It’s the poker equivalent of going all in for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Alex Anthopoulos is taking his stack of chips he has garnered in the off-season and is placing them squarely into the middle of the table for the 2013 season.

This is a gamble for a team which hasn’t seen any October action for about two decades but the Jays GM since 2010 has what he figures an unbeatable hand against the rest of major league baseball and he’s willing to bet the ranch he’s right.

The turn card for AA is the signing of Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey who joins a rotation rivaling any other in the majors and it might be just the ticket for the Jays.

In a four game series against the Jays opposing teams will see a mix of lefties and righties, speed and finesse, as well as a pitch which floats around home plate like it has a mind of its own.

There is also some great speed added to the roster with Jose Reyes and Emilio Bonifacio to go with the power already in place with Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.

Plus you have to consider Melky Cabrera being able to hit the ball without the help of a chemist, Brett Lawrie having another year under his belt and J.P. Arencibia possibly bouncing back with more pop in his bat, it’s no wonder this team is favoured right now to win the World Series.

Now being favoured to win and actually winning are as far apart as the NHL and the players but it’s making Jays fans very giddy and they should enjoy the moment.

Of course, there is always the spectra of injury which can rear its ugly head and one only has to look at the past season with the Jays.

Several key injuries on the pitching staff likely derailed a season where the boys in blue might have been at the very least a wild card team so this is a team with a very good base to build on.

Anthopoulos is going to take some heat for giving up some prospects to get Dickey but you deal from strength to make your team better in another area and he’s done that with the focus being on this season, not down the road.

Now Jays fans will sit back in 2013 and hope the full house in AA’s hand isn’t trumped by a royal flush on the other side of the table.

sports@reddeerexpress.com