Positive signs for the Jays were limited to the starting rotation, as Roy Halladay posted his strongest spring performance yet. He allowed just 1 run on 4 hits in 4 innings, walking no one and striking out 3. The run came on a pair of back-to-back doubles in his final inning of work, and it wouldn't surprise me if Doc simply threw a couple of hanging change-ups or other standby pitches there just to get some work in. Excellent news for Toronto.
The bullpen did not shine, particularly. Brandon League walked a couple and struck out a couple while yielding a run; for the record, he does not belong in Toronto on Opening Day. Miguel Batista allowed a run on a pair of 9th-inning hits, but he did strike out the side -- although it's worth noting that his victims were the decidely un-Murderer's Row-esque Todd Dunwoody, Andy Fox and Jason Tyner.
The offence was shut down by defending Cy Young winner Johan Santana and a gaggle of relievers, including intriguing young arm Scott Baker, who whiffed three Jays (including red-hot Babe Gross) and allowed just a looping base hit in 2 frames. Not much else to say there.
To help pass the time before we can all quit the office and hit the pubs for St. Patrick's Day, here's the first edition of an occasional feature I'm going to drop into Da Box over the course of the season: Three Things.
Three Players The Jays Need To Step Up in 2005
1. Eric Hinske. This one is, of course, obvious. The Blue Jays would have needed a big comeback season from Hinske even if he were still manning third; as a first baseman, his offence is even more sorely needed. Hinske's awful 2004 campaign would have placed him a distant DFL among AL first basemen. To reach median status among '04 1B, he would need to finish this coming year somewhere between Kevin Millar (.297/.383/.474) and Tino Martinez (.262/.362/.461) -- roughly, a .280/.370/.465 line. Hey, what do you know -- in his rookie season, Hinske hit .279/.365/.481. Hitting coach Mike Barnett has been working with Hinske this spring, adjusting his stance and his approach at the plate. A rebound by Hinske isn't an optional would-be-nice thing for Toronto -- it's required.
2. Alex Rios. Much has been made of Rios' lone major-league home run in more than 400 at-bats in 2004; the prevailing wisdom is that he needs to add more power. And indeed he does, but it's not like Rios was a slap-hitting singles hitter in his big-league debut. He cracked 24 doubles and 7 triples in 426 AB; pro-rated over 600 AB, that works out to 33 doubles and 10 triples. Rios added 15 pounds over the winter, and the ball has reportedly been jumping off his bat in BP this spring. It's going to be a while before that extra muscle translates to round-trippers -- it takes time for a player to adjust mechanically to a new body type -- but I expect a lot of extra-base line drives. I'll predict right here that Rios will finish 2005 with 55 combined doubles and triples.
3. Justin Speier. This might seem like an odd choice, since Speier wasn't considered part of the problem last season: a 3.91 ERA and 7 saves don't seem so bad. But Speier was largely ineffective in the first half of the season as he struggled with nagging injuries. The Jays need Speier to perform in 2005 the way he did in the second half of 2004: opponents batted just .219 off him as he posted a stingy 2.70 ERA, striking out 31 hitters in 36 innings. Speier has been a stand-up team-first guy this spring, but he's fully aware that if the Miguel Batista closer experiment fails, Speier will be the first person to whom management will turn to take over that role. Even if Batista thrives as closer, the Blue Jays need Speier to be rock-solid as a setup man. With the early-season bullpen options thinning behind him, Speier has to step up and deliver a power performance to start the season.
A few Roundup items for you today:
Geoff Baker talks to John-Ford Griffin about his family baseball connections.
Mike Rutsey says Gustavo Chacin might have identified a mechanical flaw in his delivery and that Ted Lilly is cautiously optimistic about his shoulder but still might miss Opening Day.
Spencer Fordin confirms Lilly's status and describes the tutoring of Russ Adams by none other than Mike Bordick.
John Manuel provides Baseball America's preview of the top draft-eligible collegiate corner infielders -- remember the names Alex Gordon and Ryan Zimmerman when the Jays' #6 overall pick comes up next June.
