Through five spring training games, the Jays’ offense is on fire, tallying a total of 46 runs, for an average over nine per game. With hitting like that, pitching will not be much of a concern.

Topping the charts so far is Randy Ruiz, who got a long look last September and turned some heads with his display of power, as he batted .313 with 10 homers in 115 at bats. He has appeared in all five spring games and has picked up where he left off, with eight hits in 13 at bats. The best news on Ruiz so far is that he has struck out only once. Historically, he has a very high strikeout rate, so he will need to concentrate on putting the ball in play to make this team.

Edwin Encarnacion has yet to appear as the Jays want to be careful about rushing him back from his wrist problems of a year ago. In his place, they have to be impressed by Brad Emaus, who has five hits in 12 trips along with two stolen bases.

The Jose Bautista leadoff hitter experiment is getting rave reviews as the veteran has seven hits in 11 at bats, including three doubles and two homers as well as a stolen base.

Vernon Wells is showing early signs that he is ready to make amends for a sub-par 2009 season as he has six hits in 10 at bats, including a homer and three rbi.

When we looked over this roster, in anticipation of this season, it seemed like there was going to be enough potential to protect an inexperienced pitching staff.

The early returns are very positive.

The Jays are two games into their spring training schedule and there’s plenty to report.

On the down side, two starting pitchers, Jess Litsch and Scott Richmond have been placed on the 60-day disabled list, removing them from consideration from roles in the starting rotation, likely until the middle of the season. This continues a trend over the last couple seasons where this ballclub has endured a rash of such injuries.

The Jays have to hope their luck in this area changes or we are likely to hear a call from volunteers in the crowd to come down and pitch during games this season.

On the plus side, the Jays offense didn’t wait long to try something a little different than observers saw last year. In the top of the first inning of the opener against the Tigers they executed a double steal.

Cito Gaston was maligned for not using this tactic at all last year, in addition to not using hit and runs. Toronto fans have to hope that’s really going to change this year. His detractors slam him for not pushing to manufacture runs, so it would be good if he tries to refute that and make this team more fun to watch.

In game two, another glimmer of hope was delivered by the formerly highly regarded catching prospect, J P Arencibia went yard to win it for the Jays.

He has been highly touted as the catcher of the future and Toronto has being waiting for him to come along, plugging in Rod Barajas last season and John Buck this year to act essentially as a placeholder. The window of opportunity for Arencibia must surely be closing because the Jays also look to Travis D’Arnaud, who came over in the Roy Halladay deal, as another top prospect behind the plate.

Oh yeah, by the way Halladay, the noted Yankee killer, made his debut for the Phillies yesterday, against the Bronx Bombers and dispatched them very quickly and easily in his Spring Training debut.

I told you, some things have changed but others remain the same.

The Blue Jays will have someone other than the departed Roy Halladay, starting their season opener, for the first time in eight seasons when they begin the 2010 campaign.

The frontrunners for this honor are the impressive lefty, Ricky Romero, who enjoyed a very good rookie season, and Shaun Marcum, who is coming back from an arm injury which sidelined him for all of last season.

On the surface it would appear that Romero would have the edge, solely based on their relative health history.

Marcum, though, has an impressive career stats line, punctuated by a career 3.95 ERA, a nice strikeout to walk ratio (much better than 2 to 1) and an impressive whip (1.20) during his last two seasons. If he comes back and performs at that level, he may get the nod because of those impressive numbers, compiled in more than one season. Romero can’t compete with that history.

Romero, for his part, had the good rookie season, but his numbers are a bit higher across the board, when compared to Marcum. Romero will have a challenge to avoid the sophomore jinx this season and would probably be more burdened by the notion of being regarded as the new staff ace, at this stage of his development.

Marcum’s recovery is a good example for some of the other key arms on this roster, particularly those belonging to Jesse Litsch, Dustin McGowan. Installing Marcum as the new number one could serve them well, as their resolve to return to the rotation would be bolstered by Marcum’s efforts to get all the way back.

The good news for the Jays is that this pair also offers a nice righty/lefty contrast that will hopefully keep the opposition off balance, regardless of the order of the rotation.

Three players have created reasons to feel positive about the last few days in camp.

Dustin McGowan faced live batters for the first time in almost two years, last week and the results were most encouraging. This is a remarkable development when we look back to the late stages of last season when there were serious doubts expressed about his ability to ever make it back to the big leagues.

If he continues to pitch pain free, he will likely earn a spot on the starting rotation by the end of camp. Cautious optimism of team management is suggesting that they will be patient with him and not push for a premature return, implying that even if he is healthy during Spring Training, he may be given a minor league stint to get his feet wet before joining the Jays early this season. His presence would be a total bonus.

