The On Deck Circle

I’m a strong believer that in professional sports, there is no greater motivator than competition. Well, when it’s not a contract year. And when it’s anything but the NBA. And if it’s not near the trade deadline. Ok, so if it’s a sport other than basketball and the players involved are not seeking greater contracts or greener pastures, I’m a strong believer that in professional sports, there is no greater motivator than competition.

It is that axiom that the Toronto Blue Jay brain trust is apparently ready to adopt, as well, having signed yet another starting-calibre player to bolster an already deep team. The Jays now possess the deepest team in the American League, considering position players, rotation, bullpen, and to an extent, minor league depth. The team has six legitimate outfield candidates, five catchers that could see time this year, eight starting pitchers that could be big league ready in 2008, a plethora of middle infielders that would make any pick-up game blush, and a bullpen so deep our former top prospect may be sporting a Syracuse Chiefs jersey come April.

Oh, before I get too carried away, what I’m talking about is the Jays’ signing of Shannon Stewart over the weekend.

Yes, Uncle Ted has reached into his pockets further to ensure that the 2008 incarnation of the Jays do not have the injury excuse handy come September like they have in years past. With a solid 30 players that could/should be seeing time at the major league level already (ignoring the other half dozen who will be ready to make the jump later in the year), the Jays have the kind of depth other teams dream of. Sure, we’re not top-heavy with contracts and we don’t have the best rotation or starting line-up, but no team can compete with us when it comes to players who will be seldom used. We may not be an AL East favorite, but Ricciardi be damned if we don’t have insurance.

Maybe that last paragraph made it sound like I don’t support the move to sign a fifth outfielder in ex-Jay favorite Shannon Stewart. On the contrary, I think it’s a great decision. Let’s look solely at our outfield. Alex Rios is the only sure thing. Vernon Wells, while a usually reliable superstar, is coming off a season-long shoulder injury and is taking spring training lightly to start (not to mention, he’s known for slow starts). Our left field platoon consists of a 40-year old overweight Canadian who used to have a mullet and comes to the batter’s box to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s music and a balls-out player coming off a tough-to-return-from herniated disc injury who also happens to sport a ‘billy goat’ goatee, making him prime for the Curse of the Billy Goat Goatee to resurface (see: Billy Koch, Josh Phelps). While I can concede that two thirds of our outfield are as trusty as it gets in major league baseball, the left field situation is shaky, at best.

I know, I know. Reed and Stairs are both fan favorites. Don’t get it twisted here; I love both guys, too. Stairs is a great hometown boy who earned the right to 250 at bats in 2008 with his out-of-nowhere 2007 performance. He is also a solid 7.5 on the unintentional comedy scale every time he trots to the outfield or comes to the plate. And Reed, well, it’s tough not to love a guy who says ‘fuck it, I’ll dive and catch it’ two or three times a game. He also had an unbelievable 2006.

But Stairs is 40 on Wednesday and enjoyed the third best season of his career last year. He is a career journeyman except for 1998-2000, and the plan is to use him in a platoon only, anyways. He is a valuable asset, bringing experience, likability, and a great deal of power against right handed pitchers. He also plays first base. Unfortunately, he doesn’t play first (or left field or right field) well, and he is tough to slot into a batting order that has some speed and a good number of better power hitters (sorry Gibbons, Stairs is not a 2-hitter). Gibbons said that the plan is still for Stairs to be a part of a platoon, and the only question is whether Reed or Shannon will field the other half of it. I know better than to trust what Gibbons says, especially with J.P. in his ear, and it wouldn’t make sense to platoon a guy like Stewart who has been fairly even against lefties and righties throughout his career (.298 vs. .299 career averages, respectively).

If we assume Gibby is telling the truth, it seems Reed needs to have a great spring training. This seemed like his starting job to lose after hitting .319 in 2006 with a .390 OBP, but a herniated disc and a .236 batting average later and he may be the odd man out. Johnson is a great defender and can play all three outfield positions, though. He is also the prototype of a Moneyball platoon player, dominating lefties and providing a great late-game defensive replacement. Reed Johnson is to J.P. Ricciardi as Bobby Kielty was (supposed to be) to Billy Beane. Unfortunately, Reed’s only career success came in 134 games in 2006. He was never a highly-touted prospect, holds just a .281 career average and has a mediocre 60% career steal success rate. It would seem that, on past performance alone, his only advantage over Shannon is defense.

And that wasn’t even true as recently as 2003. Shannon is still a good defender capable of playing the corner outfield spots, he just lacks anything resembling a throwing arm. Shannon is a personal favorite, a former fan-favorite in Toronto, and a man who was once expected to be a large part of the franchise’s future. When the team dealt him in 2003, it was because of our rebuilding mode and his increasing value, not a poor fit or lack of production. Injuries aside, Shannon has been one of the most consistent players in baseball since his first full season in 1998. He has never hit below .274, has only once had an OBP lower than .350, and has had double digit home runs in all but one season (when he played just 44 games). Sure, Shannon has had some injury problems, but on a team with this much depth and in an argument about the best player for the opening day job, that is irrelevant. Shannon’s career numbers speak for themselves: .298 average, .362 OBP, 114 HR, 193 steals. Shannon has had success in a variety of slots in the batting order and his always-high on base percentage and still-kicking-around speed makes him a prime leadoff candidate, which would allow Gibbons to slide Eckstein to #2, where he clearly wants him.

The team has been hush on what this move means. The future is clear in left field – it has pretty eyes, a warm smile, light shaggy hair and a beautiful swing. The future in left goes by the name of Adam Lind. But Lind will be held off until 2009, so this year the argument exists: Stairs, Johnson, or Stewart, and if not just one, which two? Stewart and Johnson each have one year on their deals and Stairs has just two, so it is a cut-and-dry one year decision.

In Stairs you have a lovable righty-mashing defensive liability. In Reed you have a great-one-time player who plays the game the way all players should. In Shannon you have (by far) the best career resume.

Stairs may decide coaching hockey is his long-term calling and revert to his beer-swilling, Stunner-delivering ways of the WWF Attitude Era. Reed Johnson may never regain his short lived 2006 form. Stewart may show up and choke, showing us why nobody would give him the two-year deal he was seeking.

Then again, Stairs may hit at a 1 HR per 17 AB rate again, Reed may be reborn as one of the premier lead-off hitters in baseball, and Shannon may be that 20-20-.300-.375 guy we’ve needed since he left.

It’s good to have options. And if competition really does breed higher performance, this debate could become a lot more heated in the coming month.