Blue Jays New Year's Resolutions

As the new year rings in, billions of people make their new year's resolutions: eat better, excerise more, lose weight, take risks, find a better job and so on.  By the end of January, the vast majority of new year's resolutions are broken and abandoned.  Each year, my dad starts to ride his stationary exercise bike in January.  He's lucky if he's still riding it by the end of the month.

If the Blue Jays plan on having any success in a tough A.L. East in 2009, they had better make some new year's resolutions.  More importantly, they can't be broken and abandoned.  They ought to be followed strictly every inning, every pitch thrown, and every at bat.  Maybe, just maybe, if these resolutions are adhered to, the Jays will find themselves in a pennant race come September.  As you can tell, my new year's resolution was to be more optimistic.  We'll see how long that lasts.

Adam Lind- Avoid the high heat and spend a full year in the majors.  Lind has found himself playing triple-A ball in each of the past two seasons.  That has had a lot to do with his inability to hit for average, which in turn has a lot to do with his weakness for swinging at high fastballs outside of the strike zone.  Should he be able to hold back on the high heat, he's more than capable of spending a full season in the majors.

Alex Rios- Utilize his speed on the base paths.  Rios stole 32 bases last year, the first Jay to do that since the 2001 season.  With a lack of power in the lineup, the Jays will need to manufacture runs, and moving up 90 feet via the stolen base should lead to a few more runs.  Rios has exceptional speed and should strive for at least 35 stolen bags.

Dustin McGowan, Casey Janssen, and Jeremy Accardo-  A successful return from injury.  Each player is or will be coming off a serious arm injury, which is never easy to do.  Hopefully they can find their form early on in the season and contribute to their team.

Scott Rolen- Good health.  Injuries and an aging body have pretty much ended Rolen's days of hitting .280 with 25 HRs and 100+ RBIs.  That said, for this team to be successful, Rolen needs to contribute more with the bat, and that won't happen with a bum shoulder.

Michael Barrett, Mike Maroth, and Matt Clement- To regain their previously successful forms.  A team can only expect so much from a minor league free agent who is invited to spring training.  You need to hope that 1) they will make the team and 2) they'll re-emerge as quality big leaguers. Let's hope for the best with these three.

Vernon Wells- Show some power.  Vernon will be hitting in the clean up spot, and the Jays desperately need him to find his power stroke.  His past two seasons have been disappointing and its time to once again hit .290, smack out 30+ HR and drive in 100+ runs.

Roy Halladay- Play post-season baseball.  I guess this is more of a new year's wish for Halladay than a new year's resolution.  He's done nothing but work his butt off since first arriving in Toronto, and the Jays can't ask any more of him.  It's time he plays baseball in October.  Whether it's in Toronto or somewhere else, Doc deserves to play for a winner. 

Maybe Halladay will get to play post-season baseball in Toronto if his fellow Blue Jays follow their new year's resolutions.  If they decide to break their resolutions, willingly or unwillingly, Doc should be given the opportunity to play baseball elsewhere and get himself a World Series ring.