I guess post mortem doesn't really work when looking back over the Blue Jays and their 85-win season. It was actually a rebirth for the franchise, the brand and its relevance on the Toronto sports entertainment scene.
(Now, I know a bunch of readers are rwitching to respond below to say how can I write they are relevant when attendance this year was 39.9 percent of capacity and lowest in the history of the SkyDome/Rogers Centre?)
I realize that they played in front of some very small houses this summer, but based upon the radio/TV ratings, (even with the Rogers/Sportsnet One backlash,) there was a lot of interest in this team. With the media and pundits taking such a negative view of the Jays heading into the season following the departure of Roy Halladay, it was hard to know what they had. But they rode some excellent, young starting pitching and the greatest power display in their history. Those two aspects of their game created a lot of buzz. Especially on the road this summer when I crossed paths with more Blue Jays fans, proudly decked out in their colours, than I can ever remember.
Ultimately, this team did Cito Gaston proud in his final go-round as skipper. The offence embraced the philosophy that Cito and his hitting coaches have always endorsed: go up there looking for a certain pitch and when you get it, don't miss it. The one hitter who took hold of this idea and ran with it was Jose Bautista. Finally having his name written on the line-up in permanent ink for the first time, Bautista let it fly every chance he could get, his lightning quick bat crushing fastball upon fastball. He led the Majors with 24 home runs at the All-Star break, and then led the Majors after break by blasting 30 more. His 54 home runs bested George Bell's previous club record by seven and he rewrote the franchise record book in all power categories. Quite simply, it was the greatest single offensive season in club history.
And the rest of the hitters seemed to feed off Bautista's power display. When the dust finally settled on the season, which ended with a pair of solo home runs, the team hit 257 bombs, just six shy of the Major League record, tied for third highest all-time.
Six other Blue Jay hitters finished the season with more than 20 home runs. Vernon Wells showed that when healthy, he's still a key contributor. Aaron Hill and Adam Lind saw their production dip, yet still combined to hit 49 home runs. Edwin Encarnacion, John Buck and Lyle Overbay rounded out the 'Slugging Seven'. Then there was Travis Snider, who continues to tease the fans about what could be, showing skills at the plate that will keep him in a Jays' uniform for a few years yet.
While the team's nightly power-showing was a sight to behold, the most enjoyable performances came from their young starters. Shaun Marcum played the role of the Pied Piper of the rotation, returning from 'Tommy John' surgery to win 13 games. Leftys Brett Cecil (15 wins) and Ricky Romero (14) dispelled any worries of a sophomore jinx, both pitching into the 7th inning in the majority of their starts. Then there was Brandon Morrow, stolen from the Mariners in the off-season, thriving in his first full season as a Major League starter. He was a little wild to start the season, but once he took a few feet off his fastball and started 'pitching', he still had enough gas to blow hitters away. His 17-strikeout, 1-hitter against the Rays on Aug. 8 was one of the greatest pitching performances in franchise history. If they can build up his stamina even more, Morrow has the look of an ace-in-waiting.
The bullpen was very steady, for the most part, this season. Closer Kevin Gregg saved 37 on the season - tied for 4th in the A.L. and 4th in club history - but didn't have many 'comfortable' ones, leading to much angst among the fans. What they failed to realize is that Gregg would never be considered an upper-echelon closer, meaning that things can sometimes get a little antsy in the ninth. The rest of the bullpen was very workman-like, although their proclivity to nibble created high pitch counts. All told, the bullpen only blew 16 saves this season, better than seven of the eight playoff teams. I guess it just felt like there were more.
THE FINAL WORD
"All-in-all, it's been a pretty good year for us, but we've still got some things to do to get where we want to be." - Shaun Marcum, after his 31st and final start of the season on Saturday.
I would whole-heartedly agree with Marcum's assessment. Several changes will take place between now and next April Fool's Day when they open the 2011 campaign against the Twins at Rogers Centre. First and foremost, general manager Alex Anthopoulos needs to track down Cito Gaston's replacement. Hopefully whoever is named the Jays' 10th full-time manager recognizes the jobs that pitching coach Bruce Walton and bullpen coach Rick Langford did with the young arms and keeps them around. They also have to make calls on where best to play Bautista on defence, which of the potential free agents they should try and keep, and find some switch-hitting speed for the line-up.
I now remove my 2010 Blue Jays chip from my brain, knowing that the franchise is back heading into the right direction. From my point of view, it was an entertaining season; especially for a team that many thought would finish last and be hard pressed to not lose 100 games. Very enjoyable, indeed.
