Look close

The Rays are providing the blue print of World Cup Soccer Jersey where the Blue Jays would like to be in the next three-to-five years. Here is a franchise that was at the bottom of the barrel for the first 10 years of their existence, never losing fewer than 91 games while playing in front of a dwindling fan base. Sound familiar except for losing part?

The only upside to all that losing was that the Rays were constantly drafting near the top of the first round in the June draft. That allowed them to stockpile their farm system with some players that are now prime-time players on their Major League roster. David Price, Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Jeff Niemann have all arrived good to go and are major contributors.

They also drafted Delmon Young first overall in 2003 and when it became apparent that he couldn’t play for Joe Maddon, he was sent off to the Twins for Matt Garza, currently one of the top starters in the Majors, and shortstop Jason Bartlett, their lead-off hitter.

By adding talent of this depth and character, the Rays have been able to go from bad to very good in short order.

Now I realize that is two years away and, judging by the way that fans have turned their back on this team, it seems like a long time. But look at it this way: two years before the Jays won their first A.L. East title in 1985, the team made its first strides from an expansion squad to a bonafide contender. They finished above .500 for the first thanks to a core of players – George Bell, Jesse Barfield, Tony Fernandez, Dave Stieb and Lloyd Moseby – that grew up together. Veterans were brought in to finish off the product from outside the organization. I can’t help but think that they are trying to use the same blueprint this time around, with an eye on what the Rays did to become one of the top teams after a decade of bad baseball.
The Jays flew into the Tampa area after finishing their opening, 10-game homestand of the season. They went 4-6, splitting a four-game series with the White Sox, were swept by the perennial playoff contender Angels, and took two of three from the lowly Royals.

The pitching provided many of the highlights, while Vernon Wells, Alex Gonzalez and Adam Lind provided much of the production as the offence remains stuck in neutral.

Now, it’s off to St. Petersburg for the weekend, a place where they haven’t enjoyed much success. Last season, the Tampa Bay Rays took eight of nine from the Blue Jays at Tropicana Field, and Toronto has won only three out of 20 going back to September of 2007. This will provide the first real test for a team that is still finding its’ way and trying to win back their apathetic fans.
This is exactly what the Blue Jays are hoping will happen as they try to rebuild their franchise. With 10 picks in the first 126 choices this June, and $16 million allotted to sign those picks, General Manager Alex Anthopoulos and his army of scouts should be able to get their hands on some top notch talent to expedite the rebuild. Coupled with the prospects that they received in the Roy Halladay trade with the Phillies, it’s conceivable that they could jump into the playoff picture as early as 2012.