Quote:
Originally Posted by fleury
I agree competely about the SS situation. This summer, that was the most ridiculous signing, but as long as the guy is good on defence, the Jays will be alright. No one batter can kill the team or win a game single handedly, so even though Clayton is the weakest link, he isn't going to break the team (assuming he plays in the 9 spot). As for Hill, don't be surprised if this year he has a setback. He's still relatively young, and in all sports, many young players who have had good seasons earlier in their careers take the summer off expecting to naturally be better, and I'm not sure Hill is no exception. The lineup is looking good though. Just waiting to see how the starting rotation rounds off and if one of the high-risk-high-return guys really takes the league by storm. Should be a very interesting year.
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My big beef with the Clayton is the fact that he's not even a great defender anymore (at least based on what a number of people have been saying). He's a pretty terrible hitter (although he does have a little power at times) so he's really a pretty useless player at this point in time. Granted Olmeda can't really hit either but at least he's reasonably young and he's apparently very good with the glove as well. My wild card is Jason Smith, it sounds like he might end up making the club and he has put up some pretty impressive numbers for a middle infielder in AAA.
Russ Adams has really disappointed me, I like his potential in terms of becoming a solid on-base guy but he simply can't throw the bloody ball. I have a feeling he could develop into a reliable 2nd baseman but Hill is already fantastic defensively at the position and Hill also seems poised to put up a .300+ season along with potentially a .400 OBP.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ranchlander
Unless they get some more starters they're screwed. Tomo Ohka and Johnson as their #4 and #5?? Thats pretty bad.
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I disagree completely - if Ohka and Thompson are healthy (which is obviously a big "if"), the Jays will get better than average numbers from their #4 and #5 starters. I actually like what JP did with the starting rotation this summer, I wouldn't be shocked at all if one of Ohka or Thompson ends up putting up better or similar numbers to Gil Meche who is making $10+ million.
It's all really going to come down to Burnett in my view, the Jays could be in good shape if he stays healthy and has a solid season. They still have enough budget space to add a starter around mid-season if one of Ohka or Thompson don't pan out and I'm still really hoping McGowan can have a bounce-back year and find his control again.