The Reality of 2021 and the breakdown of the Toronto Maple Leafs - by Moses

       The reality is that we're in the year 2021 and yet currently we see one African-American Ownership Position in Professional sports - Michael Jordan.  The social disturbance, the actual audacity of calling on the Affirmative Action to take place is what is killing our continent today.  Knowing without a shadow of a doubt that it should be in place yet isn't, kills the imagination of people of color and anyone with a sense of what is right including dignity and integrity.  This issue really does need to be addressed in the reparations of African-Americans and people of color to get the sense they're being compensated for the hatred of their people.  Hatred, plain and simple hatred and don't get me wrong it does exist and is constantly being perpetuated.

  We like to preach equality within sport yet Hockey comes into question when speaking for Canadian values.  When someone in the Muslim or Sikh community try out for the Hockey Team they are cut, even though they are probably the best on the team.  All because their Dad wears a head-dress.  This is a systematic practice within Toronto, and there have been lawsuits as a result of some racist coaching practices as a result.  Then, when our kids are trying to score goals for their mighty Maple Leafs, people are so blinded by hatred that they automatically deny the kid the enjoyment of their procreation of goals and good things like that and daggers get thrown in their faces all because they are 'Black', 'Muslim' or 'Sikh', or 'Jewish', or 'Portuguese'.  Where does it end?

The Future of North American Sport - by Moses

       It is now 2021 and I question the direction North American sport is moving towards.  I mean we live in lands of prosperity yet there is exactly one professional woman's league in North America to date, the WNBA.  Soccer has resurfaced in North America in a men's' league, yet a Woman's professional league in soccer and baseball has been negated for years.  Likewise that of a Disabled Sports league in wheelchair basketball.  This makes me wonder when a movie like 'Field of Dreams' comes out and we start to believe 'If you build it, they will come.' yet higher powers negate the efforts of stories of inspiration and determination like that of 'A League of Their Own' and we end up seeing a stagnant mindset, one of being closed to stories that must be told.  In 'A League of Their Own' the story of a Woman's Baseball League in America was told.  If the MLBPA and the NLBPA were listening to the intonations of the current situation of the Woman Ballplayer of today, there would at least be the acknowledgement that Woman can play sports at a high level, a professional level.

  When it comes to wheelchair basketball I speak from experience when I say it is an extremely hard sport to master.  Making a 20 foot shoot from a wheelchair is almost impossible, yet there are a few men around the globe that can make that shot.  My Uncle's old friend Flo played for the Toronto Spitfires Organization and they played in Worldwide Wheelchair Basketball Tournaments for years.  Flo was known to be one of the greatest Wheelchair Basketball players of all-time and it is a resentment of mine that modern day society didn't think enough of their disabled population to at least give credence to those people who are good at what they do within the disabled community.  Modern day society could in fact create Leagues in sport that would accommodate those that excel at sports, hence a Woman's MLB, a Woman's Professional Hockey League, a Woman's Professional Soccer League, and a Professional Wheelchair Sports League.

  In fifty years how will leadership look at an apathetic society that had no problem negating efforts to build professional sports leagues for Woman and the Disabled.  If it were up to me our leadership in Canada should rethink their position on the matter for at least the sense of acknowledging those that excel at sports.  

The 2022 Toronto Blue Jays - by Moses

       The 2021 Toronto Blue Jays were perhaps the best baseball team in the Majors.  Although they fell one game short of making the playoffs, they had a ridiculous runs scored - runs allowed compared to other teams around the League.  We had seven men hammer 20+Home-runs this year and four men drive in 100+ RBI's.  Vlad Guerrero Jr. led the way as the igniter of the most potent offence in baseball alongside Marcus Semien, George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez, Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Alejandro Kirk, Cavan Biggio, and Randal Grichuk.  An offence of the ages setting a team record for most home-runs in a season with 258 dingers.  The 2021 Blue Jays were a shining example of how to run an offence.  They also have speed on the base-paths encouraged by the likes of Bichette, Semien, Hernandez (and Biggio in the future).  The team defense is above par and will likely take home Gold Glove at second base in one Marcus Semien and possibly one for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. who had 16 outfield assists in leftfield.  

  The starting staff was spectacular this year and had we not had breakdowns in the bullpen throughout the year we would have won 100 games easily.  With Robbie Ray the Jays have a legitimate Cy Young Pitcher, with other southpaws Hyun Jin Ryu and Steven Matz the Jays are three southpaw deep in the starting staff, something no other team in baseball can claim.  With Alek Manoah we have perhaps the best young arm in baseball.  With Manoah's pedigree he's right where Roger Clemens was in 1985 in his development as a young gun and producer at this stage of his career.  With the acquisition of Jose Berrios the Jays are truly five deep in their rotation.  The problem the Jays were having this year came down to the seventh and eight inning men.  Until we acquired Trevor Richards and Adam Cimber at the trade deadline we had no solution to the problem.  We probably lost 12 games this year to that deficiency.  Injuries hurt our bullpen as aside from an impressive year by first year closer Jordan Romano, we lost Julian Merryweather, David Phelps, and A.J. Cole all early in the year to injury.  These were guys that we were expecting big things from early on in the year. Our bullpen southpaw situation was pretty good with Tim Mayza carrying most of the load.  Ryan Borucki will be back strong next year after an injury plagued season, and between Kirby Snead and Tayler Saucedo as the third lefty in the mix could be dominant.  

