Keith Law and AA on the Fan

[SargentBargs101]

http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?content ... 64304_8264
Keith Law was awesome today and i don't know why bob is keep on suggesting should they bring back cito....

Recap on what AA said:
- Talks a bit about how the signing period is tedious and it will be addressed with the next CBA
- Didn't give a formal proposal to Deck until 10:30pm, 11:30 thought the deal was dead
- After last year with Paxton he kinda neglected to comment on the fact that he spoke with an agent rather than Deck
- He said he had the money to do what he wanted, but was firm about not making a deal if they didn't absolutely believe the player was worth the money. He said he has no problem making an expensive deal (Hech) if he thought they were worth it.
- He said Tinnish was pissed about not signing Logan Ehlers after working so hard with him
- He spoke about Beeston and his length of contract policy (or w/e you want to call it) and how it relates to Ricky Romeros contract extension
- Drabek probably won't be here in September but he's open to anything.

[SharoneWright]

thanks for the link.

i loved Law's reaction to the suggestion of Cito. ruthless.

[evilRyu]

thx for the link.. gonna save it for listening at work!

[jnorris]

Thanks for the link, good interview with Keith Law. I like how he attacked Bob about bringing Cito back.

[baulderdash77]

Cito has been great for the organization for the better part of the last 28 years, but we really do need another manager to get the team to the next level.

Cito can be a great manager when he can have a vet team and all he has to do is manage the egos and work on their hitting. For this team we need a bit of a tactical coach IMO.

[SharoneWright]

Cito has been great for the organization for the better part of the last 28 years, but we really do need another manager to get the team to the next level.

Cito can be a great manager when he can have a vet team and all he has to do is manage the egos and work on their hitting. For this team we need a bit of a tactical coach IMO.

I agree with your opinion here - except giving Cito a complete 28 years worth of praise. He has been a mixed bag over all these years, with many wonderful highs and several troughs.

[darth_federer]

You gotta give Bob credit. He doesnt let personal biases cloud his opinions. Cito accused him of racism a few years ago when he criticizes him but he still keeps it honest.

[SharoneWright]

You gotta give Bob credit. He doesnt let personal biases cloud his opinions. Cito accused him of racism a few years ago when he criticizes him but he still keeps it honest.

That can't be good for Cito's cred. Or his judgement.

I'd rather be called a bad manager than a racist. Bob being the much bigger man.

[Avenger]

You gotta give Bob credit. He doesnt let personal biases cloud his opinions. Cito accused him of racism a few years ago when he criticizes him but he still keeps it honest.

lol, did you listen to him for the first time or something, the man never misses a chance to rip on Cito,he took that accusation extremely personally and rightfully so i guess.

[darth_federer]

You gotta give Bob credit. He doesnt let personal biases cloud his opinions. Cito accused him of racism a few years ago when he criticizes him but he still keeps it honest.

lol, did you listen to him for the first time or something, the man never misses a chance to rip on Cito,he took that accusation extremely personally and rightfully so i guess.

I dont really listen to the McCown show unless theres a guest I want to listen to. More often that not, I get the audio off the fan590 website.

But I used to read his website. Did he rip on Cito all the time?

[darth_federer]

You gotta give Bob credit. He doesnt let personal biases cloud his opinions. Cito accused him of racism a few years ago when he criticizes him but he still keeps it honest.

That can't be good for Cito's cred. Or his judgement.

I'd rather be called a bad manager than a racist. Bob being the much bigger man.

Here is the story

In 1997 Cito Gaston called me a racist. When confronted on the legitimacy of such a claim his sole response was, "Whatever has been said, whatever has been written, if it has offended someone and it's unjustly offended them, I apologize. If it hasn't, then I don't apologize." More than a decade later, Gaston has returned to manage the Blue Jays and in an article by Stephen Brunt in the Globe and Mail made it clear that his position hasn't changed. "I don't really look back at it, but if I look back at it, who knows if I was right or wrong? I don't know. Only they know," he is quoted as saying.

The other media members Gaston accused of being racist were Dave Langford and Steve Simmons. Shortly after the story swept across North America, the three of us were afforded the opportunity to confront our accuser in separate meetings. I cannot speak for Simmons or Langford, but my meeting was among the most appalling proceedings with which I have ever been involved...

