2011 Blue Jays Season Thread - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

bluejays · 03-29-2011, 10:53 PM

Now that the season is upon us, it's probably time to open a new thread for the season.

Predictions, predictions. Batting lineup looks solid with more speed, as does the closing and setup cast. Where I think the Jays will faulter is the starting pitching, mainly through injuries and inconsistency. Where I think they'll make that up though, is the Yankees struggles with SP, and so I think it will more or less even out. I predict the Jays will better their record from last season with 86 wins.

flames_1987 · 03-30-2011, 12:00 AM

A whole different mood around this season, still a feeling of the rebuild being in full effect but can't help but feel a little optimism after last season. Really looking forward to seeing Snider progress this year, a full season of Drabek and J.P.

Saint Troy · 03-30-2011, 07:34 AM

Really like their lineup, but the starting pitching is pretty much an unknown and will need the bullpen to be solid again. That said, I think they are poised to be the Rays of a couple of seasons ago, and will make the playoffs.

flambers · 03-30-2011, 07:56 AM

Lots of interesting stories this season for the Jays;

-- How will Lind adapt to 1st
-- How will the Jays 1st year Manager handle it?
-- How long will E5 remain at 3rd?
-- Will Bautista show the power from the previous season..

As for predictions, I say the Jays win 83 games. They will lose a fair amount of close games.

Cecil, is the starter to watch. Is he healthy?

The bullpen is another key factor... lots of new arms.

bluejays · 03-30-2011, 08:06 AM

Personally, I think the trio of Rauch, Dotel and Francisco is a solid move by AA which will actually keep the Jays in a lot of games. I'm actually a Rauch fan, though I have to admit he's unproven in the AL East. There SP looks alright on paper, but we've already heard of problems from them (injury wise), and I think that's where they'll lose most of their games through large blowouts. But given that Yanks are looking terrible when it comes to their pitching, this should be a good season where the Jays can be on par with them. Is anyone else going to the home opener? I gotta get tickets from a scalper.

Caged Great · 03-30-2011, 08:24 AM

The bullpen will keep the jays in a lot of games, and it will remain to be seen if the offense can produce enough to overcome some of the problem areas like their starting pitching.

I'm hoping for 90 wins, expecting 80, and wouldn't be surprised if they got 70

Caged Great · 03-30-2011, 09:33 AM

The area that I'm somewhat worried about is the jays lack of any bench hitters. They just acquired Jason Nix from Cleveland who's got some pop, but nothing else. So the jays bench is

McCoy, McDonald, Molina, and Nix. All no hit defensive replacement types.

Hopefully, the position players don't get hurt for any length of time.....

flambers · 03-30-2011, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caged Great

The area that I'm somewhat worried about is the jays lack of any bench hitters. They just acquired Jason Nix from Cleveland who's got some pop, but nothing else. So the jays bench is

McCoy, McDonald, Molina, and Nix. All no hit defensive replacement types.

Hopefully, the position players don't get hurt for any length of time.....

Pretty much the same situation as last season, I believe Patterson is going on the DL. When healthy he will be on the roster on the bench.

zukes · 03-30-2011, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fleury

Is anyone else going to the home opener? I gotta get tickets from a scalper.

Going to the opener and Saturday afternoon. 2nd level, right at 3B for the opener, getting cheapie scalper tickets for Game 2.

Gozer · 03-31-2011, 07:29 PM

#1 reason to be a Blue Jays fan this season; breakout seasons.

From a career-arch perspective, career best seasons come from the type of players that the Jays are loaded with:
-Young veterans poised to emerge as stars (Romero, Morrow, Litsch, Snider, Escobar)
-Veterans proving they deserve to be everyday starters (Encarnacion, Davis, Hill, Lind, entire bullpen)
-Wildcards (Aaroncibia, Reyes, Purcey, Lawrie)
-and with all these guys being backed up with AAAAers like Thames and Mastrionni in the minors. In case of injury this team doubles-down on it's breakout potential.

All this with a manager with accompanying high expectations.

Perhaps Joey Bats contradicts this theory, but I think he is the proverbial rabbit eating carrot right now - makes everyone else want it more because they've seen it pay off.

This is the type of rebuild I said could not be expected when trading Doc, glad to see I was wrong.

nik- · 03-31-2011, 08:21 PM

My top reasons to watch this year are Romero, Drabek, Arencibia and to see how many Bautista can hit this year (I'm guessing mid 30's)

The Big Chill · 03-31-2011, 08:29 PM

I would guess that we end up with around 85 wins again. I think our offense will be improved, but our starting staff will take a step back. Thats ok though, its all about grooming these young pitchers for the future. I'm REALLY excited about the Jays for the first time in a long time.

Parallex · 03-31-2011, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caged Great

McCoy, McDonald, Molina, and Nix. All no hit defensive replacement types.

Nix has some power in his bat... not a lot of contact skill though.

HamptonIce · 04-01-2011, 12:06 AM

I'm really excited to see how arencibia performs in his full-time role....i think dude has skillz

flames_1987 · 04-01-2011, 12:48 AM

I watched the SNET preview of this years season and Zaun talked about how improved Arencibia's defense has been this spring behind the plate. This was the biggest hole in his game and holding him back from being the long term every day catcher of this team.

Even though the Jays have had some teams that could contend in past seasons, it was based on the notion that almost everyone would have to stay healthy and short term over long term. This organization now is building enough depth where this talent can come in waves and waves much like Tampa. And with Rogers making it clear they'll spend money on this team when the time is right, the Jays could be on the verge of something very special.

I've despised Carol Pavano and his half ass work ethic since his days as an Expo, so hopefully we can kick some Twin ass tomorrow.

howard_the_duck · 04-01-2011, 02:02 AM

My number 1 thing to watch this year will be Brandon Morrow when he gets off the DL. They shut him down last year right after his 1 hit gem and I'm curious to see if he picks up where he left off. That was the most dominant pitching performance I have ever seen....no reason he can't win 15 games.

I'm also really excited about the mentality Farrell brings, especially manufacturing runs on the basepaths. With Davis, Patterson, and Podsednik in the mix, the Jays will certainly have options late in games that they have not had in the past.

Bottom line, if the starting pitching stays healthy this team has a chance to make some noise. The playoffs may be a year or two off, but stranger things have happened and Anthopolous has built this team to be there for many years to come.

Jiggy_12 · 04-01-2011, 08:26 AM

Opening day is here!

zukes · 04-01-2011, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

Opening day is here!

Going for lunch in an hour and then off to Toronto!! I am PUMPED! Even moreso now that I don't care about the Flames game tonight other than to hear how Langkow looked.

oxygen · 04-01-2011, 08:49 AM

Great article on Anthopoulos. I think he'll be GM of the Jays for a very long time, he'll make mistakes, but at least you know he analyzed it from all angles.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/03/30/a...ght-questions/

Looking forward to the season and beyond.

ricoFlame · 04-01-2011, 09:05 AM

Boom, Opening day! I love the optimism of Opening Day each year.