You've heard of him. His name will roll off the tongue of any devoted Blue Jay fan like the sweet bliss of the first day of spring.
That man is Cito Gaston. He was the first African-American manager in the Blue Jays' history, way back in 1989. He turned a struggling 12-24 Jays team into a division winning 89-73 team.
Yes, the year's different, but the same man is in charge. He was never given enough credit in his years in Toronto, but is always remembered as spearheading the 1992 and 1993 World Series runs.
Yes, the Jays are 47-48, and for the most part, they've underperformed, underachieved, and most of all frustrated.
But someone said baseball was like a marathon that never ends until the northerly winds return to make way for falling leaves and the cold, deep, dark lull of winter. The Jays are still looking up in the standings, and there are a lot of teams to leapfrog.
But one must remember: There's still a ton of divisional contests left.
Back in 1989, Cito's team was still messing around the .500 mark at this time of the year.
In 2008, The Jays closed out the first half with five inspiring wins in six days against division rivals, leapfrogging Baltimore into fourth.
The Yankees are the next target. The Jays sit just three behind them, 8.5 behind suddenly slumping Tampa, and nine behind Boston.
There are still 67 games to be played. Don't write off Cito's Jays just yet.
Here is why.
1) John Parrish
Little known to most of the baseball world is Toronto's newfound hope, and while we're on an '80s theme, just as Luke Skywalker was for the Republic, and John Connor was for mankind against the machines in Terminator, John Parrish is for the Blue Jays.
Dustin McGowan, A.J. Burnett (although dominating at times), and sometimes Jesse Litsch have been models of inconsistency throughout the season.
Parrish comes out of AAA Dunedin with a stellar track record in his journey back to the major leagues as a starter, going 10-1 with a 2.74 ERA in the minors, and is 1-0, allowing just four runs in thirteen innings of work in two starts while up in the majors. He'll be a major player down the stretch for Toronto.
2) Jeremy Accardo, Casey Janssen....Brandon League
League is back. The dominating reliever of 2006 can only get better.
Accardo, who saved 30 games, should be back soon enough.
Casey Janssen could give the Jays a much-needed sparkplug out of the bullpen come September, if he's able to return this year.
3) Alex Rios
Rios, sooner or later, is going to find his homerun swing.
4) Lyle Overbay
He'll find his groove.
5) The Jays play better in the face of adversity
Injuries to many key players, like Vernon Wells and Dustin McGowan, will only make this team stronger once they play their way back into contention.
6) Cito Gaston
He makes the right moves. Burnett on three days' rest? Beautiful. Halladay in the opener against the Yankees? Beautiful. Parrish to finish off the Orioles? Sure.
7) The Infield Defense
When Aaron Hill returns in August, the Jays will not have a ball go through the infield ever again. Gold Glover Rolen, plus the best defensive SS in the league in John McDonald, plus Gold-Glover caliber Hill, and Gold-Glove caliber Overbay at first.
Doc might just throw a no-hitter after all.
8) Roy Halladay
11-6, 2.71 ERA, and a 6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Tough to beat.
They've got all the pieces, these Jays.
As Cito begins to fit them together, you just watch out.
For all the doubters, well, Yogi Berra always said, "It ain't over 'til it's over."
Remember the Rockies? The 'Stros of '04?
Yeah. I thought so.
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2 months ago
Interesting...but I have to disagree. Your analysis treads on thin ice in a few places, mainly numbers 1-5. Sure, John Parrish has been solid his first two starts, but I wouldn't say he has set the world aflame. His ERAs in the past two seasons in the majors? 6.97 and 5.40. His strikeout to walk ratio in those years? Almost 1:1. Yikes. I wouldn't count on a 30 year old journeyman as a major contributor. The three relievers you mentioned do not inspire any confidence. Janssen's torn labrum will keep him out for the season according to all the news reports I can find, and the Jays have no plans to rush him back. League has pitched 7 innings this season and though he was excellent as you point out in 2006, 2007 wasn't exactly kind. Accardo has been on the DL since May 10. That's two months. He's still at least three weeks away from returning, and had to make a trip to see Lewis Yocum a week ago because of setbacks in his rehab. Alex Rios has ran well this year, and his bat has come alive over the last month. But he has 4 HR at the break. Though one would like to believe he'd break out (this is coming from a fantasy owner), his last home run was on June 24th, and prior to that blast he hadn't gone deep in almost TWO MONTHS. Overbay hasn't "found his groove" in almost two whole seasons. Last year his .240/.315/.391/.706 was among the worst in the AL for 1B. This year is marginally better, but still poor. The point here is not to pick on these players in particular, but to point out that saying Overbay will "find his groove" is like me saying Richie Sexson could sign with someone and go on a tear and hit .400 with 30 bombs in the second half. It's possible, but highly unlikely. Finally, I don't know how you can argue that they "play better in the face of adversity" and how "Confidence. Every Player" backs up the claim. I will agree that the Jays infield defense is strong, and that Gaston seems to have retained his touch as a manager. He was good in his first run, and I am sure he will do fine now, though I can't say he's that magical that he's better than Francona, Madden or Girardi.
Also, the '07 Rockies and '04 Astros were playing in two of the biggest powderpuff divisions in baseball when they charged to the playoffs. The Jays must hurdle three teams which are of much higher quality than any that those other teams faced in their climbs to the playoffs. The Yankees have played better heading into the break and seem to be showing signs of life, the Rays, though stumbling this past week, have been one of the best teams in baseball this year and are hard to write off at this point, and the Red Sox are still winning despite their own injuries, and will get their arms and key players back as well. I think that if the Jays do comeback, it would be truly epic.
2 months ago
hard to say that all these players will "find their groove"
2 months ago
100% agree. Watch out Yankee, Red Sox Fans...
2 months ago
Waiting for the Leafs to find their grove for 40 years, wait as long for the Jays? Need a real manager, this guy is a bust. Sure Cito did the job, 89-92 but then didn't given the same opportunity in final two years, although issue could have been lame duck Manager (overrated Ashe). Expect same to happen with Richardi, after all in the Cito-Richardi scenario who is helping who here?
Same as Leafs, one great, super-great guy trying to carry whole team on his back. Admirable but not the way to win championships.
Only poker players win alone.
2 months ago
Burnett is leaving soon. Remember that? The rotation will take a major dip. But I believe the Blue Jays will be major studs come October.
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