Kuzul

There is a certain feeling in the air in Toronto about this year’s Blue Jays team. Jose Bautista is coming off his second straight season as the American League’s home run king while the Blue Jays’ farm system is jam-packed with top prospects such as Anthony Gose and Travis D’Arnaud. Finally, ownership has given Alex Anthopolous the resources to become a player in free agency.

This gives the Blue Jays a realistic chance at signing top free agents Prince Fielder or Yu Darvish. 

These are not exactly new ideas for the Blue Jays. They have had All-Stars before, their farm system has produced very good players such as Alex Rios and Roy Halladay. The Blue Jays have made big free agent signings in the past such as Frank Thomas and Troy Glaus.

However, this time around, it seems like this Blue Jays team is innately “Toronto” and connects to the fan base like no Blue Jays team before. 

The first, and arguably the most overlooked part of the rebirth of the franchise, is the logo and jersey rebranding. This offseason, the Blue Jays introduced a modernized version of the uniforms that they wore during their two World Series runs. To no surprise, this renaissance was met with rave reviews.

Although the uniforms are not exactly the same, they are close enough that a hat, jersey or T-shirt is surely on every Torontonian’s Christmas list. The uniforms remind fans of the magic from nearly 20 years ago; now fans can create a link between their former heroes to their current ones.

Each time Jose Bautista puts one over the fence in the Rogers Centre in his new number 19 split-scrit jerseys, fans will be reminded of the old number 19, 1993 World Series Most Valuable Player, Paul Molitor.

Secondly, the young Blue Jays stars have used social media to connect to the fan base in a way that former Blue Jays never had the opportunity to. J.P. Arencibia, Brett Lawrie, Ricky Romero and Jose Bautista have used Twitter to connect with a fan base in a way that resonates with them.

In fact, as I write this article, and watch the Maple Leafs, my Twitter feed shows a tweet from Arencibia stating, “Yeahhhhh and power play coming up!!!! Not over till the fat lady sings!!!” just as Phil Kessel scores.

It is no secret that nothing matters more in Toronto than the Maple Leafs, and to see the Blue Jays showing their support for the Leafs shows the City of Toronto that every player on the Blue Jays is one of them.

In fact, the Blue Jays have befriended the Maple Leafs through Twitter with the creation of #TeamUnit, a Toronto sports fraternity consisting of the city’s biggest young stars. Whether its asking fans for Fantasy Hockey advice, or tweeting pictures of Tyler Bozak at batting practice. The young Blue Jays are showing that they are proud to play for, and represent, the City of Toronto.

Finally, the Blue Jays’ rebirth is led by a national hero, British Columbia’s own, Brett Lawrie. Every city has and needs a player that represents its city. New York has Derek Jeter, the calm and collected Shortstop who grew up a Yankees fan and is unfazed by the big lights of New York City.

Minnesota has Joe Mauer, the St. Paul native who was an All-State athlete in three different sports. Although Lawrie is not from Toronto, he connects with the city through Canada’s national pride. The Blue Jays’ number one marketing scheme is to market themselves as Canada’s team.

They represent a nation, not just one city, as the only major league team in the country. It is only fitting that (although he hates to be called it) “The Saviour” comes from the other side of the country, but still connects with this team on a personal level.

The entire country loves Brett Lawrie and Brett Lawrie loves Canada. He has been willing to represent the country in international events such as the World Baseball Classic and the Baseball World Cup.

     Ultimately, unless the Blue Jays show that they can contend with the Yankees and the Red Sox in the American League East, the excitement will eventually die out. However, the optimism that it can be done this year is higher than ever. That optimism will fill seats, and maybe give the team the moral support to play their first playoff game since Joe Carter “touched them all.”

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It’s that time of year again in Major League Baseball.

Division leaders and Wild Card hopefuls dominate the headlines as fans across the nation begin to anticipate the excitement of October pennant chases. 

September is where legends cement their place, managers justify their contracts, role players previously shrouded in obscurity make their names known, MVPs and Cy Young winners bring home their hardware, headlines are stolen and franchise-crippling collapses are immortalized. 

