TAMPA – During a four-run Blue Jay second inning yesterday, Toronto third base coach Brian Butterfield twice stopped runners coming from second on singles to right. The Blue Jays know the quality of Raul Mondesi’s arm intimately.

With a runner on in the eighth, Mike Bordick smashed a long drive to left that kept twisting toward the line and wall. Hideki Matsui, twisting along with the ball, made an excellent catch with a small leap.

A favorite sport at this time of year is to find reasons why the Yankees won’t win. But here is a reason why the Yanks just might be better than last season – their corner outfield situation is markedly improved on both sides of the ball.

Matsui is substantially better than Rondell White offensively and defensively. Mondesi is not only better than the Shane Spencer/John Vander Wal platoon that began last year for the Yanks, but also better than the out-of-shape version of Mondesi of 2002. The Yanks played poorly on defense last year and it was a major issue in their division series loss to the Angels. Matsui and a full season of Mondesi should upgrade this area.

“We are measurably stronger defensively in the outfield corners,” Joe Torre said.

Much attention has been paid to Matsui’s offense and his 2-for-5 yesterday brought his average to .338. But he brings more to the game. Yesterday, he scored from first on a Nick Johnson double because he cut the bases excellently and made a terrific fade-away slide. And the eighth-inning catch, “really impressed me,” Torre said. “It was swirling and he did not panic. He knows how to play the outfield. He has a good first step, reads the ball well and hits the cutoff man.”

In transitioning from center to left, Matsui has dispelled persistent early questions about his defense. He works seriously on his defense in batting practice and will use his heady play and excellent first step to be one of the AL’s better left-fielders. After watching Matsui this spring, Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi predicted he would win AL Rookie of the Year, saying, “I think he’s going to hit. You can tell from watching him that he has played a lot of games. His strong bottom half reminds me of Chili Davis and he has great hands. He reads the ball well in the outfield. If you’re going to spend money on a player, he’s the type of player to spend it on.”

Ricciardi, who traded Mondesi to the Yankees last year, also had praise for a player he was anxious to get rid of. He noted how good the trimmed Mondesi has looked. Despite going 0-for-4, he is still hitting .333 and Torre insists showing a greater willingness to use the whole field. Torre, despite having to discipline Mondesi for missing a game last week, also has praised Mondesi’s oft-questioned attitude. Hitting in the bottom third of the lineup, Mondesi could be a factor in the .260/25 homer/90 RBI/20 steal range, especially when you add his defense.

“He looks great, he’s clearly in better physical condition than with us,” Ricciardi said. “We always felt he played hard and had great defense. You know he can have a great offensive year and he looks motivated to do that.”

The Yankees got well below league average production from left and right field last year. This season it appears they may have turned the corner in those positions.