"Since the Jays have no hope of contending this year ..."

Tuesday, February 16 2010 @ 10:50 PM EST

The headline above this story is a direct quote from a recent post in another thread by a long-time and well-spoken Bauxite. But its source is hardly the matter -- I could have found 50 or 60 similar sentiments and throwaway phrases posted to Batter's Box by dozens of different people in recent weeks.

"The Jays have no hope of contending this year."

Really? I don't write that to be sarcastic or ironic -- the thought just raises a whole series of pertinent questions, especially here on what is generally a pro-Jays fan site, and I'd genuinely like to hear your answers to each and every one. Like these ...

• Do you honestly believe that there is "no hope," and if so, how -- if at all -- does this affect your status as a game-going or (for those more distant) boxscore-following fan?
• If the team jumps off to a genuinely promising and surprising start -- say, something like 20-11 after five weeks -- do your expectations change? (Note, I said "expectations," not "hopes.")
• How does your reaction differ, if at all, from right now if that same five-week start is, say, something like 7-24?
• If you are (presumably) a Jays fan and do buy the "Jays have no hope of contending this year" premise, is there another team for whom you are rooting? (Not "rooting against," so no "Anybody but the Red Sox" type answers here, please.)
• If you believe, like many have indicated, that 2010 is a necessary "rebuilding" year, then in some odd way, wouldn't you hope the Jays don't have a surprisingly decent 84-78 (or even 80-82) type of year, as this could be a long-term setback?
• If the Jays CAN contend -- and I haven't heard or read anybody who's really taken up that case -- what needs to happen for that to occur? 

You see where the line of questioning is going ... ask your own versions or followups. Answer any or all (or none) of these. I am just genuinely curious about the mindset of a fanbase with apparently solidly-LOW expectations.

82 comments

https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20100216225002323