As a Montrealer who was barely out of short pants in the early '90s, the memories of the Toronto Blue Jays' glory years aren't embedded as deeply in Alex Anthopoulos as they are with every Canadian baseball fan who was born before Woodstock.

But as he made his way across Canada with the Blue Jays' caravan, Anthopoulous could see, could feel the stirrings of '92 and '93. It's been a long time since the Jays mattered outside the GTA. It's been a long time since they generated this kind of energy. The Jays' general manager, like everyone in the organization, understands that beginning this year, everything has changed for his team.

He just wishes they'd done something - such as win a ball game - to deserve the excitement they've created.

"Going on this tour, the excitement is through the roof," Anthopoulos said on Friday at the Hotel Vancouver. "It pales in comparison to everything else we've experienced as an organization.

"I just wish we could fast-forward and know what's going to happen. We haven't done anything yet. That's why I kind of cringe. We're going to have to manage some expectations."

Good luck there.

In an offseason where he seemed to be more the GM of a rotisserie team than a major league team, Anthopoulos and the Jays have assembled a roster which figures to compete with the Yankees, Angels, Tigers, Rays and the other American League teams which have routinely kicked sand in their face.

By now the principals in those deals are familiar to even the most casual observer and we won't recount them here. Suffice to say, the Blue Jays should enter 2013 with Ricky Romero, who started last season as the staff's ace, as the fifth man in the rotation and an eight-man lineup that features a near-perfect balance of power, speed and left-and right-handed bats.

On paper, it's a formidable group. Then again, people were saying the same things about the Miami Marlins last year and the Marlins finished dead last in the National League East.

"You can look at other sports with what's going on with the Lakers," said Anthopoulos. "Just because you collect talent doesn't mean you're going to win. I think the lesson is you have to keep everyone humble and grounded."

To that end, the Blue Jays acquired respected veterans Henry Blanco, a 41-year-old catcher, and Mark DeRosa, a 38-year-old utility man, to go along with the big names. R.A. Dickey, the 38-year-old Cy Young Award winner acquired from the Mets, also fits into that clubhouse-Yoda mould.

"When I first started, Pat Gillick told me it was 60 per cent talent and 40 per cent makeup or character," Anthopoulos said. "You hope they come together. They all realize they're here to win. We really tried to focus on building a team rather than assembling talent."

As for Dickey: "Clearly we wouldn't have pursued him to the extent we did without the performance. But it's rare when you have a chance to combine that kind of performance with his makeup and character."

Anthopoulos is also keenly aware of his own stake in this season. A little over three years ago, he was an anonymous assistant general manager when he succeed J.P. Ricciardi as the Jays' GM and, after three indifferent seasons, he was allowed to add just over $40 million in payroll.

In 2012, the Jays were 22nd out of 30 MLB teams in payroll. This year they'll fit comfortably in the top 10 at about $125 million, and with that comes a $40-million increase in expectations.

But the 35-year-old, who started his career as an unpaid intern with the Expos, seems to have a healthy perspective on everything he's done. When others started calling him "Ninja," for his secretive, stealthy manoeuvrings, Anthopoulos told reporters: "I understand when you don't do things well your nickname will be 'moron' or 'idiot.'"

"I'd love to be at all these events coming off a season where we made the playoffs," he said on Friday. "You don't want to take away the enthusiasm everyone is feeling, but you almost feel guilty because we're getting all these accolades and we haven't done anything yet.

"Hopefully we can fulfil that promise. Everyone is starved for a winner. The interest in baseball across the country is outstanding. But winning is tough."

That's true but, in this case, not winning will be even tougher.

ewilles@ theprovince.com

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