Here’s a scouting report on the Blue Jays. It is based on information from several American League scouts:
Looking for a hero? Paul Molitor had five hits in his first World Series game for Milwaukee in 1982 and finished with a .355 average.
This season, he was second in the American League with .332. He batted .391 in the playoffs. He was two-for-two with runners in scoring position.
During the season, with runners in scoring position, he hit .384. He sees the ball extremely well because there’s no excess movement of his head or hands during his swing. He can cover all areas of the plate as well as anybody in the game.
In addition to Molitor, the Blue Jays have some big hitters in the lineup-Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter and John Olerud.
Alomar is a great situational hitter. He batted .320 with runners in scoring position.
Carter equaled his career high with 121 RBI, giving him five straight seasons with 100 or more and seven of the last eight. In his bad year, 1988, he drove in 98.
Carter can get into zones where he’s seeing the ball so well, he becomes more disciplined at the plate. He can focus a little harder in key spots and force himself to be a little more selective.
Olerud led the league with .363, down from .400 after Aug. 2. He had 54 doubles, most since George Kell’s 56 in 1950.
Olerud is a very good breaking-ball hitter because he keeps his hands back. He hit .371 with runners in scoring position.
Hiding in the bushes: Devon White is acclaimed for his defense in center field but he gets little recognition for offense. He raised his average 25 points this year, to .273. His .444 led the Blue Jays in the playoffs. Strikeouts are a problem -127 in 598 at-bats during the season and five in 27 playoff at-bats.
White is not a pretty hitter, but his speed could be an asset.
Molitor’s bat is such an asset, it’s hard to imagine the Blue Jays trying to play without him when the Series moves to Philadelphia and there are no designated hitters. Putting Paul at third in place of Ed Sprague represents a risk since there is no guarantee his gimpy shoulder will hold up for nine innings in the field.
The Blue Jays feast on hard throwers, particularly right-handers. Curt Schilling, MVP in the NLCS, will start Game 1. He falls into that category.
The Blue Jays batted .284 against right-handers and .265 against left-handers. They’ll put the ball in play-their 861 strikeouts were 11th in the AL. They set club records with .279 and 847 runs scored. The Blue Jays batted .301 in the playoffs.
The Blue Jays went 22-25 in games started by lefthanders. The Phillies have two lefthanded starters, Terry Mulholland for Game 2 and Danny Jackson in Game 3.
Alomar, White and Tony Fernandez are switch-hitters who drop sharply against lefthanded pitchers. Alomar batted .356 against righthanders but just .245 against lefties. White hit .281 and .254. Fernandez was .333 and .254.
When will they run? The Blue Jays led the American League with 170 stolen bases, second in the majors behind Montreal’s 228. The Jays were thrown out only 49 times.
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Alomar was successful on 55 of 70 steal attempts during the season and all four in the playoffs. White was 34 for 38 in the season.
Rickey Henderson stole 53 bases in 61 attempts during the year-22 of 24 with Toronto. He was nailed on two out of three in the playoffs. Molitor was 22 of 26 but didn’t run in the playoffs.
Pitching the pitching: In Juan Guzman and Dave Stewart, the Blue Jays have hot starters with great postseason history. Guzman can be wild, and the Phillies should go up to the plate thinking take. His stuff makes Guzman tough to hit and his arm angle and motion make him tougher. Besides a live fastball, Guzman has a slider that drops straight down like a forkball. He was 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in the playoffs. He lost three games during the season, last on July 7.
Guzman is 5-0, 1.99 lifetime in playoffs. He allowed one earned run in eight World Series innings last year but wasn’t involved in the Game 3 decision.
Stewart, playoff MVP for two wins, is again throwing well after muddling through most of the year. He won his final four starts and allowed four earned runs in 25 innings.
Stewart is more of a six or seven-inning pitcher but he still throws hard. He has a fastball, forkball and slider and he isn’t getting by on guile.
He is 8-0 and 2.03 in playoffs, 2-3 and 2.60 in the Series.
Pat Hentgen was 8-5, 4.23 after the All-Star break, in contrast to his 11-4 and 3.54 in the first half. He’s a fly ball pitcher with a good fastball and curve but sometimes does not mix in enough breaking pitches.
Lefthander Al Leiter likely will start if the Blue Jays use a four-man rotation. Opponents hit .240 against him. He lives on his fastball.
Mark Eichhorn mopped up for two innings in the playoffs and doesn’t figure to see much action. His submarine style doesn’t match up well with John Kruk, Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra or Dave Hollins.
Danny Cox came off arm problems and gave the Blue Jays plenty of mileage in middle relief. He was 7-6 with a 3.12 ERA in 44 innings and held opponents to .242. Just as last year, Todd Stottlemyre will find himself in the bullpen. Lefthander Tony Castillo is ordinary.
Duane Ward progressed from setup man for the departed Tom Henke into a dominant closer-2-3 with a 2.13 ERA and a league-leading 45 saves in 51 opportunities. Opponents batted .193.
Ward throws a fastball and slider, both very hard. He led AL relievers with an average of 12.18 strikeouts per nine innings. He has decent control-25 walks in 71 2-3.
Pitchers’ best friend: Pat Borders is outstanding at blocking pitches, a necessary skill with this staff.
The White Sox stole three bases in five attempts against Toronto in the ALCS. Borders has quick feet but just an average arm. He threw out only 32.5 percent.