Re: [情報] Sporting News 2009 Blue Jays preview
※ 引述《Belladonaa ()》之銘言:
From SportingNews.com
Toronto Blue Jays preview
It was a bleak offseason for the Blue Jays, who sat idly by and watched their
A.L. East counterparts retool and reload. Toronto went the entire offseason
without signing a single free agent to a major league contract; instead, the
Jays are going with a youth movement.
對藍鳥來說,這是個靜悄悄的季後,他們看著同區列強補強,自己卻沒以大聯盟合約簽來一
個自由球員,而是進行年輕球員的變動。
THREE QUESTIONS
1. Who slides into the rotation behind Roy Halladay and Jesse Litsch?
排在在好樂迪和 Litsch 之後的先發是???
Opposing managers hated facing the Blue Jays last season because they always
could trot out a starter capable of throwing seven or eight shutout innings.
That's no longer the case. Halladay is as good as ever, and Litsch had an
outstanding sophomore campaign. But A.J. Burnett is gone, Shaun Marcum (Tommy
John surgery) will miss the entire season and Dustin McGowan (shoulder surgery)
won't be back until May at the earliest.
上個球季敵隊教頭痛恨對到藍鳥,因為我們總是能排出封鎖他們七八局的先發。但這今年不
復見。好樂迪依舊是好樂迪,Litsch 小將去年有個相當不錯的球季,但 Burnett 琵琶別
抱,Marcum 開 TJ 去了,整季無法上場。肩傷手術後復健的 McGowan 最快也是五月才能上
場。
Toronto has numerous options for the final three rotation slots, though that's
not necessarily a good thing. There are inexperienced youngsters (David Purcey,
Brett Cecil, Brad Mills), an inexperienced not-so-young guy (Scott Richmond
made his MLB debut at age 28 last season), a former reliever returning from
shoulder surgery (Casey Janssen) and guys trying to resurrect their careers
(Matt Clement, Mike Maroth). That's not the recipe for success in the A.L.
East.
藍鳥有很多 3-5 號先發的選擇,儘管這看起來來未必是件好事。 年輕菜鳥三劍客 Purcey
Cecil,和 Mills,一位不算年輕之菜鳥 Richmond,開過肩傷手術的後援投手 Janssen,還
有想要東山再起的的 Clement 和 Maroth。想在美東出頭天,以上都不是好選擇。
2. Is Travis Snider ready for a full-time job?
The young outfielder certainly looked ready during his call-up late last season
(.301 average, two homers, 13 RBIs in 73 at-bats). Snider, the 14th overall
pick in the 2006 draft, has been quickly climbing the Jays' ladder. "Snider is
definitely ready," says Frank Neville, a Phoenix-based minor league expert who
provides scouting reports for Sporting News. "He'll strike out in large numbers
because he doesn't always have a consistent approach at the plate, but he's got
great raw power, can hit to all fields, and shows good bat control. I expect 25
to 30 home runs and an average around .260 as a rookie in 2009. Long-term he's
got as much power potential as anyone."
Snider will compete for the left field job this spring. The A.L. East already
has the two front-runners -- Tampa Bay lefthander David Price and Baltimore
catcher Matt Wieters -- for the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award, and Snider is a
strong dark-horse candidate.
3. Will Toronto get enough offensive improvement to stay competitive?
The Blue Jays won 86 games in baseball's toughest division last year, but it
wasn't because of their offense. The pitching staff had a major league-best
3.49 team ERA, and the offense did just enough. Given the state of the 2009
rotation, the offense must improve. The Jays have veterans -- third baseman
Scott Rolen and first baseman Lyle Overbay -- at the corner infield positions
who appear to be aging quickly. And then there are the two could-be superstar
outfielders, Vernon Wells and Alex Rios. Wells is supremely talented but
increasingly frustrating. The Jays need him to find consistent excellence. Rios
has been more consistent than Wells the past few seasons, but he hasn't
produced a breakthrough season just yet. The consensus is there's a monster
season hidden somewhere in Rios; will he find it?
PROJECTED LINEUP
1. SS Marco Scutaro.
Career .325 OBP not exactly leadoff-caliber.
2. 2B Aaron Hill.
Ability to rebound from nasty concussion could be key to lineup.
3. RF Alex Rios.
Still hasn't tapped into power potential.
4. CF Vernon Wells.
Is this the Wells of 2007 (.706 OPS) or 2008 (.840 OPS)?
5. DH Adam Lind.
Starting to figure out big-league pitchers.
6. 3B Scott Rolen.
Played more than 115 games only once in past four seasons.
7. 1B Lyle Overbay.
Was decent in '08 (.270, 15 HRs) after awful 2007 (.240, 10 HRs).
8. C Rod Barajas.
His .294 OBP in 2008 left much to be desired.
9. LF Travis Snider.
Top prospect will be part of this lineup for a long time.
PROJECTED ROTATION
1. RHP Roy Halladay.
An ace in every sense of the word.
2. RHP Jesse Litsch.
Underrated starter won 13 games with a tidy 3.58 ERA in 2008.
3. LHP David Purcey.
Allowed fewer than two runs in four of his 12 starts.
4. RHP Casey Janssen.
Former reliever missed 2008 with shoulder problems.
5. RHP Scott Richmond. Was 1-3 in five spot starts last year.
PROJECTED CLOSER
LHP B.J. Ryan.
If he is healthy, the ninth inning won't be the Jays' problem.
GRADES
Offense: D. They were 11th in the A.L. in runs scored and aren't much better
now. The potentially explosive middle-of-the-lineup duo of Rios and Wells never
has reached its potential. If Hill is healthy, he'll be a nice addition. Rolen
and Overbay are past their peak power days.
Pitching: C. The Jays have an ace (Halladay) and a solid sidekick (Litsch),
then huge question marks. The bullpen, though, should be a strength. Four
lefthanded relievers are coming off excellent seasons -- Ryan (32 saves, 2.95
ERA), Jesse Carlson (2.25 ERA), Scott Downs (1.78 ERA) and Brian Tallett (2.88
ERA)
Bench: C. There isn't much pop, but there's defensive versatility. Jose
Bautista can play either corner infield spot and in the outfield. Joe Inglett
filled in nicely at second base last year, and can play the outfield. John
McDonald is one of the best-fielding shortstops in the league; his career .276
on-base percentage keeps him on the pine.
Manager: B. In his first tour with Toronto (1989-97), Cito Gaston led the Blue
Jays to four first-place finishes and two World Series titles in his first five
seasons. And he went 51-37 after taking over for John Gibbons last year. But
without any offseason reinforcements in a brutal division, there might not be
much Gaston can do this year.
Sporting News prediction: The Jays will finish in fourth place in the A.L. East
again. And they'll be a lot closer to fifth place than to third place.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 118.160.72.67
推
02/21 00:22,
02/21 00:22
推
02/21 00:54,
02/21 00:54
→
02/21 00:55,
02/21 00:55
推
02/21 02:09,
02/21 02:09
推
02/21 04:44,
02/21 04:44
推
02/21 23:51,
02/21 23:51
→
02/21 23:54,
02/21 23:54
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 123.204.174.27
推
02/22 17:18, , 1F
02/22 17:18, 1F
討論串 (同標題文章)