The most exciting month of baseball’s regular season is where the pretenders and the contenders are finally separated as W’s, X’s, Y’s and Z’s begin to finalize the standings, granting a select few ball clubs the ever-so-elusive invitation to the sport’s most exclusive dance.

Lost in the hype, however, as disgruntled fans of hopeless teams begin to switch the channel over to football are their first glances at a brighter future. 

For those of us not lucky enough to construct our hopes around the boys in New York, Milwaukee, Texas, Arizona, Detroit or Philadelphia, September call-ups are all we’ve got left to give the tail end of the schedule some measure of relevance.

This is where the old Brooklyn Dodgers mantra of “wait till next year” becomes a battle cry, because unless your favored club is within a few games of a postseason berth, the future is your last resort.

Now, that’s not to say that next year’s prospects are looking too bright in every corner of Bud Selig’s empire.

In remote ball-playing wastelands, such as Houston, Texas and Baltimore, it’s going to take years of patience and good faith before the home team can even begin to see itself on the same page as the rest of its competition.

For these five clubs, however, grim outlooks need not be applied.

With the savvy dealing, creativity and patience of their front offices alongside the steady development of their promising talent on the farm, brighter days appear to be just on the horizon, merely awaiting a fresh 162 or two.

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Jose Bautista has put together a historical, Ruth-like run since the beginning of the 2010 season, but has that been enough for him to surge past other All-Stars like Matt Holliday, Ryan Braun, or last year’s MVP Josh Hamilton as the best outfielder in Major League Baseball?

Find out here with this list of the Top 10 Outfielders in the MLB.

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Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers leads the way in our group of award winner from the first half of the 2011 Major League Baseball Season.

Baseball has suddenly become dominated by pitching as there are only seven players in the entire league with at least 20 home runs.  

It’s a fascinating statistic when you think just 10 years ago, Alex Rodriguez hit 52, Luis Gonzalez hit 57, Sammy Sosa hit 64, and Barry Bonds hit 73—the most home runs for a season in the history of baseball.

Now that we’ve officially reached the half-way point of the season, let’s take a look at the MVP’s and Cy Young Award winners of the first half.

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Jose Bautista‘s improbable rise to stardom in the Major Leagues is one of the best post-steroid era stories in baseball.

Recently Yahoo Sport’s Jeff Passan wrote a must-read piece (after you finish my article, of course) breaking down Bautista’s path to the Majors and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bautista has his doubters, for sure, that just can’t wrap their mind around the notion that a player who had never hit more than 16 homers in any season in his career could jump to 54 in a single season without the use of performance enhancing drugs.

Bautista explains, and Passan eloquently describes, that he was unable to make the necessary adjustments to become the hitter he is now because any decrease in productivity would have jeopardized his career.

Thus, he went through five teams before finding the stability he needed in Toronto. A team that would work with him and allow him to make the adjustments while remaining an everyday player.

As the results began racking up with each ball knocked over the fence, Bautista’s confidence grew, and he was able to unload on pitcher after pitcher on his way to his first home run crown in 2010.

The encore performance is underway, and so far he is on a run that could windup placing him amongst the greats of the game, clean and not steroid-tainted.

Passan writes:

“What he did remains inconceivable: evolve from a nobody, a piece cast off by the sport’s dregs, into the most dangerous hitter on the planet. He hit 54 home runs last year when no one else hit 40, and he followed up this season with the best two-month stretch since Barry Bonds.”

The stretch Passan is referencing by Bonds was his 2001-2002 season in which he had a combined total of 119 homers. The two-year span by Bonds ranks fifth on the all-time list of two-season homer totals.

Eight out of the top ten two-season home run totals are owned by players with ties to steroids, including Bonds’ run.

Mark McGwire ranks first with 135 homers between the 1998-1999 seasons.

The two top-10 performances by a player with no steroid implications? Babe Ruth in 1927-1928 with 114 homers, and Ruth again in 1920-1921 with 113 total homers.

