Cautious optimism in Toronto
Each of the last two years, J.P. Ricciardi thought the Blue Jays had a chance to be a very good team and win 90 or more games, if some things fell their way. And while the Jays won 87 games and finished ahead of the Red Sox in 2006, they were hammered by injuries early in 2007 and closed with 83 victories.
The Jays are in camp again, and again, you can glance at the Toronto roster and consider what could be, and you envision a way in which this team could shock the American League. The Jays have a legitimate ace in Roy Halladay, a rising young star in Dustin McGowan, and a deep group of talented starters and relievers. B.J. Ryan is less than a year removed from Tommy John surgery, and yet it appears there is a real chance he will open the season on the Opening Day roster. Toronto may have the best pitching staff in the AL East, and maybe even in the AL.
Sure, there are questions about the offense: Can Vernon Wells bounce back and be what he was in 2006, rather than in 2007? Can Frank Thomas get off to a better start? Can Lyle Overbay recover from his 2007 injury? Will the Jays get away from their free-swinging traits of last summer and show more patience, a la Boston and the Yankees?
There is reason to think good thoughts, but Ricciardi is not dwelling on them, after seeing what happened in 2006 and 2007. "You could say that I'm cautiously optimistic," he said.
Ryan had reconstructive surgery on his left elbow last May 10, and typically, players have required at least a year of rehabilitation from the Tommy John operation. But 10 months later, Ryan feels good, Ricciardi said. And he looks good, with his arm angle higher. The Jays are not looking ahead, not assuming anything, not pushing to meet any arbitrary calendar benchmarks. "He throws, we take a look at it, and then we move on to the next day," said Ricciardi.
Ryan threw live batting practice Thursday and was satisfied with his brief workout, writes Jeff Blair.
If Ryan can take over as the Jays' closer, then the Jays will have a couple of attractive options: They could move Casey Janssen, who fared very well as a setup man last year, into a starter role to build a really deep rotation that also includes Halladay, Burnett, McGowan and Shaun Marcum; or the Jays could keep Janssen in the 'pen and give themselves a chance to have an extraordinary relief corps, with Ryan, Janssen, Jeremy Accardo, Scott Downs, Brian Wolfe, Brian Tallet and Brandon League. The guess here is that the Jays would go the latter route and opt for greater bullpen depth.
If Burnett can stay healthy, if Ryan comes back, if Wells hits, the AL East will have three excellent teams in the Red Sox, Yankees and Jays, and another evolving team in the Rays. That would make it very difficult for two teams to make the playoffs out of the East.