By François Biber

Blue Jays Tour slides into Saskatoon

Jan 11, 2013 | 4:20 PM

Blue Jays Nation salivates in anticipation of Apr. 2, opening day against the Cleveland Indians, after an off-season shakeup, which now has the Blue Jays carrying 5-1 odds to win the World Series.

“We like our chances,” said Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

“I'm not one to make all sorts of proclamations, we need to stay healthy and players need to perform the way they can.”

The Toronto Blue Jays Winter Tour hit Saskatoon on Friday and as expected, the buzz around the 12-player deal made with the Miami Marlins sparked media frenzy at the Delta Bessborough.

Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia said he's excited to see the deals that we made during the off-season, most notable the acquisition of the 2012 Cy Young Winner RA Dickey, most notably known for his knuckle-ball.

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“It's something I've already been working with him on during the off-season. I'm ready to catch whenever the time comes. I've faced one and I'm sure it's probably easier to try to hit it than it is to try and catch it,” Arencibia said.

Anthopoulos brought Josh Thole over along with RA Dickey, something he said gives them insurance for the first year, catching the dreaded knuckle-ball.

Anthopoulos stressed Arencibia has the opportunity to be the fulltime catcher even with RA Dickey.

The Blue Jays were looking to take in some good ole Canadian culture with a training session at the Granite Curling Rink Friday afternoon, something both the players and the general manager were a little nervous about.

Arencibia said it would just be like playing shuffle-board on ice.

“Hopefully we're athletic enough to go out there and not make complete fools of ourselves. It is ice and we do not play on ice very often so hopefully we'll have enough instruction to stay safe,” Arencebia said.

Anthopoulos admitted his young players getting injured crossed his mind for at least a second, adding the experience for the players is worth the risk.

Right now Las Vegas has the Toronto Blue Jays favoured to win the World Series on 2013 with 5-1 odds. When asked what it meant, Anthopoulos said he'd rather have his team fly below the radar.

“I'd like to go back and see how many times they've predicted a team to do well and have actually fulfilled the expectations,” he said.

“Once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen.”

In the previous two years, Las Vegas has been wrong predicting the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phllies as World Champions.