Blue Jays: It’s been almost three years, but Gibby’s still popular

It’s been nearly three years since John Gibbons has sat in the Blue Jays dugout and managed the team, but he may be more popular than ever.

Of course, it’s always easier to look back on fond memories and forget the frustrating times that the Blue Jays went through during his tenure, but they did have some notable success under his watch. That had very little to do with why his name was trending on Twitter on Sunday though, as the former skipper was one of the top two topics in Canada at one point.

The other prominent name was Charlie Montoyo, and naturally the duo are connected as Blue Jay managers with Montoyo having taken over for Gibbons to begin the 2019 season.

Montoyo’s name was active on social media because many fans blamed his bullpen management for the loss on Sunday afternoon. The Jays had taken the first two games from Cleveland and had a chance to sweep Sunday’s double-header and the series, even leading the game heading into the ninth inning. Full disclosure, I didn’t actually watch the game this time because I was too busy hitting a hole-in-one on the golf course (seriously, when am I EVER going to get to brag about this again. Just give me this one…), but it didn’t take long for me to catch up on what happened with a quick glance at Twitter.

After taking a closer look I would have to agree that it’s fair to be critical of the way things were handled in Sunday’s second game. Chatwood clearly didn’t have the command that he normally brings to the mound, and the reluctance to pull him ended up costing the Blue Jays this time around. To be fair, I’m sure most of us remember when Montoyo was criticized for giving Chatwood too quick of a hook not long ago too.

For what it’s worth, I was a fan of Gibby when he worked with the Blue Jays, and I do understand why fans get frustrated with Montoyo at times. I have to admit that I’m one of them. That said, I also remember being baffled by some of the decisions that Gibbons would make from time to time too. The reality is, we’re all going to play the armchair manager game, especially when things don’t work out.

That said, it’s pretty funny to me that fans were so angry that Gibby’s name not only came up, but so much so that he started trending. I’m sure it won’t be the last time either.