R.I.P., Toronto Blue Jays' 2014 season
The Jays have been eliminated from playoff contention. Let us bid them farewell for 2014.
The Blue Jays have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Let us now solemnly eulogize their season ...
What went right
First and foremost, the Jays, despite being generally pegged for last place in the AL East, lasted until Sept. 23 and may finish as high as second place. As well, they're on target for their first winning season since 2010.
More narrowly, Jose Bautista stayed generally healthy and churned out an MVP-caliber season. Edwin Encarnacion was one of the top power hitters in baseball when not injured, Jose Reyes put up an OPS+ of 105 and swiped 30 bases in 32 attempts, and Melky Cabrera bounced back nicely from a disappointing 2013. Adam Lind raked when healthy.
On the pitching side, Mark Buehrle turned in a strong age-35 season, and R.A. Dickey showed significantly improved command in the second half. Marcus Stroman positioned himself to receive some down-ballot AL Rookie of the Year support, and four different starters made at least 25 starts on the year.
What went wrong
Brett Lawrie managed to play in just 70 games. Encarnacion spent more than five weeks on the DL with a quad strain, and Lind's broken foot and lower back injury cost him almost two months. Colby Rasmus's OBP slipped to .287 (only the Mariners derived less value from their center fielders this season). Second base was a trouble-spot all year. Elsewhere, the bullpen ranked 12th in the AL in ERA and fWAR, and the team defense was mediocre on balance.
A 9-17 mark in August cost the Jays eight full games in the standings and in essence ended their hopes of contention. More to the point, the Jays missed the playoffs for the 21st straight season. This year, that missed goal came despite a top-10 payroll.
MVP: Bautista. He's played in 151 games (and counting), and he's batting .290/.409/.535 in a down year for offense. He also boasts 35 homers and more walks than strikeouts.
LVP: Brandon Morrow. He's long had promise, and he has a quality season (2012) in his recent past. However, this season he missed more than 100 games with a finger injury, and when healthy he pitched to a 5.57 ERA in 32 1/3 innings.
Free agents to be: OF Melky Cabrera, RHP Casey Janssen, OF Colby Rasmus
Gameplan heading into the offseason
Waste no time in picking up Lind's very modest $7.5-million option for next season. Decide whether having Anthony Gose and Dalton Pompey as regular outfielders is optimal. Add rotation depth. Revamp bullpen, ideally on the cheap. Hope for better health out of Brett Lawrie and Maicer Izturis. Also hope that Buehrle and Dickey stave off age-related decline.
Ridiculously premature prediction for 2015
A repeat of 2014: Contention for a healthy chunk of the season, winning campaign, no playoffs.
