The Sports Corner

Blue Jays look surprisingly good

For a team that is supposed to be having a rebuilding year, the Blue Jays looked pretty good on Opening Day. Yes, I know they lost in the ninth inning to the Rangers. But after all the pessimistic outlooks in the offseason about Toronto’s 2010 campaign, the team definitely surpassed my expectations on Monday.

First things first, Vernon Wells is hitting! He had three hits in four at-bats, his first plate appearance rendering a 2-run home run, giving the Blue Jays an early lead. He didn’t strike out, didn’t walk, just put bat on ball. Many Jays fans will be breathing a little easier when V-Dub comes up to the plate if this trend continues.

Who needs Doc when you’ve got Shaun Marcum? He was so sharp in the first 6.1 innings that it looked like he hadn’t missed any time at all. He held the Rangers hitless in that span and his change-up was devastating.

Cito might have left the new ace in a little too long though, because Texas eventually caught on to his rhythm and tied the game in the seventh, getting their first walk, hit and homer of the game and the year all before Marcum got the second out. He stayed tough though and closed out the inning. For a guy who hasn’t pitched in a major league game for over a season, I was very impressed with Shaun’s performance.

The defence also looked very good, turning a double play with new shortstop Alex Gonzalez, and grabbing everything within reach. Both Wells and Travis Snider went all out in the outfield, each making a spectacular diving play on sinking fly balls. The one blemish on the day was Encarnacion’s mindless error at third.

Encarnacion is actually one of the things I’m truly worried about this season. Ever since the Blue Jays acquired him in the Scott Rolen trade with the Reds last year, he’s done nothing useful. He’s not a solid defensive player at all and every time he goes up to the plate, he should just go sit back on the bench again, because that’s where he ends up anyway. Honestly, John McDonald’s hitting has improved and his defence is unmatched. He should be at least manning third base, if not shortstop.

Speaking of a lack of hitting, the bottom third of Toronto’s order also concerns me. John Buck, Encarnacion and Snider produced absolutely nothing Monday afternoon. Buck’s career average is .235, I already talked about Edwin and Snider has definite potential, we know he has power, but success has evaded him at the plate when with the big club. Grouping the three of them together at the bottom leaves a giant hole in the order.

On a side note, Overbay worries me too. The former doubles machine has been pretty quiet in the batter’s box lately and I hope that Randy Ruiz will be given a chance to prove himself at first base over the course of the season.

And of course, there is the pitching. A lack of experience in the starting rotation could shape up to be a problem. All five of the starting guys’ total games started put together add up to less than that of Roy Halladay’s total games started. I’m not really worried about it, but I’d rather see Tallet in the bullpen. He’s much more effective over a short time.

Jason Frasor had a tough first appearance as Toronto’s closer, allowing the game to slip away, giving Marcum a no-decision after a great returning start. But I think it was just Opening Day jitters. Let him settle in to his new spot and he’ll pitch like we’ve seen him do in the past. His addition of a third pitch will definitely help the Justin Timberlake look-a-like be more effective in the final inning.

Overall, I’m excited to see what this newer version of the Blue Jays will do over the course of the season and I hope they’ll surprise a lot of their doubters.