Spring Training Is Here! The Off Season is Over!

Well it's finally here!  Spring Training the quintessential end to the Winter season in my mind! Sure there's tons of snow on the ground in Canada, but right now i'm seeing nothing but sunny sky's!

So instead of clamoring on the bandwagon and talking more about how great the off season the Blue Jays had was. I'm going to look at what my 5 biggest questions that I have leading into spring training.....So here we go!

1.  Will JP Arencibia catch for RA Dickey regularly?

It's been well publicized that JP is more than willing to learn how to catch the Knuckleball and has spent a lot of time already hanging out with RA  trying to figure it all out.

I think he'll catch for him, but it won't be as much as he thinks.  I think JP will make sure he feels comfortable with it, as you would want your everyday catcher to be comfortable with your ACE especially if it comes to needing his bat in important games. However JP is going to need some days off and having two potential backups who are comfortable with a Knuckleballer it may make the most sense to get his rest on those days when Dickey is throwing.

2. Who will win the starting 2nd Baseman job?

I think when April 2nd roles around Emilio Bonifacio is going to be the starting 2nd baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays!

Now I know everyone in their brother who works for the Jays says the Izturiz is guy who is leading the way to have the spot locked down, but as I've said many a times....I think AA made some promises to Macier about 2nd base before he ever dreamed he could have had Bonifacio on his roster and he is just making sure all his people are saying the right things in order to save face with Izturiz.  I mean you can't look at Bonifacio and realize that he is everything that AA loves in a player.  He can hit, play multiple positions and is god damn fast!



3. Will Ricky Romero bounce back in 2013?

I do think we will see a new Ricky Romero this year!  He has all the tools to come back and be a staple in the back end of the starting rotation.  In the end I think we will see some career numbers from Ricky in 2013.



4.  How will the Blue Jays Bullpen look like in April?

Here is a quick list of where I see everyone!

Closing - Casey Janssen
8th Inning - Sergio Santos
Lefty Specialist - Darren Oliver
Lefty Long Man - Brett Cecil
7th Inning - Steve Delabar
Long Man - Esmil Rogers


Due to a number of great trades in 2013 AA has built himself a pretty impressive stable outside of the 6 mentioned above that will probably find themselves in Buffalo either in the Starting rotation or the Bullpen. They including....  JA Happ, Brad Lincoln, Jeremy Jeffress (No options left, may end up somewhere else) & Aaron Loup.  

I think the Jays have a pretty solid bullpen going into 13 and with the added rest that they could see due to a more veteran starting rotation, they could be very dominant over the course of the 2013 season.  



5. What Melky Cabrera will we see in LF?

I was one of the 1st guys to be jacked about the Melky signing in November, but as I thought about it more and given the recent media blowup with a Florida Anti Aging clinic, i'm not so sure that Melky is a slam dunk for the Jays.  

If you look at his numbers prior to the past two years, they are not the greatest and if they're a true indication of his abilities it could end up being a very average year in LF.  Let's just hope there is a happy medium between the two.  I would love a LF who hit .280 with 18 HR and 80 RBI.   



Here you have it....my 5 questions as it stands right now for the Blue Jays!  

What are your question marks about the 2013 Blue Jays?    Go Jays Go!