While expectations may be high for the Jays, don't expect Anthopoulos to stray from his gameplan.
With the off-season heavy lifting just about complete and the calendar now flipped over to February, it's time for the Blue Jays to start migrating to their Florida home and begin their quest to reach the post-season for the first time since Joe Carter "touched them all.”
And that means the spotlight will start shining on several players and new members of the bench staff as the Jays try to build on an unanticipated 85-win season. With that will also come varying degrees of pressure, mostly from the expectations of the fan base, but also from the media that follows the team around on a daily basis.
The new front man, first-time manager John Farrell, will feel pressure as he's been given the task of turning the Blue Jays’ offence from a bunch of swinging-for-the-fences types to a more-balanced attack, with speed and "small ball" vastly more apparent than in the recent future.
A couple of quotes by Farrell stood out from his appearance at the team's 'State of the Franchise' get-together with a group of approximately 500 season ticket holders last Thursday at Rogers Centre. With statements like "we're not going to stand around waiting for the home run" and "we won't be afraid to run into outs,” Farrell certainly gave those in attendance an indication that the Jays will be forcing the issue a lot more than they were used to under previous managers. I know those were welcome words for a segment of the fan base that complained loudly about Cito Gaston's style of managing.
With the trading of Vernon Wells and the free agent defections of Lyle Overbay and John Buck, that removes 71 home runs from the club record 257 hit a year ago. The subtractions, combined with the fact that MLB HR-leader Jose Bautista is unlikely to replicate his total of 54 from last season, it's easy to see why a change in approach is in order.
Rajai Davis stole 50 bases with the Oakland Athletics last season -- more than the new $142-million man for the Boston Red Sox, Carl Crawford -- and takes over from Wells in centre, penciled in to bat lead-off. He will feel some pressure filling Wells' shoes and the expectation of adding speed to the roster.
Aaron Hill and Adam Lind will feel pressure for different reasons. Hill is now the Jays’ longest-tenured player and will be expected to be a leader while trying to bounce back from a season that saw him slowed by injury and a major drop-off statistically. While he did hit 26 home runs, his .215 batting average was .065 below his career number after being a Silver Slugger the year prior. Also looming are team options on his contract, one to be decided before the season starts and another following the season.
Lind will feel the pressure of becoming an everyday first baseman for the first time -- eight career starts, all last season -- after splitting time during his first five major league seasons between left field and DH. And like Hill, he's trying to bounce back after seeing his RBI total drop by 42 while hitting 12 less home runs and a 68 point drop in his average between 2008 and 2009.
With the trading of Shaun Marcum to the Milwaukee Brewers for Canadian prospect Brett Lawrie, a void has been left at the top of the rotation, meaning that a pair of young left-handers will feel the pressure of being "The Man.” Ricky Romero appears to be suited to take over as staff ace. He was the only Jays starter to top the 200-inning plateau, led the team in complete games and his 52.0 AB/HR ratio was by far the best among the Jays' starters. He appears best equipped to step into the breach.
Romero will be pressed by Brett Cecil, who started the season at AAA after being slowed in training camp by a cut on his pitching thumb after a kitchen accident. He didn't arrive in Toronto until the third week in April but only missed one start the rest of the way and finished the season as the staff's top winner with 15. Cecil, who has reminded me and others of Jimmy Key since joining the Jays in '09, has the makeup to push for the ace role.
The one member of the organization who will certainly be feeling the pressure is sophomore general manager Alex Anthopoulos. While he's been universally praised for rebuilding the farm system into one of the best in baseball and cleaning up the mess left behind by the J.P. Ricciardi regime (see Wells' recently-dealt contract), the fans are starting to ask the tough questions.
While no one expected the Jays to win as often as they did during Anthopoulos' first season as chief decision maker, they also didn't expect him to deal away his opening day starter and all-star centre fielder in the same off-season. The fans, who expect to watch a contender every year, might start losing patience should the team take a step back this season, something that may happen. And they certainly don't want to be fed a plate of "wait 'til next year" after watching the team improve so dramatically last season. That may lead to pressure on AA to stray from his charted course, but judging by the way he's gone about his business, and the way he answered pointed questions last week from the season ticket holders, I have no doubt that things will move forward according to plan and on his terms.
Pressure is not always a bad thing, especially if handled properly. Pressure also means that expectations are rising for a franchise that is now 17 seasons removed from the post-season. Nothing wrong with that, is there?
