Most, if not all, of the topics explored in this Homestretch series have dealt directly with playoff teams or potential playoff teams. Tonight, I mix it up a bit, to talk about a would-be playoff team.
The Toronto Blue Jays, with 78 wins to their credit in 2010, are a would-be playoff team. Would-be if they played in any division besides the AL East, that is. Would-be if they weren't playing the Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox almost 60 times combined per season. It's easy to make this remark about a team like Boston, because they're supposed to be in playoff contention every year. It's expected of them. No one has any expectations for the Blue Jays. Yet, you put them anywhere else in baseball and they are at least in the running for a division title.
This year's Blue Jay team has gotten it done with the long ball. Their 234 home runs as a team leads all of Major League Baseball, and by far. Guess which teams are #2 and #3? Yep. The Red Sox, then the Yankees. Take those teams away, and who knows where they Jays would be? Leading the charge is Jose Bautista, who hit his 50th last night and then two more today. Pretty remarkable for a guy whose career high in home runs before this season was 16. 16! Unfortunately, we can't look at Jose Bautista's numbers without speculating about steroid use. This is the era we live in. Bautista's accomplishments have been incredible this season, but they will always be stained with doubt. It doesn't matter if he used or not. We can't be sure of anything anymore thanks to the A-Rods (A-Roids) of the world. I feel for the guy, he probably has to put up with media speculation and questions every day. But he still goes out and produces. And he's a big reason why the Jays would be the Rays of any other division in baseball.
Toronto, unfortunately, is always a team that gets overlooked in the American League. Baltimore from the East does as well, but they haven't given us any reason to believe they belong in any discussion involving winning teams. Toronto has proven this year that they can play, and that they can play with anyone. 78 wins as a fourth place ball club is both fantastic and infuriating at the same time. I wonder what would have been if Roy Halladay had stayed a Jay. Regardless, it seems nowadays Toronto is destined for a finish no higher than fourth in the best division in baseball, which is a real shame. I'd love to see what kind of damage the Jay lineup could do in the playoffs. I mean, we haven't had a 50-home run guy in the majors since...Ryan Howard in 2006? That's the first guy that comes to mind. Howard didn't get a shot at the playoffs in '06 either. Hopefully he's not on the 'roids. What a season that was in 2006.
And what a season Bautista has put together here in 2010. Same goes for the Jays. Tough luck I suppose, that we won't be seeing them in October. Maybe we'll see Bautista on an MVP ballot. After all, someone should recognize the resilience and true power of this team, stained or not.
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