Blue Jays 2011

Thoughts on the season will come Friday. Meanwhile, here are my season "awards" for the Blue Jays.

Team MVP: Jose Bautista

Great first half. A slightly cooler second half. Regardless, it was another fine year for Joey Bats. As long as he hits 35-40 homers, collects at least 100 RBIs and makes significant contributions over the next few seasons, I'm happy.

Best Hitter: Jose Bautista

See above.

Best Pitcher: Ricky Romero

His best season, by far. Would've picked up some more wins if his teammates scored more runs for him.

Best Reliever: Casey Janssen

Was outstanding almost every time he was summoned from the bullpen. If he keeps it up, he could be Toronto's next set up man or closer. His current role is perfect too.

Best Rookie: Brett Lawrie

The kid adapted the majors in mere seconds. Great production and this is only the beginning.

Honourable mention: J.P Arencibia, Yunel Escobar & Henderson Alvarez

And a special mention to Mike McCoy. The guy went back and forth between Toronto and Las Vegas many times. McCoy never complained once and helped the team when needed.

- ER

Re. Ricky Romero vs. NYY last night

Damn!

And here I thought Romero always seemed to pitch poorly against AL East opposition. Good time to adapt and change.

Actually, it was a great team effort. Almost everybody chipped in and given the last few seasons, that doesn't happen frequently for the Blue Jays.

- ER

Re. The Blue Jays' 2009 Season

Thank God it's over.

I have watched the Blue Jays for many years. For the life of me, I can't recall a more painful season than 2009. The 1997 season comes close, but '09 was a complete nightmare/disaster/embarrassment.

What went wrong? Several things. They couldn't hit when it mattered. They taxed the bullpen. Injuries slightly played a role too. To be honest, I don't feel like making excuses or finding an explanation. Hell, I don't feel like writing about it anymore. Everything that needed to be said has been stated.

However, I will conclude with some "awards":

Team MVP - Aaron Hill

Hill had a horrible injury in 2008. It was a very serious concussion and it took him many weeks to regain his form. 2009 was retribution. Hill was fantastic! He's already been recognized for his effort by winning the American League Comeback Player of the year award. Honourable mention must be given to Adam Lind.

Best pitcher - Roy Halladay

Doc went 17-10 this season. However, the record should be at least 22-5. Half of those losses were because the offense simply couldn't score runs. The trade rumours didn't help either. Regardless, Doc is still the best pitcher on this staff.

Best rookie - Ricky Romero

Romero has good stuff. It'll be interesting to see what he can offer in his sophomore season. Honourable mentions to Marc Rzepczynski and Brett Cecil. At least the Jays are okay in the pitching department.

Best moment - Marco Scutaro stealing second right after earning a walk. The Phillies were wonderfully embarrassed that day.

Ugliest moment - Giving up a nine-run lead to Tampa Bay and ultimately losing the game.

- ER