More than a few interesting Jays items in this brief post-season wrap-up. Chris Woodward, as expected, will have to show a lot next spring to remain the starting shortstop, thanks to his "concentration lapses." I have some trouble imagining how my mind could wander if I was playing shortstop in the major freakin' leagues. But anyway, Woody says "he knows what he has to do now," which is nice for him, and with Mike Bordick all but retired, shortstop wil be his to lose. But keep an eye on Jimmy Alvarez and Jorge Sequea next March all the same.
Elsewhere comes the slightly surprising news that JP expects to bring back both Greg Myers and Frank Catalanotto. I can see the reasoning behind Crash -- the team will need a left-handed mentor and platoon mate for Kevin Cash, and he evidently was a good presence -- but you should probably expect a 2004 batting line more in line with his post-All-Star '03: .252/.286/.412. For his part, Cat should still be a productive hitter -- his OBP and BB/K actually improved in the second half, while his power went way down. The question is, how many ABs will he get? Vernon is a lock in center, but the Jays will give Reed Johnson, Bobby Kielty and Gabe Gross a lot of playing time in '04. Frank may end up starting just 4-5 days a week and only against righties, whom he battered at a .318/.368/.501 rate this season. Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Also, JP says Eric Hinske played very hurt.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20031002090331999