Toronto Blue Jays: True Contenders in 2008?

March 15th- Well, we are now half way into the riggors of the Spring Training schedule, and with most teams, minor leaguers are sent back to the fate of minor league camp as well as positional battles taking shape. Dont forget the starters in each respective team's rotation and those last few players to round out your bullpen either. To some, Spring Training may be too long( I can agree with that), however, these are the key days and moments leading up into the upcoming season.

For the Toronto Blue Jays, the next two weeks will be critical in gauging not only how the 25 man roster will fill out, but also getting those integral players on the roster primed for the season.

You might open a newspaper these days and find the Jays with the worst record in the AL in the vaunted Grapefruit League. However, dont be concerned if your a Blue Jay fan. The record is not showing some of the impressive work that some of the Jays players have been producing. Heres a player by player take on their performances so far, and also the position battles and how they are taking shape.

Starting Rotation-perhaps the most important part of ST, getting the starters pitch counts up and building the strength needed for the riggor of the marathon schedule ahead. Results here can be misleading, often pitchers will not use their full repetoire in games, leading to some unexpected non-quality starts

Roy Halladay- So far in spring, Halladay has done nothing short but impressed me everytime he touches the hill. In his first few outings he only threw sinkers and changeups with an occassional curveball, without using his cutter on batters. He took this approach last year as well. My observations tell me, expect more of the same from this workhorse, as long as he remains healthy.

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