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TSN Baseball Analyst Steve Phillips answers several questions surrounding the game each week. This weeks topics include the reality of teh Blue Jays talent, the heir apparent to Derek Jeter as the next face of baseball, the one-game playoff game format and playoff predictions. 1) Now that we have the chance to look back over the entire season, did the 2014 Toronto Blue Jays underachieve or were they ultimately just not good enough to compete in both the American League East and in the Wild Card race? Is there one glaring change that you see that needs to be made with the team in terms of how they play or a specific position need that has to be their offseason priority as they begin to prepare for the 2015 season? I dont believe that the Blue Jays underachieved this season. I believe they played to the level of the talent on their roster. They looked like an 83-win team. They played like an 83-win team. They were an 83-win team. The Jays were particularly streaky over the course of the season but that wasnt completely unexpected and is definitely explainable. Teams that lack a #1 starter are prone to streaks. The Jays lack an ace. They dont have a guy who eats up 220 innings and is a +10 in his won-loss record. They dont have the leader who is the stopper. Neither Mark Buerhle nor RA Dickey are aces anymore. They are quality #3 starters. JA Happ and Drew Hutchison are #5 starters. Marcus Stroman made a nice impression in his first 20 major league starts but he isnt an ace. At least not yet. In a season in which two aces were traded, the Jays were bystanders. Jon Lester and David Price got traded during the season and could have been difference-makers for the Toronto. But alas, the Jays did not have the financial wherewithal to even try for them. The Jays bullpen was mediocre this season. Casey Janssen didnt make his first appearance until mid-May and he when he came back, he wasnt nearly as effective as he had been in previous years. He only had 28 strikeouts in 45.2 innings pitched. He had a 3.94 ERA and gave up more hits than innings pitched. The lefty relievers, Brett Cecil and Aaron Loup were more effective than the righty relievers other than rookie Aaron Sanchez, who was awesome in his first taste of the majors. When it comes to position players, the Jays really suffered with inconsistency at second base, third base and centrefield. I know that Brett Lawrie is versatile because he can play both second and third base but he is inadequate offensively at both positions. And he was better than whomever was playing the other position when he wasnt, which speaks to the significance of the weakness. The centerfielders hit .213/.275/.361. That is the lowest batting average in the AL. Colby Rasmus is not a functional offensive player. He doesnt hit for enough power to warrant his low on-base percentage. Anthony Gose still hasnt proven he is a major league hitter as he hit..226/.311/.293. Every team has flaws. There are no perfect teams and no perfect players. The Jays came up short from making the playoffs this year because of one big hole in the rotation, a couple of arms in the bullpen and three offensive deficiencies. The Jays needed a #1 starter, upgrades in CF and at either second base or third base. Those are certainly needs again for next season but they will also need to add a closer and a leftfielder with the pending free agency of Casey Janssen and Melky Cabrera, respectively. Of course, this will all cost money and it may not be there. GM Alex Anthopolous has his work cut out for himself. He is going to have to get creative to reconstruct his roster in a financially responsible way. 2) With Derek Jeter no longer an active Major Leaguer, is there a player that you see as either the new or next face of baseball? Is this a mantle that falls squarely to Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout or is there a more veteran player that you see stepping into that void until Mr. Trout has a little more experience and a better chance to make his legend grow? In the olden days when a king died, the people would yell, The king is dead. Long live the king. It was a statement acknowledging the departure of the king but also of the succession of his successor. Derek Jeter isnt dead by any means but he has left very big shoes to fill. His shadow at Yankee Stadium was longer than anyone. It didnt matter that A-Rod was bigger than Jeter, Dereks shadow always extended further. Jeter was the face and voice of not only the Yankees but of Major League Baseball as well. With his departure, baseball needs new leadership. This offseason, baseball has been given a great gift. The playoff teams include: Pittsburghs Andrew McCutcheon, Washingtons Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, Baltimores Manny Machado (injured) and Adam Jones, the Dodgers Yasiel Puig and Clayton Kershaw and the Angels Mike Trout. There are certainly a few other big name young players on non-playoff teams that have sex appeal but the bulk of them are playing in October. It may be asking too much for any one player to have to fill Jeters shoes. If I had to pick one player, it would be Mike Trout because he has the ability, looks and charisma that scream superstar. Baseball has been criticized for not marketing its stars properly. Now is the time for that to be resolved. The game needs to sell fans on the quantity of young personable stars in the game now. When they are marketed in numbers, there is less pressure on any one player to be Derek Jeter perfect. We need to be introduced to the young stars in a different way. We need to learn what they are like and what makes them special and different. The more, the merrier so when any one of them takes a misstep, we still have other young stars to admire. There will never be another Derek Jeter. He was amazing on and off the field. He represented his family, the Yankee organization and the game with class and dignity. He was perfectly imperfect. I believe in the young studs in baseball today. We are very likely headed into a remarkable era of great young starts who will re-energize baseballs fanbase. 