Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have had issues with their current closer this year. 

BJ Ryan, a formerly established closer, has not done very well to date this season. Ryan blew his second save of the season last Tuesday, and there is chatter that his job could be on the line.

Ryan has also had velocity issues, with his fastball speed down to the 85-87 range.  If Cito Gaston makes a change at the closer role, who will he turn to?

The Toronto Blue Jays are off to their best start in recent memory, and everyone is trying to figure out why and how.

Is it the young pitching staff coming through? Did Cito Gaston and Gene Tenace get magical wood for the bats? Are they using oversized gloves in the field?

Not really sure those are the answers, and you don't want to be a cynic when cheering for the home team, but the reason the Jays are 10-4 to start the season might have more to do with their opponents than anything else.

The Blue Jays actually took two out of three against the Athletics this weekend!

But this time, it wasn't all about their offense, which was a big part of their success, especially in the Minnesota series (when they scored 31 runs in the four games at the Metrodome).  Stellar pitching sealed the victories in these games.

On Saturday, Brian Tallet did a great job filling in for the injured Jesse Litsch. Tallet allowed just four hits and one earned run in his 5 1/3 innings in his first start since 2006 and helped the Blue Jays win 4-2.

For a game that started off based around the small ball the ending was much more powerful and much more dramatic.

Lyle Overbay came up to bat with two outs and Jose Bautista on first. He then sent the 1-0 pitch Dan Giese threw to deep right-centre to seal the game. The homerun came in the 12 inning to give the Jays a 4-2 win Saturday.

“I was either going to pop that straight up or hit a homer,” Overbay said. “I was glad it went the way it did.”

With the first 14 games of the season in the books, the remarkable Toronto Blue Jays are back in the game and sitting on top in the American League East with a record of 9-4. No one could have hoped for a better start.

Through an offseason in whcih financial woes seemed to be on everyone's mind (even MLB GMs), J.P. Ricciardi decided not to make any big moves and did not spend any money.

Some critics tore him a new one, suggesting that this method was the furthest thing from progress the team could possibly get, but what do those critics have to say now?

The Blue Jays won eight of their first 11 games this season. Toronto improved to 8-3 and has scored a whopping 77 runs in its surprising early move to the top of the American League standings.

The Toronto Blue Jays, whose $80.5 million ranks eighth in the AL, are the top team in the MLB so far this season.

Their high-powered offense is operating at full throttle. The Jays pounded out 17 homers in their first 10 games, scoring 68 runs on 115 hits.

Is this the year the Blue Jays can finally win enough games to enter post-season play? The way the first few games have gone, it sure seems like it's possible.

Last season, pitching was their strong point, and the batters let the team down. However, this year it's almost reversed, as the rotation's success relies on young arms, and no matter what trouble they get into, the bats get them out of it.

The Toronto Blue Jays had more then a few questions heading into Spring Training this February.

Which two pitchers will fill the rotation? Will the bullpen remain the same as last year? Who will the Jays take for their bench? Who is going to be the backup catcher?

Well, with just five days remaining until the Jays first game against the Detroit Tigers at the Rogers Center, all these questions have finally been answered.