The only modern-era player with such a stretch and no steroid implications is Ken Griffey, Jr. Griffey currently has the eleventh best two-year string of success with 112 homers in 1997-1998. Griffey also topped the 100-homer mark for two-year spans in 1996-1997 and 1998-1999 with 105 and 104 homers, respectively, during those spans.

Bautista currently has 75 homers with 92 games remaining in the season. If he continues on his current pace he would wind up with 48 homers according to ESPN. The combined totals would give him 102 for the 2010-2011 combined seasons, good enough for the 19th best two-season total in history, seventh best among players with no steroid connection.

Pre-steroid use, depending on when you believe that was, Mark McGwire never achieved 100 homers in two seasons. Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds only reached those totals during the years they allegedly were on the juice as well.

It is worth noting that today’s greatest power hitters, Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard, have never accomplished this feat.

Future Hall of Famer, Jim Thome, has only reached the 100-HR-over-two-seasons plateau once in his career, between 2001-2002 (101 homers).

Bautista’s rise to stardom already has all the makings of a feel-good Disney movie with a happy ending and a lesson to be learned about determination and never giving up on your dream.

His present day accomplishments, though, have the makings of history written all over them.

Brandon McClintock covers Major League Baseball for BleacherReport.com. You can follow him on Twitter:        @BMcClintock_BR.

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The roster I am proposing for this article is not a prediction of what I think the final roster will look like.  History has shown that fan voting and other hidden agendas tend to slightly skew the final roster from what it truly should resemble.  Instead, this will focus on who truly deserves to go to the 2011 MLB All-Star game as of right now.  Why right now?  We are almost halfway to the halfway point of the season, that’s why.  All selection rules will apply (i.e. one player from every team, etc.).

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In a recent Bleacher Report assignment I listed 15 potential sluggers that Oakland could add for a playoff push. Some of the sluggers on the list definitely fell into the “wishful thinking” category, a point I made clear in the descriptions of each player.

I intentionally left Jose Bautista out of that piece for a number of reasons. After looking at the season Bautista is having though, and the overall status of the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East, I have given it a lot more thought and come to the conclusion it is not as far-fetched of an idea as I had originally determined it to be.

While researching the Blue Jays needs to see if a potential match-up could be made between the A’s and Jays, I came across a blog posting from jaysjournal.com’s Mat Germain discussing this very scenario.

Germain writes:

“I’ll examine one particular team that may or may not be interested in Jose Bautista‘s services in 2011 (my most likely trade partner evaluated for the Jays in such a team – for now) and could make a deal happen with the Jays as a result, I don’t expect that we can predict when a deal could happen, if it ever does happen. Only Alex Anthopoulos knows when he’ll feel comfortable enough to pull the trigger on such a deal, but we can at least take a stab at where that deal may come from, whether it happens in the pre-season or during the season…

The Oakland Athletics… Their lineup definitely lacks pop and needs someone with Jose Bautista‘s power to help drive in runs on a regular basis. With their young and impressive rotation, a slugger like Bautista could be the missing link between them and the playoffs. The A’s and Jays have made a few deals since Alex Anthopoulos took over… Lines of communication are definitely strong between these two franchises…

The most important part here is that they are ready to compete in their division in 2011, while the Jays are still another year away. So, this deal allows the A’s to make the absolute best push possible for a playoff spot while increasing the chances that the Jays will do the same in 2012 and beyond…”

Okay, obviously I only cut excerpts of the entire blog posting there to give you an idea of the rationale behind Germain’s thinking that a deal could be completed between the two sides. For the whole blog-post, definitely check out the link above, it is worth a read.

Perhaps the most important part of the whole posting though is the last line I posted. The Jays are not ready to compete in the American League East against the Yankees and Red Sox in 2011, while the A’s are expected to contend down to the very end of the season for the division title in the American League West.

Bautista’s contract extension would actually be a benefit for the A’s

While I initially viewed the extension Bautista signed with the Blue Jays this past offseason as a main reason the A’s would not be able to trade for him, I have now changed my mind.

His extension is for an annual salary of $14 million per year through 2015, with a $14 million team option for 2016. Bautista will be 35 years old upon completion of this deal, assuming his club option is exercised.

