I freaking love this time of year. Hockey playoffs (What was that Jim Mora? PLAY OFFS?????) are getting ready to go, just got the cabin booked in Waskesiu for the 2010 Mangler Cup golf tournament, and of course, the Blue Jays are about to kick off their regular season in Texas.
 
Game number 1 of 162 is set to go April 5th, at 12:05 pm. The team is still putting the finishing touches on the opening day roster, but we have a pretty good idea of what it's going to look like.
 
With that in mind, I now give you (Cue The Scorpions, Rock You Like A Hurricane!! If you can't play it in your head as a backround for the next sentence, click here ") "Gary's Super Radical In Depth Look At How Awesome This Year's Jays Are Going To Be........... Seriously!!"

(Speaking of the Scorpions, that reminds me of the greatest clip in the history of the Trailer Park Boys, and it involves my favorite vocalist of all time, Sebastion Bach. You will probably end up watching the whole thing, but if you want to get to the best part, fast forward to the 5:20 mark. Freaking hilarious!)
 

*******WARNING!! Super awesome clip to click, with super greasy language. So, if you are easily offended, please be like me with most girls I meet and try to date,  don't click. If you are ready to get a big laugh on, click on Bubbs and Bach.******

Starting Rotation:

 
This is what some consider to be a big part of the Jays demise this year. The departure of Doc Halladay has everyone saying "Put a fork in the Jays!" I even heard someone predict 65 wins for the boys. First off, this team will win more than 65 games. This young rotation will surprise a lot of people. Shaun Marcum has been named the Opening Day starter, followed by Ricky Romero. After that, it is apparently up in the air. Marc Rzepczynski AKA Scrabble was a candidate, but he broke his finger on Tuesday. However I think the starting rotation still looks pretty good.
 
Shaun Marcum
Ricky Romero
Brandan Morrow
Brian Tallet
Dana Eveland
 
I am really excited about Dana Eveland. This guy came out of nowhere, and dominated spring training with a 1.23 ERA, look for him to turn some heads. Dustin McGowan is rehabbing and could be ready by May, and Jesse Litsch is due back in June. Litsch may need some time in the minors as he missed the majority of last year. We also have Brett Cecil, a stud lefty that still has an outside chance to make the squad. I read on MLB trade rumours(http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/03/rotation-spending-by-team.html) that the Jays entire starting rotation will make less money, than what the team is paying Roy Halladay for his last year on his Jays contract. Yep, they are paying a pitcher that is not even on the team more, than their entire starting rotation. That is pretty cool if you ask me. It's even cooler that the Jays lit up Halladay in a Spring Training game on Wednesday.
 
Bullpen:

 
This is where most of the battles are going on in camp right now. Here's how I see it shaking up: Jason Frasor has been awarded the closers role, so he's in, Scott Downs and Kevin Gregg have been unofficially awarded the set up roles, so that leaves four spots, and here is who I think will fill those spots.
 
Jason Frasor
Scott Downs
Kevin Gregg
Casey Janssen
Shawn Camp
Merkin Valdez
Jeremy Accardo
 
Brian Tallet will be back in the bullpen if Cecil beats him for a starting role.

Starting Lineup:
 
Now this is almost as tricky as rockin a ryhme thats right on time, because injuries could play a factor in this, but for now, here is what I see:
 

(If you don't like Vernon Wells, click on his picture, to see why I love him, and why everyone else should.... he is hilarious!)

1. Jose Bautista - RF
2. Aaron Hill - 2B
3. Adam Lind - DH
4. Vernon Wells - CF
5. Edwin Encarnacion - 3B
6. Lyle Overbay - 1B
7. Travis Snider - LF
8. John Buck - C
9. Alex Gonzalez - SS
 
Just like me with the Saskatoon Cardinals back in the day, these boys will be riding the pine:
 
John McDonald - SS
Mike McCoy - 2B
Jose Molina - C
Randy Ruiz - 1B
 
Out of these four, look for Ruiz to have a huge year, because all the guy does is hit. Don't be surprised to see him starting by the end of June.
 
Prospects to keep an eye on:

Kyle Drabek - P

This kid is the real deal, we could see him in September during call ups, maybe earlier. The centerpiece of the Halladay deal, all signs point to Kyle helping people forget about losing the best pitcher in baseball.

Brett Wallace - 1B

This kid will also get called up this year, probably before Drabek. I have heard that he is ready to go now. If Wallace starts hot in the minors, look for GM Alex Antonopolous to try and move Overbay this year. Overbay’s contract expires at the end of the season, so look for Wallace to be starting at 1B by 2011 at the latest. He was also a part of the Halladay deal, sort of, and he should also help people forget about Doc.

J.P. Arencibia - C

I think this guy should be starting right now, but what do I know, (remember when I told you about how I ate three month old Hamburger Helper, possibly while intoxicated). Don't be surprised when this kid is starting after the All Star break.

Bonus Predictions:

My blogging bosses, the Maestro of Bloganomix, and his brother, the Master of Blogatronics suggested this, and I thought it was a good idea, so here we go!

Blue Jay W's:

My bestest friend/mentor/Newstalk big dawg Gerald Bauman is giving the boys 81 wins. I bet my dad a hundred clams that they would win more than 70, and I think they will be better than last years 75 wins, so lets put them at 80. (Side note, did you know the Seattle Mariners are owned by Nintendo Of America? How awesome is that? I just found that out. I always wondered why they were so good in video games.)

World Series Champ:

The Philadelphia Phillies, and don't kid yourself, it will be because of the best pitcher in baseball, Roy Halladay. I am so freaking excited to see how he does when he only has to go 6 or 7 innings, instead of nine. Also,  with the best hitting team in baseball, he will always have run support, as well, he will be pitching to only 8 hitters (no DH in NL) instead of 9, AND, he won't have to pitch against the three headed monster that is the Yankees/Red Sox/Rays 12 times a year.

NL Cy Young:

Read the above again, Halladay will have 31 wins by seasons end, that will also make him..........

NL MVP:

The Doctor is in. Halladay will be the first pitcher since Dennis Ekersley in Oaktown back in1992 to win both awards. Other pitchers to pull this off, Roger Clemons in '86 with Boston, and the great Bob Gibson in '68 with St. Louis.

AL Cy Young:

My Blue Jays insider/Newsroom Phenom, Brendan Wagner agrees with me when I say C.C. Sabathia is the way to go here. That potent Yanks lineup should be enough to help him get to 20 wins, and that should be enough to hold off King Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee in Seattle.

AL MVP:

You have to go with Joe Mauer don't you? I took him with my first pick in my fantasy baseball draft, and there is no reason, for one of the best players in baseball, to not duplicate his totals from the last couple of years.

That does it for this week's blog party. Now, put on your Jays cap and wear it proudly, I promise, this team will surprise you.

If you like Facebook, you can join a super fun awesome happy time pagey thing, with a bunch of my blogs on it, by clicking the dapper young man, right over here .  

I get a lot of slack for promoting that page, because I always talk about how much I dislike Facebook right after. To that, I say this, I dislike Facebook WAY more than I dislike people calling me a hypocrite.(Take that haters! Jersey Shore anyone?) Happy Easter everyone.

(Now, I give you the triumphant return of The Trojan Horse!)

Gary Nickle is a blogger for News Talk Radio