Jays' daze may number Gaston's days

Sporting News, The, July 7, 1997 by Peter Schmuck

The Blue Jays worked hard last winter to re-establish themselves as a contender, but instead of wondering what kind of champagne to stock for October, they have had to settle for a Canadian club on the rocks.

The front office pulled off a big off season trade with the Pirates and spent liberally to acquire pitching ace Roger Clemens. But as the Jays lurch toward the All-Star break, the team is in turmoil and--aside from the big individual performance by The Rocket-nothing the Blue Jays' front office has tried has gone as planned.

Talk about dashed expectations. The arrival of Orlando Merced and Carlos Garcia from the Pirates was supposed to beef up the lineup, but the Blue Jays rank 26th in the major leagues in runs scored. The expensive acquisition of Clemens was intended to lure fans back to SkyDome, but attendance has declined since last year. The organization had hoped to compete for a wild-card playoff berth, but even a very successful series against the Orioles last weekend wasn't enough to put it within realistic range of that goal.

Talk about organizational disarray. Popular club president Paul Beeston announced recently that he will leave that job to take on an important role in the hierarchy of Major League Baseball. It is a loss that has the fans, the players and manager Cito Gaston wondering what direction the team will take in the coming years.

"Somebody asked me if it has an effect on the players," Gaston said recently. "They all know and like Paul, so if he's leaving, it has to have an effect. Of course, you're going to wonder who's the next CEO going to be. Is the organization going to be the same?"

Gaston has to wonder if he'll be around to find out. He has been one of baseball's most successful managers since taking the reins from Jimy Williams during the 1989 season his eight-year tenure has included four division titles and two world championships. But the wide gap this year between expectation and result has heightened speculation that he soon will be relieved of his duties.

"That's always going around," Gaston says. "I'm getting fired every day. It's been the same ever since I got hired."

This year might tee different. The arrival of Clemens--and his fabulous performance in the first half--should have strengthened Gaston's position but may actually have had the opposite effect. Clemens has pitched beyond expectations and 1996 Cy Young winner Pat Hentgen is having another solid season, but the rest of the club has not taken their lead.

Gaston was able to survive a disappointing finish in 1994 because he was coming off two world titles. In 1995 and '96, he was held blameless because the organization had made the decision to downsize and rebuild. This year, with the franchise recommitted to winning, the losing may no longer be tolerable. Gaston has survived so far, but he has been on the receiving end of some very harsh criticism from the Toronto media.

After a game last week in which pitcher Woody Williams gave up three home runs in the seventh inning, the Toronto Star ran an editorial cartoon that showed Gaston sleeping in the dugout with a "Do Not Disturb" sign around his neck, and what looked like a liquor bottle in the batting rack. It was that kind of treatment that led him to charge some members of the Toronto media with racism earlier this year.

"It's like sharks circling in the water," outfielder Joe Carter says. "Everyone's calling for Cito's head. It's like everyone has forgotten everything Cito has done for Toronto."

Gaston knows the score. He knows he has to get the Blue Jays turned around in a hurry. It may not be fair, but his future depends on it.

"This year, it's not too late yet," he says. "In the second half, if the guys start hitting and we get (Juan) Guzman back . . . (and) if we get some run support, anything is possible."

He's also bullish on the long-term prospects of the club, in spite of the uncertainty at the highest level of management. The Blue Jays have the nucleus of a potentially great pitching staff, so a dramatic improvement is possible if the club is willing to spend some money to upgrade the bullpen and batting order.

"If I'm a (Blue Jays) fan, I've got to look at having a chance to have a pitching staff as good as the Orioles' staff is right now, with Clemens, Hentgen, Guzman and (Erik) Hanson coming back next year," Gaston says. "I look at this team as being a couple of hitters away from really doing something."

He who laughs last

White Sox manager Terry Bevington apparently has a great sense of timing.

There were a couple of moments this season when it looked like he wouldn't last another week, but he has done more than just survive. He is now in position to take control of the Central division--if his club can stay hot in July.

The Indians still haven't pulled their pitching staff together, so the recent White Sox surge has erased a horrible start and set the scene for a very exciting two-team race. If that happens, Bevington will be the big winner, because it finally will garner him a measure of job security after nearly a year of waiting for the ax to fall.