Baseball Preview

So April rolls around, and we get two days of blizzard :S. Anyhow, the baseball season has finally began, which means its time for another preview post, and we'll see how many predictions ends up being correct when October comes around.

Lets start off with the home team, the "new look" Toronto Blue Jays. I'm pretty sure most of the personnel in the Jays organization couldn't wait for 2005 to come. Losing the reigning Cy Young award winner, and losing two other all-stars to injury in the same time span sure wasn't what the Jays needed last season. With Carlos Delgado now in the senior circuit in the forms of the Marlins, the Jays will need their newcomers and veterans alike to step up to make up for Carlos' departure. V.Wells has vowed to shoot for a 30-30 season, which will certainly be a welcoming sight for the Jays fans, as well as Doc Halladay's return to full health. With Canadian Corey Koskie and Shea Hillenbrand joining the blue birds, the Jays will be hoping for them to make up for the 30+ HRs, 100+ RBIs that Delgado brought with him to the Marlins. The Jays will also be hoping for Hinske to step up his game, back to his form that brought him the ROTY award. With new manager John Gibbons, look for the Jays to be alot more active and aggressive on the basepath, rather than sitting back and waiting for the long ball to generate runs. Finally, the Jays farm system is bearing fruit, Russ Adams, Alexis Rios are already making an impact for the Jays as regular starters. Also look for David Bush to be in the rotation, with the hard-throwing Brandon League possibly fitting into the rotation later on in the season. This year is going to be an interesting and exciting years for the Jays, as J.P.'s plan to build and model the money franchise looks as it is starting to come together.

Despite all the optimism with the new Jays, there will be stretches in the season where they will go through some "learning pain". Through those times, it is vital for team leaders (V. Wells, Doc Halladay) to step up and bring these rookies through the tougher times. Look for the Jays to rebound from the basement of the American League East, finishing third in front of the Os, but behind the two big spenders (Yanks and Bo. Sox). They should finish around the .500 mark, I'm predicting a 84-78 season.

More on the rest of the American League and National League to come.