As October begins, the Blue Jays return to Toronto to start their last home series of the year. Less than six months ago, they were about to start their first Skydome series of 2004, against the lowly Detroit Tigers. Attitudes and expectations could not be more different today than they were then.
Here's what one optimistic Jays fan wrote just before Roy Halladay took the hill against the Tigers April 5:
The Blue Jays are, by consensus opinion, a better team than the one that ended 2003 -- maybe a whole lot better. The playoffs are a goal, but still a distant one. The team's primary competition for that goal are the Yankees and Red Sox, as well as wild-card contenders like Anaheim and Oakland. ... There will be no better time for this organization to make its mark on the sporting landscape than right now.
The Tigers? They're at 71-88, 5 1/2 games better in the standings than Toronto.
Here's the Blue Jays' Opening Day lineup, versus tonight's version:
April 5
R Johnson
F Catalanotto
V Wells
C Delgado
J Phelps
E Hinske
O Hudson
C Woodward
K Cash
R Halladay
October 1
R Adams
O Hudson
V Wells
C Delgado
A Rios
E Hinske
G Gross
G Quiroz
E Crozier
D Bush
That's 3 players in the same spots in the order, 1 player moved up to the #2 spot, and 6 players who started the year in the International League. That, my friends, is what you call major surgery; it's also what you call a watershed year in the team's evolution. Adams, Rios, Quiroz and Bush are all being counted on to be with the big-league club next Opening Day and beyond. Whatever else you can say about 2004, it brought the future to Toronto in one big hurry.
To say the least, 2004 did not turn out the way anyone expected for this club. And that doesn't just include enthusiastic fanboys: a number of mainstream prognosticators figured the Jays could make a move this year. What went wrong, and whether it will improve next year, is a subject you can expect to see discussed in the local media for the next several days. Taking a wild guess, the analyses and predictions figure to mostly be on the wrong side of dire; in-depth and balanced might not be on the menu.
Accordingly, your 'umble servants at Batter's Box plan to fill the void, and will be working for the next several days preparing a substantial, in-depth, multi-part assessment of the Blue Jays in 2004 and beyond. We'll do our best to give a fair, accurate and realistic analysis of the team and the organization, and we'll post it for your discussion and debate. More details to come in the next several days.
Speaking of unfamiliar lineups, the Yankees are evidently treating this game like a spring training contest. Check out the starting nine:
K Lofton, cf
H Matsui, lf
J Giambi, dh
R Sierra, rf
T Clark, 1b
A Phillips, 3b
E Wilson, 2b
J Flaherty, c
F Escalona, ss
O Hernandez, p
If there was ever a night for the Jays to stick it to the playoff-bound pinstripers, this is it. Toronto handed El Duque his only loss of the season so far in their trip to Yankee Stadium last week; can they do it again?
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20041001063936999