Quote:
Originally Posted by moon
The Jays had so many pitchers play over their heads last season and it still wasn't close to good enough to contend for the WC. What are the chances that the pitching staff overachieves again, especially with two of their top 4 starters gone this season?
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I know Jays fans are very supportive of their team and great at finding positives during the losses but I just don't see how this team looks good in comparision with many others or how a mini-rebuild doesn't make sense considering the fact they have no chance at the play-offs this season.
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For the first part I quoted, it is important to note that a lot of the lineup last year put out the opposite of career years. Most of them had a very low OPS/OPS+ when compared to their career average. For some you could say they are getting old (Rolen), but I would expect a rebound year out of most (or at least closer to career averages). If the bats were even close to average they would have won a lot more games. It should also be noted that their winning percentage under Cito projected over an entire season puts them a lot closer to the playoffs. Whether or not Cito will continue to inspire these guys is another question.
Gozer did a good job of covering returning pitchers, so I'll leave that alone.
As for the mini rebuild, that should be one or two years down the road, after Rolen, Overbay, BJ, and possibly Wells(
) are gone. With the amount of money that they have dedicated to guys that are soon to be free agents (most with contracts that are pretty hard to trade for anything of significance), it makes sense to leave a total blowup for next year or the following year, and take a last stab at winning. Unless is of course there is a magical good market for those contracts hidden somewhere in the depths of the MLB.
I think the one thing this team really needs is some heart and grit. A guy who can bring those elements out of those around him. I know Doc has a ton of heart, but I think a guy like Varitek could really help this team gel. They need to play hard for each other, not themselves (as some seem to do - CoughRIOScough). Maybe then they wouldn't have the second worst team average with RISP.