Blue Jays' New Vibe

      There's a new vibe in Toronto, and for once, its not about the Maple Leafs. The Blue Jays haven't played a baseball game in nearly three months, but they have stolen not only the Toronto spotlight, but the entire baseball world has tuned in to what the Blue Jays and Alex Anthopoulos have been able to accomplish since early October. It has been the type of off-season that fans remember years down the road as a time when their team acquired that piece (s) that put them over the top and made them championship contenders.

      There is a new vibe in the city and a renewed sense of hope that hasn't been there as long as I've been alive and then some. As there is every year, there is hope that your team can play up to its capabilities, but this is the first time in two decades that there is a true belief that this team has all the pieces to go into uncharted territory in over 20 years, the playoffs.

      In case you are still unaware of the drastic moves that have taken place over the off-season,  there have been three major additions: The blockbuster deal with the Miami Marlins, the signing of Melky Cabrera and the trade for Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey. These moves have cemented the Blue Jays' suspect rotation, transformed the top of the order into the most dynamic and effective in the game and most importantly, transformed their identity from an afterthought in the AL East into the favourites to win the division and the World Series Championship (according to Vegas).

       For the Marlins trade, this has been regarded as the biggest trade in franchise history (yes, even bigger than the Alomar-Carter trade). Yes, they have yet to play a single game with their two new workhorses in their rotation in Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, their new All-Star shortstop in Jose Reyes, and a super-utility speedster in Emilio Bonifacio, but the amount of optimism coming from this deal is hard to ignore as a baseball fan and especially a Blue Jays fan. The Blue Jays effectively filled all of their major weaknesses with this massive trade that saw about $160 MM change hands, but the Jays were not done there....

       The second of the new "Big Three" that we Blue Jays fans know about was the 2yr/ $16MM deal Melky Cabrera signed with Toronto in November. After the huge trade made a few weeks ago, they still had a need for LF as Rajai Davis was penciled in the be the everyday LF. Cabrera is the perfect fit as our new #2 hitter and everyday LF and the fact that we got a .346 hitter (juiced or not) that was in the MVP discussion before he was suspended 50 games for PED use for $8MM per year should become the steal of the offseason when all is said and done.

        Finally, the trade for the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, R.A. Dickey. This deal did not go down in typical AA style. This was a very publicized, very highly regarded trade where rumours swirled about this deal for about a week before the trade finally went official on December 17th. But it's the New York media were talking about, nothing falls through the cracks with those reporters. The fact is, he is a Toronto Blue Jay now. Did the Blue Jays overpay to get Dickey? Maybe. Does it help that Dickey signed a reasonable extension with Toronto? Yes. Does this trade put the Blue Jays over the top and true contenders for the World Series? It sure seems that way, and that is what AA was trying to accomplish with this trade: Having to trade some good prospects (again PROSPECTS), but to get the one final piece to make the Toronto Blue Jays serious contenders to win it all.

        The Blue Jays have had a historic off-season that could be looked upon as the greatest in franchise history or the biggest flop in franchise history, but one thing is certain about the last three months, the Blue Jays are back and ready to rock.

Nicholas Bell