Sox.
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