Article: Toronto Blue Jays Cult Heroes Bracket: ‘Roid Bird Region

[Mac]

Following the departure of Brian McNamee, the Toronto Blue Jays unveiled a new alternate logo featuring an, um, enhanced bird. Striking a resemblance to Toronto’s new, yet-to-be-named mascot Ace, the logo was mostly bird bicep and a touch of some of the cream and the clear.

The logo adorned spring training and batting practice gear before eventually working its way onto an alternate jersey. The Blue Jays made the logo their primary mark in 2003, but plans were already underway for a more extensive rebrand the next season as the team sensibly went back to their classic look. 

“The grey is kind of...grey,” said Carlos Delgado after those were unveiled. “It’s going to have to grow on me.” His OPS dropped 100 points wearing 15 shades of charcoal in his final season as a Blue Jay. (photo credit: J.P. Moczulski/The Canadian Press)

After Ace evaded being named in the Mitchell Report, and to potentially mark 10 years of him going ham on top of the dugout during the seventh inning, the team brought the logo back this year for a spring training lid. It didn’t go far enough. It is time to re-embrace the cartoony vibes of the early aughts with an alternate that brings back the logo, one that maybe just owed Jason Grimsley some money.

Thanks to everyone who has voted so far, and if you haven’t, you can cast your votes on the first half of the bracket here. Now for the last eight finalists:

(2) Munenori Kawasaki vs. (15) Ezequiel Carrera
A player that needs no introduction, although he does give himself a great one. Thanks to his research on primates, we now know how many bananas are required to prevent cramping, although it’s merely a suggestion during pennant celebrations, or a Muni-preferred bush party. Kawasaki's .627 OPS across three seasons with Toronto was offset by his better-than-Jose-and-Edwin golf game, reporting abilities, and dance moves. 

Zeke went about his business a little quieter but was just as much of a beloved role player during Toronto’s playoff runs in the 2010s. He hit better than his teammate, but Carrera filled the bench role for the outfield much as Kawasaki did in the infield. Both light-hitting but reliable players, Kawasaki and Carrera brought welcomed energy onto those brooding contending teams.

(7) Matt Stairs vs. (10) Travis Snider
Stairs debuted in 1992 for the Montreal Expos and returned to his home country 15 years later to play for the Blue Jays at age 39. Lumbering between the lines like the lefty masher on your local senior team, Stairs had one of his best seasons in ‘07, posting a team-leading OPS+ of 138.

When his outfield glove needed to be unlaced the next season, the Blue Jays were comfortable enough in the bat of the New Brunswick native that they initiated a quick, messy divorce with The Big Hurt to free up DH at-bats. Stairs would fall below replacement level in 2008, but a late-season trade made him a cult hero in the City of Brotherly Love.

There were mixed emotions when Travis Snider jogged off Safeco Field during the seventh inning in 2012, having been dealt mid-game to Pittsburgh. There was a sadness that the likeable Snider would no longer be around, but also a relief in not having to watch the former top prospect trying to find his swing any longer.

We stayed optimistic for years, but Snider never arrived, here or elsewhere, partly thanks to some bungling by his manager and the front office. Very few top prospects that fail to materialize maintain their popularity with fans, but Lunch Box Hero was an exception. Cam’s Place might be closed, but you can still honour Snider by eating his second-favourite nachos in Toronto.

(3) Dustin McGowan vs. (14) Jesse Litsch
One of Gord Ash’s final draft picks, McGowan might be the most tantalizing pitching prospect Toronto has had since the turn of the millennium. Injuries delayed his debut until 2005, and the following year, McGowan had nearly as many walks (25) and earned runs (22) as innings pitched (27.1). Starting 2007 in Triple-A, he found a groove and eventually started 27 games that year for the Jays, winning a dozen. His finest career start came in June, when he carried a no-hitter into the ninth against Colorado.

People remember that McGowan, but also the McGowan that followed. The pitcher was sidelined for over three years after shoulder surgery in 2008, and for every setback that followed, there was fan support for the return of a healthy McGowan. Those who wished the pitcher well were rewarded with a fine farewell tour in 2014. The right-hander started the home opener after winning the final spot in the rotation during spring, and while he only started eight times, he made 45 other appearances out of the bullpen and left to pitch in three more major league seasons.

Jesse Litsch’s arrival in the major leagues had none of the pomp that had come with McGowan. A 24th-round pick in 2004, Litsch was 6-1 with a 0.97 ERA in Double-A when he was called up to replace an injured Roy Halladay early in the 2007 season. Litsch recorded 26 outs in Toronto’s 2-1 win, 21 of which came by groundball. Originally ticketed to go back to the minors, Litsch started 48 games over the next two seasons. But like McGowan, arm troubles came for Litsch. His next two seasons were interrupted by Tommy John surgery, and shoulder problems would end his career after 2011. 

(6) Frank Catalanotto vs. (11) Adam Lind
Frank Catalanotto had to pee. With a few hits already, the Cat ran into the clubhouse to relieve himself when he bumped into his super-platoon mate Reed Johnson. “I don’t know how many at-bats I’m going to get today,” Catalanotto recalls saying. “But however many it is, that’s how many hits I’m going to get.” 

Catalanotto went 6-for-6, the last of which set a Toronto single-game record for hits. In total, the Cat hit .299 over four seasons with the Blue Jays and was as consistent as anyone on those mid-2000s teams. Johnson would outplay the platoon in the second half of 2006, and when Toronto signed Frank Thomas in the offseason, it closed the book on Catalanotto’s Jays tenure, even as Richard Griffin bemoaned signing “a former White Sox clubhouse cancer” while letting Catalanotto’s clubhouse presence walk out the door. 

Lind debuted as a top prospect just as Catalanotto was leaving. For all the guff Cito has taken for his handling of Travis Snider, it was Gaston who gave Lind his first real run after he had been taken out of the lineup by John Gibbons. Managing for his job, Gibbons played veterans Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench repeatedly in left field. When that sent Gibby back to his ranch, Lind found a rhythm with regular playing time under Gaston.

Lind never again reached the apex of his 2009 (.305/.370/.562 with 35 home runs), but he stuck around until 2014, swatting 146 big flies as a Blue Jay, placing him 10th all-time on the club's home run leaderboard.

We will keep all the polls open for a bit before revealing the eight players that will move on to round two of voting. (Here's the link for the first half of the bracket again.) With my apologies to Brad Fullmer and Ryan Goins, let me know who I missed in the comments below.

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[Grant77]

Frank Catalanotto was always one of my favourite Blue Jays. Always a joy to watch.