Jose Bautista isn’t worried about the Toronto Blue Jays’ slow start on offence.
The Blue Jays right fielder, who was at the Sony Lounge on Tuesday morning to promote MLB 12: The Show, remains confident that his team has the right mix of players to challenge for a playoff spot this season.
“We love and enjoy the buzz around the city,” Bautista told sportsnet.ca. “Our offence has to pick it up a little bit but it’s still early and we’ll get on a roll soon and start winning more games.
"We’re going to win a lot more games now than before. We feel really confident about our chances to make the playoffs. We want to play in the playoffs. We want to go to the World Series.”
The two-time all-star has noticed the tough mindset the club developed in the spring carrying onto the field so far during the regular season and believes the Blue Jays are no longer being taken for granted in the always-competitive American League East.
“We haven’t seen the (Boston) Red Sox walk into the Rogers Centre acting like they own the place like it was in the past," Bautista said. "They used to come in with that swagger and confidence. You could see it in their faces that they felt they were going to beat us down.
"Unfortunately, we didn’t come out on top. Hopefully we get some momentum going and keep winning games. Throughout the year, we’re going to keep putting more fear into our opponents.”
The Blue Jays slugger has observed the momentum building around the city of Toronto. He loved the atmosphere at the Rogers Centre for the home opener on Monday night and hopes fans continue to show their support at the ballpark throughout the summer.
“Hopefully the fans realize that early on how bad we want to win and come out and support us because it does help us,” Bautista explained. “It will allow us to be a better team. It bests translates to energy onto the field. We feel that much more confident when we have 50,000 people rooting for us.
"The only thing we can do is keep working hard, playing hard and trying to win as many games as possible. Nobody wants to be losers and we realize that. We hate losing. We really want to win no matter what. Ultimately, we want to win a championship. … That’s what my goal is going to be and that’s what’s going to drive me.”
Coming into the season, the Blue Jays had major questions surrounding their starting rotation. But throughout the first five games, the starting pitching has generally pitched above expectations and Bautista has been impressed with what he’s seen from young starter Henderson Alvarez.
"He’s one of those kids with electric stuff,” he said. “I said it last year when he came up. He has a power sinker, good other two pitches with the slider and change-up. He reminds me of Felix Hernandez. Hopefully he can develop and pitch at this level. He certainly has the stuff.
"If our starters give us the amount of innings that they can, our bullpen has been awesome. Our pitching has been great. … That’s certainly enough for us to win ballgames.”
While the starting pitching and bullpen have stood out for the Blue Jays, the offence has not yet displayed the potential they showed during the club’s record-setting 24-7 performance in spring training. The Blue Jays currently have a 2-2 record and sit in third place in the AL East standings.
Despite the inconsistency on offence, Bautista singled out the improvements that Kelly Johnson and Edwin Encarnacion have shown at the plate.
“Those guys are really good players," Bautista said. "Some people don’t give them enough credit. Those guys are going to prove themselves just like they have in the past. When they’re healthy and they’re on the field for the whole season, they can get on a roll and really contribute.
"Kelly is going to be hitting in front of me so if he continues to get on base he’s going to allow me to drive in more runs. If I do what I’m supposed to do and I get on base for Edwin, he’s going to drive me in. …We’re going to have a good team that scores a lot of runs.”
With two blown saves in the first four games, Bautista also remains positive and emphatic there is no reason to worry about new closer Sergio Santos.
“We win as a team and lose as a team," Bautista said. "We’re not pointing fingers. There are no excuses to be made. We just have to do our jobs and help the team win in any way.”
Bautista believes his team is starting get the attention they deserve around the baseball world. He was thrilled to represent his team and country as the first Blue Jays player to be featured on the cover of MLB 12: The Show in Canada.
“It means a lot, not only on a personal level but for representing your team and also representing Canada," Bautista said. "Being a part of the whole Playstation family has been awesome. … I think that they have a separate Canadian cover says a lot about the direction of our ballclub. It kind of highlights my individual performance. The combination of all those things is good for me, good for the team and good for the country.
“Growing up playing video games, being a baseball fan, it’s one of those things that you sort of dream of but it feels so far away and you never expect it to happen. But it came true and it’s been awesome. Being on the cover of a video game was definitely one of the dreams that I think every young baseball fan has.”
