Initiation

First, a little about me.

   Beaner is a nick-name I was given very early on in my baseball life. As a pitcher, I never bothered to explain to the opposing team that it had everything to do with my last name and nothing to do with my accuracy. Don't tell that to the 4 guys I hit in  1+ innings in my first game back on the hill as an adult in a men's league. One guy even got it twice. Sorry, bud.

   Baseball is as much a part of me as my fingers and toes. I find myself fantasizing about whiffing guys on outside change-ups during dragging days at work; wondering who is going to get the bulk of the work behind the plate for the Jays during droning conversations with my lovely, lovely wife. I was born in Toronto and, though having lived on the left coast for the better part of the past two decades, one of the only aspects of my life that I have never ever questioned is my loyalty to the Blue Jays. I grew up on Powder Blue success, being a 3rd and 4th grader when Timlin threw out that slippery Otis Nixon trying to bunt his way on and next year when Joe Carter blasted a Mitch Williams slipped-slider over the left field fence, being the last man to touch the ball in both games and cementing his place in the hearts of Canadian fans coast to coast. It still gives me goosebumps. I tuned in for the successive season and the dismantling of the closest thing to a dynasty Jays fans have ever known. And I have been a die-hard during the following years of mostly mediocrity, usually sandwiched between the top running and playoff bound Yankees and Red Sox and the bottom dwelling Orioles and Devil Rays (what's in a name? Apparently a great deal in Tampa. Dropping the Devil was the best move they ever made.)

   Now I have returned to Toronto. Still playing ball. Still rooting as hard as ever. I feel much more attached to the team in a city where Jays hats are a part of the culture and the Skydome ( I still can't bring myself to call it the Roger's Centre, despite all the good the man has done for sports in this country) is marked to be seen from anywhere in town by a giant map pin. 

  But this blog is not about me. This blog is about a team that I have incredibly strong opinions on, just like anything you love so much. We have been through Delgado and Green launching back to back rockets while the rest of the lineup struggles. We have been through Rocket winning Cy Young's and Triple Crowns in his only two years here, while the rest of the rotation was lackluster. We have been through David Wells and Frank Thomas and so many other stop gap players. 

Now it seems as though we have a GM that has a real vision for the future in Alex Anthopolous. The team is young. The team is unpredictable. The team is exciting. So many questions await answers from the 2011 Jays. 

Will the young pitching staff respond to the challenge or buckle under the pressure?

Will Lind and Hill be able to bounce back to their 2009 form? Which of the past two seasons shows their true form?

Who will get those crucial late inning appearances, and can we ever not be on the edge of our seat for a 9th inning when we are up?

What can we expect from Jose Bautista following a monumental season after so many years of being a non-factor in The Show?

These and so many other questions will be discussed on this blog. If you are a TrueBlue, come check it out and tell me what you think