As hard as Cito Gaston tried, he couldn't quite sell the argument. Talented as he is in many areas, the Blue Jays manager just doesn't do BS very well.
Symbolic of just how low the competitive bar is during this afterthought week for all but the few playoff-bound teams in Major League Baseball, the burning issue with the Yankees in town was the quest for that holiest of grails, third place. Hey, somebody had to ask.
"Well," the skipper reasoned, trying and failing to sound interested, "third place is better than fourth."
A few hours later, fourth place was looking like ... well, like home. Unless something quite remarkable happens in the next five days, that is the Blue Jays' destiny for 2008.
With a 3-1 win last night, and a victory by the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees all but secured themselves third place in the American League East.
What a thrill that must be for the Bronx Bombers, who are missing the playoffs for the first time after 13 consecutive berths under Joe Torre. You'll remember Joe Torre. He's the guy whose name wasn't mentioned -- not once -- during the closing ceremony at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.
"It's kind of sad," Gaston said. "Joe's a good man. I think Joe will always be a Yankee, though."
Gaston was asked to recall his most memorable moment at The House That Ruth Built. He chose the late-September visit by the Blue Jays for a four-game series in 1985 when they were trying to fend off the Yanks for the AL East title.
"(In the first game) we had a double-play ball we didn't make and we lost that game. Quietest bus I've ever been on going back to the hotel. But we came back the next three days and really, really played well. We just beat 'em up.
"In that series, there was this (Yankees fan) who grabbed a Blue Jays cap and ripped it apart with his teeth, wiped himself and threw it at the Blue Jay wives. That was impressive. Ever try ripping one of these caps apart with your teeth? It's not that easy."
You have to wonder where the Yankees would have been this year but for Mike Mussina, who shut the Jays out for five innings and took the rest of the night off. Mussina, who looked as if he was on his last legs last season at the age of 38, will go for his 20th win in the season finale against the Red Sox in Boston on Sunday.
If you're looking for warm and fuzzy feelings regarding Mussina's performance this year, don't seek out Gaston. He and Mussina have been oil and water ever since Mussina showed him up at the 1993 all-star game by warming up on his own in the ninth inning, inciting the hometown Baltimore fans against Gaston. Mussina again rubbed Gaston the wrong way in 2004 when he whined insensitively about how his warmup was disrupted by a pre-game tribute to broadcaster Tom Cheek, who was dying of cancer. Gaston and Cheek were the tightest of friends.
Somebody asked Gaston before last night's game about Mussina's chances of winning 20 games this year.
"I just wish I was playing," Gaston said.
The Yankees got a run in the second inning off starter and loser Jesse Litsch, and another in the fourth on Jason Giambi's 32nd home run. After Mussina left, they got another run in the seventh on a passed ball before Scott Rolen's RBI single got Toronto to within two runs.
Toronto loaded the bases in the eighth against Joba Chamberlain, but plate umpire Larry Vanover punched out Lyle Overbay on a two-out full-count pitch, one of eight called strike threes against the Jays.
Then along came Mariano Rivera in the ninth, and the breathtaking drama of The Battle (sort of) For Third Place was laid to rest.
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JAYS BUZZ
K PARADE
Jesse Litsch and Brian Tallet of the Blue Jays combined to strike out nine Yankees last night to set a team record for strikeouts in a season. Toronto pitchers have struck out a league-leading 1,156 batters this year, two more than the previous record, set in 1998.
SAFETY FIRST
The Blue Jays have shut down left-hander David Purcey for the last week of the season as a precautionary measure. Purcey tossed 182 innings this year, including 117 in the big leagues, exceeding his previous high by 50 innings.
"We just want to make sure he's around next year," manager Cito Gaston said.
After A.J. Burnett and Roy Halladay make their final starts of the season over the next two days, Scott Richmond, John Parrish and Jesse Litsch are scheduled to pitch the final three games in Baltimore.
JANSSEN A KEY
Casey Janssen was back in town last night to spend a few days with his teammates and to undergo a season-exit physical. Janssen is well on the way to recovery from season-ending surgery last March.
He will be an important piece of the Blue Jays' puzzle next spring. With Shaun Marcum now on the shelf for the entire 2009 season, Janssen very well could step into the starting rotation, a role he was competing for when he injured himself last spring.
"We'll see how the winter goes but, yeah, he could be a guy in the rotation," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said.
SANTOS A JAY
The Blue Jays claimed left-handed reliever Reid Santos off waivers from the Cleveland Indians. He pitched at double-A and triple-A this season, making 45 relief appearances with two saves and a 4.89 ERA.
NEXT UP
Tonight, Yankees (RHP Phillip Hughes, 0-4, 7.96) at Blue Jays (RHP A.J. Burnett, 18-10, 4.18), 7:07 p.m. Sportsnet, Fan 590
