CNN/SI Preview: Toronto Blue Jays
Posted: Friday March 05, 1999 02:41 PM
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While Stewart stole 51 bases, he was caught stealing 18 times, second-worst in the AL. Craig Melvin/Allsport |
By James Quintong, CNN/SI The Blue Jays have developed a strong nucleus of
young players that should carry them into contention for the playoffs in
the next few years. Stewart is the leadoff speed demon, much like Rickey
Henderson and Kenny Lofton,
that will serve as the catalyst for the Toronto offense. In his
first full season, Stewart stole 51 bases, finishing third in the AL behind
Henderson and Lofton. While he started the season relatively slow, he
perked up after the All-Star break, hitting .329 in July and .308 in
September, along with seven of his 12 homers. Stewart, along with Green,
shortstop Alex
Gonzalez and newly acquired Homer Bush, give
the Blue Jays one of the best collection of speed demons out there. They
also provide Toronto with solid foundation up the middle. Stewart
should give the Blue Jays some fleet feet at the top of the lineup to set
up plenty of RBI opportunities for Carlos
Delgado, Shawn Green and
Jose Cruz
Jr. In fact, the current outfield of Stewart, Green and Cruz has the
potential to be like Toronto's very productive outfield of the 1980s --
Lloyd Moseby, Jesse Barfield and George Bell. 1998 Recap
With the Yankees wreaking havoc in the AL East, the best Toronto could do
was compete for the wild card spot. However, by the trade deadline, the
Blue Jays appeared to have given up and decided to deal away a number of
veterans. It might have been a bad idea in hindsight.
In late August-early September, the Jays fired off an 11-game winning
streak. They closed the season winning six out of their last seven games,
including a near no-hitter by top prospect Roy Halladay to close the
season. However, it was the Roger Clemens
story that dominated again. After a slow start, he won his last 14
decisions to capture his fifth career Cy Young Award. Unfortunately, that
was also the highlight of the Jays' pitching staff. The offense,
on the other hand, clicked. Jose Canseco
showed flashes of past superstar form, slugging 46 homers. Rising stars
Carlos Delgado and Shawn Green both smacked more than 35 homers each to add
even more pop to the lineup. Two other youngsters, Shannon Stewart and Jose
Cruz Jr. rebounded from slow starts to become solid producers in the second
half of the season, setting the stage for a promising '99 season.
1999 Outlook For most of the offseason, the Jays had to deal
with Clemens' demands to be traded to a contender or a team in Texas. After
months of talk, they pulled the trigger on the deal in February, sending
him to the Yankees for David Wells, Graeme Lloyd
and Homer Bush. While losing the five-time Cy Young winner was
huge, the Jays actually did very well with the deal. Coupling Wells with Joey Hamilton,
acquired from San Diego, provides Toronto with some great pitching depth to
go with former Cy Young winner Pat Hentgen and
youngsters Roy Halladay, Kelvim
Escobar and Chris
Carpenter. Toronto might have the second best rotation in the AL East
behind the Yankees. Bush will finally have his chance to compete
for a full-time second base job, going against an aging Joey Cora and
journeyman Craig Grebeck.
If he gets the job, he and shortstop Alex Gonzalez could be a formidable
double-play combination heading into the next century. Plus, third base
prospect Tom Evans could get the starting job in '99 to form a promising
young infield, along with slugger Carlos Delgado at first.
The Jays suffered a huge offensive blow when they lost leading home run
hitter Jose Canseco to Tampa Bay. However, they have plenty of young talent
ready to take over the offense in Delgado, Shawn Green and Jose Cruz Jr.
Add the speed of Stewart and Gonzalez and the team won't have to rely as
much on power to carry the team. To replace Canseco, the Jays will try
another career reclamation project by bringing in Willie Greene, Geronimo
Berroa and Cecil Fielder to compete for the DH job. The closer job
is still up in the air since Randy Myers'
departure at the trade deadline last year. Robert Person
currently poised to take the job but veteran lefty Dan Plesac could
get his save chances as well. The Jays are suffering from
leadership problems as well. Manager Tim Johnson admitted to lying about
his past, including his alleged stint in Vietnam. Considering he used these
war stories as a motivating tool, Johnson could lose respect and his
leadership edge by admitting these lies. Plus, the team is still reeling
from a weird ownership dispute during the winter that briefly had the Jays
moving back to Exhibition Stadium. Despite finally defusing the
Clemens fiasco, the Jays actually have built up a quality team that could
challenge for at least the wild card. There is plenty of great young talent
in the outfield and the rotation and some decent veterans to plug holes
elsewhere. They still could use a little more help off the bench to go
along with a nice core lineup.
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