State Of The Franchise

Last week season ticket holders had a chance to sit down with Anthopoulos, Gibbons, Beeston, and Buck Martinez to ask questions and talk about the season ahead for the Jays. Here are a few of the talking points that came up during this year’s State Of The Franchise. For starters Beeston, as we already new, confirmed this will be his last season with the Jays. He went on to give the token, I want to go out with a bang routine and fortunately with the moves they’ve made this off season and the state of the AL east right now there is a chance that could happen. Gibbons even said outright “it’s a better team than it was last year” which I can’t disagree with. The one big problem that needs to be addressed is the bullpen. Alex did mention it at the meeting saying he would like more depth but the closer is already on the roster. Personally that’s not what I wanted to hear. I’m assuming that statement is saying that Sanchez or maybe Cecil will be getting the job and I don’t really like either one of them for two different reasons. One, I really want to see Sanchez start this year, and two, in the case of Cecil I’m just not fully convinced he is the man for the job. He has his flashes of greatness here and there but as an every day closer I’m not yet sold. When Gibby was asked about Sanchez he did say "I want to see Sanchez as a starter". "He could be a great starter." "We'll have to see how things turn out in spring training." which sounds somewhat promising. Alex also said that Norris will be in the rotation at some point this summer, which is something I am looking forward to seeing after what I saw from him last fall.

Pitching was a big focus at the SOTF but by no means the only one. One of the other issues that I thought needed to be addressed was second base. When asked, Gibby said that Izturis, Goins, Tolleson, Travis and Kawasaki are all in the fight for second base this spring. When they put up a graphic with a 'projected batting order', Ryan Goins’ name was listed at second base, batting 9th. He went on to say that Izturis is in the best shape of his life after missing most of last season due to a knee injury resulting in surgery. Given the 1 through 6 in the lineup as it stands, personally I like Goins for the job. I’ve always said that 2^nd is the one spot where you can give up offense for defense, and with that in mind it’s hard not to go with Goins even with his .220 at the plate. That being said I am looking forward to the competition for the spot coming in the next few weeks.

Other notable mentions were discussions about Martin getting the chance to catch Dickey, the “strong desire” to keep Bautista and Encarnacion "for life" and the contract with the University of Guelph to grass the field. Another fun thing coming up is their proposal to get the All-Star game back at the dome. I’m not really a big fan of the whole All-Star game thing but it is fun when it’s in your own yard.

That’s most of what was discussed last week in regards to the team at the SOTF in case you missed it. At the end of the meeting Beeston said in his closing comments “We are going to dedicate 2015 to winning.” which as a Toronto sports fan I can’t help but take with a grain of salt. They are making the right moves but as far as winning goes, I’ll believe it when I see it, and when I see it I’ll love it. I’m a Jays fan to the end but 21 years is a long time.

As always feel free to comment, bitch, and complain below, and before we all know it we’ll be back at the park!!!

Cheers