The Athletics offered Adrian Beltre a contract worth just slightly less on an annual basis this past offseason. The length of the contract offered to Beltre was five years, the same length of time Bautista’s current deal runs, and Bautista is a younger player.

Adding Bautista would ensure we retain the rights to his services for four and a half seasons, providing plenty of runs to our young pitching staff as they continue to develop and perform while also under club control.

His contract would allow the A’s to shop him around to other contending teams during the offseason or at the trade deadline each of the following few seasons if they fall out of contention.

To put it simply, he provides a boost to the A’s offense now, and can be flipped for prospects later if they choose to trade him again.

Versatility allows him to play multiple positions for Oakland

Bautista fits the Athletics position needs as well. He has spent time the past few seasons in the outfield as well as playing occasionally at third base (48 games in 2010, 28 games in 2009).

Oakland could plug Bautista into multiple roles, depending on what they give up in return for him in a trade. Bautista could take over the everyday role at third base for the remainder of this season and then switch back to the outfield when a position opens up this offseason (Josh Willingham, Coco Crisp and David DeJesus are all free agents). Bautista could also fill one of the corner outfield positions allowing the A’s to trade one of the current outfielders to replenish the farm system after completing a trade with Toronto.

Bautista could also see time at the designated hitter position to allow Bob Geren to continue utilizing the roster depth to give adequate playing time to keep everyone fresh.

2010 was apparently not a fluke

Prior to 2010 Bautista had never hit more than 16 home runs in a season. Last year he broke out in a major way with a Major League leading 54 home runs.

This season he is off to a fast start with nine home runs and 16 RBI while only playing in 25 games so far. He is currently batting .357 with a 1.292 OPS and a league leading 30 base-on-balls.

I still have my doubts that he will be able to maintain his current level of dominance of American League pitching, but he seems to be proving that he is indeed able to match his 2010 campaign.

He is definitely the threat the A’s need in the middle of their lineup.

What would the A’s have to give up to acquire Bautista?

This is the part of a trade for Bautista that scares me. His 2010 season and fast start in 2011 sky-rocketed his trade value for the Blue Jays, and it has yet to be proven that he can be counted on for this level of production annually.

Germain suggested the following names in his post as trade targets for Toronto: Grant Green, Chris Carter, Jemile Weeks, Tyson Ross, Gio Gonzalez, Andrew Bailey, Michael Taylor, Adrian Cardenas, Michael Choice, Ian Krol and Fautino De Los Santos.

He was not suggesting it would take all of these names of course, he was just pointing out players that would be of interest to the Blue Jays.

My thought is that a trade of either Jemile Weeks or Adrian Cardenas, paired with Chris Carter or Daric Barton and either Fautino De Los Santos or Joey Devine would be enough to get the deal done.

Germain also suggested Kevin Kouzmanoff could be a throw-in to the deal to provide a stop-gap for the Jays at third base. If it saves one of the above mentioned players from needing to be included, then I am 100 percent behind that idea.

What concerns me though about trading a package of prospects for Bautista though is his sudden increase in production. I’m certainly not speculating that he cheated in any way, but I would like to see him sustain this level of production for more than just the first month of this season before I would part with any of the key prospects we expect to be contributors in Oakland for the next several years.

Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson and Gio Gonzalez would be my untouchables, as would Grant Green and Michael Choice. I’d be reluctant to include Tyson Ross in any deal either, unless the A’s top scouts and front office feel confident that he will be able to sustain his current level of offensive production.

Obviously, Jose Bautista will not come cheap though, so A’s fans would need to accept losing some of our top minor league names and perhaps a major league ready guy as well to plug Bautista into the middle of the lineup.

Why would this deal work for the Blue Jays?

The Jays could add three pieces that will help them to compete in the next three to four seasons at the latest, about the same time Bautista’s deal would be running out and his level of play likely declining.

The competition in the AL East suggests this is around the same time the Blue Jays could reasonably compete for the division title without major free-agent spending, using their farm system as the basis for building a contender.

It would not be a popular trade in Toronto, losing a star player never is, but it would fit the model Alex Anthopoulos seems to be trying to build his team around.

