EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

3. Toronto Blue Jays

If the mercurial Mondesi is set to explode, the Blue Jays hope it's only at the plate

By Jeff Pearlman

Offense Defense Starting Pitching Bullpen Manager 1999 Record 84-78 (third in AL East) Batting Order LF Shannon Stewart 2B Homer Bush RF Raul Mondesi 1B Carlos Delgado 3B Tony Batista DH Brad Fullmer C Darrin Fletcher CF Jose Cruz Jr. SS Alex S. Gonzalez Bench C Alberto Castillo IF Chris Woodward OF Jacob Brumfield IF Craig Grebeck Starters LH David Wells RH Chris Carpenter RH Roy Halladay RH Kelvim Escobar RH Joey Hamilton Bullpen RH Billy Koch RH Paul Quantrill RH John Frascatore LH Pedro Borbon Jr. RH Lance Painter RH Frank Castillo Next Up... He has been called "a strikeout pitcher" for as long as he can remember. That's what happens when you're a high school mound legend with a nifty nickname (Doc), as Roy Halladay was while growing up outside Denver. "People label you one thing," says the 22-year-old Halladay, "and it sticks. But it's not always true." The Blue Jays' No. 3 starter does, in fact, throw a fastball in the low 90s. But what most impresses manager Jim Fregosi is not his ability to strike batters out but his ability to induce them into hitting harmless ground balls. "He's a young kid," says Fregosi, "but he's mature enough to know a groundout is just as good -- better even -- than a strikeout." Last season Halladay fanned only 82 batters in 149 1/3 innings, but he was the only Toronto starter with an ERA under 4.00. "It's not too sexy," says Halladay. "but who cares?" The Book An opposing team's scout sizes up the Blue Jays: "This team is ready to contend for the wild card again, though it can't win the division. It's not in the class of the Yankees.... I like Toronto's young pitching and they have one of the game's best managers. Jim Fregosi is worth an extra 10 wins a year. He gets the most out of players and knows how to work the umpires.... Centerfield is a toss-up between Jose Cruz and Vernon Wells. Cruz may have the edge only because of Wells's inexperience, but long term, Wells clearly is the better player.... I'm not sold on Homer Bush at second base. I have doubts about his bat and don't think he can repeat what he did last year.... I like Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay behind David Wells. Carpenter has good velocity and one of the best curveballs in the league. Halladay has a great arm but gets in trouble with his command.... I don't think anyone's got better stuff than the closer, Billy Koch. He's got plus-plus velocity and a real nasty curveball.... The continued development of their young pitching -- Carpenter, Halladay and Kelvim Escobar -- will determine how far they go."

It's not easy being Gord Ash. The Blue Jays' general manager is a hefty man with a bald pate. (At a Halloween party last year he dressed as Austin Powers's nemesis, Dr. Evil, and was a spitting image.) When he gets too much sun and wears the tropical shorts he's been known to favor, his resemblance to the "Hey, Kool-Aid!" guy is uncanny. Furthermore, Ash is something of an outsider in the cliquish G.M. game. He is a businessman, not a former ballplayer. So when the Jim Beatties and Kevin Towerses and Brian Cashmans get together to knock back a couple of Slurpees, Ash is left alone to fidget with his calculator.

In November 1998 five-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens reiterated his desire to play for a contender or a team closer to his Texas home. Three months later Ash sent his ace to the Bronx for starting pitcher David Wells, reliever Graeme Lloyd and second baseman Homer Bush. Skeptics questioned the value that the Blue Jays received in return. Wells was a very good pitcher, not great. Lloyd was effective, not great. And Homer Bush?

Mondesi is determined to prove his many critics wrong, saying there's no way he won't drive in 100 runs in Toronto's stacked lineup.John Iacono

This off-season it was star rightfielder Shawn Green's turn to torture Ash. The All-Star and first 30-30 player in franchise history said he wanted to play in a U.S. city with a large Jewish population. Again, Ash was handcuffed, as Green could either be traded or would walk at season's end as a free agent. So Ash sent his rightfielder to the Dodgers for talented but moody rightfielder Raul Mondesi and lefthanded reliever Pedro Borbon Jr.

Today, having watched the Mariners receive a bundle of mediocrity from the Reds for Ken Griffey Jr. (who, like Green, could've left after the season with his old club getting only draft picks in return), Ash suddenly looks like a man who just might know a thing or two. Bush went from an unknown utility man to an adequate every-day second baseman. Wells had three more victories than Clemens. Borbon deepens a much-improved bullpen and Mondesi, if the stars are correctly aligned, could be the 40-home-run, 120-RBI outfielder the Jays haven't had since, uh, Green. All are essential to Toronto's success. All were acquired by Ash.

Now playing: Revenge of the Nerd V: The Businessman Strikes Back.

Ash knows Mondesi will most likely never be as beloved as Green, one of the organization's most popular players ever. There is, however, a feeling that the 29-year-old outfielder could be just as productive, not to mention nearly $40 million cheaper. Mondesi and Green have strong arms (both are regularly among the league leaders in outfield assists). They run well (both have stolen 30 bases in a season). They are comparable run producers (both have averaged at least 90 RBIs over the last three years). Mondesi will also be surrounded by better hitters than he was in Los Angeles. The Blue Jays hit 212 homers last season. With DH Carlos Delgado, third baseman Tony Batista and reenergized centerfielder Jose Cruz Jr. (fresh off a strong showing in the Dominican winter league), there is good reason to think they can reach that figure again. "I feel like I am a rookie, starting my career fresh and new," says Mondesi, who feuded with management for much of his seven years on the West Coast.

Toronto's biggest improvement will be on the mound. The bullpen, led by closer Billy Koch, is deep, and the rotation is potentially one of the AL's best. While Wells's '99 ERA was alarmingly high, he is a lock for 14 to 18 wins. Righthanders Roy Halladay, 22, and Kelvim Escobar, 23, are hard throwers who should improve with another year of experience under their belts. Joey Hamilton was terrible last year (lefties batted .348 against him), but he had successful off-season rotator cuff surgery, and when he fully recovers, he could give Toronto some quality starts, if not the 200-plus innings he regularly provided San Diego from 1995 to '98.

But the man who will be the staff ace, according to his teammates, is Chris Carpenter, who had a bone spur removed from his elbow in September. The 24-year-old righty is Toronto's most talented starter, the owner of a fastball that tops out in the low 90s, a deadly slider and changeup, and a curve, says Bush, "that drops from 12 to six." Yet, in his three seasons in the bigs, he has battled various injuries, and questions about his health have lingered into this spring. "Chris is a 20-game winner," says shortstop Alex Gonzalez. "His stuff is as unhittable as anyone's out there. He just needs a full season to show it."

Last year Toronto was in the wild-card hunt until a late-August swoon. Every pitcher seemed to break down, Green stopped hitting, and since-departed third baseman Tony Fernandez turned dozens of harmless grounders into a hot new miniseries, The Dizzy Matador. The 2000 Blue Jays, with many thanks to Ash, are improved. Come October the businessman might wreak his sweetest revenge yet.

Issue date: March 27, 2000

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