John Buck is trying to fast track his learning curve, when it comes to catching the pitches of this young staff. He was proactive, right from the time of his signing, in asking for game film of every pitcher on this staff. He figured that this video library would give him a look at the motions and release points of each Jays’ hurler and would set the foundation for his working relationship as the Jays’ number one catcher. The fact that he’s so proactive is a good sign.

Travis Snyder ran afoul of Jays’ management when he refused to work with the coaching staff early last season. They were attempting to make slight adjustments to his swing mechanics, aimed at getting the bat to come through the strike zone with a quicker motion. He has indicated more of a willingness to address that issue, realizing that it won’t impact his considerable power. A successful tweak here could be the precursor of a big season for one of the club’s talented youngsters.  

More good vibes can only be good for the psyche of this club. They need all they can find, as long as they play in the AL East.

With the beginning of spring training there are a number of storylines that are being discussed among the local media.

Today, we will look at some of them and venture our own opinions.

Vernon Wells

He is dogged by the big contract, which makes him immovable for at least a couple of years. We get that. But, this is a guy who is a capable outfielder with a good glove, albeit his range has been impacted by injury troubles. Offensively, he underperformed last season. There’s no denying that. But, it is worth noting that he is still a lifetime .280 hitter with six 20+ homer seasons and five years with at least 80 rbi. If he can play injury free there’s no reason why he can’t approach all of those numbers in 2010.

Brandon Morrow

He was acquired in a deal that sent Brandon League to Seattle and will get a chance to finally prove that he is a major league starting pitcher. In three years with the Mariners, he split his time between starting and coming out of the pen, with modest success in both areas. The Jays’ club management has made no bones about their desire to use him exclusively out of the starting rotation, likely in the number 3 role. At 25 years of age, he should be just coming into the best years of his career and the road for a successful run, seems paved in front of this talented righty who has struck out better than a batter per inning pitched over his career total of 198 innings pitched.

Lyle Overbay

After a winter during which he was rumored to be in trade talks, Overbay still finds himself in a Toronto uniform. He has indicated as much surprise at that outcome, as any Blue Jays’ observer. Toronto has a number of options lined up behind the veteran, led by Brett Wallace, who came over in the Halladay trade, is rated as the eventual heir apparent. Randy Ruiz showed lots of power in a late-season cameo last year and Brian Dopirak is also in the mix. The Jays have also discussed the possibility of Adam Lind possibly learning how to play at first base as opposed to the outfield or DH spot.

The Closer Situation

The signing of Kevin Gregg gives the Jays another option here beside incumbents Scott Downs and Jason Frasor, who both had some success at the back of the bullpen last season. At the very least, the late innings of Toronto ballgames do give Manager Cito Gaston options to consider. If things unfold as expected, Gaston’s loyalty will lead him to go with Frasor to start the season with that role.

Cito’s loyalty and management style
Gaston has been celebrated during times of team success and chided during down tomes. That is every manager’s lot in baseball life. He is currently on record with his preference to keep Aaron Hill in the two hole, Adam Lind in the three spot and Vernon Wells batting cleanup. He has displayed a reluctance to move players around in the batting order. When compared to most other manager’s this is viewed as an unorthodox strategy, but Cito defends that sentiment with his belief that a batter needs a definite offensive role in the same way that defensive positions are defined.

We will keep an eye on these and other storylines as they continue to unfold. Just talking about baseball should help fans in the Toronto to divert our attention from the foul winter weather we are currently enduring.

The Jays recently deposed GM has landed a job that is more suited to him. He is going to be one of the talking heads on ESPN for the upcoming season.

He talked a good game for the entire length of time he worked as the Jays’ GM, yet could not deliver the team enough talent to make a post-season appearance.

He spoke boldly of building the farm system into one of the best in baseball, but when he left the organization, its minor league talent was ranked in the bottom 20% of all of baseball

He has also hamstrung the organization with a horrendous long-term deal for Vernon Wells, who admittedly was one of the best Jays’ batters, at the time of his contract renegotiations, but has since become devalued through a steady stream of injury woes.

The club paid the final years of another bad contract for the departed one time closer, B J Ryan, too.. 

A GM will be defined by the combination of system depth and the quality of big dollar deals that he signs.

With errors like these helping to define his time in Toronto, J P Ricciardi needs to talk his way back into a more favorable baseball job.

For that pursuit, his is currently well-placed.

Ah, yes. It begins.

Another season of Blue Jays Baseball has rolled around.

Optimism and growth linked to a new plan, designed by GM Alex Anthopoulos is going to be unveiled with the dawn of the 2010 season.

The Jays have lowered their team payroll, but are in the process of truly stocking their team with a more talented and deeper player pool.

Value pickups are the order of the day and a larger scouting network will see to it, that all prospects are scouted more closely and thoroughly.

Anthopoulos, working in concert with team President, the highly respected Paul Beeston, has realized that the, in order for the Jays to compete consistently, particularly in the ultra-competitive AL East division, Toronto has to improve its organizational depth.