Conclusion

I’m still in favor of the A’s trading for a player with a more proven past than Jose Bautista. A trade for David Wright from the Mets still feels like the safer trade, and probably better fit for the Athletics.

Assuming that trade can’t be pulled off though, which many indications suggest it won’t, then rolling the dice on Jose Bautista would provide Oakland with a feared hitter that is proving he is a true difference maker.

The fact that Bautista would be under club control through at least 2015 and would have trade value for at least the next two seasons gives Oakland enough reasons to take a chance on Bautista and give up a few prospects to compete this season and build their lineup around him for the next three seasons as well.

Brandon McClintock covers the Oakland Athletics and Major League Baseball for BleacherReport.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @BMcClintock_BR.

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The Blue Jays home opener started big with Jose Bautista receiving his silver slugger award from last season. Then, the pre-game activities were even bigger as Roberto Alomar and Pat Gilleck were on hand to see their Hall of Fame banners unveiled in the rafters before they teamed up to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the season.

To make things even better, the night ended very big for the Jays as well, as they pulled off a 13-3 shellacking of the Minnesota Twins in front of their home fans. They were carried by some solid pitching from Ricky Romero as he picked up the win in 6.1 innings pitched, allowing only three runs and striking out seven.

However, if you rewind back to the first inning it becomes quite clear that the Jays won this game because they did the little things well, right from the beginning. 

All it took was one game, actually, one inning, for this year’s Blue Jays team to convince me that they will have a far more versatile offense this season. The spark tonight came in the first inning as the Jays put up four runs, off two hits and some smart heads up base running highlighted by a beautiful double steal and a sneaky play by Adam Lind.

I know it’s really early to be saying things like “if the Jays continue like this then…” or “if the Jays keep this up….”  But, I’m going to do it anyway.

The duo of Rajai Davis and Yunel Escobar went a combined two for nine, but they more than made up for it with some great base running in the first inning that really got things going for the Jays. 

First, Rajai Davis showed some hustle as he ran out a very hard hit grounder to Twins shortstop Alexi Casella for a base hit. Once on base, he got caught in a round down but skilfully managed to maneuver his way out of trouble and stay safe at first. This was crucial for the big four-run outburst the Jays had in the first inning. 

The next batter, Yunel Escobar, singled, and then the duo came up with a masterful double steal getting themselves both into scoring position for none other than the reigning Home Run king and Silver Slugger award winner Jose Bautista. 

Bautista would not put one over the fence just yet, and he ended up being walked by Carl Pavano (coming off a fourth ball, which in my opinion, was way too far up and inside. Especially considering the fact that everyone knew he would pitch around Jose with first base open). 

Following the near “sweet chin music” on Bautista, Carl Pavano walked in the Jays first run of the season when he hit Adam Lind with a pitch. 

Fortunately, Adam Lind got some revenge on the next play via some additional crafty Blue Jays base running.  Lind sneakily advanced to second on an Aaron Hill sac fly to center field that scored Yunel Escobar and put the Jays up by two. In doing so, Lind proved that Rajai Davis and Yunel Escobar are not the only ones capable of turning some heads on the base paths.

The team’s solid base running in the first inning tells me that all the Jays are buying into the new small-ball game plan for this season. In addition, it is clear that they are all on the same page, just look at the way Jose Bautista (on 3B at the time) was communicating with Lind, who had just advanced to second. 

Therefore, fellow Jays fans, we are certainly in store for quite the show on the base paths this season. So sit back and enjoy it, because judging by the four home runs the Jays also managed to hit tonight it seems like they will be a legit double threat this season on offense.

As a result, they will be able to put up more than enough run support to keep the young Toronto pitching staff relaxed and comfortable, which means they will be able to go out there and just pitch like they know they can, with little to no pressure!

Great home opener win, let’s go Jays!

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Well it’s finally here. All the research, opinions and projections will actually be put to the test. As does every fantasy baseball season, 2011 starts off quite interesting with key injuries and trades in the offseason.

