Ever since the Blue Jays won the World Series more than once back in the 90's when I was just a kid, I can't remember the last time I truly followed the team on their quest to win the title again... that's because ever since then, the team has been stricken with poor pitching and batting output, as well as poor management.  These days though, wow... it really does feel like they're coming out of left field..
 
Ever since Bautista started lighting up his at-bats, almost everyone on the team started to be able to swing.  Now we got batters who can actually hit... giving our pitchers some breathing room... Johnson, Lawrie, Bautista, Thames, Encarnacion, Arencibia... almost everyone on the team can swing!  I'm not saying they will be able to win the World Series this year, but they're starting to look more and more like a team who can actually become a contender, if not in this year, then the next!  I think the managers and owners know this as well, as there have been more press and promotions to help try to raise some hype and excitement about the team's successes and potential.
 
Anyone else out there a Blue Jays fan?  What are your thoughts and opinions on the team developments as of late?  I wonder if we'll ever see the Skydome (yes, not the Rogers Centre -_-) be packed to near capacity again on regular non-opening games.
 
I really just hope that management is going to be smart and try to hold on to the guys on the team right now that are really shining.  Please, please, please, don't make the same mistakes that other Toronto sports teams have done in the past T_T.  More TV coverage would be nice too.. not everyone has cable T_T.

The biggest problem for the Blue Jays is that they have two teams with the biggest payrolls in baseball sitting in the same division. Tough to compete on a consistant basis with the Yankees and Red Sox.

The biggest problem for the Blue Jays is that they have two teams with the biggest payrolls in baseball sitting in the same division. Tough to compete on a consistant basis with the Yankees and Red Sox.

I'll never forget that Joe Carter moment and I was a big fan of the jays for years. Just haven't been keeping up on baseball for the last couple seasons. Sadly I spend more time cheering for the leafs than any other sports team. One of these years it's gonna happen and then all the naysayers will know.

As long as the Blue Jays are in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox, it's going to be a while before they can make a real impact. Also, while they definitely can hit, after Romero they don't have much pitching to speak of and their bullpen has been a total mess all season long.

If the Blue Jays were in a division that had less than three other really good teams they'd have a better record andmaybe a shot at the playoffs.  I think they'd stand a good chance of winning the central.

I think the Jays can do it. Obviously not this year, but I think there's room for Toronto in the playoffs. I think the offense is there, but if they can get some bullpen arms in there they can certainly compete in the division. If not, then there's always the wild card.

lulz, Blue Jays. They definitely won't be beating the Red Sox or the steroid monkeys at the Yankees this year.

@natetodamax: haha probably not.. but from a fan who has seen his team suck so bad over the years.. I'll take anything at this point.. watching them get this good after so many years of sucking so bad... I'll take it.  0.500 avg.. i'll take it lol.

The biggest problem for the Blue Jays is that they have two teams with the biggest payrolls in baseball sitting in the same division. Tough to compete on a consistant basis with the Yankees and Red Sox.

Also, while they definitely can hit, after Romero they don't have much pitching to speak of and their bullpen has been a total mess all season long.

I'm from Calgary and my grandma was a big jays fan when I was in elementary. The jays always have a decent team. Always seem to have one decent pitcher (not this year), and good hitting. But hovering around .500 won't cut it. Especially now, the d-rays, yanks, and bosox are ALL good. They probably have to win 95 games just to get a wild card. Almost impossible.

The Jays need a miracle to make the playoffs again especially since they have the Yankees and Red Sox as division rivals.

I like the Jays, but they're not my team. I grew up with a family of Jays fans, and I can't help but smirk when I remember watching games as a small child and always rooting for the Yanks or Orioles, much to the dismay of my family. I've attended roughly 40+ games, going back to the early eighties, long before they called the SkyDome home. I was always an Expos fan, but the thought of cheering for Washington didn't appeal to me, so I went with the Yanks when the Expos were no more. Even as a Yankee fan, the Jays were a big part of my childhood and it would absolutely suck to not have them around. For this reason I find it sad to see them achieve so little success since their back to back World Series wins.

I've felt for the last few seasons that the Jays are ready to bust out. They show stints of awesomeness but every now and then revert back down to minor league chumps... I love the Jays with all my heart and I hope they can just become more consistent and they will go all the way!!!

Whether or not the allegations of sign stealing are true, the Jays just don't have the pitching to compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, or Rays. Bautista is certainly one of the best offensive players in the game, and other players around him are clearly good players as well. However, the division holds them down. It's hard to get big name free agents to go to Toronto to play baseball, when they could possibly go to Philadelphia or New York or Boston. If they got some solid pitching, their offense is definitely enough to get teams to worry about them. Both starting rotation and bullpen arms are a must in the AL East.

At least you guys have an exciting offense. Being shutout like 40 times a year is getting frustrating (Mariners fan)

The only way the Blue Jays can win a division title anytime soon is to move to the AL Central... and that's not gonna happen. But I might be wrong since the Jays have some great, young players that can make a run for it in the near future.

But I'm a Yankees fan so I'm hoping Toronto stays average.

@JCTango said:

@laserbolts: Oh man.. me too! It still gives me shivers down the spine when I think about that moment. I was such a kid back then.. I just got back home from getting Chinese food... I ran up the stairs with my dinner to watch the game on the tv. I think they were down a run or two... I didn't think they'd pull it off.. then BLAM! HOMMMMMMMMMME RUNNN!!!! I was so happy :D I had my flat noodle dish.. and my favourite team (at the time) just won the world series! :D

I can still remember lifting my arms up in the air and cheering quietly, since my parents would probably thought I was crazy if I screamed =).

I couldn't find a better video of the moment ;_;

I was only three at the time, but being a huge baseball fan I can only imagine how awesome that was to experience. I'm kind of jealous. I was raised in the Bay Area and I'm a Giants fan, so I was really happy last year when they won it all. That is a far more dramatic way to do it though!

As a Mets fan I would love to see the Yankees get smacked around. Hope it's sooner rather than later. :)