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He has been absolutely phenomenal since he arrived last year to replace Gibbons. Our team has been hitting the ball really well since he arrived and the change in Adam Lind from fizzling prospect to stud has been incredible to watch since the middle of last year.

I cannot believe that this guy was unemployed for as long as he was. Any reason why nobody took this guy after he won two world series, had arguably one of the most efficient offensive lineups in baseball, and brings nothing but class and stability to your clubhouse? He could have helped a lot of teams over the last few years.

I am so happy he is back but there has got to be a reason why nobody gave him a chance to manage a team again.

squeekysneakers wrote:He has been absolutely phenomenal since he arrived last year to replace Gibbons. Our team has been hitting the ball really well since he arrived and the change in Adam Lind from fizzling prospect to stud has been incredible to watch since the middle of last year.

I cannot believe that this guy was unemployed for as long as he was. Any reason why nobody took this guy after he won two world series, had arguably one of the most efficient offensive lineups in baseball, and brings nothing but class and stability to your clubhouse? He could have helped a lot of teams over the last few years.

I am so happy he is back but there has got to be a reason why nobody gave him a chance to manage a team again.

He got frustrated after going in for a few interviews but never getting hired. I remember him saying that he thought he was only being interviewed for the sake of optics, IE teams wanted to interview a minority candidate even though they had someone else in mind. Eventually he said that he would only take a job outright, without having to interview for it and I guess that scared some teams off.

Oh well, their loss is our gain.

Edit: sp

I hope the Raptors take note and sign a good coach of their own.

Cito's is great for this team, but I'm not sure he would work as well in another city.
First, because he really isn't that great at using his bullpen. He never has been, but you can get away with that on teams with strong pens.
Second, the man says some crazy ass things. In Toronto, the media all know and love this, so it never gets blown up. In other cities, he might not get away with it.

Gaston is poor at handling a pitching staff and towards the end of his first tenure with the Jays had a reputation of playing veterans over young players. His record from 1994-1997 was 257-321. Maybe he felt a sense of entitlement when he got fired and thought teams would be drooling to get someone with his track record, but he did leave the Jays with a sour taste and that likely hurt his rep a bit. If he had left the team after 1994, I am sure he would have been snatched up in a second.

I do not think Gaston has changed all that much, but one thing that really jumped out at me was his influence in bringing younger guys into the mix (Lind especially). Maybe it was out of necessity, but he has a lot of clout in the Blue Jays organization (maybe moreso than JP at this point), so the fact that young players are getting a legit chance under Gaston is a good sign.

However, his pitcher abuse still worries me. Pat Hentgen, Juan Guzman, and Duane Ward are three guys who immediately come to mind when I think of pitcher abuse ending careers. Gaston worked those guys very hard. Ward could not even pitch after 1994, Hentgen's arm fell off after consecutive 265 innings pitched seasons in 1996 and 1997, and Guzman was oft-injured as well until he retired. Gaston does seem to have calmed down a bit, as I have read quotes about him limiting innings (with Cecil/Mills) and the Detroit announcers mentioned something about Cito saying he would limit Halladay's complete games (whether that is true or not is anyone's guess), but I don't think he will ever be a good manager with pitching decisions. Passable maybe, but not his strength.

With that said, I definitely think he has made a positive impact on this team. He and Tenace are much better hitting instructors than anyone JP ever employed previously, and Gaston has always had the respect of (most of) his players. That alone is a step up from Gibbons.

UssjTrunks wrote:I hope the Raptors take note and sign a good coach of their own.

Triano is more the Gaston-type. Cito (and Tenace) brought back a swing-away attitude that allows the batters to relax and just hit the damn ball. It represented a major psychological change from the patient, work-the-count approach trumpeted by that idiot Gibbons and the previous hitting coach.

Similarly, Smitch's fast hook hindered the development of Bargs and Joey. His micromanaging of the
playcalling prevented fast breaks from developing. Sometimes the coach's job is just to get out of the way of his players, especially in a player's league like the NBA.