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Hiring John Gibbons Is A Huge Mistake
Tuesday, Nov.20/2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I am in complete shock that the Jays hired John Gibbons as their recycled coach. For a guy that has largely supported Alex Anthopoulos on many moves since he has taken over the helm, I can’t believe he pulled this guy off the scrap heap for managers. Gibbons managed the Blue Jays from 2004-2008 and held down a mediocre 305-305 record. While he did post back to back winning seasons in 2006 and 2007 in a tough AL East, he also had some talented players to work with. Roy Halladay was the premier pitcher in the American League from 2005-2008 and would give a 11-13 games over .500 clip just by taking the hill every year. In the 3 full years that Gibbons had Halladay, he was 44-16 (.733) in 72 starts, so if he had been healthy for 96 starts in this time frame, he would have won about 59 Games versus only 24 losses. In Gibbons best year as a manager, he was 87-75 with the 2006 club. Halladay was 16-5 (11 Games over .500).
I would never want to re-hire a manager that has 0 playoff appearances when the current club is going to be graded on exactly that. The Jays will have a serious ‘PR’ nightmare if this hire does not work out. No one would have faulted AA for hiring a manager with playoff experience. If those guys aren’t available as your top choice, at least bring in someone fresh that has not tasted failure for the club.
The Cleveland Indians: Fairweather Fans or Cuyahoga Faithful? The Lowest MLB Home Attendance
Monday August 13th, 2012
Robert Whitmer: “Ray, people will come Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steam rollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh… people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.”
That quote is from my second favorite baseball movie (if you want to know my favorite, ask me on twitter) of all-time “Field of Dreams.” James Earl Jones’ character is telling Kevin Costner why he shouldn’t and won’t need to sell his farm in order to pay the mortgage on the property. The whole movie, Ray (Kevin Costner) is being told that “If you build it, he will come.” Ray plows down half of his corn crop in order to build a baseball field because I voice tells him to. In the end, it ends up being his father that he ended up building the field for. Ray always yearned to have one last catch with his deceased father and this field gave him the ability to do that. Baseball is a connecting sport. It somehow has the power to connect one generation to another. Read the rest of this entry





