No Chase Utley at the top of the 2B lists this year. Johan Santana in many leagues is not even being drafted. Zack Greinke’s short DL stint to start the season in his new home isn’t exactly the way to start a relationship. With lesser injuries we watch Corey Hart and Mat Latos.

Long time Padre Adrian Gonzalez, seemed forever doomed to play on a mediocre team for the length of his career, but Boston finally brings hope in 2011. Cliff Lee pulls a “WHAT’D YOU SAY WILLIS?” and rejoins a Philly club, who everyone except apparently Lee thought slapped him in the face. Dan Uggla hops on over to Atlanta with hopes of bringing Atlanta back to the top of the NL East.

Yes indeed, it is an interesting way to start the season, but it is certainly no different than any other year. This is our male version of soap operas and we can’t get enough.

I’d like to take a moment and make a few predictions, that undoubtedly will be proven wrong in some fashion over the course of the season, but nonetheless I want to make them.

Jose Bautista will have a great season. There I said it.
Everyone seems to be down on the guy in 2011. I do agree that it is highly unlikely he will repeat his 2010 numbers but even at a 25 percent decrease his totals will be better than the majority of the league.

To put things in perspective, in 2010 Bautista hit 22 more home runs than the next third baseman, Mark Reynolds, and even with Bautista’s dismal average he still hit 62 points higher than Reynolds. Compared to A-Rod, Jose hit 24 more home runs, 35 more runs scored, walked 41 more times and only batted 10 points less.

I’m not out of my mind here. I am completely aware that Bautista’s season was one for the ages and he could very well be the next Brady Anderson. But I’m betting that Jose will still have some of the magic left from last year and if you’re a fantasy owner you drafted him 30-35 spots later than A-Rod.

My prediction for Bautista in 2011 would be .265 / 36 HR / 100 RBI / 95 R

 
Buster Posey will prove to the nay sayers that he is the real deal.
It seems there is a large community in the fantasy realm that don’t see Posey ranked higher than the 5th or 6th catcher in the league. I personally think he has all the tools to be the No. 1 catcher by year’s end.

Many say his power didn’t fully appear until he got to the majors, and that it was a fluke. I’m sorry I just don’t see how 18 home runs in a short season (406 AB) could be a fluke. 

Posey is a mature kid playing on a youthful team and just having fun (especially riding the high of being world champs). He will have less pressure to prove himself and the hits will come naturally. No sophomore slump here.

My prediction for Posey in 2011 would be .315/ 25 HR / 95 RBI / 80 R

Someone will win the Triple Crown in 2011
The Triple Crown is one of baseball’s highest awards. It’s a feat that has only been accomplished 15 times since the beginning of baseball. No one has won the batting title crown in 43 years since Carl Yastremski did it in 1967.

Pujols has been extremely close to winning the triple crown for the last few years and in 2011 he may finally see victory. The only problem is that there are a handful of other guys who want it just as bad. Joey Votto seems to have rounded out to an absolute monster and Carlos Gonzalez was damn close all year.

On the AL side, a healthy Josh Hamilton could easily grab the title and of course the ever consistent Miguel Cabrera will be right there in the running.

As much as the numbers show that Pujols is the heir to the Triple Crown, something tells me that this is Joey Votto’s year. It’s just what my gut is telling me and usually my gut is telling me it wants a sandwich.

My prediction for Votto in 2011 would be .337/ 42 HR / 122 RBI / 113 R

So that’s it folks, lets get this season started and good luck to all in their run for the fantasy gold.  Make sure to check The Fantasy Fix daily during the season for great articles, injury updates, previews & so much more.

I’d love to hear some of your predictions for 2011, so leave a note below.

Written by Evan Marx exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com

Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter  @thefantasyfix

or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team!

AND FOR THAT LAST MINUTE DRAFTS CHECK OUT OUR 2011 FANTASY BASEBALL DRAFT KIT

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Everybody has their list.

They get a ton of attention and for this group, unwarranted. They’re overrated.

Which stats are the best indicators of being overrated?

OPS? WAR? Should an eye test be taken?

Potential sometimes cannot be judged on stats.

Let’s take a look at the 10 most overrated players in baseball.

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