It’s that time of year again! The 26-Man Roster Challenge is a go for launch once again. Many thanks in advance to all of you who still take the time to play with us. We just cannot seem to give this thing up.
For those who don’t know, the 26-Man Roster Challenge is a super simple game that has but one requirement: Name the 26 baseball players within the Blue Jays organization who will crack the opening day roster.
Sounds easy, right? Well, it really and truly isn’t. If you decide to play, there are 4 ways to submit your ballot:
1. Send us an email: 1bluejaysway(at)gmail.com
2. Make a post on your blog, if you have one, and send us a link.
3. Add your ballot to the comments section of this post, or the reminder(s) we post later.
4. Twitter ballots will be accepted @1BJW
In the event of a tie—and, at this point, it's pretty much a given that there will be a tie—we ask that you also give us a prediction of what you think the spring training record will be for the boys in baby blue. From what we can see, it appears as though your Toronto Blue Jays will attempt to play 32 spring training games this year. Don't forget that sometimes it rains, and the games are not generally made up if they are cancelled. There is also a chance that if a game goes to extra innings and one team runs out of pitchers, both teams agree that the game ends in a tie.
It is not a requirement that you select a tie breaker—all ballots containing 26 names on it will be considered valid—but it is a very good idea that you do include one; over the years we've had numerous stupid-close finishes and actually had to break it right down to winning percentage. We have only had three outright winners in 13 years.
Some things to consider:
Admittedly, this offseason has been lackluster. The brain trust seems to be convinced they can just run this thing back and hope for a different outcome. It is almost as if they flunked grade nine French last year, and the plan this time around is still to not study again. At all.
It does need to be said that your Toronto Blue Jays are still a pretty dangerous playoff-calibre team! We just can’t score any runs, which is not exactly the brand we’ve gotten used to seeing up here in Baseball North.
It’s
worth noting that the reigning champion, friend of the site and all
around decent human, Jimmy Triggs, drew our attention to the official MLB roster rules. It states that
there must be at least an even 13/13 split between hitters and
pitchers. Naturally, there are some exceptions because of that
2-million-dollar man
that enjoys the odd mystery flight across the nation, but even our GM, as shifty/greasy as he is, probably can’t get around a hard cap on the number of arms in the bullpen.
Mitch “Pretty Boy” White, Otto Lopez and Ernie Clement are out of options and need to head north with the team or risk being lost on waivers. None of those players are even remotely game breakers and probably haven’t earned a spot based on performance. But anyone who has rosterbated with us before knows all too well that rarely is the choosing of the 26th man based on performance.
One exception could be Clement who in 50 at bats slashed .380/.385/.500…..which is just slightly above his career line of .231/.279/.299. Did he figure something out? Is the regression monster coming for visit to his 144wRC+? Was it the age 27 theory actually working out? Who really knows but unless he gets some reps in the OF, we sincerely doubt another utility infielder is needed on this team as it is currently constructed.
As always, the dreaded minor-league-deal-with-an-
One potential X-factor are the fine folks at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. They just cannot seem to get a visa in the hands of our newest Cuban import, Yariel Rodriguez. That could be an ongoing saga at the beginning of camp and, if it drags on, might effect his chances of joining the squad as the multi-inning guy.
If you have been keeping a list of potential roster candidates for your ballot at home—we can’t be the only ones who do this—you will know that there are not many MLB jobs on the line for this team at all.
Prizes:
V Dub signed ugly black uniform for all you idiots that think they look cool!
1992 Topps team card set with a Guzman rookie in there
A lock for your luggage that doesn't arrive at destination
Good luck to all who decide to join in on the fun this year. We are still searching for the elusive perfect ballot; it would be swell if this were the year!
Please include a team name and a tiebreaker. Do NOT forget the tiebreaker. The deadline to submit ballots is February 14th @ 11:59PM EST.
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