Jays kick off spring training against Tigers, Saturday
Posted February 23, 2013 8:27 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
After some offseason moves that have fan anticipation at a 20-year-high, the wait is over for Blue Jays’ fans Saturday afternoon.
The Jays kick off spring training in Florida Saturday afternoon with a game against the Detroit Tigers at 1:05 p.m.
With several mega trades taking place over the winter months, many Torontonians are hoping this is the year the Jays can get back to the baseball spotlight.
Brandon Morrow, who was arguably the best pitcher for the Jays last season, will take the mound for one-inning, and he is expected to be followed by relievers like Brad Lincoln and Steve Delabar.
During spring training starting pitchers often start slow, pitching one or two innings in their first game and slowly ramping themselves up to throwing the more standard six or seven innings.
Canadian third-baseman Brett Lawrie will also lead the position players from their spring-training home in Dunedin to nearby Lakeland to face the Tigers.
For the first time in years the Jays are considered by analysts to be favourites to win their division and possibly the World Series.
This comes after some blockbuster acquisitions by General Manager Alex Anthopoulos, including superstar shortstop Jose Reyes, pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle and outfielder Melky Cabrera.
“It’s a great place to play, and like I said we have some guys on this team that we can be part of something special,” Buehrle said.
“But at the same time we gotta go out there and compete, nobody is going to hand it to us,” he added.
Also coming to the Jays was knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who will anchor the now impressive Jays’ rotation.
“There is a lot of pedigree on this staff, that’s for sure, and to be a part of this I think it could be real special,” Dickey said.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet or listen on Sportsnet 590 The Fan.
BT’s Kevin Frankish and CityNews sports reporter Kathryn Humphreys are in Dunedin for spring training. Click here for their live blog or visit our Blue Jays 2013 topic page.
