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Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos says he is a man of his word. When Anthopoulos makes a commitment to a player, he intends to honour it, regardless of the perceived repercussions from the outside world.

That type of mentality was the leading reason behind veteran John Buck getting everyday starts behind the plate late in the 2010 season even when it became apparent his days in a Blue Jays uniform were numbered.

In a controversial move, Buck continued starting for the rebuilding Blue Jays while rookie catcher J.P. Arencibia watched from the dugout. The decision was heavily criticized by both the media and the fan base, but Anthopoulos said it was something the organization needed to do.

"When John Buck was signed to a one-year deal, the promise was made to him that he was going to be an everyday player from start to finish," Anthopoulos said.

"When we were competing to sign him, there were a few other teams that wanted to sign him. That was really what separated us from some of the other teams."

Based strictly on performance, Buck was the Blue Jays' best option behind the plate in 2010. The 30-year-old enjoyed a career season, hitting .281 with 20 home runs and 66 RBIs.

Despite the lofty numbers, the organization came under fire for starting Buck over one of the club's top prospects. Toronto was putting an emphasis on youth and it was apparent that Buck -- an impending free agent -- didn't fit into the Blue Jays' long-term plans.

Instead of giving Arencibia an opportunity, though, Toronto gave the vast majority of the playing time to Buck. That decision helped Buck earn a three-year, $18 million contract with the Florida Marlins, but it did little to show whether Arencibia would be able to succeed in the Major Leagues.

At the time, manager Cito Gaston was burdened with most of the blame. The 66-year-old was set to retire at the end of the season, and he was accused of sacrificing the long-term benefit of the club in order to finish his career with the best possible team on the field.

darth_federer wrote:The Drunk Jays Fans guys went nuts on Cito over this. Wonder if they ve changed their mind...

darth_federer wrote:The Drunk Jays Fans guys went nuts on Cito over this. Wonder if they ve changed their mind...

Avenger wrote:

darth_federer wrote:The Drunk Jays Fans guys went nuts on Cito over this. Wonder if they ve changed their mind...

everyone on DJF is an impressionable idiot, highly doubt that facts mean anything to them. Why bother with rational thinking when you an rile up your readership with senseless bashing of Cito.

whatever the truth, or lack thereof, of this assertion, three things remain true:

1. When Buck was hurt, the aging limp-bat of Molina appeared FAR more than JP's did in the lineup;

2. When JP DID get to play in September, it was against the very best opposing pitchers, which was not at all productive for JP and a boon to the 20 HR chase;

3. It wouldn't have been violation of the professed promise if, in the course of almost 30 games in September, JP had started more than SIX of them.

Not that another six is anything to get busted up about, I'm sure he learned tons last year. But it does make you go "hmmmm" about Alex's statement.

My take - yes, there was an assurance made, but it was likely something more like "we're not going to call up the hot prospect and make a bench player out of you" I wouldn't be surprised if Alex had originally planned to deal Buck at the deadline and just didn't get an offer he liked.

That said, when the question was asked he erred in even taking it - as opposed to simply dismissing it with an "I'd rather talk about the future" sort of remark - and having made that error, then was forced to put the best face on the situation without throwing Cito under the bus. There's no real possibility of him saying something that would boil down to "the old fool wouldn't listen to be but he was teflon so I had to bide my time"

I won't go so far as to say Alex broke his "I'll never lie to you" pledge, but he definitely had to spin the **** out of the situation.

LittleOzzy wrote:I noticed that, haha.

Randle should invite some of the better guys from over there to this forum.

Hoopstarr wrote:

LittleOzzy wrote:I noticed that, haha.

Randle should invite some of the better guys from over there to this forum.

I've been posting there since 2007. That place was much, much worse before the Disqus comments.

Avenger wrote:

darth_federer wrote:The Drunk Jays Fans guys went nuts on Cito over this. Wonder if they ve changed their mind...

everyone on DJF is an impressionable idiot, highly doubt that facts mean anything to them. Why bother with rational thinking when you an rile up your readership with senseless bashing of Cito.

Schadenfreude wrote:
Edit: hmm, appears that Schad is taken on Disqus. Registered as TheGentleSeaCow.