Addition by subtraction
Jays fans are livid. The big bully on the block came up to them and Alex Anthropolus just handed them his bike, no questions asked. So now the Red Sox have John Farrell. 5 time manager of the year, led the Jays to 3 World Series titles, and had completely turned the franchise around….at least that’s what you would think he was.
Look I know Mike Aviles isn’t much of a return. But the fact of the matter is that John Farrell showed this season what kind of manager he is, and it wasn’t pretty. If things are happening in a clubhouse like the Yunel Escobar incident, then you don’t have control of things. Omar Vizquel said as much before the season ended. The clubhouse totally got away from this guy.
And if that weren’t enough, the way he conducted himself at the press conference should have showed everyone just what kind of guy this is. On one hand he would talk about how he was good with Blue Jay management, and then he would talk about how he needed more input into management decisions. John, I know you’re title is “manager”, but that’s for on the field. You’re not in management. He threw Alex Anthropolus under the bus by claiming AA would bolt for Montreal if the Expos were still in the league. He went out of his way in the last few weeks to tell people how he was going to stay in Toronto, and then he bails. This is one SHADDY individual.
He is not a leader. I know the Jays were hit drastically with injuries this season, but things shouldn’t have got as bad as they did and that’s on Farrell. So my point in all this is while Jays fans are ticked, there is no reason to be at all! This guy should have been fired for this kind of season, injuries or not. Too much BS went on under his watch for him to be brought back.
There are plenty of candidates out there that can do at least as good of a job. I’m really high on Brad Ausmus, who the Red Sox apparently were high on too. Since there isn’t a veteran manager available with a solid track record then the Jays pretty much have to go with an unproven guy. Catchers simply work as managers. The 4 LCS managers this season were all former catchers. Mike Scioscia, Joe Torre, so many examples of catchers who make great managers. You can’t find anyone in baseball that has anything bad to say about Ausmus. Not that I have any connections, but that was always said as a player, and now it is being said as a manager and it would be great for the Jays if Anthropolus could land him.
If not Ausmus, sticking with the catchers theme, Sandy Alomar Jr was one of the final candidates for Anthropolus the last time around and it is suspected Alomar will be one of the top candidates this time around also. Again, so highly respected as a player. Always called a great game behind the plate, very high baseball IQ. He would be 2nd on my list but I don’t think AA could go wrong with either guy.
The fact is no matter who gets this job they have an uphill climb as this organization has a ton of talent but is still extremely raw and really need a guy that will keep them in line running the clubhouse. Farrell wasn’t that guy. Now I don’t think Farrell will necessarily fail in Boston. That clubhouse is more veteran ladden and he is “their guy”. But he wasn’t working in Toronto, so the Jays will be better off as long as Anthropolus makes the right hire.
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