Heading into last season, the Jays’ minor league depth was rated among the poorest in all of baseball.

That rating has seen an uptick with the prospects added in the Roy Halladay trade and will get a big shot in the arm at the June amateur draft, where the Jays have up to nine draft choices in the first three rounds.

Sure, there are likely to be some growing pains in the early stages of this new regime, but the Jays do have enough talent on his roster to intrigue passionate baseball fans.

We have talked about the youth and potential of the pitching staff and the potential for seven power sources in the batting order.

On the first day of spring training that’s more than enough to get baseball fans thinking positively at this early stage.

That means the Jays’ receiver position will be manned by three veterans and that figures to be a good thing for such a young pitching staff.

John Buck is a six-year veteran who has a skill set which compares favorably to the departed starting catcher Rod Barajas. In fact, he may prove to be a more productive bat in the lineup, give his four 10+ homer seasons. Last year, in KC, he hit 8 homers in only 186 at bats. Over 500 at bats that would pro-rate to over 20 homers.  He can certainly expect to get the majority of the load this season.

Behind him, Molina, who is an excellent defensive receiver with an astounding career mark of 40% success when it comes to throwing out would-be base stealers, will battle last year’s Blue Jay backup catcher Raul Chavez, who is just as good as Molina defensively and hit a respectable .258 in his 159 at bats last season.

Suffice it to say, that the Jays’ catching is going to e left in good hands this year.

On the mound, pitcher Dustin McGowan has been earning rave reviews for his very early workouts at the Jays’ Dunedin training facility. Consider that before he was shut down in the 2008 season, he was rounding into form as a very impressive starting pitcher who had compiled an 18-17 record in 46 starts and was able to produce a whip mark that was below the league average. If he can make it back to anything near that performance level, the Jays’ starting rotation will get a huge boost and looks a lot better immediately.

These are typical of the good news vibe that permeates most spring training locales in anticipation of a new season.

The proof will come out soon enough, to determine whether this current optimism is well-founded.

With all the talk about the number of options for the Jays’ starting rotation, not much of the speculation includes a pair of former first round picks who may still merit consideration.

Brett Cecil and David Purcey are penciled in as possible competitors for the final spot in the starting rotation, but both have the potential to exceed that modest achievement.

Cecil made 17 starts for Toronto last season, during which he showed off a live arm that led to 69 strikeouts during his 93.1 inning pitched, which is a nice ratio for a starting pitcher. The problem for the rookie hurler was that his whip was high (1.65). He also surrendered 17 homers in that small sample of innings. These numbers are far different from the nine homers he allowed in 217 innings of work in the minor leagues. Clearly, his challenge is to harness his considerable skills and learn from his 2009 major league debut.

Purcey. Born in 1982, is four years older that fellow lefty Cecil and has been knocking on the door for the last two years. He showed flashes of ability and an ability to keep the batters off balance because, like Cecil, he has a power arm, having whiffed 97 batters in 113 at the major league level.

Not much is expected of either of these former top prospects and yet they still possess above average ability. Therefore, the potential upside is high and both may rate as sleeper picks this season.

If these pitchers are to realize their potential, this would be a real good time to show it.

Much has been said about a young starting pitching staff taking the mound for the Jays this year. Due to the projected shortcomings of such an inexperienced starting rotation, Toronto is not expected to field a competitive club this year. According to most preseason predictions

The Jays do however possess plenty of offensive weapons and may be able to surprise a lot of rival clubs as a result.

Consider that the dynamic duo of Silver Slugger winners from 2009, Adam Lind and Aaron Hill are returning to try to duplicate their spectacular offensive stats. Last year they combined for 71 homers and 222 rbis. Those numbers rival the output of all American League clubs when looking at the potential production from the number three and four spots in the batting order.

Add to that the potential that may be expected from the following sources:

Vernon Wells batted .287 over the final two months of 2009 and should be able to approach that average with the talent to return to the 25 homer. 100 rbi range, which he has topped three times in his career.

Lyle Overbay hit over .290 with plenty of extra base power over the latter stages of 2009, after shaking off the long-term effects of a broken wrist, which hampered him for the better part of a calendar year.

Travis Snyder is projected as a future threat to lead the team’s offense with a solid power stroke. He’s only 22 years old but seems poised for a breakout season after learning the ropes last season.

Edwin Encarnacion was another power bat who was limited by injury trouble early last season. He also shone in the latter stages of 2009 and gave indication that his power stroke was in good order with a torrid final month, where he hit five homers and drove in 16 runs.

Randy Ruiz was a late season revelation with 10 homers in only 115 official at bats. There is some question about where he fits into the lineup and he’ll be challenged to cut down a high strike-out rate.

Still, there’s the potential for these seven power bats to make the Jays’ batting order quite a minefield for opposing pitching staffs.

They could provide plenty of fireworks for an underrated Blue Jay ballclub.