Ever since the season ended, or rather once everyone realized Lyle Overbay wouldn't be returning as the Jays' first baseman (which should have been a loooong fucking time ago), there has been endless speculation about how the team plans to fill its gapping hole at first base. More specifically, people following the Jays' offseason continue to discuss whether or not Adam Lind is capable of playing first base. This is particularly important as the team is deciding whether or not to sign a certain high-profile DH with a pension for Toronto women.
Now correct me if I'm out of line here, but seeing as how the Jays were basically out of the playoff race by the time the Allstar game came around, wouldn't the second half of the year have been the optimal time to see if Lind was in fact capable of playing first base? Or was last year all about Cito's swan song and making sure he achieved his over .500 winning percentage? Or getting free-agent-to-be Lyle Overbay 20 homer-runs?
What surprises me the most from the entire situation is that Anthopolous allowed all of this to happen. Since AA has taken the reigns, he's not only made decisions that are hard to argue with, he's preached the need to develop young talent with high ceilings. He knew that there was no way Overbay would be back in a Jays unifrom and should have forced Cito's hand in playing Lind almost everyday at first base to see whether or not he had the talent to play there. Assuming Lind bounces back from his awful 2010 where his OBP was 0.159 and his slugging percentage was 0.182 against lefties (Honestly. Look it up if you don't believe me.) if he had proved his ability to play first base, he would be a great option at the position and would allow the team to pursue a full time DH.
Hopefully it's all a moot point, though, and Adam Lind wins his first of 11 gold gloves in 2011 at first base much like the ridiculously talented Keith Hernandez...although the fact that he doesn't play in New York might hinder that more than his talent.
