The Toronto Blue Jays and their fans can't wait to put their team on the field at the start of the 2013 season. There is no doubt they're better, but this also means the Blue Jays have a ton of pressure as they are expected to win this upcoming year.
They bolstered up on Dominican power adding shortstop Jose Reyes who joins sluggers Edwin Encarnacion and probably the best power hitter in the majors, Jose Bautista.
These guys will be surrounded with other speedsters, potential sluggers and contact hitters.
Emilio Bonifacio can be a solid ninth place hitter that can become a leadoff when the lineup flips over. Brett Lawrie is one of the best young athletes in the game of baseball. Colby Rasmus is super talented and is only expected to get better while Adam Lind will provide the power at the bottom of the order.
They have even more pressure on themselves because they gave Melky Cabrera another chance at playing baseball. If he bombs, well the good news is that they have Rajai Davis on their bench who can come in and add even more speed to this lineup, but the Blue Jays will be heavily scrutinized for giving this new enigma another chance in the sport.
Blue Jay Hurlers
Their pitching staff improved so much that their ace from last season is now a projected fourth or fifth starter. R.A. Dickey and Josh Johnson will be heading the rotation. Brandon Morrow, Mark Buehrle and last year's No. 1 starter Ricky Romero round up the last three in the starting rotation.
Johnson always battles injuries, so it will be interesting to see how he can perform. Dickey is coming off a Cy Young Award winning season so pressures of duplicating his 2012 performance can't be ignored.
If the Blue Jays lose, the general manager will definitely have to be questioned. Aside from Dickey, these guys from Miami couldn't win as a unit in the N.L. East, so why would you bring them to the American League in a division that is even tougher?
The Baltimore Orioles proved they have the power to compete as they possess young talent. The Tampa Bay Rays are just healthy players away from dominating in the league and the New York Yankees, though they did a very poor job over the offseason, still possess dynamic hitting.
If the Blue Jays can't win with these guys though, then maybe it's time for GM Alex Anthopoulos to find work elsewhere.
The fans would love for these players to stay in Toronto, but the reality is, if they can't win, nobody is going to cheer for them.
The Blue Jays will enter 2013 as the team everybody will be looking forward to seeing in action. They might not call it pressure, but the only thing these guys want to do now is win. Anything less than winning will become a disappointment.