2009: The Year of the Blue Jays?

Is this the year the Blue Jays can finally win enough games to enter post-season play? The way the first few games have gone, it sure seems like it's possible.

Last season, pitching was their strong point, and the batters let the team down. However, this year it's almost reversed, as the rotation's success relies on young arms, and no matter what trouble they get into, the bats get them out of it.

Gone it seems, are the days where the Jays give up and don't try to win games when they're down. This season, they are getting timely hitting, especially from those who desperately needed to produce.

Wells, Rios, and Rolen have been hitting the ball well so far, and Hill, who seems to have bounced back from that injury he suffered last season, is red-hot as well.

Throw in two great young players who are racking up RBI in Lind and Snider, and you have a great lineup.

As usual, the Jays have a good core of bench players or utility guys who can be counted on when needed. Guys like Scutaro and Millar fit this description, and the Jays' success relies on the usual hitters and utility guys.

Pitching is the big question mark this season, except for Roy Halladay. He's been solid so far and already has two wins in his first two starts.

The rotation took a crippling blow when A.J. Burnett bolted for New York in the off-season and took another blow when Jesse Litsch went down with injury.

Now David Purcey, Scott Richmond, Ricky Romero, and Brian Tallet are going to need to produce some solid starts.

Richmond and Romero, being rookie starters, only raise more questions, and it will be interesting to see if they can be successful down the stretch.

At 7-3, the Jays lead the A.L. East and appear ready to go on a nice run. If the hitting continues and the rotation pans out, it could end up being a great year for the Jays.

However, they need two teams out of the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays to fall. If that doesn't happen, it will be very difficult for them to even do better than fourth place overall, which is where they wound up last season.