The New Old Man In Town

On Friday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that they would no longer be requiring the services of John Gibbons as manager of their ball club. Joining Gibbers on the unemployment line would be hitting coach Gary Denbo, first base coach Ernie Whitt and third base coach Brian Butterfield.

In their place the Blue Jays brought back former manager Cito Gaston and a collection coaches who could easily have replace the cast of Space Cowboys if Paramount Pictures ever decides to greenlight a sequel.

Shocking? Yes. Ridiculous? My first reaction was an angry and emphatic "Yes!"

However, after revealing his plans for the team, Gaston's hiring has me just about as excited as one can possibly be for a basement dwelling team whose batting average with runners in scoring position is lower than any other team's in history.

The new manager's first order of business was to call up Adam Lind from Triple A, where he was absolutely destroying Minor League pitching (.328 / .394 / .534). He followed this up by announcing that starting shortstop David Eckstein would receive a cut in playing time to make room for John McDonald and Marco Scutaro. Lyle Overbay will now bat second in the order and the starting catcher's position is officially up for grabs.

While these decisions may seem like day-to-day minutiae for a struggling organization, they actually reveal a new level of power being bestowed on a Blue Jays manager that the departed John Gibbons never benefited from.

Gibbons was always seen by Blue Jays fans as little more than a shill for J.P. Ricciardi. A "Yes-Man" manager that would implement the strategies that the GM asked of him. With Gaston at the helm, the days of a Ricciardi proxy are over, and the changes are evident already.

Despite what the parties involved claim, there is little question that the Gaston hiring was not Ricciardi's choice. Throughout his tenure as Blue Jays GM he has tried to distance himself from the past glory days, and usher in a new era of success in Toronto. This move is thought to be the brainchild of Jays President Paul Godfrey.

If this is indeed the case, one has to wonder to what extent Ricciadi's leash has been shortened. Are we currently dealing with a lame duck GM whose power may even be less than the newly highered manager's?