Their is no doubt that Gibbons is a tough guy as he got in a fight with Ted Lilly last season and challenged Shea Hillenbrand to a boxing match. He did get the Blue Jays into 2nd place for the first time in quite a while. He has managed parts of 4 seasons for the Blue Jays and he’s compiled a 190-187 (.504) record. This season could be a turning point one way or another for Gibbons.

The Jays have a lot of pitchers in their bullpen that can flat out bring it to the plate. 31 year old lefty B.J. Ryan was simply the best reliever in all of baseball last season. He was 2-2 with 38 saves in 65 games last season. He had a 1.37 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP which are amazing numbers. He also only allowed batters to hit .169 against him last season and lefties were only 6 of 50 (.120 avg) against him and all of the hits were singles!  Batters only mustered 5 extra base hits all season against Ryan in 72.1 innings and he whiffed 86 batters! Look for Ryan to have another dominating season with 35-45 saves and a sub 2.00 ERA in 2007.

24 year old righty Brandon League had a breakout season as a set up man for the Blue Jays last season as he was 1-2 with 12 holds and a save in 33 games for them. He had a 2.53 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP in 2006. Batters only hit .214 against him and he only walked 9 hitters in 42.2 innings. He will start the 2007 season in the minors to build up his arm strength as he’s recovering from an injury. He will get called up immediately when he gets his velocity back up to normal.

25 year old righty Jeremy Accardo was the return the Blue Jays got for ditching Shea Hllenbrand last season. He was 2-4 with 10 holds and 3 saves in 65 games last season for the San Francisco Giants and the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays would like to pitch Accardo late in games but he will need to improve to get that chance. He has a good arm but will need to learn the nuances of pitching to turn all of his natural talent into major league results.

29 year old righty Jason Frasor is still around to provide good innings out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays. Last season Frasor was 3-2 with 12 holds, a 4.32 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Frasor held batters to a .244 batting average and he whiffed 51 batters in 50 innings. Frasor will pitch late in games for the Blue Jays in 2007 and he’ll do a decent job.

31 year old lefty Scott Downs will be in the Jays bullpen again this season. He was 6-2 with 6 holds, 1 save, a 4.09 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP in 59 games (5 starts) for the Blue Jays last season. Lefties only hit .232 against him and he whiffed 61 batters last season. Look for Downs to have his best season in the majors in 2007.

Soon to be 38 year old righty Pete Walker was brought back and will be given a chance to make the team. He was 1-1 with 3 holds, 1 save, a 5.40 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP in 23 games in 2006. Batters hit .296 with 5 homers against Walker in only 30 innings so he will need to improve in 2007 to make the team.

29 year old lefty Brian Tallet had a solid season for the Jays last year as he was 3-0 with 5 holds, a 3.81 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Tallet only allowed batters to hit .238 but he walked 31 batters in 54.1 innings and that will need to improve. Look for Tallet to make the team and be productive in 2007.

24 year old lefty Davis Romero was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP in 7 games for the Blue Jays last season. Romero was 10-9 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 30 games (15 starts) in AA+AAA ball. Romero whiffed 106 batters in 118.1 innings in the minors. He will likely start the season in AAA ball and get a call if something happens to Downs or Tallet.

26 year old Francisco Rosario is another young gun that’s an up and comer for the Blue Jays. He pitched in 17 games (1 start) for them last season and he was 1-2 with 1 hold, a 6.65 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. Rosario has a good arm as he whiffed 21 batters in 23 innings for the Blue Jays but, he needs to cut down on his walks (16) if he’s going to be successful at the major league level in the future.Â

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Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett is an imposing 1-2 punch if both of them can stay healthy. Gustavo Chacin is penciled in as the #3 starter but the last two spots in the rotation will be up for grabs. 29 year old righty Roy Halladay is the un-questioned ace of the Toronto Blue Jays. Halladay was 16-5 last season with a 3.19 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in 32 starts for the Blue Jays. His strikeouts were down as he only had 132 in 220 innings but he really pitched well last season so that doesn’t really matter. It’s essential that the Blue Jays keep Halladay healthy because he’s 77-31 over the last five seasons and is one of the best pitchers in the American League.

