As the Jays sit 5 games above .500, remaining focused for the final 3 and a half weeks is mandatory.
25 games remain on the Blue Jays 2010 schedule, a season in which the franchise took an upward swing back towards contention, despite the doom and gloom predicted following the off-season trade of Roy Halladay.
It is imperative, both for the psyche of the ball club and for their evolving fan base, that the Jays go hard right through the finish line of the season. Remember, the pundits and the know-it-all's told anyone who would listen that the Jays were destined to finish in fifth place behind the lowly Orioles and that we all shouldn't be surprised if this rebuilding team lost 100 plus games this season.
You know what they say about the best laid plans?
For three of the top pitchers in the rotation, with Brandon Morrow shut down for the year, it's a chance for all of them to finish the season above .500, which would largely exceed the pre-season expectations. You'll recall that after Halladay was given his wish to move onto the Phillies, there were many questions surrounding the Jays' projected rotation. Shaun Marcum was the ace by default, having not pitched competitively since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2008. Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil were both entering their sophomore seasons and were considered to be works in progress. Morrow was the largest question mark as he arrived from the Mariners, expected to make the transition from reliever to full-time starter. They have all, in my humble estimation, passed this season with high grades, with a combined record of 45-29 and an incredibly solid 3.80 ERA. The Jays' young hurlers averaged over six innings per start, which took a lot of wear and tear off the bullpen. Pitching coach Bruce Walton and bullpen coach Rick Langford should get much of the credit for keeping this young staff in a positive frame of mind, in stark contrast to former pitching coach Brad Arnsberg who appeared to be more interested over his tenure in hanging with the stars - Halladay and A.J. Burnett - than helping turn the others into solid starters.
The bullpen, for the most part, has also been solid, just don't call them spectacular. While their 3.89 ERA as a group ranks them right in the middle of the pack, the relievers throw far too many pitches per batter (3.92, which ranked 10th in the league) as they tend to nibble at the corners. With several pitchers in the final year of their contracts, it appears that this group might look decidedly different in 2011.
Offensively, the home runs have come at a fevered pace, led by the monster year laid down by Jose Bautista who, unless a player goes off down the stretch here, looks like he'll finish as the Major League home run leader, something that has happened only once before in franchise history - Jesse Barfield in 1986. Bautista's ascension to the top of the slugger's heap was certainly unexpected, although we should have all taken notice when he tied for the Major League lead from September 1st on last season.
Bautista's final month performance at third base bears watching as the Jays try and figure out what to do at that position going forward. From what I've seen, Bautista should be anointed the everyday third baseman and the search for another corner outfielder should be a high priority for the Jays heading into the 2011 off-season. Hopefully that player will be a switch-hitter with speed. After holding out collective breaths every time a ball was hit Edwin Encarnacion's way this season, Bautista has solidified the position. Across the diamond at first is another thing, though. With Lyle Overbay likely to leave through free agency, Adam Lind, in his limited exposure to the position, clearly is not the answer. Lind has looked very shaky on pop ups hit down the line behind him and just hasn't looked comfortable. I'm hoping that the deep thinkers might consider a position change for minor league slugger J.P. Arencibia from catching to first. Arencibia has the size and the athleticism to man the position, perhaps a stint in winter ball somewhere in the Caribbean might be needed to see if they won't have to go outside the organization to fill that bill.
For Lind and Aaron Hill, both hitters whose numbers dramatically fell off after breakthrough seasons in 2009, this final month will also give them a chance to get their strokes back heading into the off-season and not be dwelling on all that went wrong. Hill has been in a groove as of late; having hit .326 with 5 HR and 11 RBI over his last dozen games, although his defence, solid a year ago, hasn't even been close to that level this season. And then there's Travis Snider, considered by many to be this franchise's "Next One". His season got derailed in May just as he was finding his stroke, and only lately (.323 over his last nine games) has he looked comfortable again at the plate and in left field. Snider is a major part of thei team's future plans so a strong finish by Snider is necessary.
The next goal for this franchise is a .500 finish, meaning that the team needs to win at least 10 of their final 25 games to achieve a status that few thought was possible at the beginning of April. It's well within their reach as long as the team remains focused and continues to play hard, in stark contrast to the sleep-walking that was allowed to go on during the final years of the infamous Ricciardi regime.
