Blue Jays We’re Thankful For in 2012

Casey Janssen is just one of the Blue Jays we are thankful for in 2012. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIREAs we sit down for our Thanksgiving feast, it is important that we put aside the many things that went wrong for the 2012 Toronto Blue Jays, and be thankful for the good tidings we enjoy.

We must be thankful for the thunderous bat of Edwin Encarnacion. By hitting .280 with a career-high 42 home runs, 110 RBI, and .941 OPS, Encarnacion gave the Jays the offensive boost they needed in 2012. It also gave Blue Jays fans a glimpse toward 2013, when Encarnacion is again paired with a healthy and, hopefully, more productive Jose Bautista. We thank you Edwin for your offensive brilliance.

We must be thankful for the right arm of Casey Janssen. Janssen, who started the season in middle relief, quickly rescued the Blue Jay bullpen when Sergio Santos, the acquired closer was injured after just six appearances and Francisco Cordero failed to take the role. Janssen became the closer extraordinaire, saving 22 games while posting a 2.54 ERA and 9.5 K/9 ratio. He will enter spring training as the appointed closer in 2013, putting the Jays at ease for at least one role.

We must be thankful for the evolution of Brandon Morrow, who stepped forward in 2012 and became the staff ace on a team that badly needed one. Morrow would be the only Blue Jays pitcher to win 10 games in 2012 and showed that he could be outright dominant at times. His additional pitches also made us believe that there is a possibility that his progress will continue into 2013 and beyond.

We must be thankful for movement of the Triple-A affiliate from Las Vegas to Buffalo. Having the ability to accurately gauge the talents of our highest rated prospects is important to an organization that is currently relying so much on the influx of young talent.

We must be thankful for said influx of talent. The group that includes Anthony Gose, Travis d’Arnaud, Adeiny Hechavarria, Jay Marisnick, Noah Syndergaard, Justin Nicolino, Daniel Norris, et al gives Blue Jays fans across this great nation a reason to believe in the future and trust that our organization is in good hands under the watchful eye of Alex Anthopoulos.

Finally, we must be thankful to the Boston Red Sox. Their outright demise helped give us some solace during our own struggles and kept us out of last place.

Happy Thanksgiving to our fellow Blue Jays fans!