A few years back I boldly predicted (as a darkhorse, anyway) that Shannon Stewart would be the Most Valuable Player in the league. He wasn't. And while I still like him as a player - when he's healthy he's a lot of fun to watch at the plate - I have to admit he's sooner to be named Biggest Baby than MVP.

A recent roundtable discussion got me thinking about the Blue Jays batting order. I would love to see Stewart bat third. (That would see new Jay Frank Catalonotto as a possible lead off man, with Eric Hinske staying at number two, where he won Rookie of the Year honours.) But, alas, Jays' fans saw that last year. And it won't happen again. It was awful.

I couldn't remember exactly how bad it was until I looked up his stats: Batting third, Stewart hit .236 with an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of .609! Is there any reason for the disparity between his lifetime stats and those stats batting third? Yup. He's a suck. Remember, Stewart complained relentlessly that he shouldn't bat third. And his numbers proved him right. Surprise, surprise. He also didn't want to DH. And look at how well he demonstrated that: .239 with an OPS of .653 at DH.

But how about this? Put Stewart third in the order anyway. It really doesn't matter how much he doesn't like it - he's gone to free agency after this season (and anyone who thinks he'll be back in a Blue Jay uniform is deluding themselves.) And so Shannon Stewart will have to learn to like batting third pretty damn fast. Putting up crappy numbers certainly won't increase his value on the free agent market.

If he stays healthy, Stewart could be a 30-30 man with a .330 batting average. Beautiful numbers for a number three.

It's time for Stewart to put up, shut up and show up. Or pay the price. And while he's at it, maybe win himself an MVP and make two people look good.