Toronto Blue Jays: Reasons the Season Will Turn Around

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If you put a large amount of money down on the Blue Jays making the playoffs this season, you’re likely sweating a little bit at this point. It’s not looking too good right now. The club sits 4.5 games out of first place, good for dead last in the AL East. This is quite disappointing for a team that was expected to challenge for the division title and its first taste of post season ball in 22 years.

Perhaps the standings don’t really scare you. You recognize that there is plenty more baseball to play. What might actually worry you more is the manner in which the Blue Jays find themselves in last place. One night, the offense may struggle, as offense is want to do. Starting pitching may be the Achilles heal another night (too many if you ask me). Or, the bullpen is as reliable as my grandfather’s 1971 Ford Pinto. On any given night, the Blue Jays seem to be finding different ways to lose. When you think about all of this, the 18-24 hole they’ve dug seems more and more like a deep, dark abyss from which the light of glory gets dimmer by the day.

But, fear not. I am here to share with you a ray of hope. There are still reasons to cheer for this team. There are still reasons that hope is not lost. There is still a chance that you do not have to bury your shirzees in the drawer. There are reasons to be excited and proud. It is not all doom and gloom for the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays.

Toronto Blue Jays

1) Daniel Norris will return. The rotation needs help. It needs a boost. There has been talk of the Blue Jays looking outside of the organization for help. They recently scouted Johnny Cueto. But, the pieces required to pull off such a deal would be sky high. At this point in the season, being that it is not even June yet, a more likely option is the promotion of Daniel Norris. Our Eric Elliott highlighted Norris as an internal candidate to give the Blue Jays the shot in the arm it needs.

Norris has been working with Buffalo Bisons’ pitching coach, Randy St Claire and, as Eric pointed out, is having success there. Rather than mixing his pitches so much, they have Norris working on using his fastball more and complimenting it with his other offerings. According to Fangraphs.com, his brief stint with the big league club saw him use his fastball just 53% of the time and his change up 20.7%. He also relied on his slider 18.7% of the time. In Buffalo, he’s working on increasing the use of his fastball and building off it with his other pitches.

Once he has a level of success that the club is comfortable with, or they’ve exhausted other options, Norris will return to Toronto. Before anything drastic happens with this club, they will look to use all of their bullets. Norris remains a potentially deadly, impactful bullet.

Obviously, the injection of Norris will not be the single thing that saves the season, but it will help. More than this, though, there are other reasons why we shouldn’t be so down on the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays.

Next: Time & Healing

2) Health– The Blue Jays will be getting their lead off hitter back soon. Many will question the glove and range of Jose Reyes as he advances in years. But, what he brings to the table offensively cannot be easily replaced. We’ve seen that first hand. Instead of Reyes, we’ve watched the likes of Ryan Goins get at bats. Without offending Goins, he’s not the type of player that should be getting this many regular at bats. Thankfully, that will change with the injection of Reyes after he gets some game action at AAA.

Jose Bautista looks to be starting his throwing again. This may not seem like a big deal, but the ripple effect it has on this team is going to give a boost on par with picking up an extra bat. Think about it. With Bautista moving back to the outfield (a time line hasn’t been determined, mind you), the lineup gains more flexibility. Justin Smoak will be given more at bats. In fact, there will be more rest for Edwin Encarnacion with Bautista leaving the DH spot. That will benefit EE. As well, it provides more flexibility for the use of guys like Danny Valencia. Right now, John Gibbons has very few lineup options to run out there. A full, healthy squad will help.

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In the run of a season, there will be plenty of injuries to contend with. Every team goes through these issues. The Blue Jays are no exception. But, if they can put all of this behind them early, they’ll be primed for a strong run with lots of baseball ahead of them.

3) IT’S EARLY! Yes, I know that this term gets thrown around too often. But, it is true. Regardless of their record, the Blue Jays sit just 4.5 games out of first place. It is only the back side of May. There are still over 4 months of baseball left to play. Just as easily as they’ve slipped to last place in this division, it could go the other way. Given the things mentioned above, this club is perfectly capable of running off a few weeks of winning baseball and climb the standings.

Let’s remember that the American League East is a mess. The first place Yankees are only 3 games above .500. And, can we really say that any of these teams looks primed to run away with the division? 4.5 games out in May is not the end of the world, or the season. Again, I appreciate that the way things have gone so far, it is difficult to see this team gaining ground. But, as frustrating as it is watching them spin their tires, things could be much worse. They are within striking distance of a playoff spot with lots of time remaining.

You can call me a homer, if you like. I’m OK with that. These days, it seems like there is nothing but negativity to write/talk about. I choose to believe that this team is not as bad as our frustrations would indicate. They are not going to win 100 games. Even if they did, that means they’d lose 62 times. The good news is that they do not need to win 100 games. And, I haven’t even touched on the individual performances that on any given night make this team exciting to watch.

All is not lost. The Toronto Blue Jays are a good team that will not play to the level with which they started the 2015 season. You can bet on that.

Next: Blue Jays: Who's Up and Who's Down This Week

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