The story that I’m clinging to right now is Travis Snider.  This guy started the year in single A ball.  The normal progression for a star would be one level per year but Snider has jumped from single A right through to the majors in the space of a year.  And he looks like a regular out there!

The other thing that’s got me excited is Cito Gaston.  He was the manager back in the World Series days and he seems to have sparked something in the Jays hitters.  There’s also a major difference in how Gaston uses pitchers compared to his predecessor John Gibbons.  I could be wrong but Gaston seems to pull pitchers before they get into too much trouble whereas Gibbons would leave the pitchers out there too long, maybe trying to let them pitch their own way out.  The difference has been enormous in the stats column – the Jays bullpen has the lowest ERA in the majors and they have the possibility of having two starters hit 20 wins!

This is a team to watch next year if they can keep all the key pieces in place.  Zaun and Burnett need to be kept, in my opinion, and I think if they can string together some more wins before the season is out, Toronto may be a place that the players look forward to playing in next year.