Toronto Blue Jays are the favorite to win the AL East

[seaborneq]

Hmmmmmm. Interesting. +150. I hope no one bites on that one.

[Chi_archie]

wow, i'd love to pound the Jays not to win the AL east if they offered the field vs them.

They just got a bunch of over-rated big name aging vets.

but the most important thing to remember is they've LOST Omar vizquel.


You can't make up for a loss that big

[Brock Landers]

You have to be kidding me

[LowRollin]

[You mad bro]

tampa bay

[lunchbawks]

Yankees or Rays take it. Toronto will be a .500 team like every year

[numismatist]

Rogers (the multi billion dollar cable company ownership group) is opening up the vaults this year and going for it. If they are anywhere close by end of July look for them to add another pitcher and probably an outfielder too. All in this year.

[jagaf22]

Should be a great race. Every team in the division finishes above .500

[keyboarding]

An aging and injury prone rotation, weak lineup after the cleanup hitter, and huge question marks all over that bullpen makes those odds just fukking ridiculous.

[vaas187]

Yankees wont take it. not a fukking chance. toronto wasnt half bad last year, tons of injuries. im a jays fan (toronto fan in general) but ain't sold until I see the record half way through the season....

I'd love to sprinkle something on them to take the division, very plausible, yankees will stink, sox will stink, both on a decline....will probably be tampa taking it though TBH. who knows though, long season, tons of injuries....we'll see by mid-season, wouldn't surprise me to see them fail in typical toronto sports fashion....at least it's something to be excited about other than the shitty leafs.

the good thing is toronto will be juiced as hell next year for lots of nice spots.

[DrStale]

They're also the favorite to win the world series (along with the Nats)

[broadway6]

I wouldn't bet Brock's money on +150. The Toronto Marlins might not go .500

[Big Bear]

Hmmmmmm. Interesting. +150. I hope no one bites on that one.

very surprising.

They should not be the favorites for no other reason than they havent been relevant in 15 years.

however i will be cheering for them. i love that team.

[bruins35]

jays win al east jealous yanks

[Chi_archie]

Is Bautista going to be healthy to start the year? Is he doing WBC?

[Slimpickens]

Why wouldnt they be the favorites to win the Al east? They are co favorites to win the World Series after all.

[Chi_archie]

Why wouldnt they be the favorites to win the Al east? They are co favorites to win the World Series after all.

I see the Nats and Angels as the top two with the Jays in a 3 way tie for 3rd with the Tigers and Dodgers

[samgurt]

Orioles, Yanks, and Rays will finish better than the Jays

[Slimpickens]

Yep, Nats, Angels and Jays all at 8-1 at 5dimes.

[Slimpickens]

Orioles, Yanks, and Rays will finish better than the Jays

I highly doubt that. Im alittle suprised that the Orioles are the longest shot in the division though. I would have thought it would be Boston.

[Big Bear]

Blue Jays if healthy will be very good. Gotta stay healthy though

[Big Bear]

BTW where the hell is Kyle Drabek?

i saw someone on MLB network say he was a sleeper to win cy young before last season started... is he even with the Jays organization anymore?

[keyboarding]

BTW where the hell is Kyle Drabek? i saw someone on MLB network say he was a sleeper to win cy young before last season started... is he even with the Jays organization anymore?

Blue Jays activated RHP Kyle Drabek from the 60-day disabled list. This is merely a procedural move. Drabek, a promising 24-year-old right-hander, had Tommy John surgery in June and is likely to miss the majority of the 2013 season.

[Mitchell88]

tampa bay

[qsilver335]

There is no way Toronto wins the east. Tampa's pitching is too strong. Yanks have too much fire power at the plate. Worst baseball future I have seen in a while.

[Pluthero]

There is no way Toronto wins the east. Tampa's pitching is too strong. Yanks have too much fire power at the plate. Worst baseball future I have seen in a while.

I stopped making absolutes a while back because they would frequently prove me wrong.

Tampa's pitching is marginally better, and I would actually rather have Toronto's lineup than the Yankees.

[qsilver335]

I stopped making absolutes a while back because they would frequently prove me wrong.

Tampa's pitching is marginally better, and I would actually rather have Toronto's lineup than the Yankees.

I agree about absolutes, so I should rephrase it to "There is no way I will be betting Toronto to win the AL East".
Toronto has a lot of potential and big names, but huge question marks. Which Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, and Melky Cabrera will Toronto get? All have been stellar in the past, but the Yanks are a great example of not getting the same type of productions out of free agent big names once they arrive to the new team. We will see.

[boeing power]

Great value.

jays should be -300.

