Category: Soul Notes

Here are a few different predictions I have about the Blue Jays lineup for 2011. I haven't heard anyone talk about some of these possibilities at this point. A couple of these predictions are somewhat unlikely but I think there is a chance they could happen. These changes to the lineup are based on the Blue Jays having their current roster of players and working with what they have. If they make any other offseason moves it would obviously change the lineup and what lineup they go with. Also, I think the batting order will change quite a bit depending on who does well. Now onto what I think the Jays could do with their current roster for the 2011 season, beginning with the most unlikely.

1. Rajai Davis Starts In Center And Vernon Wells Moves To Right

People have mentioned other possible lineup changes but nobody has mentioned moving Wells. This would give them a better defense than Davis in LF and Snider in RF I think, and before last year there was talk about Wells' declining defense. They traded for Davis and he could just be a 4th outfielder, but if they actually traded for him you have to think they like him quite a bit. If they really want Davis in the lineup it would be gutsy to go ahead and move Wells to RF because this would give them the best defense and lineup with the players they currently have. Davis has more speed in CF than Wells but has a poor arm so can't play RF and it would mean he is at the top of the lineup every day. Snider in RF and Davis in LF of course is more likely so as not to upset Wells but I think there is a chance they could do this.

2. Carlos Villanueva Is Given A Chance To Start And Be In The Rotation

They traded Milwaukee for him in the offseason and I like the trade. Check out his good K/IP and K/BB ratio, especially for last year. Milwaukee even sent him down to AAA for a couple months last year so he hasn't been unbelievable but he has potential just like with the Jays getting Morrow last year. When they traded for Morrow last year there was not much talk at all about him being moved back to a starter but I thought right away they would probably do it. Right after the trade people just thought he might be a closer or in the bullpen. It's the same thing with Villanueva as everyone just thinks he is a decent bullpen pick up as he has never been a full time starter and was in the bullpen all of last year. But I think he could possibly be given a chance to start. Drabek would start the year at AAA to give Villanueva the chance.

3. Jose Bautista Moves To Third Base

This prediction is more likely than the others and has been discussed but I have to mention it since it is what allows my first prediction to possibly come true. They would have Bautista at 3B and Snider in left. They just signed Edwin Encarnacion but it sounds certain they don't want him playing 3B because of poor defense, but instead want him to split 1B and DH with Lind. Lind is going to try playing 1B. With the current roster, some people have thought Bautista might have to be moved to 3B if they don't get a different 3B. Another option that has been talked about is moving Aaron Hill to 3B and getting a 2B.

4. Travis Snider Hits 4th Or 5th By The Middle Of The Year

I think the Jays batting order could change often during the year because of the players they have. Depending on who hits well and what works they could move guys around. But the most obvious one that could change as the season goes on without taking into account if he has an up or down year is Travis Snider. With the other players you don't know how good of an offensive year they will have, but Snider should really just get better this year. He is one year older and as long as he is healthy should turn into a good hitter this year. Their best lineup by the end of the year would have Snider hitting cleanup I believe, though he may be only likely to make it to the 5th hole this year. I personally think an interesting lineup would be Davis, Hill, Bautista, Snider, Wells, Lind, Encarnacion, Arencibia, Escobar.

5. The Hitting Lineup

• Rajai Davis - CF
• Yunel Escobar - SS
• Joe Bautista - 3B
• Vernon Wells - RF
• Adam Lind - 1B
• Aaron Hill - 2B
• Travis Snider - LF
• Edwin Encarnacion - DH
• J.P. Arencibia - C

6. The Pitching Rotation

Starters

• Ricky Romero - SP
• Brandon Morrow - SP
• Brett Cecil - SP
• Carlos Villanueva - SP
• Mark Rzepczynski - SP
• Kyle Drabek - SP - AAA

Relievers

• Jason Frasor - RP
• Shawn Camp - RP
• Casey Janssen - RP
• David Purcey - RP
• Jesse Carlson - RP
• Jesse Litsch - RP

So as it turns out I haven't used this blog very much or made many posts. Honestly, it isn't very surprising. I knew I may not use it very much. One of the reasons I don't post too much to it is because I'm never sure exactly what types of things I should write on it or how much I should edit myself. But now I know that my main reason for originally making this blog isn't really going to work out.

My first post to this blog explained the reasons why I was creating this blog. My plan was to keep an online journal about my goals and I was going to keep it simple. I would make the format somewhere in between a Twitter log and a long format blog. I would post little updates about my goals often. However I realize that I don't really want to do that publicly. Of course it should be obvious because I never did post anything about my goals. Anyway, instead of writing about my goals on this blog I will be writing about my goals more often in a personal journal. Here are a few of the reasons why.

Reasons To Write About My Goals In A Personal Journal

1. I censor myself when writing about my goals on a public blog.
2. I prefer to write about my goals privately for the most part.
3. I can write more often about my goals and not worry about grammar in a personal success journal.
4. People don't want to read every detail about my personal goals and life.
5. I like to sound somewhat good on a public blog and edit what I say.
6. I want a place to write about my interests, thoughts, and ideas instead of my life.
7. I can still update people on my goals and life once in awhile on my blog.

