Would anyone like to jump on the Blue Jays bandwagon with me for 2011? Unless the Pirates sign some of the players I mentioned in an earlier post, they have no shot of even .500 next season. So, why not root for an underdog who may have the chance to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox in '11?
Their top 4 pitchers in the rotation are very promising. Brendon Morrow and Brett Cecil are having great second halves, and Marcum and Romero are steady, quality young starters. Their minor leagues are loaded with pitching talent with Kyle Drabeck and Zach Stewart to name a few. They could sign an experienced arm to bolster the staff and help the new guys out, but they have enough internal options that they will probably spend their money elsewhere.
Offensively, they have most of their positions set:
C John Buck
1B ?
2B Aaron Hill
SS Yunel Escobar
3B ?
LF Fred Lewis
CF Vernon Wells
RF Jose Batista
DH Adam Lind
They have Brett Wallace waiting in the wings to play 1B or take over the DH spot, and Travis Snider available if one of the outfielders comes back down to earth next season (ahem.. cough cough Jose Batista cough). They also have 3 nice catching prospects as well as Jose Molina to back up Buck, so they are good there. If they are going to spend money I think it should be to acquire a decent 1B and or/ 3B. Guys like Paul Konerko, Carlos Pena, Ty Wiggington, Jorge Cantu, Troy Glaus, Aubrey Huff, Adam Dunn, and Brandon Inge are some options. I think Konerko will stay with the Sox, and Dunn is probaly out of their price range. I think Wiggington or Cantu would be a decent addition for their versatility, and maybe they could get Pena to play 1B/DH. That would make for a fairly formidable lineup. Yes, they would be old, but they have plenty of talent waiting to take their place.
Could that team compete with the AL East big dogs? Maybe, but I think they are at least going to be in the conversation. So, who's with me?
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3 comments:
I like how you said to compete with the Yankees/Red Sox...what about the Rays?
I do like what they got. Imagine if they played in the NL Central? They would probably contend this year.
The real question is can Lind and Hill hit for higher average next season? And how much will Bautista regress? Oh and the usual stuff about pitching: will they continue to improve or will guys have crap years, blah.
I will admit they have some on base issues.. No one really hits for decent average so they may need to invest in that.
And I don't care about competing with the Rays. I just want teams to beat the Yanks/Sox.
Haha, well I just hope they rise up and destroy the Red Sox. I actually do not hate the Yankees. Just the Red Sox.
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