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I'm looking forward to the start of another season.. Although I'm not too optimistic about the Jays this year.. Ryan is probably going to be hurt off and on all season, and without Janssen as a middle reliever the pen is going to be weaker than it was last year.
Also cutting Reed Johnson was one of the dumbest things Riccardi has done. It was purely a cost cutting move to correct the mistake of giving him a contract last year. I hope Lind plays alot this year because I don't trust Stewart's defense at all. The plan is to have Stairs and Stewart platoon the position, and neither one of those guys are reliable in the outfield.
Also, I dont understand why Riccardi adressed the the shortstop position and left field position when there was no significant problems with either and failed to adress the holes at catcher and bullpen. The left field position in my opinion is worse now than it was before.. I can understand why Riccardi might want to sacrifice defence to gain some offense, but the reason the offense was weak last year was because big name guys who were signed or brought in to hit (Glaus, Overbay, Wells) didn't deliver.
I'm predicting the Jays to win less than 85 games this year, Hopefully they can prove me wrong.. Thoughts?
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I'm a bit more optimistic about the Jays chances, though I admit a lot will have to go right for them to make a playoff run. For starters I agree the bullpen is an area of concern - if Ryan gets healthly they should be fine though, it'll essentially be the same as last year with Ryan instead of Janssen. Given the uncertainty in the pen though I think they'll need a big year from the rotation, a combined 45+ wins from Halladay, McGowan, and Burnett would be a good start.
I'm not too sure what to think about the Johnson situation, the defence out there is definitely a little sketchy now. Wells will probably have to cover a lot of ground in center to make up for it.
As much as I liked Johnny Mac, the fact is when you play in the AL East you can't afford to have a career .240 hitter as your starting shortstop. Eckstein should be a significant improvement in that regard, and what you lose in his defense is pretty well offset at 3rd, where Rolen will be a big upgrade over Glaus.
The other big issue of course is Wells. When you get paid what he does you have to deliver, and last year he certainly didn't. Hopefully he can return to form.
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LK,
As a fellow Sox fan, I'm curious as to your thoughts -- as of this moment, who would you say needs to step up and have a stellar season? Personally, I'd like to see Drew step-up and be worth something during the regular season, not just showing up offensively for the post-season. Also, I'd like to see more consistant production from Youkilis. He sort of petered out toward the end of the regular season last year. I like the guy a helluva lot, and really want to see him shine!
-Jenna
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I think this year will be tougher than last year for this team, having to start in Japan and there spring training is being cut short cause of the exhibition games in Japan, the first couple months of the season will be crucial I think. I suppose everyone expects us to dominate and repeat but baseball isnt that simple, the roster is pretty much the same but my biggest concerns would be the back end of the rotation, Clay Bucholtz and Jon Lester are still young but will have to prove there as good as everyone says they are. Im hopeful Becketts back problems arent going to be a chronic problem or we could be hurting, I love Dice-K but he tends to fade out of games sometimes and is prone to the long ball otherwise he's solid and the bullpen is deep no worries there. J.D Drew is a mystery, if he can step it up and start earning that salary that would help. Ellsbury had a terrible spring I hope he can shake it off, Varitek and Schilling are ageing and prone to injury but should have decent years although their numbers could suffer a bit this year. Youkilis and Casey will probably share time at 1st and put up good numbers not to worry Jenna. But despite that bit of negativity its still a great lineup probably the best in the majors, Manny and Papi already look in great form and should shoulder most of the offence the pitching is deep and talented and should hold up nicely, the bullpen is deep and strong, plus we have lots of good young prospects should they be needed. I predict a first place finish again, barring a total collapse or plane crash.
Play ball!!
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No more brittle than the man he's replacing (Glaus).
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One last hurrah at the Cathedral...
no predictions, no projections, just a number...
#27 :rambo:
that's what we want.
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I'll cheer for the Jays of course, though I'm not convinced they have what it takes to make the playoffs this year... too much has to break right with them and break wrong for other teams.
As for who wins the WS... please, please, PLEASE GOD make it someone OTHER THAN the Bosox or the Yanks... PLEASE!!!!!
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tough break for the jays tonight (sound familiar?)
tomorrow's home opener should be interesting Alomar's getting added to the level of excellence
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Not quite the start to the season the Tigers hoped for, eh?
Esthete, who's that young kid that pitched for your team the other day? Not a bad outing for him.
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ill be a happy camper if the jays sweep the bo-sox!!
those throwback unis were pretty cool last night too :thumb:
![[Image: r195249_741571.jpg]](http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200710/r195249_741571.jpg)
hock: 
