Carson on Jays: Pieces in place to contend
Posted January 31, 2012 1:50 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Other than news that the Blue Jays are trying to determine whether it’s feasible to install a natural grass surface at Rogers Centre, nothing earth shattering came out of Monday night’s state of the franchise event for roughly 900 season ticket holders.
And save for a couple of pointed questions about off-season personnel decisions, the expected fan revolt never came close to appearing. We finally found out why the Jays really had no shot at landing Prince Fielder (team president Paul Beeston caps the length of contracts at five years) and that adding impact players via trades would have cost the team far more than they were willing to give up (Brett Lawrie?).
We also learned that the only competition of any consequence will be in left field where incumbent sophomore Eric Thames will be challenged by Travis Snider and that humble manager John Farrell gives himself a ‘C’ grade for his first season as an MLB bench boss.
Oh, and by the way, Beeston managed to apply subtle pressure on either a.) his young general manager or b.) ownership, by telling the assembled that over the next five seasons the Jays should be in the playoffs “two-to-three times.”
Anthopoulos’ third season as key decision-maker will be worth watching. By deciding to stick with his plan to bring productive players to the big leagues through the farm system and not making any moves – trades or signings – that deviate from this blueprint, he’ll have to answer if they fail to deliver.
When the prospects start arriving – Travis d’Arnaud, Drew Hutchison, Anthony Gose – they should be coming in annual waves leading to the sustainable contention that Anthopoulos envisioned when he took over from J.P. Ricciardi. That will then allow them to add the veteran “finishers” – such as Dave Winfield, Jack Morris, Dave Stewart and Paul Molitor in the early 90’s – to put them over the top.
It worked 20 years ago and there’s no reason to believe it can’t again.
But it’s now all up to the players that he’s put together. The vibe that I got from last night’s public event is that patience has run dry. The fans feel that the time for this team to start winning and playing deep into the season is at hand. And I think that’s fair.
Plenty is being expected by the ticket buyers from players such as Colby Rasmus – whom Farrell emphatically backed after a questioneropined that the Jays gave up too much last summer to acquire the centre fielder from the Cardinals – and to a less extent, Kelly Johnson.
Both were singled out by those in the stands during the Q&A session. If they play to the level that the Jays’ baseball people believe they can, the offence should be pretty deep, a much needed attribute to compete with the likes of the Rangers, Yankees, Rays, Tigers, Angels and Red Sox.
If the hitters don’t hold up their end of the bargain that will put a lot of pressure on the starting rotation, which at present holds the biggest question marks.
Ricky Romero is the ace, Brandon Morrow his hard-throwing first lieutenant and then the picture gets murky. Henderson Alvarez’s 10-start audition to end last season was promising, but Brett Cecil and Kyle Drabek are looking to rebound big time after taking steps back last season. Cecil’s loss in velocity and Drabek’s loss of control – both emotionally and around the strike zone – have been well documented. But they are key to this team’s success in 2012.
I’m still hoping that they bring Rich Harden into camp on a low-base, high-incentive deal to compete for a spot in the rotation. As the Victoria, B.C. native showed in a pair of starts against the Jays late last season, he still has a lot left despite the health issues that have spotted his career.
What you have, outside of the bullpen rebuild, is the same team that finished out 2011 at 81 up, 81 down.
Are they any better? Yes.
Sergio Santos, Francisco Cordero and Darren Oliver should tighten the back of a bullpen that cost this team far too many games a year ago. It will be up to a handful of players to play up to expectations. The expectations of an on-demand fan base that is tired of waiting for a winner. And no amount of natural grass will satiate that thirst.
