As mentioned in a few different threads, the Blue Jays 2004 schedule has been released. You can view it on the official Blue Jays site. April looks really nice, with the first 6 of 9 games being against the Tigers. The Jays have a pretty good shoot of ending April on top of the AL East.
April...last year it was the Terrible 20, this year it's the Terrible 120. (Sorry, 119)
13 games against Boston in April and May! Let's hope Halladay, Batista & co. come out blazing.
(And Wells, Hinske, Delgado, Phelps & co. with bats booming...)
(And Wells, Hinske, Delgado, Phelps & co. with bats booming...)
http://www.immune26.tv
Boston might not be a fire hydrant and the Jays might not be dogs... but I guarantee you all we'll leave our mark on them in those 13 games!
Boston might not be a fire hydrant and the Jays might not be dogs... but I guarantee you all we'll leave our mark on them in those 13 games!
When you have to play Boston and New York so many times + all the AL West teams, there won't be any long streches of easy competition. That being said, I dos till think the Jays do have a schedule in which they can perform really well in the first few months and go into July and August and play many meaningful games against the Yankees. Many Jays teams of the past have broken down at this point; I suppose we'll see if the 2004 Fighting Jays are any different...
We end the season against mostly Tampa and Baltimore (with a bit of Yankees, including our final series). That could be really exciting. It could be we start Sept. 8 games back of the Yankees, run up close to them pummelling BAl and TBA, and then win or lose the Wild Card with those last three games against the Yanks in Toronto.
But I'm just hyperventilating now.
But I'm just hyperventilating now.
The best part about this schedule isn't what the Jays have in September, it's what the Yankees and Red Sox have -- each other. The Yankees start out September with what's assumed to be a club beginning to tire a bit from their aging and potentially injury prone line up playing Baltimore, Tampa and Baltimore once more. Then they get a short two game set with KC, who will in theory be fighting for the Central Division crown and *need* wins. After KC, NY hosts Boston for 3, then welcomes your Toronto (Blue) Jays, after which they'll head to the road for the final time to see Boston in Fenway and finally back to the Bronx to play Minnesota, another AL Central team likely to be in a must-win situation.
Boston doesn't have to a whole lot easier. They start the month hosting ANA, get the Rangers for 3, then take off to the west coast and play OAK and SEA back-to-back, return for 3 against T-Bay, go to the Yankees for 3, then home for 3 against both BAL and NYY and finally finish the season in Tampa.
That makes Toronto's light schedule seem even lighter.
Boston doesn't have to a whole lot easier. They start the month hosting ANA, get the Rangers for 3, then take off to the west coast and play OAK and SEA back-to-back, return for 3 against T-Bay, go to the Yankees for 3, then home for 3 against both BAL and NYY and finally finish the season in Tampa.
That makes Toronto's light schedule seem even lighter.
Another thing I like about the first nine games is that there will be days off in places that will allow halladay to start in 3 of those games. I would expect 6 wins from those 9... I guess any day off is an extra blessing for the jays as instead of having to send towers or whoever has that 5 spot to the mound on such a day we can rest the doctor...
No disrespect to towers though.... I think he's a pretty durned good 5th man...
No disrespect to towers though.... I think he's a pretty durned good 5th man...