1200 for publication January 6, 2017
Ross Brewitt
By Sunday we’ll be onto a clean sheet, as in the 12 months of 2017.
The trick is to do something better than you did in the previous year, and that was the belief of my “Grampa Jack” Ross, holding court at the kitchen table in Schreiber, Ontario.
“Yuh always gotta do somethin’ better than you did last year,” he’d say, over breakfast, looking at me with a skeptic’s eyes, “…and if I was you I’d work on my skatin’… backwards.”
As usual, it turned out he was right, and I became a defenceman.
But most things aren’t as easily decided, and going forward into 2017 one thing dominated what could become the dismantling of a ball team at the highest level. The Toronto Blue Jays.
In late November Edwin Encarnacion rejected the club’s offer of $80-million over four years. The news shocked many in baseball, but not the president and GM of the Jays.
In my opinion the Shapiro/Atkins tandem folded their tent at the first sign of any adversity in re-signing EE. It tells me they already had a plan to implement. Their answer was to immediately grab Kendrys Morales at DH, and journeyman Steve Pearce.
Smoak, was the Jays incumbent first-baseman, the guy they had just extended a new contract with a raise for another couple of years. In addition, it’s to be seen how the permanently disgruntled Jose Bautista fits into the Jays plans or will he be moving too?
Now I’d like to know how Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins sleep at night. Yes, we know they work quietly, but in negotiations is their acquiescence based on “one and done,” or “take it or leave it?” or “that was my final offer, Buster, we’re done here.”
Seems EE’s camp and the Jays haven’t discussed anything serious since, and now Edwin is with Cleveland, making the Tribe an odds-on favourite to win the World Series.
Yet to date nothing else has evolved with the Jays team even with a surplus of money to spend.
Nothing is changed in two areas I felt were “iffy” last year, the first being a lefty-set-up pitcher. The Jays don’t have one to point at. There was also a need for a catcher who could play the position to the utmost, blocking balls instead of back-handing them, or how about throwing out base-stealers on a regular basis. If you’ve been looking to the farm for help, there’s only A.J. Jimenez, a .240 hitter in Buffalo as back-up.
There was nothing “iffy” about the Jays mind-set last season in their inability to manufacture runs by stealing bases, or moving runners in 90-foot increments using sneaky means. Such as bunting, a tactic difficult to master at the major league level. At least it certainly appeared to be difficult, and totally foreign or forgotten by Jays batters.
Still, barring injuries of the kind that made Devon Travis in-and-out at second base, the key to any Jays success in ’17 will be their starting pitching, and relievers. In that regard they are as good as anyone in the AL East.
Yet unless, Morales and newly signed utility player Steve Pearce have banner seasons, they could also use upgrades at first, left and right field, and the previously mentioned catching. Whatever they do, leave Donaldson, Tulo, and Pillar to do their “thing.”
All I’m sayin’ is 2017 will be a year of discontent for the Blue Jays. Unless they can prove otherwise by surprising the hell out of everyone in coming up with a master-plan replacing the numbers of the departed Edwin Encarnacion. Also the 200 innings gap they got out of R.A. Dickey, another former Jay. Otherwise they will likely miss the playoffs, and are headed for a summer of discontent.
Just think, all that goodwill and sellouts could be gone, because this was a team constructed for success. So, this may be a season the fans recall as the year baseball died. Or maybe not, that’s why they play the schedule.
Either way, be happy. It’s just a game.
Happy New Year, folks… chug-a-lug… sports is rarely a serious business.