The Faces Have Changed, But The Leader Remains The Same

The Toronto Blue Jays begin their highly anticipated 2013 season on Tuesday with a revamped line up and huge expectations.  High priced additions like Jose Reyes and R.A. Dickey have many predicting a great season in Toronto, but even with all the changes one thing remains constant, Jose Bautista is leader of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Jays slugging right fielder is coming off of off-season wrist surgery and by all accounts is fully recovered.  Bautista has emerged as the face of the franchise in recent years and for good reason.

Bautista is one of the best hitters in the game and there is little doubt who Toronto will look to when they need a little pick me up.  After calling out management to bring in some help, it is now time for Bautista to cement his legacy.

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has moulded a line up designed with World Series aspirations just as Bautista suggested and its now time for the leader to lead.  Bautista is a veteran who needs to realize that when he departed the team while injured last season the embarrassing shenanigans that took place can never happen again under his leadership.

All signs point to a slightly different right fielder this season, Bautista is calm and confident and realizes that he has other vets to lean on but with this team, the buck stops at him.

It is highly doubtful the Jays will experience any of the embarrassing out takes of a year ago but any sign of un rest need to be addressed immediately by the leader.

There is no reason to believe that Bautista isn’t up to the job of leading a championship team, but he does still need to prove he is up to the task.

With the most highly anticipated season in decades about to begin Jose Bautista is about try and take the Blue Jays on his back, we are about to see just how wide his shoulders truly are.