I realize I don't really need to write a post about what my blog is for. But just writing about this sets it in my mind a bit. Now I know that my personal journal is for writing all the little details about what I'm doing to reach my goals and about my daily life. And this blog is for writing posts that I edit a bit more and put at least a bit more thought into. I may still write some posts about my goals but they will be more thought out than I was originally thinking. And all of the little updates and writing about my goals will go in my personal success journal. Just knowing what this blog is for and what my journal is for will make it easier for me to write more often in both of them.

I will still use this blog for pretty much all the reasons I originally planned except for writing short posts about my goals and journaling daily on it.

What I Will Use My Blog For

1. To write about my interests like entertainment, music, baseball, technology, health, and fitness.
2. To write about thoughts and ideas I have that I want to tell people about.
3. To write and respond to items in the news and write my thoughts on them.
4. I will still use it to write some more well written posts about my goals and my personal life.
5. To practice my writing and editing skills since my personal journal I won't be editing what I say.
6. I will still use it sometimes to tell people about my life and keep in touch.
7. To write reviews about books, movies, games, and things I buy.
8. To put myself out there a bit without worrying about writing about things that are too personal.

Hello World! Welcome to my blog. I've wanted to create one for quite awhile and I've finally done it. I have no idea how long I'll keep it going or how much I'll write in here. But here are some of my reasons for creating the blog. This first post will be a good reminder to myself of why I want to write in this blog and what kind of things to write about.

Reasons I Created My Own Blog

1. To Write About My Goals

This is my main reason for creating this blog. I'm very into being organized, setting goals, and creating habits. I've read books like "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and "Getting Things Done" that have helped me very much in my life. I've read a lot of articles on websites like Lifehack, Lifehacker, Zen Habits, and many others. I always keep lists and notes on my mobile computer, which used to be a Palm Z22 and is now an iPod Touch. I've reached some important goals in the last few years. Lately I've had a hard time getting motivated enough to work on an important goal. I keep reading about how one of the best habits you can get into besides creating the habit to spend time working towards the goal every day is to tell people about your goal or journal publicly about it. So I finally decided to make this blog so I can write publicly about my goals and the progress I'm making or not making. Hopefully writing about my goal will keep me thinking about it and motivated to achieve it.

2. Creating A Blog Was A Goal

I've kept a list of goals and projects in some form or another for years now. I change the goals on the list a lot, and take many goals off when I feel they aren't that important. But creating a blog has stayed on that list so I'm completing a goal just by creating this blog.

3. Make The Habit Of Journaling

Journaling every day is something that I want to get in the habit of doing. I've done it before, but I sometimes get lost in the details like whether I should do it in a paper notebook, or which software program I should use. I think that making a single public blog to write in will make this easier for me. I will also start writing in a personal journal too sometime hopefully. And between my private journal and my public blog, hopefully I can keep it simple and get in the habit of journaling about my goals and my life.

4. To Practice Writing

Besides journaling, I think it will also be very good for me to practice writing and to write more often. It's another habit that I've always wanted to get into doing more. And another habit that I read about as being something which can improve your life in many different ways.

5. To Write About My Interests, Thoughts, And Events

A few of the topics that I'm interested in and may write about are technology, computer programming, goal setting and productivity, health and fitness, baseball, reading, and music. And I could also write about general thoughts or ideas I have or about events I have gone to.

6. Telling People About My Life And Keeping In Touch

A blog is the perfect place to write letters or give updates to people about your life or to post a sort of online newsletter. I don't use Facebook much to keep people updated and I've also come to the conclusion recently that I don't particularly like Twitter, instant messaging, or online chatting. I prefer letters, email, or actually talking to someone in person or on the phone.

7. To Put Myself Out There

This isn't so much a goal of this blog as it is a consequence. I've stayed away from having an online identity quite a bit. I only got a Facebook account this year and I haven't posted to online forums much at all. I've been worried about putting things out on the internet that will always be there and I was aware of that early on when the internet began. Mostly I know that employers will find your blog or anything on the web about you. But I'm trying to relax a bit more about this and not stress over people finding out all about me. And as far as my blog, I can control anything put on my blog so if I want to remove something or take down my blog I can.

Taking The First Step

Most of my blog posts won't be nearly this long, structured, or well written. I'm not writing this blog to pursue a writing career or to market myself for a business or for my career. I'm not trying to create a blog about a specific topic and make money from ads or to bring something to the attention to a large audience of readers. I'm not even trying to create a blog that family and friends will necessarily read. I want this to be a place where I can quickly write about little things that I've done to work towards my goals. Or about little things that I've done in my life. And just having it be public and know that people could be reading it will give me some motivation to work towards my goals. But if it works out I might create some longer posts like this too if I get into the habit of writing and blogging.

Of course I'm all excited now and I don't know how often I'll post to this blog or for how long I'll keep it up. It's quite possible this could be my only post. But I certainly have a lot of reasons to write a blog. And taking the first step is often the hardest thing to do.

August 8, 2009