Jays fly into Twin Cities

Jesse Litsch will get the ball tonight against Kevin Slowey and the Minnesota Twins. The Jays need to feel good about themselves after a very impressive first week of the season. As strong as the hitting has been, the pitching has been a bit of a concern. All the starters have performed adequately so far, giving the team a chance to win every game, but walks have been a big issue. Jays pitchers are allowing way too many men to reach base via the free pass, and its costing the team plenty of runs against. What has been an even bigger concern has been the performance of the bullpen. Other then Scott Downs, nobody in the bullpen seems to be in control of their pitches and this could prove to be a major downfall of the team. With young starting pitchers, Cito Gaston will have to rely on his bullpen to string together outs late in ballgames, but if the pen doesn't perform then the team could be in serious trouble. Brandon League has been having a gruesome time locating his fastball and his velocity is down from last year. League's fastball usually ranges anywhere from 97-100mph, but so far this year i haven't seen him exceed 96mph. I sure hope he gets back on track, because he is unhittable when he is locating that overpowering fastball. Jesse Carlson doesn't seem to be himself out there either, as he is falling way behind on counts and putting men on base because of that. Tallet and Camp have both looked shaky also, and im not even going to get into BJ Ryan. As much as the Jays must be thrilled with their start, the pitching appears that it may be an issue in the long run.

Look Ahead:

Litsch hopes to rebound against the Twins after getting hammered in his first start. Jesse dominated Twin's hitting last season and Toronto won all 9 games against Minnesota last year.

Prediction:

This is a tough call since both pitchers are very similar in statistics last season, but I'm going to give it to Slowey and the Twins. The Jay's bullpen must be tired out from yesterday, and the odds of Litsch reaching the 7th inning tonight is unlikely. One thing i would like to point out though is that Travis Snider is poised to have a great game if he starts. It's just a hunch.

Record: 2-0

Cheers!

Jays Go For Sweep

The Toronto Blue Jays will go for a 3 game sweep of the Indians at Progressive Field this afternoon. The Jays put on another great display of solid pitching and clutch hitting in their victory yesterday. As a life long blue jay fan, i am very concerned with BJ Ryan. All the qualities that made him one of the league's best closers have faded, and he currently is throwing BP in the 9th inning to opposing teams. I agree with Cito when he says he wants to continue to give him the ball so he could work out these problems, but eventually something will have to give if he continues to fail. Scott Downs seems to be the most logical replacement as closer if it comes to that, but dont forget about Brandon League. Through the first few games of the season, League has struggled with his control, but when he starts to locate his pitches, Brandon could be lights out in the 9th. This promises to be an intriguing story line all season long.

Look Ahead: David Purcey will take to the hill this afternoon against Anthony Reyes and the Indians. With a win, the Jays would improve to an incredible 6-1 start, while the Indians would drop to a league-worst 0-6.

Prediction: The Jays tend to have their struggles at the plate with pitchers like Reyes, and he may finally be able to put in the pitching performance that the Indians have been lacking all week. Purcey has all the tools to be a great pitcher in the pros, but consistency will prove to be an issue with him, especially this year. Facing another tough offense like Cleveland, im going to say that Purcey will buckle and drop this one. Even if the Jays lose this game, going 5-2 throughout the first week of the season is still very impressive.

Prediction Record: 1-0

Cheers

The Jays are 4-1.....for real!

Sports Illustrated predicted that the Blue Jays would win 79 games and finish last in the AL East. Many other major sports networks across North America forecast very similar results, while Toronto beat writer Jeff Blair explained on a radio broadcast that the Jays could lose 100 games. All of these predictions may still come true (except Blair is way off), but when expectations are so low, you can't ignore the positives that are being generated by the ball club over the first week. The Blue Jays have begun the season with an impressive record of 4-1, which is in large part due to a resurgent offense. While the pitching thus far has been solid, especially the performances of Purcey and Romero, the hitting has been absolutely unbelievable. They are cashing in runners in scoring position and hitting homeruns, which are two elements of the offense that were non-existent in 2008. Before we set up the parade down Yonge Street, we need to come to our senses and realize that the 2009 season is only 5 games old. A lot of things can still go bad for this team, but at this exact moment I’d rather look at the positives that the first five games have created. With that said, I would like to comment further on two particular people:

1) Adam Lind: With incredible power being sprayed across the field, Lind has all the tools to become a great hitter in the MLB, and 2009 may be his breakout season. If he remains 5th in the batting order behind the likes of V-Dub, Rios and Hill, Lind will have plenty of opportunities to cash in runs. Before people begin throwing out crazy stat predictions for the Jay's DH such as 40+homeruns and 100+ rbis, we need to realize that he will slow down and have his struggles throughout the season as well. A much more realistic prediction for Lind would see him bat near .280-.300, with 20-30 homeruns and 75-90 rbis, which would be a huge boost to an offense that needed it desperately last season.

2) Scott Rolen: There are so many hitters right now that deserve recognition for their hot starts, but Rolen has been the most productive. Over the first five games, the Jay's 3rd baseman has delivered clutch hit after clutch hit and is slowly beginning to show signs of his former self at the plate. Toronto knows they will always have his amazing defensive ability at the hot corner, but if Rolen can regain power back into his bat, that would create another significant boost in the middle of the Jays' batting order.

Looking Ahead:

The Jays face the Tribe in game two tomorrow at 1pm Eastern time. Roy Halladay will take the ball for his second start of the season, while his opposition on mound is the 2008 AL CY YOUNG winner Cliff Lee. Halladay may have an extra incentive to earn the "W", since Lee was the man who beat out Halladay for the award last season.

Prediction:

With a tired bullpen heading into tomorrows matchup, the Indians may be very vulnerable if the Jays can get to Lee early. Although it is hard to imagine the Indians falling to 0-5, I'm going to have to go with Halladay and company in this one. Doc will want to prove that the voters were wrong for awarding Lee with the Cy Young, and his offense will want to back him up as well.

Cheers!