Blue Jays manager Buck Martinez, who is already envisioning a four-man rotation for next season, has another change in mind for 2002.
``Speed, speed, speed,'' is the mantra Martinez has been reciting as he looks forward to better things next year.
The skipper, who says he has a notebook full of lessons learned from this season of underachievement, wants to reconfigure his club based on youth and speed.
Gone will be the free-swinging, strikeout-prone approach that has marred the current campaign. Next year's club, which will definitely be youth-laden, will have to change its ways.
``If someone says they won't change, it's because they've never tried,'' Martinez said. ``How many thousands of times has Cal Ripken changed. If they (the players) say, `This is how I hit,' well, you're hitting .250. But I'm not worried about it now. This is under the file for spring training.''
Martinez's objective for next season is to build a club schooled in all the elements of classic station-to-station baseball: the hit-and-run, the stolen base, solid baserunning, cutting down on swings to move runners along. The team also will be expected to play better defence while the pitchers will be cautioned to cut down on walks.
While none of this is revolutionary, Martinez's plans obviously herald a major philosophical shift. And with a host of young minor-leaguers expected to crack the 25-man roster next season, Martinez thinks the time is right for change.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`I've had ideas this season about things but I wasn't prepared to implement them. Now . . . I've got a whole notebook.'- Jays manager Buck Martinez
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
``I've had ideas this season about things but I wasn't prepared to implement them,'' Martinez said. ``Now, first-and-third, sac flies, double steals - I've got a whole notebook.''
Martinez's visions - he is seriously contemplating going to a four-man rotation for next season - are not entirely the result of his disappointment over this lost season. Rather, he is encouraged by the good showing from the minor-leaguers summoned under the September call-up rule.
Felipe Lopez has performed admirably in an everyday role at third base the past month. Cesar Izturis, Chris Latham and Vernon Wells have also shown the kind of grit and hustle that makes Martinez believe they belong at the big-league level.
Then there's the pitching staff. Kelvim Escobar, Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay and Brandon Lyon have been sufficiently impressive of late - 23 quality starts in 37 combined starts since the all-star break - that the Jays will look at building around them instead of adding pieces.
It remains to be seen whether all of Martinez's ideas will fly with Jays management, not to mention the players. It may be difficult to make his plans work with the current lineup. Alex Gonzalez, to give just one example, will have to up his average from .250 and drastically cut down his strikeouts if he's to remain in the No. 2 slot.
In fact, it's a certainty the lineup will have to change if the club decides to adopt Martinez's new philosophy. But the manager firmly believes he has the horses to make it all work.
``We need to show (the players) how much it will work, and that's what spring training is for,'' said Martinez, who has to be given credit for maintaining a positive outlook. ``Can you tell I'm anxious to get to spring training?''
