Toronto Blue Jays: John Gibbons’ job is safe for now
By Paul Taylor
The Toronto Blue Jays may be struggling to string together positive results at the moment, but don’t expect John Gibbons to be fired anytime soon.
It’s somewhat of an understatement to say the Toronto Blue Jays are struggling. They looked decent enough to begin with, going 18-13 through the first 31 games of this season.
However, it has been mostly downhill since then, with a record of 6-15. As of Sunday morning, the Blue Jays sit at 24-28, already 7.5 games out of the second wild card spot in the AL.
The starting pitching, which was meant to be a strength, has struggled. The rotation is ranked 25th-best in the Majors, with a collective ERA of 5.20.
They are also 25th for hits allowed (290), batting average (.264) and WHIP (1.45). To highlight how bad things are, J.A. Happ has the rotation’s best ERA at 3.97, while Marcus Stroman is effectively double his career average, at 7.71.
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And there have been some issues offensively as well, despite several standout individuals such as Yangervis Solarte, Kevin Pillar and Justin Smoak. Collectively, the Jays are ranked 27th in the Majors for batting average (.229) and 23rd in hits (401).
It hasn’t all been bad for the Blue Jays, but if they don’t get back on track in the win-column soon, thoughts will turn towards the trade deadline. More specifically, they will become a seller and start rebuilding.
However, one person who won’t be going anywhere, anytime soon, is manager John Gibbons. He is going to be a scapegoat of sorts if results don’t improve, but not in the usual way of being fired.
Instead, Gibbons will be kept around to take the brunt of any frustration from the Blue Jays’ fan base. This point was made on Saturday, by the Toronto Sun‘s Steve Simmons.
Love him or hate him, Simmons made some valid points in his latest ‘Simmons Says’ column. He explains that if the Blue Jays fire Gibbons then all the pressure will shift to management, namely club president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins.
It is well known that Shapiro and Atkins have not been particularly popular since coming to Toronto. And this is essentially the exact opposite to Gibbons, who is well-liked by his players and the local media alike.
As such, the longer the Blue Jays’ front office keep the affable 55-year-old around, the better for them. Of course, this will only work for so long, if results do not improve anytime soon.
The thinking among a certain section of the baseball media, is that managers don’t really have much of an impact on the outcome of games. From a local perspective, one such personality who holds this belief is Prime Time Sport‘s Bob McCown.
If we follow this rationale, then Gibbons should not be fired anyway. However, we know the reality is somewhat different.
Assuming the Blue Jays finish the season below .500, the chances are the Great Falls, Montana native will be let go, no matter how popular he is. For now though, it seems Shapiro and Atkins will attempt to make him the team’s scapegoat, even though he deserves better.
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Where do you stand on Gibbons? Would you fire him or keep him around? Further, how would you summarise his second tenure as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.