3) Now that weve seen the Kansas City Royals advance over the Oakland Athletics in an extra-inning thriller and the Pittsburgh Pirates get blown out by the San Francisco Giants in the two Wild Card games, do you think thats a fair way for a team to be eliminated from the playoffs? Would baseball be better served to play a three-game series to determine the final Division series team or are you in favour of a one-game winner-take-all start to the post-season? My Mets teams in 1999 and 2000 made the playoffs as Wild Card teams. There wasnt a second Wild Card back then so we jumped right into the Division Series and were matched against the division winner with the best record that wasnt the Braves. Back then, the Wild Card winner couldnt play the division winner from its own division in the Division Series. In both seasons, we had to play until the last day of the season to even get into the playoffs. In effect, we had been playing playoff baseball for the final few weeks of the regular season. I can make the argument that we were better prepared to compete in the NLDS than the division winners we were matched against. Division winners sometimes coast over the last week or two of the season if they clinch early. They rest their players and at times get a bit complacent and rusty. There just didnt seem to be enough of a reward for winning the division. The change in format with a second wild card winner has addressed the issue in a significant way. The one game playoff series between wild card winners is not only appropriate and fair, its exciting. The one-game playoff series between the two Wild Card teams creates a disadvantage as they need to pitch their best available pitcher, which is often their #1 starter. Yes, a win allows the one Wild Card team to advance but they then face the team with the best overall record in the league that has its pitching lined up the way they want it. A three-game series would actually be an advantage for the Wild Card winner as their ace would be that much closer to being ready to pitch in the Division Series than they are after the one-game series. The overall goal isnt about being fair to the Wild Card teams, it is about being fair to the division winners. I fully support the system as currently constructed. 4) So here are my playoff predictions: ALDS - Detroit Tigers vs. Baltimore Orioles Despite the fact that the Orioles are off to a 1-0 lead in the series, I am picking the Tigers to win this series. I believe the Tigers starting pitching depth will prevail over the Orioles powerful lineup. Whereas, the Orioles pitching is a bit underrated, I believe the Tigers will beat up on the Os pitching and score a bunch of runs. Good pitching beats good hitting. The Tigers will throw more quality innings despite the bullpen issues they face. Tigers win in 5 games. Series MVP: JD Martinez ALDS - Los Angeles Angels vs. Kansas City Royals The Royals are currently riding the high of two dramatic extra-inning wins in the payoffs so far. They play good defence and have tremendous speed to help them manufacture runs. The Royals have momentum and confidence. That being said, momentum is only as good as your next days starting pitcher and I like the pitching matchups for the Angels moving forward in the series. Look for Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to carry the load offensively. Angels in four games. Series MVP: Albert Pujols NLDS - Washington Nationals vs. San Francisco Giants The Giants advanced after defeating the Pirates in the Wild Card game. They had to burn their ace Madison Bumgarner in that matchup. The Nats get to line up the pitching they way they want, taking into account the home and road splits of their rotation. The Nationals have as balanced a team as is still alive. The Nats will win the Series in four games. Series MVP: Adam LaRoche NLDS - Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St Louis Cardinals The Cardinals are a very professional team. They do things the right way and find themselves in the playoffs what seems like every year. They were pushed until the end but held on to win the division. The Game 1 matchup with the Dodgers is the postseasons most compelling with Clayton Kershaw against Adam Wainwright. Kershaw wins Game 1 and the Dodgers sweep the series. Series MVP: Matt Kemp ALCS - Detroit Tigers vs. LA Angels This will be a great matchup of the best starting pitching against the team with the best record in th AL. The Tigers have had their number in the past and it will continue this year. The Angels wont be able to contain Miguel Cabrera as he shows Trout who is boss. Trout will erupt and respond to Cabrera but the Tigers win the series in 6 games. Series MVP: Miguel Cabrera. NLCS - LA Dodgers vs .Washington Nationals This will be an epic series. Two very evenly matched teams with deep starting pitching and young stars in the field will battle. This series will go back and forth ending