Blue Jays: AA’s Departure Does Not Mean Gibbons Goes Too

As Blue Jays fans sit in cubicles and couches across the country attempting to deal with the news that GM Alex Anthopoulos had rejected the five-year contract extension offered to him by the club, another name supposedly had his fate sealed with the news was manager John Gibbons. At least one analyst predicted that Gibbons would be feeling the pressure given Anthopoulos was out the door.

On the Jeff Blair Show on the Fan 590 in the wake of the news, Blair expressed his opinion that Anthopoulos’ departure would mean Gibbons was done in a conversation with Shi Davidi. Later, Blue Jays “Manalyst” Gregg Zaun also predicted that this would spell the end of Gibbons as manager of the team. However, if Shapiro wants to quell the uprising that already wants him fired for a transgression before he walks in the door, he should seriously consider keeping Gibbons in his current role.

Currently, the mood in Toronto has faded from the happy feelings of being along for a wild ride through uncharted territory and turned to feelings of betrayal, as if Shapiro poured dirt on the magic carpet that carried the team. With Anthopoulos moving on, Shapiro is going to have to replace him. While he might have his target set on someone from outside the organization (rumors abound from ex-Red Sox open bank Ben Cherington, to former Cleveland running mate Ross Atkins), the prudent move would to be to keep continuity in place, especially in the wake of the Troy Tulowitzki article that stated how little trust he had in front office folk after the trade from the Rockies.

Shapiro will likely attempt to tap perennial GM candidate and assistant GM Tony La Cava or fellow assistant and Ottawa native Andrew Tinnish to take the chair. If this holds, then the new GM’s familiarity with Gibbons will help the former catcher’s chances of staying.

There is also precedent for a manager being able to outlast the front office. New Nationals manager Bud Black survived nine seasons in San Diego, serving through four different GMs (Kevin Towers, ex-Red Sox Jed Hoyer, ex-Diamondback Josh Byrnes and current GM A.J. Preller), despite only achieving two winning seasons. Black survived as long as he did because he was a communicator, a “player’s manager” who could keep the clubhouse a peaceful place. Just this week, in an autopsy of the Blue Jays season, Halifax Chronicle Herald columnist Chris Cochrane used the term as an insult. Cochrane wrote: 

The decision to rest players after clinching the division and later to give Mark Buehrle a start on one day of rest, moves that contributed to losing home-field advantage to Kansas City, were signs of being too much of a players’ manager.The decision to rest players after clinching the division and later to give Mark Buehrle a start on one day of rest, moves that contributed to losing home-field advantage to Kansas City, were signs of being too much of a players’ manager.The decision to rest players after clinching the division and later to give Mark Buehrle a start on one day of rest, moves that contributed to losing home-field advantage to Kansas City, were signs of being too much of a players’ manager.The decision to rest players after clinching the division and later to give Mark Buehrle a start on one day of rest, moves that contributed to losing home-field advantage to Kansas City, were signs of being too much of a players’ manager.The decision to rest players after clinching the division and later to give Mark Buehrle a start on one day of rest, moves that contributed to losing home-field advantage to Kansas City, were signs of being too much of a players’ manager.The decision to rest players after clinching the division and later to give Mark Buehrle a start on one day of rest, moves that contributed to losing home-field advantage to Kansas City, were signs of being too much of a players’ manager.

In light of recent evidence, dismissing a “players’ manager” after turfing the “players’ GM” may not prove popular with a clubhouse that boasted a remarkable chemistry. With new contracts for Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion potentially on the horizon, they might prefer having someone they know and get along with as opposed to bringing in someone like Eric Wedge, who has been known to apply a lot of pressure on players in his days with Seattle (highlighted by his treatment of Brendan Ryan).

The Bird’s Nest contains some of the most passionate fans in baseball and there’s no denying that Blue Jays fans will miss Anthopoulos after what he accomplished in his tenure. AA was the top trend in Canada on Twitter when the news was announced and has held at #2 for most of the day. (Even AA can’t break the internet up with its main squeeze as #1 was #NationalCatDay).

There was also a hot take uprising to fire Gibbons for Ryan Goins‘ inability to drop a sacrifice bunt in Game 6 of the ALCS, calling it a lack of awareness of his situation (The call to take a pitch was the right call on a suddenly wild Yordano Ventura). In the interests of maintaining this new-found success during the turbulence that Anthopoulos’ exit creates, Shapiro may have to stick with the devil the Blue Jays know, to avoid appearing like the devil who forced the saint out the door.

Next: Critical to Look at Blue Jays from Shapiro's Side

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