So, after almost two months of not posting anything due to life happening and all that other good stuff, I get home after a long trek after dinner (our van broke down, no room in the tow truck for my sister and me) to find out that Arnie is now the pitching coach for the Astros. Along with Butter being "demoted" to 3B from bench coach. After all, neither of the two were part of Cito's group of buddies.
I don't think it's a secret to any Jays fan that Arnie did not get along with Mr. Gaston though it might not have always been made public. I know for me, it was mostly a gut feeling.
Mr. Gaston has announced that he will not be returning when his contract is up in 2010. Meaning, we have one more season of his incompetence at the helm. Sure, things were all fine and dandy when I received the text message on my way to Pittsburgh in 2008, "Gibby fired, Cito's returning as Manager." Heck, I was in a board game store buying the Limited Edition Nintendo Monopoly and I squealed for delight, causing other potential board game purchasers to cower in fear.
Since then, Cito really hasn't been any better than Gibby. His mismanagement of the bullpen actually seemed eerily similar. In his old age, did Cito only remember the names "League" and "Carlson" despite their struggles? He let Cecilicious hang out to dry in Fenway (5 home runs...seriously, WTF?) before finally putting an end to the slaughter that ensued.
Did anybody else see how lifeless this team was for the last few months of the season? Even if they did care about how they performed, they lacked the spark that they had at the beginning of the season.
RickRom was struggling in the Minors, and Arnie took him on as a project. What happened? For quite a bit of the season, RickRom was being considered for Rookie of the Year because of his performance. AJ Burnett and Matt Clement joined the Jays because Arnie was pitching coach. Sure, they didn't work out, but it gave players a reason to want to be a part of this team. If the pitching staff struggles under Walton's tutelage, would Doc really want to extend his contract when it's almost guaranteed any team with the potential to go to the playoffs would pay whatever they can for him?
Then you have Butter who stepped in quite well when Cito was either ejected or not able to manage due to personal reasons. He seemed quite competent. At this rate, I would prefer to have Butter be our manager whilst learning the ropes as opposed to bowing down and appeasing to Cito for one more season.
It just utterly disappoints me. Seeing Anthopoulos being named GM after JP's dismissal while I was in Baltimore was like a huge weight being lifted off my chest. I figured, "Hey, this team looks like it might start making different kinds of decisions to hopefully have us contend." Now I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach so hard that it knocks my teeth out. (Seriously, I've had a nightmare about that once. Not too pretty)
In the past season and a half, it dawned on me...particularly when the "Let's all remember when the Jays didn't suck in 92-93" weekend happened in August. Is the Jays organization really so caught up in its glorious past that it figures nostalgia will be the only way it will succeed as opposed to building a winner for the future?
Goodbye Brad, and good luck in Houston.
I don't think it's a secret to any Jays fan that Arnie did not get along with Mr. Gaston though it might not have always been made public. I know for me, it was mostly a gut feeling.
Mr. Gaston has announced that he will not be returning when his contract is up in 2010. Meaning, we have one more season of his incompetence at the helm. Sure, things were all fine and dandy when I received the text message on my way to Pittsburgh in 2008, "Gibby fired, Cito's returning as Manager." Heck, I was in a board game store buying the Limited Edition Nintendo Monopoly and I squealed for delight, causing other potential board game purchasers to cower in fear.
Since then, Cito really hasn't been any better than Gibby. His mismanagement of the bullpen actually seemed eerily similar. In his old age, did Cito only remember the names "League" and "Carlson" despite their struggles? He let Cecilicious hang out to dry in Fenway (5 home runs...seriously, WTF?) before finally putting an end to the slaughter that ensued.
Did anybody else see how lifeless this team was for the last few months of the season? Even if they did care about how they performed, they lacked the spark that they had at the beginning of the season.
RickRom was struggling in the Minors, and Arnie took him on as a project. What happened? For quite a bit of the season, RickRom was being considered for Rookie of the Year because of his performance. AJ Burnett and Matt Clement joined the Jays because Arnie was pitching coach. Sure, they didn't work out, but it gave players a reason to want to be a part of this team. If the pitching staff struggles under Walton's tutelage, would Doc really want to extend his contract when it's almost guaranteed any team with the potential to go to the playoffs would pay whatever they can for him?
Then you have Butter who stepped in quite well when Cito was either ejected or not able to manage due to personal reasons. He seemed quite competent. At this rate, I would prefer to have Butter be our manager whilst learning the ropes as opposed to bowing down and appeasing to Cito for one more season.
It just utterly disappoints me. Seeing Anthopoulos being named GM after JP's dismissal while I was in Baltimore was like a huge weight being lifted off my chest. I figured, "Hey, this team looks like it might start making different kinds of decisions to hopefully have us contend." Now I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach so hard that it knocks my teeth out. (Seriously, I've had a nightmare about that once. Not too pretty)
In the past season and a half, it dawned on me...particularly when the "Let's all remember when the Jays didn't suck in 92-93" weekend happened in August. Is the Jays organization really so caught up in its glorious past that it figures nostalgia will be the only way it will succeed as opposed to building a winner for the future?
Goodbye Brad, and good luck in Houston.
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