  The Jays had a strong bench with Santiago Espinal filling in admirably for Biggio when he went down to injury.  Breyvic Valera was a pleasant surprise when Espinal got injured and the Jays had enormous depth at the Cather Position with Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, and Reese McGuire.  Ironically the best Catcher in the Jays chain is Double A New Hampshire standout Gabriel Moreno.  Bo Bichette claims Moreno to be the most promising hitter in the Jays Farm System as evidenced by his .373 batting average alongside 45 RBI's in only 126 At-Bats this year before getting injured.  Just returning from injury a couple of weeks ago, Moreno was promoted to Triple A affiliate Buffalo and the Jays are considering fast racking him through the 2022 Spring Training as a viable number one to start next year.  Moreno is the best defensive catcher we have by far having thrown out 38% basestealers in his minor league career to date and there is no reason to doubt his batting prowess (even at the Major League Level).  The problem the Jays will have in Spring Training is how to treat the endowment of our catching situation.  We've got four capable catchers for two spots.  My picks would be Moreno and Kirk.

  In terms of intangibles and Coaching the Jays are going to be a powerhouse for years to come.  I was most impressed by the work of Pete Walker in instilling a starting staff that refused to walk batters.  Charlie Montoyo worked magically with our youth in the clubhouse to get them to believe in themselves and has a legitimate shot at winning Manager of the Year for his role.  What is truly impressive about this team is how many things they do well.  Hit for power, hit for average, high OPS %, high RBI rates, high stolen base %, high Batting Average with men in scoring position, the Jays were at the top of the leader-board in every category.  

  With the future looming it will be interesting to see if the Jays will pay Marcus Semien's asking price on a long term contract.  Personally I would offer Semien $22-$25 Mil U.S.D/year for four years with a performance clause in his contract that redeems a fifth year @ $30-$35 Mil U.S if he achieves the teams goals.  I would draft up; Scenerio One - Should Semien win the Gold Glove at second and/or win A.L MVP and/or hit 40+ Home-runs in a year and/or steal 20+ bases - in other words create provisions to increase the dollar amount of the contract should Semien meet or exceed expectations.  The problem is that current performance clauses are somewhat limiting in their rewards (compared to what I'm proposing).  The upside of a player like Semien is that should he exceed expectations in each year of the contract, pay him $35 Mil U.S.D in the fifth year - he'd be worth it at that point.  The reality is that Toronto is a wealthy city and can afford to spend money on their superstars.     

The 2022 Toronto Blue Jays - by Moses

Manager - Charlie Montoyo

Pitching Staff

1.  Robbie Ray (LHP)

2.  Jose Berrios (RHP)

3.  Alek Manoah (RHP)

4.  Steven Matz (LHP)

5.  Hyun Jin Ryu (LHP)

6.  Nate Pearson (RHP)

7.  Tim Mayza (LHP)

8.  Ryan Borucki (LHP)

9.  Kirby Snead (LHP)

10.Tayler Saucedo (LHP)

11.Trevor Richards (RHP)

12.Adam Cimber (RHP)

13.Julian Merryweather (RHP)

14.Jacob Waguespack (RHP)

15.Jordan Romano (RHP)

Batting Order vs Righties

1.  George Springer (CF) bats right

2.  Marcus Semien (2B) bats right

3.  Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B) bats right

4.  Bo Bichette (SS) bats right

5.  Teoscar Hernandez (DH) bats right

6.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF) bats right

7.  Cavan Biggio (3B) bats left

8.  Corey Dickerson (RF) bats left

9.  Reese McGuire (C) bats left

  

Batting Order vs Lefties

1.  George Springer (CF) bats right

2.  Marcus Semien (2B) bats right

3.  Vlad Guerrero Jr. (1B) bats right

4.  Bo Bichette (SS) bats right

5.  Teoscar Hernandez (DH) bats right

6.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF) bats right

7.  Randal Grichuk (RF) bats right

8.  Gabriel Moreno (C) bats right

9.  Santiago Espinal (3B) bats right

Bench

1.  Alejandro Kirk (C/DH) bats right

2.  Breyvic Valera (2B/SS/3B) bats both

3.  Jarrod Dyson (OF) bats left