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Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Game on!

Today is the big day for Blue Jays fans. After a busy winter, today is the day the new look Blue Jays take to the turf at 'The Cable Box' (aka Rogers Centre) in search of their first World Series in 20 years. Of course before they get there they have to play 162 regular season games over the course of five plus months.

Five months where anything can go wrong. And that is exactly how the fans and more precisely the Toronto media is likely viewing this season since for most included in this group, the Blue Jays are the favourites to win the World Series. Who is really to blame them though as Rogers Sportsnet (that's right, another branch of the company that owns the team) has been continually replaying the 1992 and 1993 World Series since December 2012, shortly after the 'Big Trade' with the Miami Marlins.

With the owners building up the fans expectations of a World Series so much that many are already planning the parade route, in earnest this year and not just as a hypothetical situation, what chance does the team really have to live up to the hype? Five months playing on turf covered concrete and uneven fields is a long time for a team full of stars to stay healthy enough to play every day and compete at the highest level. And to do that in a city whose media dwells on the negative makes it even harder.

Today is the day we begin to see if the Blue Jays can live up to the hype. The fans and media need to remember that this is only the first of 162 games this season and win or lose, Toronto is in store for some exciting baseball this summer.