glory

Yankees up 2-0 on the Angels in the 1st. Ugh. The AL West does not want to help us this week.

Agreed. Even if he turns into a capable #4-5 starter, I'll be happy with that. I said before the year that he's a reliever long-term but I'll be thrilled if he proves me wrong.

Sanchez has like a 65% GB rate, or something ridiculous like that, so having Colabello out there tonight was likely safe. It's when the other pitchers start that it will be a problem.

Sanchez's walk rate has been steadily improving as the year has gone on. In his last 4 starts, he has allowed 8 walks in 28 innings. He has the GB rate to get by with a 5-6 K/9, but the walks are the deal breaker for him. Too early to get excited, but at least he's trending forward.

Gameday says Betances got a few borderline/generous strike calls when he was having trouble locating. The benefits of wearing pinstripes.

Defense doesn't exist in Gibby's world. Carrera has provided more value than CC this season but I doubt anyone in the Jays org would see it that way.

Soriano at closer means Cecil would actually get meaningful innings. That alone would be an upgrade.

A #FYSMC is in order for McCown for getting my hopes up.

Boyd will be traded by Alex. Just a hunch.

I'd jump for joy if the Jays could find a taker for Reyes, but he has at least 3 wins on Goins, even with the s*** defense. Stop talking, Jerry.

The Jays have now jumped to 3rd place in the East. Next team to catch is Tampa (though they are winning tonight so far). One team at a time.

If the Jays have any plans for Boyd beyond trading him, then he should be in AAA. The Jays need SP depth, especially with Buehrle in his final year and Dickey being a questionable pitcher to pick up the option on. Let Boyd get as much high minors experience as possible.

Damn, if York and McCown are the only "sources", then it's probably BS.

Ned Yost is probably a nice guy too, and everyone here shits on him. It sucks when someone loses a job, but this (if true) would be deserved.

My prediction prior to the season: Jays fire Gibbons end of May, hire Hale, and make the playoffs. A few days late, but McCown better be accurate.

Fear of the unknown doesn't make known mediocrity any more appealing. Or, it shouldn't. Talent will make managers look better. I don't think you'll find anyone who disagrees with that. However, a manager still has to use that talent effectively. Ned Yost has an amazing bullpen and defense. He trusts his pen. He doesn't manage by splits, he uses his best guys. If Gibbons inherited that pen, he'd use Wade Davis for 0.1 of an inning and then bring in a lefty to face the lefty batter. If the Jays had a 1B prospect in the minors right now, they'd be playing him in RF in the Majors because Gibbons doesn't realize that defense has value. That's how he manages routinely. Managers can use talent properly or use them horribly, and that can make a difference. The Jays might hire someone worse. They might hire someone worse than AA. Do you want to hold on to them in the event that the worst case happens? I've said before, Kevin Cash would have been my hire if he was available. If nothing else, he has some track record of identifying talent (Gomes) or developing talent (Carrasco). But it wouldn't take much to upgrade from the Gibster.

I'm on board with firing AA so clearly Gibbons is not the only problem with this team or even the biggest one. However, that doesn't mean the Jays should be satisfied with him as manager when he doesn't get results and routinely makes game altering mistakes. If people like Gibbons, that's fine. I liked Cito even though he made mistakes, so bias will exist, but some are suggesting that Gibbons is "the best manager in franchise history", and things like that. It's not based on reality. Even ignoring win/loss record, his managing style is entirely replaceable and talent rarely take steps forward due to anything he does. If that's the case, why keep going back to him? Managers don't matter as much as talent, but bad managers can hurt a team. If Gibbons were average, then I'd still want him replaced, but he wouldn't be as bad as he is now.

It's not even the rings argument for me. I thought Gaston was a fine manager in 2008-10, and I thought Farrell was pretty bad, but both guys were bashed like crazy, while a guy like Gibbons with far less success despite far more to work with (much higher payrolls, more talent, worse division, more playoff spots, etc) is heralded as a genius. It's ridiculous.

Gibbons stopped being able to use a bullpen this season (his best reliever in Cecil never pitches because he's being saved for the 9th). He does not value defense based on his lineup construction year to year (DH's in the outfield, 1B at 3B, Edwin in LF, etc). He's rigid enough to value personal bias over putting the best lineup on the field (benching Rasmus last September, using Navarro at DH, using Castro everyday out of the pen when he can't get AAA hitters out yet, etc). He puts Reyes at lead off every single game, just like Gaston liked keeping guys in certain spots. What exactly is so smart about Gibbons? What does he do that others before him were inadequate at? Gibbons gets a free ride for no reason. His team's consistently underperform and he does nothing that no other s***** manager couldn't do. Has any player come out and credit Gibbons for their careers, like Bautista did with Cito? Did players take the next step with Gibbons managing due to any tangible coaching? A robot could do what Gibbons does, and probably better.

LOL. You guys are so f***ing stupid, it's comical. Do you think Pillar and Goins are bad hitters? Fine, but then whenever they do well offensively in a single game, you should say how great they did. Give me a damn break. Track record means more than a single game. Any manager will make a good move here or there. It's consistently making good moves that makes a manager good. Insane. Absolutely f'n insane. s*** on Gaston and Farrell, but verbally fellate Gibbons despite him being worse than both. You guys don't deserve to see a winning team.

He is just trolling because he thinks Gibby Haters are basing their hatred on a few losses rather than SEVEN f***ING YEARS of seeing this clown's s***** managing. Seeing him cry after Gibbons is gone will be somewhat entertaining.

Well, when I make my usual posts about Gibbons, you tell me to stop. Now you're encouraging it? Make up your damn mind!

AA did not look like a bad GM in 2012. Rogers gave him a ton of money to spend to improve the roster, and he set the franchise back many years with the moves he ended up making. Now he's simply playing out the rest of his contract, as Rogers probably doesn't want to pay Alex to sit at home. If they extend him beyond this season, then yes, blame Rogers. Otherwise, no, they are not the issue.

Rogers has given this org a top 10 payroll for the past three seasons. They are not the issue. Gibbons is a terrible manager, and Alex is not a good GM. I think you could get away with AA as GM if he had a manager that had a clue how to use a roster effectively (not using Castro as closer right away, not DH'ing Navarro, and so on), but then again, the roster was haphazardly put together by AA in the first place, so they share the blame. Gibbons has been manager the only two times Rogers has spent money since owning the team (2005-08 and 2013-present). Every other time they've been cutting payroll down. People wonder why the Jays always underachieve despite having the talent. Pretty darn simple to figure that out when you see who is running the ship.

I love watching people defend a manager who consistently makes bad bullpen decisions, plays DH's in the outfield, back-up catchers at DH, starting catchers at 2B, overworks his young relievers (Osuna/Castro), and so on. Keep believing a bad manager can't hurt a team. I've wanted Gibbons gone since the moment he was announced as manager in 2013. This was pretty darn predictable.