When John Farrell was hired to manage the Toronto Blue Jays, he knew that he wanted to change the way the team played.
When he was the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox last year, he saw full well what the Jays were capable of both the good and the bad. Farrell saw that the Jays had enormous power, hitting the third most home runs as a team in league history. But he also saw how the team struggled when the home runs weren't coming and how predictable the offense could be.
GM Alex Anthopoulos was aware of what Farrell wanted to do with the team and went out and acquired a couple players that could help make that plan happen. Corey Patterson and Rajai Davis came to the Jays as veterans, both very capable of stealing bases and using their speed effectively on the base paths.
Farrell wants his to be an "uncomfortable offence," using baserunners to distract fielders and disrupt opposing pitchers. When the Jays declared last year that they won't be the type of team to steal bases, it allowed the pitchers to ignore runners and focus solely on batters.
In the new system, runners are constantly moving about, either making a break for a steal or faking it to make the fielders adjust their positioning. If a runner on first makes a break for second, the shortstop has to come in to take the throw. The second baseman might come over to back up the throw, pulling the middle infielders out their spots and creating wide gaps in the defense. If the batter hits a grounder in either of these spots, it is much more likely to sneak through, avoiding the double play.
This of course is just one of the methods that Farrell is applying.
If you have been watching the Jays this year, you know that they aren't just faking the steal; they're going for it. They are tied with the Kansas City Royals and the San Diego Padres for first in the Major Leagues, with 16 steals in just 13 games. They also have had an impressive rate of success, going 16 for 19.
The Jays were third worst in the entire league in 2010, with 58 steals in 162 games. One can tell already that the approach this season is different. (Just as this piece was being written, Travis Snider stole a base against Josh Beckett, with the throw sailing into centre field. He then took third, getting a fantastic jump on Beckett.)
It isn't just steals that separate this club from last year's edition.
The new Jays are attempting to run the base paths differently, stretching singles into a doubles and going first to third on a singles. They're attempting double steals and advancing on a sacrifice flies. Everything is more aggressive.
Of course there's an adjustment period with the new aggressive approach, and it won't always work. Runners will be picked off, a strong throw from the outfield will sometimes catch a baserunner and, every once in a while, there could be an accident, like when Yunel Escobar suffered a concussion sliding into third. (Varitek just gunned down McDonald attempting to take second.)
Farrell believes that there will be more good than bad though, and it seems like the team is buying in. The Jays want to compete, they want to be a dynamic team, and this new offensive philosophy is right in line with their slogan, "Hustle and Heart."
It should be an exciting year.
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