Philly Sports Post - Home of the PSP Podcast

The PSP stops in beautiful Canada to check in with the Toronto Blue Jays, owners of 2008's best pitching staff. How does their 2009 staff look? What are their overall chances this season? Come on in as Greg and the guys from Blue Bird Banter break it down.


The Toronto Blue Jays

Last Season’s Result: 86-76. 4th place in the AL East.

Major Offseason Changes

• Added 1B Kevin Millar (Signed from Baltimore)
• Lost SP A.J. Burnett (Signed with New York Yankees)
• Lost C Gregg Zaun (Signed with Baltimore)
• Lost RF Brad Wilkerson (Signed with Boston)

Letter Grades

• Offseason Moves: F This team was a real contender in 2008, with the best pitching staff in baseball. This offseason they did nothing to improve, and will be lucky to maintain a .500 record because of it.

• Rotation Grade: C Roy Halladay is still among the game’s best, and Jesse Litsch is a nice young arm, but with the loss of Burnett to the Yanks and Marcum to injury, this rotation is reduced to average.

• Bullpen Grade: A The league’s best bullpen was great in ’08, and I expect them to be just as good in 2009. BJ Ryan returns as closer, with Scott Downs and Brian Tallet in front of him, each of whom is coming off of a tremendous season.

• Lineup Grade: D+ A below average group in 2008, and I can’t imagine them getting any better in 2009. There’s no power in this lineup, I’m not expecting a single man on this roster to hit 25 home runs.

Player most closely linked to team’s 2009 hopes: Vernon Wells. This team is going to be kind of bad this season, but I think Wells could have a nice year and give the fans a bright spot.

Biggest Breakout Star Potential: Travis Snider. The young leftfielder should get ample playing time this season, and with it expect a run at ROTY. Snider is expected to be a long term solution for the Jays, but this year may be a bit soon, as he is only 21.

Best Case Scenario: Getting back to .500 this season is a lofty goal at this point. If the young pitchers can perform than there’s a shot, but real contention is probably out of the question.

Worst Case Scenario: I think this team is likely to struggle this season, and rumblings of moving Halladay seem to creep into the rumor mill every trade deadline. I think the worst case scenario would be for them to move Halladay and fail to get any prospects that pan out in return.

Prediction for 2009: 69-93. 4th place in the AL East.

Local Thoughts

We have a pair of fans of Canadian baseball for your reading pleasure today, Tom Dakers and Hugo Fruchter of Blue Bird Banter.

By: Tom will start us off.

• Letter Grade for Offseason Moves: D-. We really didn't do anything this off-season, signed a handful of guys to minor league contracts, the only ones that are likely likely to see playing time are Michael Barrett and Kevin Millar. We lost AJ Burnett which is too bad and all, but I'm glad we aren't paying him what the Godless Yankees will be paying him over the next few years.

• Most Essential: Maybe Travis Snider. He looks like the real thing. I'm hoping for an average close to .280 and 25 or so homers. If you want to put money on who gets the Rookie of the Year, he's as good a bet as anyone.

• Breakout Potential: Alex Rios. Until last season Alex had improved his home run totals each season in the majors. Last year, the Jays had a new hitting coach and his philosophy didn't work for Alex. This year, with Cito telling him to swing for the fences, I think 30+ home runs isn't out of the question. He looked good in the WBC.

• Prediction for 2009: I think they will be right around where they were last year. Last year they were 86-76, but their Pythagorean record was 93-69. I think their offense will improve, but likely their starting pitching will decline some. They will likely finish 3rd or 4th, but if the stars align right they could be in the race. It isn't likely in the strong division they are in, but the Yankees are aging, never know what will happen in Boston and Tampa Bay could regress some.

By: Hugo, again from Blue Bird Banter.

• Letter Grade for Offseason Moves: F. The Jays were really an excellent team last season, much better than their record or order of finish showed. Adding a pitcher to compensate for the loss of A.J. Burnett and Shaun Marcum, who contributed substantially to the major league's best starting rotation in 2008 and adding a bat to boost what was a sagging offense in 2008 could have thrust the Jays into real contention. This was particularly true in this depressed market where many quality hitters were available at moderate cost. Instead the Jays decided to compensate for the loss of Marcum and Burnett by essentially punting the offseason and hoping for the best.

• Most Essential: Great question. I don't want to put too much on rookie Travis Snider's shoulders, so I think the answer is Scott Rolen. If he is able to stay on the field and hit like he does when his shoulder isn't killing him, that will go a long way to boosting the Jays' offense. On the pitching side, if David Purcey takes a step forward and lives up to his first-round draft pick promise, that'll be huge for a rotation with lots of question marks.

• Breakout Potential: I have a good feeling about Adam Lind. I'm hoping he has made all his adjustments and this season he will just go out and hit like he can.


• Prediction for 2009: I think the Jays will win 83 games and finish 4th in the AL East. The biggest factor in this projection is the strength of their competition, to which no other division even comes close. I do think it's more likely they win 90 games than 75.