No sports fan in Canada can forget the hype that went into the 2013 Toronto Blue Jays. The year 2013 was supposed to be when the World Series trophy was brought back north of the border and paraded down Young Street in front of hundreds of thousands of people reliving their memories of two-decades past.
Instead, a nation collectively covered its eyes and cringed as their beloved Blue Jays went 10-17 in April and 74-88 overall – good enough for last place in the AL East.
Outside having arguably the best bullpen in the Major Leagues, the entirety of the Blue Jays season was a flop, and as far as sports bettors are concerned, 2014 won’t be a whole lot better.
In what was a very quiet offseason for the Jays, Toronto’s odds to win the World Series are a daunting 50/1, with their over-under for total wins staked at 77.5, which would (again) place them at the bottom of the AL East.
Even as a lifelong Jays diehard, I have no grand aspirations about Toronto making the playoffs, never mind winning a World Series. So, with that in mind, here are my top six musts for the Jays to even contend for a Wild Card spot:
1. Fast Start: The Jays not only need a fast start to the month of April, they need fast starts to each and every game. The Blue Jays gave up 756 runs last year, fourth worst in the MLB, and there were countless amounts of times that the going into the third inning, the Jays would be down a handful of runs. April features the likes of the Rays, Yankees, Orioles, Indians, Red Sox, and Royals – all of which are playoff-contending teams. If the Jays can leave April at .500, they’ll be in a good spot to contend in May and onwards.
2. Starting Pitching: On top of letting up fourth most runs, the Jays had the sixth worst team ERA, second most home runs, third in total bases, and second worst ERA for starting pitchers at 4.81. In one word, the Jays starting rotation was horrendous. In 2014, the Jays rotation looks almost identical to the 2013 roster, the only difference being that J.A. Happ will replace Ricky Romero. Dickey and Buehrle, the workhorse first and second starters for the Jays, need to go 200 plus innings this year, and Brandon Morrow must stay injury-free.
3. Health: “We have to stay healthy – I mean our whole 25-man roster,” said Edwin Encarnacion. No truer words have been spoken. Of the 162 games the Jays played last season, Reyes, Cabrera, Bautista, Encarnacion, Rasmus, Lind, and Lawrie only played together seven times.
4. Defence: Four out innings, botched ground balls, poor pitcher fielding, and a bipolar middle-infield made for an incredibly frustrating season defensively for players, coaches, and fans. Anthony Goins will likely provide consistency at second base, but the league’s fifth worst fielding percentage and errors must improve.
5. On-base-percentage: The Jays were ranked right in the middle of the pack at 15th (.318) in OBP and every playoff team, with the exception of the Pittsburgh Pirates (who arguably had MLB’s best pitching), had an OBP substantially better than Toronto’s.
6. Strong ‘Pen: Steve Delebar and Brett Cecil were unlikely All Star Game choices for the American League bullpen, but they absolutely deserved their nomination. Coming off a season where they pitched 552.5 innings, third most in baseball, the Jays are going to have to repeat that performance, and with the plethora of young arms they have, opposing batters will always be exposed to something new.