| Andrew Perna. 5th April, 2009 - 3:32 pm
 Here at RealGM our heart beats thanks to the thousands upon thousands of posters that frequent our forums on a daily basis. With the MLB season just days away, what better time than now to check in with the people who care about baseball even more than some of the players on the diamond?
2008 Record: 86-76
Division Standing: 4th
Run Differential: +104
The Answers
1. How would you rate the team’s offseason thus far?
chocolateSensi: A 0 out of 5.
evilRyu: Hmm … We didn't add anyone and lost our #2. So, it was a pretty disappointing off-season to say the least.
Mustard_Tiger: Poorly, the ownership wasn't willing to spend any money.
Relentless88: It was probably one of the worst off-seasons ever. We signed nobody of any significance and all the players we signed were to minor league deals. Matt Clement, Michael Barrett, Mike Maroth and maybe Kevin Millar?
raps4life~: F. We failed to do anything of significance.
jalenrose#5: I would give the Jays a C- for the offseason. The rating could be worse, but I'll give JP credit for signing has-beens to minor league deals and not shelling out multi-million dollar deals to the likes of Clement, Barrett, and soon to be Millar.
arrpy: Very disappointing...
2. What move do you wish the team made? (i.e. signing, trade)
chocolateSensi: Firing J.P. Ricciardi.
evilRyu: I wish we had done something to shore up the pitching staff, but it’s hard to compete with owners that have deep pockets.
Mustard_Tiger: Signing Manny Ramirez.
Relentless88: I want them to get rid of the big contracts, if possible trade Vernon Wells for anything. Lyle Overbay's contract also would be nice to have moved, and as much as I love Doc, he deserves a winning team, and we can get some great prospects for him.
raps4life~: Fire Riccardi, and have not given Wells a fat contract.
jalenrose#5: Pretty simple, re-signing Burnett or another capable #2 starter to solidify our starting rotation.
arrpy: Basically anything, nothing has happened this off-season besides a few small changes.
3. Who do you feel will have a breakout season?
chocolateSensi: Alex Rios?
evilRyu: I would have said Dustin McGowan, but I guess Rios ... or maybe Travis Snider.
Mustard_Tiger: Rios might break out and do something special this season with Cito's guidance.
Relentless88: Clement. Nah I'm kidding, not only is he low risk, but he is also low reward, there isn't anything left in that arm. I really hope Snider or Adam Lind breakout. Snider was great in the last 24 games or so to finish the season, and Lind was pretty good the entire season as well.
raps4life~: Snider?
jalenrose#5: Although he had a breakout year two years ago, I really believe this is Aaron Hill's year to go 20/80/.290 and get the All-Star nod. Another guy to look out for would be Casey Janssen.
arrpy: Same as everyone else, Rios.
4. Who do you see regressing after a strong 2008?
chocolateSensi: No one aside from Roy Halladay had a good enough season to regress this year.
evilRyu: Even though he didn't have a strong 2008, I can see Jesse Litsch regressing a bit.
Mustard_Tiger: Scott Downs, but he'll still be a decent reliever for the team.
Relentless88: I see the pitching regressing in general. We had a great pitching staff last season. However, we enter 2009 with Burnett gone, Marcum and McGowan gone down with injuries and Litsch is our #2 starter!
raps4life~: The relief pitchers.
jalenrose#5: Rod Barajas, with a better backup in the wings. I think he'll feel the pressure to perform more.
arrpy: Nobody, drastically.
5. What is the best case scenario for the club in 2009?
chocolateSensi: Fourth in the AL East, and .500 at the end of the season.
evilRyu: Third in AL East.
Mustard_Tiger: First place in the AL East if everything comes together and they get lucky.
Relentless88: Fifth in AL East. We get high draft pick, and unload Wells and Overbay.
raps4life~: Fourth in AL East, ahead of the Orioles
jalenrose#5: Fourth place in the East with a .500 record and the treadmill continues for another year.
arrpy: We make the post-season.
6. What is the worst case scenario for the club in 2009?
chocolateSensi: Last in the AL East, and 90+ losses.
evilRyu: Last in the league.
Mustard_Tiger: Fourth place in the AL East if they play as expected.
Relentless88: Third in AL East. If this happens we are officially the most mediocre team in sports history.
raps4life~: Last in AL East, with a lot of beat downs from the Yanks, Sox and Rays.
jalenrose#5: Fifth place in the AL East, under .500, and Halladay demands to get traded.
arrpy: We miss the post-season again, and finish last.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM’s Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
