CONFIDENT BLUE JAYS BRUSH AWAY NAYSAYERS
STARTING PITCHING DEPTH AND PLENTY OF OFFENCE HAS TEAM POISED FOR THIRD STRAIGHT PLAYOFF TRIP
Young Aaron Sanchez, the powerful and precocious Blue Jays starting pitcher, responded with part sneer, part smile.
What about those who feel the fleet of throwing aces in the Jays rotation are sure to regress in 2017?
“Just watch us,” Sanchez said, with neither a flinch nor a pause. “We know what we are capable of as a rotation.’’
Watch we will as the 162- game marathon that is the major league baseball season gets underway for the Jays on Monday afternoon at Camden Yards against the Baltimore Orioles.
As the Jays bid for a third consecutive post- season appearance, Sanchez is not alone in the comeand-get- us mindset that this veteran team has embraced.
Sure, the 25- man roster announced by the club on Sunday has plenty of questions and possibly even holes. Who fills in the offence for the departed Edwin Encarnacion? Can Sanchez and the rotation be indeed the class of the American League? And with word that closer Roberto Osuna will start the season on the disabled list with a back issue, who will close out tight games?
But when it comes to a leap of faith, ALCS losses to the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians in successive seasons have left a sense of unfinished business. It’s a team that has won 182 games over the past two seasons.
Is that enough to overcome the loss of Encarnacion and perceptions that Jays management hasn’t done enough to keep the team in contention? Tune in shortly after 3 p. m. on Monday and for the next six months.
Switch- hitting designated hitter Kendrys Morales has the rather tall task of replacing Encarnacion and his home- run parrot. But the smaller ballparks of the AL East have been served notice and don’t be shocked if the big man soars past the 30 homers he belted with sprawling Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City as his home yard.
At second base, Devon Travis is healthy and if his last week of Grapefruit League play is a read, is ready to make an impact batting at the top of manager John Gibbons’ order.
And then at the hot corner, Josh Donaldson is fired up to return to the form of his 2015 AL MVP season and cash in with a big new contract.
The harsh analytics of the Las Vegas bookmakers have pegged the Jays season win total at 85 1/2, a drop from the 89 that took the team to an AL wild card spot last season. Donaldson, for one, isn’t taking the under and he has plenty of company.
“We have a veteran group of guys who know how to go out there and ultimately work their way through spring training to be ready for the regular season,” Donaldson said. “My goal is to win the division. I really feel we have a team that can compete and do some really nice things. It’s just going out there and proving that right.”
Maintaining health is a top priority. As the Jays limped out of the ALCS following a loss to the Cleveland Indians last autumn, Donaldson, Bautista, catcher Rus- sell Martin, centre- fielder Kevin Pillar and others were each hobbled by injuries.
The Jays commitment to beefing up its training staff and the dedication of the players themselves had most of the training camp medical news trending in the right direction. Whether it can stay that way, particularly at key spots in the lineup, is crucial to potential success.
Utility fielder Steve Pearce, another off- season acquisition, recovered from September arm surgery to the point where he is able to play at both first base and left field where he could platoon with Justin Smoak and Ezequiel Carrera respectively.
Beyond keeping players on the field, the starting rotation will once again be called upon to keep the Jays in contention. That group had an AL best 3.64 earned run average in 2016 and there is significant evidence to believe its form can continue.
Elusive Marco Estrada will get the opening day start here at the ballpark hard by Baltimore’s Inner Harbor followed by 20- game winner J. A. Happ on Wednesday. When the Jays season- opening road trip shifts to Tampa on Thursday, World Baseball Classic MVP Marcus Stroman gets the call followed by Francisco Liriano and Sanchez.
“We still feel we’re good enough to win it all,” Gibbons said, who begins the season with a contract extension taking him through the end of the 2019 season. “We really like our team. We feel like it’s another team that can go into the post-season again and take another shot at it.”