[stevenash]

Rotation:

1) R.A. Dickey
The feel good story of 2012. Here's the thing about knuckle ball pitchers, the knuckle ball is finicky. If it isn't on, it'll get crushed.
Don't expect 20 wins again, 15 wins at best.
Know this, even though R.A. won 20, his last three starts were far from stellar.
He is 39 years old.

2) Josh Johnson
Coming off a 8-14 record, with a 3.81 ERA.
WH/IP ratio is OK at 1.28, doesn't really strike fear in most hitters.
*off topic* How does he command a 13.75 million dollar contract this season.

3) Mark Buehrle
13-13 last season, good enough ancillary numbers.
Gave up 26 homers (too many)last year in a non power hitting division.
He's facing Cano, Granderson, Adam Jones, Markakis,and the rest of the AL east this season on a regular basis.
I think he gets lit up this year.

4) Brandon Morrow.
Nice numbers last season 10-7, very nice 1.11 ratio pitching in the big boy division.
2.96 ERA equally impressive
Did miss 12 starts in 2012 with oblique injury

5) Rickey Romero
Gas can.
Enough said.

Question marks?

Jose Reyes. SS
over/under is 62.5 games into the season when he goes on the DL with a 'hammy'
If Reyes goes down with a 'hammy' (and you know he will) Jays are stuck with Izturis at SS

Emilo Bonifacio. 2B
Nice utility player off the bench, not what I want as an every day second baseman.

Brett Lawrie. 3B
Terrible power numbers for a corner infielder.
On base percentage is below league average.

Colby Rasmus CF
Terrible batting average
Terrible OBA
He'll give you 20 homers, but doesn't compensate for a .225 batting average and sub .300 OBA, which is atrocious.

Melke Cabrera. LF
Before the juice he was nothing but a .270 hitting fourth outfielder.
You will not get .300+ batting average out of him this year, or ever again.

J.P Arencebia C
Light hitting catcher (.222 lifetime) with some pop.


Bautista is a beast, like Miggy beast.
Encarncion can go deep at will
Jansen was a reliable closer last season, let me see him do it again.
Sergio Santos will no help that bull pen though.

Will the Jays compete? Hell yes.
Are they a lock? Hell no

[nosniboR11]

when bautisti gets suspended for ped use , they will have no shot

[Seaweed]

this thread is going to have over 15 pages by September

[Chi_archie]

still don't see how you can replace the club house presence of an OMAR VIZQUEL

there is no OMAR trees....... not in Toronto anyways

[qsilver335]

Great value.

jays should be -300.

+300 and I would say you are right. That would be value. -300 I would call crazy.

[Mitchell88]

Rotation:

1) R.A. Dickey
The feel good story of 2012. Here's the thing about knuckle ball pitchers, the knuckle ball is finicky. If it isn't on, it'll get crushed.
Don't expect 20 wins again, 15 wins at best.
Know this, even though R.A. won 20, his last three starts were far from stellar.
He is 39 years old.

2) Josh Johnson
Coming off a 8-14 record, with a 3.81 ERA.
WH/IP ratio is OK at 1.28, doesn't really strike fear in most hitters.
*off topic* How does he command a 13.75 million dollar contract this season.

3) Mark Buehrle
13-13 last season, good enough ancillary numbers.
Gave up 26 homers (too many)last year in a non power hitting division.
He's facing Cano, Granderson, Adam Jones, Markakis,and the rest of the AL east this season on a regular basis.
I think he gets lit up this year.

4) Brandon Morrow.
Nice numbers last season 10-7, very nice 1.11 ratio pitching in the big boy division.
2.96 ERA equally impressive
Did miss 12 starts in 2012 with oblique injury

5) Rickey Romero
Gas can.
Enough said.

Question marks?

Jose Reyes. SS
over/under is 62.5 games into the season when he goes on the DL with a 'hammy'
If Reyes goes down with a 'hammy' (and you know he will) Jays are stuck with Izturis at SS

Emilo Bonifacio. 2B
Nice utility player off the bench, not what I want as an every day second baseman.

Brett Lawrie. 3B
Terrible power numbers for a corner infielder.
On base percentage is below league average.

Colby Rasmus CF
Terrible batting average
Terrible OBA
He'll give you 20 homers, but doesn't compensate for a .225 batting average and sub .300 OBA, which is atrocious.

Melke Cabrera. LF
Before the juice he was nothing but a .270 hitting fourth outfielder.
You will not get .300+ batting average out of him this year, or ever again.

J.P Arencebia C
Light hitting catcher (.222 lifetime) with some pop.


Bautista is a beast, like Miggy beast.
Encarncion can go deep at will
Jansen was a reliable closer last season, let me see him do it again.
Sergio Santos will no help that bull pen though.

Will the Jays compete? Hell yes.
Are they a lock? Hell no

Nash knows his shit, great post man

[darrell74]

Toronto has a history of being done by July.