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By BRUCE LOWITT and Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 22, 2000
There's speculation north of the border that with 10 games remaining, Blue Jays manager Jim Fregosi's job is on the line.
Toronto Star columnist Richard Griffin thinks it looks like anything less than an AL championship for the Blue Jays and a trip to their first World Series since 1993 will bring Fregosi's reign as skipper to an end after just two seasons.
"If that does happen," Griffin wrote in Thursday's edition, "and with Ted Rogers and Paul Godfrey soon to be (officially) pulling the strings, there seems to be a new, almost perversely logical managerial candidate stepping up to the plate. Cito Gaston."
Gaston has been the Blue Jays' batting coach this season. It wouldn't be his first time as their manager. He took over the reins from Jimy Williams 37 games into the 1989 season. They'd gone 12-24 for Williams. They were 77-49 with Gaston, winning the division before losing to Oakland in the AL Championship Series.
That started a good run for Toronto -- second in 1990, two games behind Boston, then first the next three years, losing to Minnesota in the 1991 ALCS and winning the World Series in 1992 (against Atlanta) and 1993 (Philadelphia).
Griffin poses these questions:
"Under which manager did the Blue Jays maintain their highest television ratings in the last decade? Cito.
"And what is Rogers' bread-and-butter? Television.
"Which influential executive from the commissioner's office, who guided the Rogers bid through the maze of roadblocks that is major-league baseball's process, is Gaston's mentor and friend? Paul Beeston," former Blue Jays president and chief executive officer.
"With Rogers pretty much committed to adding payroll for 2001 to an already talented 2000 batting order, will next year's Jays more resemble the 1992-93 version that captured back-to-back World Series, or the talent-challenged 1996-97 squads, which ended up costing Gaston his job?"
Gaston reportedly has said he would be interested in managing again, but only under the right circumstances. Griffin writes that "with his image among fans and players rehabilitated via his successful return as batting coach, this would be one of thoseright circumstances."
DON'T WE KNOW YOU?: Tampa Bay likely will get a look at an old face under a new cap, former Devil Rays pitcher Steve Trachsel, before this four-game series ends.
When David Wells, scheduled to start Tuesday against the Yankees, was sidelined by a bout with gout, Trachsel stepped in, two days ahead of schedule. He had lasted three innings, -- 60 pitches -- the previous Friday in a no-decision against the White Sox. "Pretty embarrassing," Trachsel said.
Against the Yankees Trachsel pitched 71/3 innings of four-hit, three-run ball, riding the 16-3 romp to his eighth victory. It was Trachsel's second win in five decisions as a Blue Jay.
"He was available and did a great job for us," Fregosi said.
Trachsel found out about 31/2 hours before game time that he would be starting. "(Fregosi) asked me if I could pitch and I said I could," he said. "From then it was just my normal pregame routine."
Said first baseman Carlos Delgado: "Maybe we shouldn't tell him when he's pitching next time."
OKAY, HERE'S THE PLAN ... : Through the final two weeks of the season, the goal for the Blue Jays remains the same -- to get to Cleveland no more than 21/2 games back of the Indians in the AL wild-card race. They just want to arrive in Cleveland seven games from now knowing they still have a shot at the playoffs.
"We hope to go into Cleveland the last three games of the season and have those as meaningful games," Fregosi said. "Really, that's all you can ask for."
Not that these games aren't meaningful. They all look the same in the win-loss columns. "It's nice to look down the line but you've got to win the games you're playing now," Fregosi said.
At the same time, the Blue Jays will be paying attention to what the Indians, Athletics and Red Sox (and maybe the Mariners) are doing. Fregosi said scoreboard-watching these days is as much a part of the game as balls and strikes. "At this time of the year, I don't think there isn't anybody who isn't watching the scoreboard," he said. "If they don't watch, they don't care."
Rightfielder (and former Ray) Dave Martinez has hit safely in 34 of 36 games with the Blue Jays.
Shannon Stewart was batting .231 with no home runs and one RBI in his past seven games entering Thursday.