The thing is that they would not need the pitching to compete in the division. They would simply benefit from playing Minnesota, Kansas City,Chicago and Detroit 18 times a year instead of Tampa Bay, New York, Boston and Baltimore. That is a total of 72 games and at best they go .500 every year in their own division. In the Central, instead of 36 wins in the East, they could approach 45-50. So say the Jays go 81-81 in a given season...that 9-14 game difference would mean they could win 90-95 games each year. I know it is all hypothetical but since 1995 only 7 of the winners from the Central eclipsed the 95 win mark...that puts their chances at domination at a very high rate. Winning your division 50% of the time over a 16 stretch is considered GOLD.
Matt M. - 13 years ago
"Dominate" here is the operative word. I'm not sure there are any MLB teams who "dominate" their division. The only one that comes to mind is Philadelphia. Toronto is not Philadelphia.
The problem with the Blue Jays is pitching. They don't have it. Not when you compare it to other AL Central teams. Detroit has Verlander & Scherzer (and don't sleep on Fister). Cleveland has Ubaldo & Masterson. Toronto has a good staff; Romero and Morrow are very nice pieces, but you don't have the "aces" that the best Central teams have.
When you look at the great Toronto teams in the early '90s, you see names like Pat Hentgen, David Wells, David Cone, Jimmy Key, Al Leiter, Jack Morris, Juan Guzman, and Dave Stewart on the pitching staff. Not all were together on one team, but when you have that kind of depth of arms, and the great numbers they had back then, you can truly dominate a division.
The thing is that they would not need the pitching to compete in the division. They would simply benefit from playing Minnesota, Kansas City,Chicago and Detroit 18 times a year instead of Tampa Bay, New York, Boston and Baltimore. That is a total of 72 games and at best they go .500 every year in their own division. In the Central, instead of 36 wins in the East, they could approach 45-50. So say the Jays go 81-81 in a given season...that 9-14 game difference would mean they could win 90-95 games each year. I know it is all hypothetical but since 1995 only 7 of the winners from the Central eclipsed the 95 win mark...that puts their chances at domination at a very high rate. Winning your division 50% of the time over a 16 stretch is considered GOLD.
"Dominate" here is the operative word. I'm not sure there are any MLB teams who "dominate" their division. The only one that comes to mind is Philadelphia. Toronto is not Philadelphia.
The problem with the Blue Jays is pitching. They don't have it. Not when you compare it to other AL Central teams. Detroit has Verlander & Scherzer (and don't sleep on Fister). Cleveland has Ubaldo & Masterson. Toronto has a good staff; Romero and Morrow are very nice pieces, but you don't have the "aces" that the best Central teams have.
When you look at the great Toronto teams in the early '90s, you see names like Pat Hentgen, David Wells, David Cone, Jimmy Key, Al Leiter, Jack Morris, Juan Guzman, and Dave Stewart on the pitching staff. Not all were together on one team, but when you have that kind of depth of arms, and the great numbers they had back then, you can truly dominate a division.