in a Game 7. The Dodgers will prevail and advance to the World Series. Series MVP: Adrian Gonzalez WORLD SERIES - Detroit Tigers vs. LA Dodgers What a matchup this will be: great starting pitching and superstar players. Two teams built to win now with extraordinary talent and balance. The one area where there is a significant disparity is the bullpen. The Tigers Achilles heel all season long will show itself again. They will blow two late leads and the LA Dodgers will win the series in six games. Series MVP: Yasiel Puig Mike Bossy Jersey . Cilic cruised to victory, beating the seventh-seeded Seppi 6-1, 6-3 in just 72 minutes. He faced only one break point, winning 24 out of 29 points played on the first serve. Denis Potvin Jersey . The young man, never lacking confidence, thought he could be really good. http://www.islanderssale.com/authentic-clark-gillies-islanders-jersey/ . Sami Vatanen had a goal and an assist and Anaheim used a four-goal first period to extend their winning streak to six games with a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. Billy Smith Jersey .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action. Bryan Trottier Jersey . CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who has a little African in him. ST. LOUIS -- Chris Johnson became a star under Jeff Fisher, rushing for 2,000 yards in 2009 a year after the Tennessee Titans drafted him in the first round. On Sunday, Johnson got the best of his former coach. "C.J., when he gets on the edge he goes," Fisher said after Johnsons second touchdown of the game was the go-ahead score in the Titans 28-21 victory over the St. Louis Rams. Fisher has seen Johnson run wild plenty of times, just not from the opposite sideline. He again downplayed the matchup against the franchise he coached for 16 years, saying it was "another week for me," although he expected the loss to hurt more for former Titans players now in the St. Louis lineup. "I think this one probably at the end of the day, its probably going to last a little longer, hurt a little bit more," Fisher said. "Because it was important to them." Titans coach Mike Munchak, a longtime former Fisher aide, also said this game was nothing personal. The postgame handshake was brief. "Thats something we can talk more about in the off-season and having bragging rights about who beat who," Munchak said. "But this is all about us vs. them. "Players are the ones who win the games." Johnson ran for 150 yards on 23 carries for the Titans (4-4), who ended a three-game losing streak after their bye against a team on short rest. The Rams lost 14-9 to Seattle on Monday night and have dropped three in a row. Johnsons 19-yard scoring run snapped a tie with 2:54 remaining the play after Jurrell Casey sacked and stripped quarterback Kellen Clemens, and Derrick Morgan recovered. Clemens landed on it first, but the ball squirted away. "Its a mistake that cant be made," Clemens said. "And unfortunately I made it." The Rams (3-6) have lost three in a row despite a second straight 100-yard game from rookie Zac Stacy, who had 127 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns. St. Louis drove to the Titans 26 in the final minute, but Austin Pettis could only get a hand on Clemens high throw to a corner of the end zone on fourth down. Johnson gained his most yards since Week 7 last season against Buffalo when he had 1195.dddddddddddd In the previous four games, hed totalled 110 yards with a 2.4-yard average per carry. "It helps my confidence, sure," Johnson said. "I felt like I was getting close to breaking out." Rookie Tavon Austins 24-yard punt return gave the Rams a final chance at their 39 with 50 seconds to go and no timeouts. Chris Givens had a 25-yard catch to put them in position. Rodney McLeod intercepted an overthrown pass by Locker with 4:44 left, less than two minutes after former Titan Jared Cook tied it at 21 with a 10-yard catch from Clemens. Locker put the Titans up 21-14 with 9:42 to go on a 4-yard run, breaking a tackle by linebacker Alec Ogletree about 2 yards from the end zone. Stacy gained more than 100 yards for the second straight week on the next drive with a 32-yard carry topped off by a horse collar penalty on Casey after hed stepped out of bounds. The Rams had a sloppy start with three straight penalties helping the Titans score on their opening possession capped by Shonn Greenes 5-yard run. Cortland Finnegan, Darian Stewart and Jermelle Cudjo were whistled for horse collar, holding and illegal use of hands. Stacys 3-yard run in the second quarter was St. Louis first rushing touchdown of the season. It also was their first TD in two games overall, to snap a 1-for-8 slump inside the 20. Clemens was 7 for 7 for 75 yards to open the game, and 0 for 6 to finish the half -- with two dropped passes. The Rams failed to capitalize on Cortland Finnegans interception in the final minute when Greg Zuerlein pushed a 44-yard field goal attempt just wide to the right -- his first miss inside 50 of the season in 15 attempts. Notes: "Modern Family" star Ty Burrell wore a Rams camp during an interview on the scoreboard during a break in the first quarter. ... Casey got his fifth sack of the season in the first quarter. ... Coty Sensabaughs fumble recovery at the Titans 10 in the first quarter stifled a Rams scoring opportunity and capitalized on a careless play by rookie Benny Cunningham, who lost his grip without contact. ... Locker has two rushing TDs this season and four for his career. 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