CBC.ca has posted a good new feature: Grading the Jays, a Blue Jays 2006 season report card. As someone who picked the Jays win it all in 2006, I wholeheartedly agree with the following excerpt:

A season that began with the biggest of dreams ended with the smallest of victories… The campaign did, however, end on a bit of a bright note and offer a sliver of hope for next year.

I did not realize that the Jays hadn't finished above third in the American League since 1993! This makes 2006's second place finish quite a victory indeed.

Great hitting at inopportune times. A defensive black hole at shortstop (Oh, how we missed O-dog!) An injury-riddled pitching staff. A frustrated–and apparently volatile–manager. A little bad luck on the side. These were the Achilles heels of the 2006 Blue Jays. Therefore, the obvious needs become: a proven shortstop who can defend, hit and bunt; a 4th outfielder with some pop (Catalanatto probably won't be returning); another front line starter (Barry Zito!); and perhaps a change of guard at the managerial level.

On a side note, how long to you have to be playing at the Major League level to earn the title of veteran? According to this article, Lyle Overbay–who played 2 games in 2001, 10 in 2002, and became a regular in 2003–is a veteran. I suppose that's 5 years total, but I think "veteran" implies "long service". Something like 8 years seems more appropriate.

This post was added on Monday, October 2nd, 2006 at 8:53 am and is filed under The Dugout, Blue Jays . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.