ESPN MLB

Best run differential in the American League? The Blue Jays' +33, and Bert Blyleven isn't convinced they're a fluke:

The Blue Jays weren't very active in the offseason, but bringing in free agent Kevin Millar was a good move. He's not only a good hitter in the clutch, he's a clubhouse leader, who is tremendous for team chemistry. He plays the game the right way, the hard way, and that rubs off on his teammates. In the past, the Blue Jays had a pretty quiet clubhouse, and Millar should help change that in bringing out the personalities of his teammates.

Toronto's two table-setters are leadoff man and shortstop Marco Scutaro, and second baseman Aaron Hill. They are the catalysts to get the offense going, and this team has plenty of offense to get going.

Behind Scutaro and Hill come the bats of Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Adam Lind, Millar, Scott Rolen, Lyle Overbay, Rod Barajas, and Travis Snider. --snip--

When the season began the consensus on the Blue Jays was that they were little more than a fourth-place team in the AL East. They may turn out to be that, but they also might -- despite the litany of injuries to their rotation – lay enough of their lumber on opponents to prove themselves contenders in their division.

Stranger things have happened. But Marco Scutaro and Aaron Hill as table-setters? Scutaro's got a .328 career on-base percentage; Hill's is .342. This season those figures are .406 and .390, thanks to Scutaro's 19 walks and Hill's .355 batting average. Yes, it's true: If Scutaro and Hill wind up enjoying career seasons by a factor of two or three, the Jays are going to be hard to beat.

And it's not just those guys. Lyle Overbay and Adam Lind are both slugging like MVP candidates, and only Alex Rios among the regulars is having anything like an off season. Meanwhile, bench players Millar and Jose Bautista are batting .344 and .351, respectively. Essentially, almost everything that could possibly go right for the Blue Jays' offense, is.

The same isn't exactly true of the pitching, but the Jays are fifth in the American League with a 4.06 ERA despite having to patch a staff that was already a patchwork staff before the patching.

If the Blue Jays wind up being real contenders, it would be a great story, and would send a lot of us back to our slide rules to figure out how it happened. But one month into the season, I'm not convinced that what we thought on Opening Day isn't still true.