Blue Jays camp report
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Five things to know about the Toronto Blue Jays:
1. Toronto will score runs, so this season will come down to how well the Jays pitch -- and part of that will be how well general manager J.P. Ricciardi plugged holes left by the departures of starter Ted Lilly and set-up man Justin Speier. The Jays attempted to re-sign Lilly and failed, they went after Gil Meche and missed on him, too. So they've got about seven candidates for the Nos. 4 and 5 starter slots, and they're counting on rookie Brandon League to help step in for Speier. While the rotation is important, don't underestimate the loss of Speier, who signed with the Los Angeles Angels. He ranked fifth in the AL last season in both holds (25) and opponents batting average by left-handers (.183).
2. Biggest lineup key aside from whether Frank Thomas can duplicate (or come close to) his 2006 MVP-type numbers with Oakland (.270, 39 homers, 113 RBI): Whether right fielder Alex Rios can sustain his peaks for an entire season. Rios was an All-Star in 2006 based largely on his pre-break numbers: .330, 15 homers, 53 RBI. But check out his post-break numbers: .261, two homers, 29 RBI. His on-base percentage dipped from .383 pre-break to .297 post-break.
3. Toronto is light on left-handed bats, which is why you can almost certainly pencil in Matt Stairs as the fourth outfielder on this club. First baseman Lyle Overbay and switch-hitter Gregg Zaun are the only left-handed sticks otherwise.
4. Welcome, Royce Clayton. Now can you immediately provide defensive stability, veteran leadership and maybe a few key hits here and there? Clayton, the projected opening-day shortstop, will become, amazingly, the 17th shortstop since the Jays traded Alex Gonzalez following the 2001 season. Since then, also amazingly, Chris Woodward still ranks as the shortstop who has played the most games for the Jays (235), and he hasn't been with the team since 2004. Sweet-swinging Russ Adams, being converted to second base and expected to open at Triple-A Syracuse, ranks second (171).
5. One of the biggest projects in Blue Jays camp this spring: Coach Brad Arnsberg is attempting to introduce a slide-step to a pitching staff that was brutal at holding runners on last season. Despite finishing second in the AL East last season, the Jays allowed an AL-worst 130 stolen bases -- a number that needs to come down. Way down. It's one thing for flamethrowers Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett to not be concerned with the runner on first -- the nature of their fastballs will give Zaun a chance to throw out a would-be stealer. As for the rest ... "When you're not striking a guy out, those are the guys that need to be quicker," Zaun says. "A.J., Doc, B.J. (Ryan, closer) ... I'm not worried about them. The key thing is to get the leadoff guy. If he's on with nobody out, you can score a run. But if (you prevent the stolen base), it really shuts the door
Bosh4prez 
