Blue Jays Morning Brew: Stories From the First Week

Welcome to the Blue Jays Morning Brew. We’ve got a load of friendlies for you this morning. Funny how we’re one series in to the season and there has been a lot of chatter. Let’s get to it.

To get you ready for the Blue Jays Home Opener, Brendan Kennedy looks at the attitude fans may have toward the Rogers ownership and what the statue of the late Ted Rogers represents. The company will have us believe that he is akin to a saint as he swooped in and rescued the club from alleged relocation. However, as Kennedy rightly points out, the statue “For many fans, who would have preferred a statue honouring a former player at the team’s home ballpark, it stands as another sign of a tone-deaf and out-of-touch owner in love with itself.” There have been many players and coaches that could have a statue of their own, but the Blue Jays, more specifically, Rogers chose to honor their patriarch. 

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In a sit down with Richard Griffin of The Star, GM Alex Anthopoulos touched on several aspects of being a major league GM. As you would expect, he was humble in his discussion about running the Blue Jays. But, the more interesting part of the interview is when AA talks about the bullpen. He laid out his plan that wasn’t really all that revealing. But, he did note that when he heads into an off season, he has a shopping list and a target price. He will not deviate from that. So, when the bullpen needed to be addressed, there were targets, but they didn’t fit, so he had to go with plan B, C or D. One has to wonder which plan were Miguel Castro and Roberto Osuna. How far down the alphabet were they?

Speaking of Anthopoulos, Sportsnet’s Michael Grange brings us an excellent piece that highlights the perspective AA brings as he sits back and looks at the squad he’s put together. And, Grange tells us that this is an exciting team that we can sheer for. There are lots of feel good vibes heading into this season, including from the GM who built the team.

At The Sun, Ken Fidlin tells us that Johan Santana and Felix Doubront are both using the touted weighted ball program in the hopes that it will help them move closer to contributing to the Blue Jays efforts this season. Fidlin tells us that Santana is just throwing off flat ground. And Doubront will join AAA Buffalo when he is ready.

Over at MLB.com, Teddy Cahill fills us in on where the Blue Jays’ Top 30 prospects will start the 2015 season. Take a quick look at the list and set your sights on a few of those names. It should be an exciting year for prospects. Who are you excited about? Jeff Hoffman? Dwight Smith? Max Pentecost? Matt Smoral? Let us know below.

Don’t forget to check out our Jays’ Nest podcast this Sunday at 2pmET. We’ll recap week one of the 2015 season, hand out some weekly awards and get you set for the 2015 season in the Blue Jays minor leagues! You can watch us LIVE on YouTube. The audio will be available on ShoutEngine immediately after the show. Remember, to catch all of our episodes, you can find us on Stitcher (for Android) and iTunes.

Next: Cecil Out as Closer. Castro In?