This year’s Toronto Blue Jays could perhaps be taken as a parable for baseball itself: completely surpassing all expectations, experiencing crushing disappointment during a horrendous losing streak, finding unexpected superstars seemingly from nowhere, and getting continuously dominating performances from star players.
The Jays tore out of spring on top of the always competitive AL East. Impressive as their early season play was—a .666 winning percentage for most of the first two months—the biggest shock comes from putting those results into context. Heading into the season, team officials publicly talked down expectations for 2009, referring to it as a rebuilding year and stressing that fan focus should be on 2010. It was tough to blame early cynics as the Jays’ only certain starting pitchers heading into spring training were Roy Halladay and Jesse Litsch.
Perhaps even more surprising is the list of players who have stepped up and made the Jays a winning team. Twenty-nine-year-old rookie Scott Richmond, who not so long ago was playing semi-pro baseball out west and working on ships in Vancouver, has been phenomenal, racking up Cy Young-calibre stats against right-handed hitters and giving the Jays a chance to win nearly all of the games he has started. Brian Tallet, a career reliever, was thrust into the starting rotation by injuries and has been outstanding, dominating some very good offensive teams, and, like Richmond, keeping the Jays in the game in the majority of his starts.
Ricky Romero, a long-developing yet highly touted prospect, was spectacular before hurting himself in late April. Despite looking shaky after coming back from his injury, he put up solid numbers in his last start against Kansas City and could still contribute greatly.
Offensively, Aaron Hill has emerged as the superstar many thought he could be. Prior to slumping badly for the past week, Hill’s batting average was a surreal .350 for most of the season, and he is on pace to obliterate his career highs in all offensive categories. Marco Scutaro, a utility infielder for many years, has inexplicably turned into a starting shortstop and everyday leadoff man.
There have been a few disappointments, both on pitching and offence. David Purcey, another long-anticipated prospect, was sent to Triple-A after he seemed to lose the ability to throw strikes. He was expected to be a consistent contributor throughout the year. Litsch, despite projecting as the Jays’ number-two starter, strained his forearm during the third series of the season back in early May and won’t be back until July.
Vernon Wells and Alex Rios—both fresh off signing mega-contracts and widely considered essential to the Jays’ success—have struggled badly. Wells’ offensive numbers are nothing short of awful, and his lack of home runs (he has only five) has surely cost the Jays a few games. Rios has been very streaky this year, with far more bad than good. Both players are usually better in the second half of the season; whether or not it will be too late for the Jays by then remains to be seen.
A bright spot has been the performance of Roy Halladay. The first pitcher in the majors to win nine games this year, “Doc” has dominated opponents and has been as reliable an anchor for the Jays rotation as ever. Many American commentators now readily identify him as the best pitcher in baseball.
It is not difficult to identify why the Blue Jays sit about three games out of first place as of press time. After sweeping the Chicago White Sox at home in a four-game Victoria Day weekend series and looking poised to take off, they hit the road and a nasty skid—one that saw them lose nine straight games in total, including a three-game sweep at the hands of divisional rival Boston. If there had managed to muster only a couple wins on that road trip, there is a good chance the Jays would currently be in first place.
Another point of concern is their 3-6 record against the Yankees and Red Sox, the teams they must beat to make the playoffs. Jays fans can take heart in the fact that they historically play far better against those two teams, and with many games remaining they will almost certainly pick up ground in the standings. All in all, it is tough for fans to complain too loudly. True, some players have badly underperformed, and with a bit of dumb luck and crisper play here and there, the team could well be in first place rather than third. But nearly everyone would have expected the Jays to currently be in fourth or fifth place and well out of contention at this point in the season, so the surprise thus far has been pleasant. There is also every reason to believe the team will get better: Wells and Rios will contribute, the starting pitching should stabilize, and they will play better against Boston and New York.
It could well be that by the time The Varsity is publishing regularly in the fall, there will be a playoff race to report on.
