2012 Toronto Blue Jays Thread

[Corn Flake]

I suppose it just strikes me as odd that with all of the excitement about the team taking a step forward they would dig back into their unimpressive past, and fairly recent unimpressive past, for the manager.

Exactly how I feel about it. 

 

[maplesyrup]

I don't know. He seems the right type of personality. He just doesn't have a fantastic resume. Maybe the former is most important here? 

 

[Andy007]

I suppose it just strikes me as odd that with all of the excitement about the team taking a step forward they would dig back into their unimpressive past, and fairly recent unimpressive past, for the manager.

Exactly how I feel about it.

Me too, although I think it's more like when they unloaded Wells' entire contract and acquired Napoli....and then promptly traded Napoli for Frank Francisco.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Worth it for the drawl.

 

[Kin]

I suppose it just strikes me as odd that with all of the excitement about the team taking a step forward they would dig back into their unimpressive past, and fairly recent unimpressive past, for the manager.

Exactly how I feel about it.

Given that, I can't help but feel as though the subtext to this hire is that a ton of guys turned the job down.

 

[Fanatic]

I suppose it just strikes me as odd that with all of the excitement about the team taking a step forward they would dig back into their unimpressive past, and fairly recent unimpressive past, for the manager.

Exactly how I feel about it.

Given that, I can't help but feel as though the subtext to this hire is that a ton of guys turned the job down.

Do you have anything to base that on? I watched the presser and felt that Gibson was likely the only one offered the job.

 

[Kin]

Do you have anything to base that on? I watched the presser and felt that Gibson was likely the only one offered the job.

Well, there's this from earlier in the thread:

So much for the Bobby Cox notion:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/2012/11/14/blue_jays_reached_out_to_bobby_cox/

 

[Corn Flake]

I suppose it just strikes me as odd that with all of the excitement about the team taking a step forward they would dig back into their unimpressive past, and fairly recent unimpressive past, for the manager.

Exactly how I feel about it.

Given that, I can't help but feel as though the subtext to this hire is that a ton of guys turned the job down.

Yeah I find it really tough to believe he was plan "A".

 

[bustaheims]

Every so often, AA just has to do something confusing just to keep us on our toes.

 

[Fanatic]

Do you have anything to base that on? I watched the presser and felt that Gibson was likely the only one offered the job.

Well, there's this from earlier in the thread:

So much for the Bobby Cox notion:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/2012/11/14/blue_jays_reached_out_to_bobby_cox/

Then that puts an interesting perspective on AA's comments where he said that the things he has regretted most were decisions where he didn't follow his instincts, but rather made decisions based on optics and/or perception. I got the sense that Gibson was his choice and not for optics or perception, but because his 'gut' told him that was the best call.

Time will tell. "Out of the box ideas" are usually either great or awful and not in between.

 

[Deebo]

It almost going to be a lose/lose in terms of how he is perceived as manager.

Winning team will because of the roster, losing team will be his fault.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Every so often, AA just has to do something confusing just to keep us on our toes.

Maybe in hindsight shouldn't have been as confusing.

When Anthopoulos told the Globe and Mail on November 1 that he was going to go with his gut in hiring John Farrell?s replacement ? that he was going to be less democratic then he was in hiring Farrell, when, in retrospect, he believes he may have listened to too many voices ? he clearly wasn?t kidding. Anthopoulos needed a manager with whom he had a comfort zone after the song and dance that resulted in Farrell bolting for the Boston Red Sox; he wanted a manager with Major League experience and he said somewhat cryptically that he really didn?t care about the optics.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/blair-return-of-the-most-underrated-manager-in-blue-jays-history/article5462439/?cmpid=rss1&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

[Fanatic]

Reyes

Last night I posted a link to a picture of Jose Reyes wearing all Jays gear. Based on this new link it looks like he is enjoying his new free clothes a lot.

 

[Kin]

Then that puts an interesting perspective on AA's comments where he said that the things he has regretted most were decisions where he didn't follow his instincts, but rather made decisions based on optics and/or perception. I got the sense that Gibson was his choice and not for optics or perception, but because his 'gut' told him that was the best call.

I doubt it. I think that if Gibbons was his choice in terms of "gut" or whatever then A) We wouldn't have heard about all of the various other guys who were considered/interviewed/offered the job and B) we would have heard about Gibbons before this.

 

[Corn Flake]

It almost going to be a lose/lose in terms of how he is perceived as manager.

Winning team will because of the roster, losing team will be his fault.

That is pretty much how Cito is/was perceived too.

edit: I think in most cases, the Manager won't really get a lot of credit unless he takes a pile of misfit toys and turns them into a winner. 

It's usually the Manager who takes the most heat for an underachiever, except maybe in a case like the Tigers this year whose big 3 completely imploded in the end.

 

[Kin]

It almost going to be a lose/lose in terms of how he is perceived as manager.

Winning team will because of the roster, losing team will be his fault.

That is pretty much how Cito is/was perceived too.

To be fair, something similar has probably been said at some point about every successful manager in baseball history.

edit: Heck, forget baseball. How many times has that been said about Scotty Bowman, Phil Jackson and on and on.

 

[skippy]

My favorite thing about Gibby is that he talks and sounds just like Rosco from the Dukes of Hazzard.  Hey... Lawrie can be Bo and Rasmus can be Luke!

I love watching him walk out to the mound. He looks like a cowboy.

 

[Corn Flake]

My favorite thing about Gibby is that he talks and sounds just like Rosco from the Dukes of Hazzard.  Hey... Lawrie can be Bo and Rasmus can be Luke!

I love watching him walk out to the mound. He looks like a cowboy.

Oh. if he walked out one time with plastic guns and a holster... baller.

 

[maplesyrup]

... and assless chaps. (sorry for the visual.)

 

[Corn Flake]

... and assless chaps. (sorry for the visual.)

blech. 

SMITE! (not really)