April 8, 2022

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

I gave it a shot. Out of the blue, I emailed Edward Rogers to see if he would chat with me about one of his big babies, the Blue Jays.

His No. 1 baby is the sprawling Rogers Communications conglomerate but his second biggest baby would be the baseball team that is on the door of threatening again for the AL East title like last season.

My email to Rogers went through. It didn't bounce but it was intercepted by one of Rogers' PR folks and I was kindly advised no interview was possible. I was never expecting him to say yes but on a lark, I decided to at least try.

Rogers is elusive, reclusive and private. What are you supposed to do? Not even Sportsnet journalists have access to him and they are employed by Rogers.

I just wanted to talk with Rogers about how he feels about this explosive ball team that is brimming with swagger, talent and confidence. The Blue Jays sure have the britches to do some damage in the AL East this season.

Rogers gave president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins the financial wherewithal to do what it takes to improve the ball team through trades or the free-agent route to make them competitive with the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays.

The Jays gave RHP Jose Berrios an extenstion and signed free agent Kevin Gausman. both were massive contracts and both could win 20 games this season along with Hyun Jin Ryu. Then there were the signings of Yusei Kikuchi and Yimi Garcia and the acquisitions of Matt Chapman and Raimel Tapia.

The starting rotation is set and the bullpen should be much superior than last season, especially with Canadian Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) closing out games. The offence is bulging with talent.

Outfielder George Springer is healthy and one can only hope he stays away from the injury list this season. The Jays need him on the field for 150 games. He’s that good.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) is on the verge of a 50-homer season. He’s explosive. Bo Bichette's talent is untapped. He should collect 200 hits and drive in more than 100 runs.

Teoscar Hernandez’s mojo is going through the roof. Lourdes Gurriel will be looking to match or better his 84-RBI season of 2021.

What the club needs is a vast improvement from Cavan Biggio. This is his season to produce or else he may be traded.

And how about my favourite Jays’ player – catcher Alejandro Kirk? He’s short at 5-foot-8 and weighs 265 pounds or more but he has insurmountable heart and desire and power and fan appeal.

You can be sure the media-shy Rogers is going to be there in the stands this weekend on opening weekend to see his team play. With his financial backing, the Blue Jays are going to be ultra competitive and could draw 3-million to 4-million fans this season. Watch out.

Danny Gallagher’s new Expos book Bases Loaded is available at Indigo and Amazon.