The Worst Is Over for Jays Fans (We Hope)

This year, Toronto has had to deal with more injuries and problems than usual.

Stay there for a moment, I need to unfurl my list and get my reading glasses.

Shawn Marcum, Dustin McGowan, Jesse Litsch have become casualties of the rotation. B.J. Ryan has been having troubles, and the Jays bullpen has been reshaped accordingly.

Rookies Brett Cecil and Bobby Ray were chased from the rotation, getting rocked and injured in the process. Ricky Romero and Scott Richmond have had their share of struggles lately. 

One of the Jays offseason pickups, Michael Barrett, destroyed his shoulder trying to field a foul-out. Now we subsist on occasional Raul Chavez sightings.

Vernon Wells is hitting way below par for him. Alex Rios is having trouble staying consistent and being able to avoid accosting fans.

And I couldn't be happier.

If I could see the Jays only a game and a half behind the leader of the AL East come every June 10, I'd let Rios crack Yo Momma jokes over the PA during the seventh-inning stretch.

Last year at this time, the Jays were six games out of first and fading fast. It would be the closest they came to first for the rest of the season.

Two years ago on June 10, the Jays were already 10 games back. At that point you could have just started cheering for the Red Sox (you traitor).

Toronto's worst enemy has always been Toronto. Over the last two years the Jays average first half winning percentage has been .495. They were digging their own graves using their last breaths. 

Today that percentage stands at .557. The last time they posted a number that good was back in 1992 when they started the first half with a blistering .609 winning percentage (in 1993 they started the year out at .551, closer to this season). If you ask me how they finished that season I will hurt you.

History is officially on this team's side. 

In the second halves of the last two years, the Jays posted a .558 winning percentage. By then, it was too late though. If they can replicate and improve on this past success now, they will be tough to keep down.

That the Jays have battled through these historically tough months bodes well for Toronto. With all the injuries and low expectations that were with the team from the beginning, their success is an act of taking a monkey off their backs and throwing it in the face of the rest of the AL East.

Guys like Adam Lind and Aaron Hill have stepped up to fill voids left by Wells and Rios' missing offence. Lyle Overybay is swinging a bat that is almost literally catching fire. Marco Scutaro and Scott Rolen continue to contribute defensively and on offence. 

You can't expect Vern and Alex to stay quiet forever. They'll rebound, and Toronto will benefit.

The Jays' pitchers are starting to find their stuff as well. Roy Halladay is Roy Halladay. Scott Richmond and Ricky Romero have regained their stride. Brian Tallet is using a killer changeup and moustache to befuddle (and beFUZZle) opponents.

The return of Casey Janssen is promising. Scott Downs is looking like he can fill the closer void left by Ryan.

Sure, we play in a division with the golden idols of Boston and New York, who the fans of baseball worship. But this is a good year to put the fear of the Jays back into these gaudy abominations.

Playoffs? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

The first thing that needs to be done is winning a series against the Yanks and Sox. Taking two of three from Boston was a good start a few weeks ago.

Getting swept by them at Fenway and losing two of three to New York still stings. Those are opportunities that can't be squandered.

As we get set for interleague play soon, the Jays need to retain their focus. Coming out of a stretch that includes Cincinnati, Florida, and Washington with anything less than series wins would be disastrous.

Right after interleague comes some crucial games.  Starting on June 29, the Jays have series with Tampa, New York, Tampa again, Baltimore, and Boston. This is a perfect storm.

They need to keep Baltimore in their place. They need to gain games on New York and Boston.

Most of all, they need to punish Tampa. Giving them any hope at all for their season would be terrible.

If the Jays are going to inhabit a division with New York and Boston, they can't have some up and comer stealing victories from them like last year.

As long as the Jays are playing I'll worry about these things.

At least right now I can take solace knowing that the worst is almost over.

(If you believe in jinxes a few months from now you can come back and comment on how I wrecked the season)