MLB - Gibbons Out and Cito In...Ricciardi Next?
It is being reported by TSN.ca that Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons has been fired and will be replaced by…..Cito Gaston! Along with Gibbons goes coaches Marty Pevey, Ernie Whitt and Gary Denbo. Dwayne Murphy will take over as the first Base Coach, Nick Leyva will coach at third base and Gene Tenace returns as the hitting coach.
But the real news here is the return of the greatest manager in Blue Jays history. In his 9 seasons with the Jays Gaston had a record of 683-636 finishing 1st in the AL East 5 times and winning back to back World Series in 92 and 93. Hopefully he can bring a winning attitude back to a team that coming into this season had high expectations and hoped to compete for a division title.
The news of Gibbons being fired isn’t a surprise to anyone as it seemed that with every loss he got closer to the exit door. The real shock is bringing in Cito Gaston. It is a shock but in the best way possible. As a Jays fan I love Cito Gaston and know that he will be what this team needs to turn it around.
Gibbons, took over the Jays job at the end of the 2004 season, replacing Carlos Tosca. In his three full seasons from 2005 - 2007 under Gibbons, the Jays never finished with fewer than 80 wins or more than 87. In 610 career games as a manger, Gibbons has a 305-305 record.
Ricciardi Next?
This begs the question of how much time does JP Ricciardi have now that Gibbons is gone and it seems the Front Office is clearing house. Ricciardi has brought in no one of real value and seems to have a love affair with older players past their prime and singing people who have no intention to stay here long.
Added to that was a recent tirade on a radio show in which Ricciardi went off on a fan who suggested the Jays trade for Adam Dunn. Of Dunn Ricciardi had this to say, “Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much? Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? How much do you know about the player?” Hmmm sounds to me an awful lot like AJ Burnett and you had no problems signing him.
The only bright spot to come out of this whole Ricciardi-Dunn mess was what Dunn said in response to JP’s comments.
“I know nothing about this clown. I have no idea who he is,” Dunn said. “I don’t really care what one guy thinks, to be honest with you. If I’m a GM, I don’t know if I would go out of my way to kind of discredit a player.”
Adam Dunn you just became a personal favorite of mine.