30 year old A.J. Burnett is a tease. He has better stuff than almost every pitcher in the majors as he pumps blazing fastballs 97 mph and also sports a big knee buckling curveball. But, he doesn’t seem to have the killer instinct that you would expect a pitcher that has that kind of stuff to have. Burnett has never won more than 12 games in a season in his 8 year career which is kind of amazing. Last season he was 10-8 with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He also whiffed 118 batters in 135.2 innings so he has electric stuff. Look for Burnett to graduate and win 15+ games this season if he can stay healthy, and that’s a big if as he’s only started 30+ games 1 time in his career.

26 year old lefty Gustavo Chacin missed about half of last season due to injury. He didn’t look like the same pitcher that bursted on the scene in 2005 as he lacked some pop on his fastball. He will need to regain some of those mph to improve the bottom line this season. Chacin started 17 games last season and he was 9-4 with a 5.05 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 2006. Chacin will need to cut down his walks this season and increase his strikeouts if he’s going to be a legit #3 starter for the Blue Jays this year.

31 year old righty Tomo Ohka will be one of the favorites to win a spot in the Blue Jays rotation this spring. Ohka missed a lot of last season due to injury as he only started 18 games for the Milwaukee Brewers last season and went 4-5 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Ohka will have to be very fine as he gives up a lot of hits but it was a good gamble to sign him like the Blue Jays did. He likely will be about a .500 pitcher with the Blue Jays but not much more.

33 year old righty John Thomson also will have a good shot to fill one of the last two spots in the Blue Jays rotation this season. He missed about half of last season due to injury and he wound up with a 2-7 record with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. Thomson was also a good gamble for the Blue Jays as he could be a legit #4 starter for a cheap price for them.

31 year old righty Victor Zambrano was also brought in on a minor league contract to compete for a starting job. He missed most of last season due to injury but he has talent. He only started 5 games last season and he was 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. In Zambrano’s last three full seasons as a starting pitcher he has a combined record of 28-29 so he likely will be not much more than a .500 pitcher if starts.

30 year old Josh Towers will get a chance to get his job back but only because he has a contract for this season. From 2003-2005 Towers was 30-22 for the Blue Jays but last season he was downright pathetic. Towers was 2-10 with a 8.42 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP in only 15 games (12 starts). Towers allowed an amazing 93 hits and 17 homers in only 62 innings last year. Opponents hit .343 against Towers in 2006 and I will be stunned if he wins a spot in the rotation this season.

25 year old righty Shawn Marcum will also battle for the #5 spot in the rotation. He pitched in 21 games (14 starts) last season and he was 3-4 with a 5.06 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He has a good arm as his 65 K’s in 78.1 innings show but he will have to improve his control if he’s going to pitch for the Blue Jays this season. Look for him to start the year in AAA but he’s likely to get a call up to the majors if the Blue Jays need a starter after the year starts.

25 year old righty Dustin McGowan had a hard time in his first taste of the majors. He pitched in 16 games (3 starts) and he was 1-2 with a 7.24 ERA and a 2.20 WHIP. He likely won’t get a shot in the majors unless he improves his control which was horrible for him with the Blue Jays. He walked 25 batters in only 27.1 innings. Look for him to learn how to throw strikes in the minor before he gets another chance with the Blue Jays.

26 year old righty Casey Janssen spent half of last season in the Blue Jays rotation and he wasn’t awful but he wasn’t that good either. He pitched in 19 games (17 starts) and he was 6-10 with a 5.07 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He has to be very good with his control because he’s hittable as major leaguers hit .275 against him last season. Look for Janssen to be stashed in AAA until the Blue Jays need him.

It’s too bad that Rios got hurt last season because he was playing awesome. He played in 128 games last season and he hit .302 with 68 runs scored, 17 homers, 82 RBIs, 15 stolen bases and a .865 OPS. He also is a good defender as he played in 124 games in RF last season and he only made 2 errors and showed outstanding range. Look for Rios to be a 20/20 player with an average of around .300 again this season.

Adam Lind and Matt Stairs will back up Rios in right field. Both Lind & Stairs can hit the ball, but, either one would be a big step down on defense as both are below average in RF.

28 year old Vernon Wells is a great player. He played in 154 games for the Blue Jays last season and he hit .303 with 91 runs scored, 32 homers, 106 RBIs, 17 stolen bases and a .899 OPS. Wells has won three straight American League Gold Gloves. He played in 150 games in CF last season and he made 4 errors while showing slightly below average range. Look for Wells to have another outstanding season with 25-30 homers and 100+ RBIs.

If anything happened to Wells, Alex Rios would likely move over to CF. He played 6 errorless games in center last season but he showed below average range.