BASEBALL / AMERICAN LEAGUE REPORT : CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES : Cone Had the Athletics on His Mind, Now May Have Hands Full With Them

When the phone rang in his Manhattan apartment Aug. 27, David Cone knew New York Met General Manager Frank Cashen was calling to say he had been traded.

But when it came to guessing his destination, Cone wasn’t even close.

“I did get the feeling the (Oakland Athletics) were interested, especially when I saw Bob Welch go on the disabled list,” Cone said. “I thought it was the A’s. I hadn’t really thought about the Blue Jays.

“Once I got here, (pitching coach) Galen Cisco and (Manager) Cito Gaston made me open my eyes to Toronto and how great it can be here.”

Cone, who lost the NL strikeout title to John Smoltz by only one despite pitching one fewer month in the league, isn’t saying whether he likes Toronto enough to stay here when he becomes eligible for free agency after the season. But he’s happy to be here tonight, when he’ll start the second game of the American League playoffs.

Cone, who was 1-1 with a 4.50 earned-run average for the Mets in three playoff games against the Dodgers in 1988, will oppose Mike Moore. The Oakland right-hander is 2-0 in the playoffs with an 0.69 ERA.

This postseason experience will be different for Cone, and not just because he’ll have to wait through two national anthems instead of one before taking the mound.

“The ideal position for any ballplayer to be in is to be with a team the whole year and feel you’ve contributed to the cause,” said Cone, who was 4-3 for the Blue Jays with a 2.55 earned-run average in eight starts. “I’m sort of the hired hand, the gun who came in here, and although I pitched some big games down the stretch, it’s not like it was with the Mets in 1988. It’s been good. The veterans welcomed me, and as I got some wins, they welcomed me more.”

Moore is 5-1 at the SkyDome in his career and has won six of his last decisions against the Blue Jays. As far as he can tell, that’s purely coincidental.

“I don’t think you ever feel comfortable pitching against this Blue Jay ballclub,” he said. “Why I’ve had more success at the SkyDome, I couldn’t tell you.”

In a mild surprise, Oakland Manager Tony La Russa omitted Walt Weiss from the starting lineup. Mike Bordick started at shortstop, with Lance Blankenship at second. It’s a decision Weiss didn’t dispute.

“How can you not be disappointed?” he said. “But I was prepared for this. I haven’t had a great year. I haven’t had a good year at all.”

Weiss hit a career-low .212 and committed a career-high 19 errors. Bordick hit .300 in his first full season with the A’s. In addition, Weiss is only one for 14 in his career against Game 1 starter Jack Morris.

“He’s got a pretty good grasp of things,” Weiss said of Bordick. “I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, the way he’s played all year. “I’m sure he’s going to go out and have a great series.”

The Blue Jays got a scare Tuesday night when right fielder Joe Carter, a spectator at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ NHL season opener, was hit in the left eye by a cinder launched into the air during a pregame fireworks display.

Carter and teammate Roberto Alomar were sitting in the third row behind the team benches. When Carter complained of discomfort, one of the hockey team’s doctors attended him and took him to the hospital to remove the cinder after the first period of the game.

Carter, who started in right field as usual Wednesday, wasn’t worried.

“It didn’t scare me,” he said. “I knew I could still hit with one eye closed. Sometimes I hit with both eyes closed.”

His sole complaint was that he missed most of the Leafs’ 6-5 loss to the Washington Capitals.

“I’m a big hockey fan,” Carter said. “I’ve got a Wayne Gretzky stick, signed by him.”

Although Cone admitted to being unfamiliar with most of the hitters he’ll face today, he felt more qualified to talk about the NL playoffs.

“Pittsburgh really misses Zane Smith,” he said. “That was a big injury to their pitching staff. I’ve seen Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke, and they’ve killed me over the years. But it’s not over. The Atlanta pitching staff is young.”

But then, he reconsidered. “To have Tom Glavine going against you in the third game is going to be tough,” he said.

Oakland third base coach Rene Lachemann on Tuesday interviewed for the Florida Marlins’ managing job. He’s also among the top candidates for the Rangers’ job. . . . Former Blue Jay Damaso Garcia, a member of the Blue Jays’ 1985 division championship team, threw out the first pitch. . . . Alomar has at least one hit in each of the six AL playoff games he’s played in. . . . Blue Jay left fielder Candy Maldonado is appearing in the playoffs with his third different team. Don Baylor holds the record of five different teams. . . . AL West teams have won the last five playoff series but AL East teams still have a 13-10 advantage since the format was adopted.