The 2014 Toronto Blue Jays enter their 21st consecutive season since the team made the playoffs. The 1993 Blue Jays won the World Series, but the team hasn't been in the playoffs since.
Thanks to the 1994 strike, the team didn't surrender that world championship until the fall of 1995, so by that standards, the gap is 19 years. Still, those numbers are the drinking age of the rest of MLB (21) and Ontario (19); long enough that optimism is waning.
Now that Washington and Pittsburgh have made the playoffs, only the Kansas City Royals have a longer postseason drought. Like the Blue Jays, the last playoff entry was a World Championship in 1985. Seattle Mariners are third with a 12-year drought.
As for the on-field team, if you blink and look at the Toronto Blue Jays roster for 2014, you see different catchers, but the same hole at 2nd base. Josh Johnson is gone from the starting rotation and Rajai Davis is gone from the outfield. Mark DeRosa and Darren Oliver retired.
Ryan Goins is the latest to take on the 2nd base black hole. Veteran Dioner Navarro will be the primary catcher. Sad how the team went from being catching-rich to catching-poor so quickly.
Count on R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle along with a group that includes Brandon Morrow, Drew Hutchison, and Dustin McGowan for the rotation.
Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind, Brett Lawrie, Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, and Colby Rasmus will be back to hit lots of home runs.
John Gibbons is back in his 2nd year of his 2nd stint as the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.
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Rogers Sportsnet and its various outlets will be the home for Toronto Blue Jays in 2014. Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler will be on the call again. Click here for a breakdown of which channels will carry the games.
There are a lot fewer Fox telecasts in 2014. OTA Fox telecasts start May 24 and run on Saturdays until the All-Star break and then Saturdays in September. Fox Sports 1 (home of Jay and Dan) will be carrying more games this season. This won't likely change Fox Sports' anti-Toronto bias.
TBS reduces its workload to 13 Sunday regular season afternoon games in the final half of the season.
Definitely mark April 9 on your calendar as ESPN2 will carry a home Blue Jays game as Toronto welcomes the Houston Astros at 7 pm.
MLB Network carries all 30 teams in April. The lone primary game will be the home opener April 4 as the New York Yankees come to Rogers Centre for a 7 pm start. The Blue Jays will be the backup game several times in April, available in the markets of the primary game and nationwide in case of rain delay or a rainout.
April 1: N.Y. Yankees at Houston, 7p (Toronto at Tampa Bay)
April 3: Boston at Baltimore, 7p (Toronto at Tampa Bay)
April 6: Baltimore at Detroit, 1p (N.Y. Yankees at Toronto)
April 24: N.Y. Yankees at Boston, 7p (Baltimore at Toronto)
Check the MLB national feeds list here and we'll have updates on the CanadianCrossing twitter feed.
MLB Extra Innings has a free preview at the start of the season through April 6. The Blue Jays open in Tampa at 4:10 pm Eastern this afternoon, with night games Tuesday-Thursday, all at 7:10 pm. The home opener is on Friday night against the New York Yankees at 7:07 pm Friday night (game on MLB Network) and weekend contests with the Yankees at 1:07 pm.
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Matt Stairs, former Toronto Blue Jays DH and one of New Brunswick's best-known athletes, will be one of two new colour analysts in the Philadelphia Phillies TV booth this season. Stairs and Jamie Moyer replace Chris Wheeler and Gary Matthews.
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