...Denying a charge of racism isn't something anyone spends time thinking about. I certainly hadn't. But as I prepared for my face to face with Cito, I decided that I would write down my thoughts in advance and read him my prepared statement. I wanted to choose my words carefully so that nothing could be misconstrued. While I had experienced a wide range of emotions in the days between his pronouncement and our meeting, the only one that lingered was anger. I thought that if I ad-libbed my address there was a real chance that it would get ugly. So I wrote about a thousand words and read it to the group. When I finished there was dead silence for what seemed like an eternity. I stared at Cito, hoping that my body language would clearly convey one message..."F--- You!" At this moment I didn't care what he might have endured. It didn't give him the right to turn my life...my family's life... upside down without a shred of evidence. Whatever hardships or injustices Gaston may have experienced, I wasn't responsible for any of them. When Cito finally spoke, he repeated his non-apology. "If you aren't a racist I apologize. If you are, I don't." I shook my head, stood up and responded, "well I guess this meeting is over."

I haven't met Cito Gaston or talked to him since that day.

When Gaston came back to manage the Blue Jays last year, I called Paul Godfrey, then President of the club. I told him that it was my desire to "wipe the slate clean and start fresh" with Cito and asked Paul if he would talk to him. Godfrey agreed. The following day, Paul called me at home to say that Cito was amenable and that he would come on our show when asked.

We are now approaching a year since Cito's return and all requests for an appearance on Prime Time Sports have been met with, "He can't do it."

Fadoo.ca is shut down now, but its been pasted on other sites.

[MGD24]

Thanks for posting that article...I always had heard about the incident but never read McCowns side of it.

[SharoneWright]

Thanks for posting as well.

Reading those details is a real bringdown.

[victor page]

The whole thing was that little weasel Jerry Howarth's fault. I don't think McCown talks to Jerry at all anymore. He's never on any Fan shows for that matter.

What happened was this. McCown continually ripped on Cito for one reason or another - as talk show hosts tend to do because what else can you fill the air with during summer in Toronto? That little weenie Howarth was doing his Cito Gaston show that used to air before Sunday games, where Howarth would lob softball questions like "Devon White sure plays a great centerfield doesn't he?"

Suddenly Howarth asks a question along the lines of "Cito, you continue to receive criticism in the Toronto media including the Fan's Bob McCown for <insert game management issue du jour>, do you think you are judged on baseball decisions alone or are there other factors that play into it?"

it was a leading question to say the least - especially to ask a guy that grew up in the South during the 50s and 60s, where he probably saw his share of guys running around with white sheets over their heads. Cito fell into the trap and said "ya Jerry I think there is racism involved" and this dumb story unfolded.

It was totally manufactured by Jerry. Cito was sensitive to criticism about his baseball acumen, but I doubt he really gave a second thought to McCown in particular before Jerry brought it up. McCown is a pain in the ass but not a racist - just a guy that gets paid to run his mouth for 3 hours every day.

Once it became a larger issue, Cito dug his heels in. He knew he was probably wrong (about the racism), but why apologize? You experienced racism you're whole life, and Simmons and McCowns are hounding you every time to fill out a lineup card, F@$# it just let them deal with it.

[Avenger]

The whole thing was that little weasel Jerry Howarth's fault. I don't think McCown talks to Jerry at all anymore. He's never on any Fan shows for that matter.

What happened was this. McCown continually ripped on Cito for one reason or another - as talk show hosts tend to do because what else can you fill the air with during summer in Toronto? That little weenie Howarth was doing his Cito Gaston show that used to air before Sunday games, where Howarth would lob softball questions like "Devon White sure plays a great centerfield doesn't he?"

Suddenly Howarth asks a question along the lines of "Cito, you continue to receive criticism in the Toronto media including the Fan's Bob McCown for <insert game management issue du jour>, do you think you are judged on baseball decisions alone or are there other factors that play into it?"

it was a leading question to say the least - especially to ask a guy that grew up in the South during the 50s and 60s, where he probably saw his share of guys running around with white sheets over their heads. Cito fell into the trap and said "ya Jerry I think there is racism involved" and this dumb story unfolded.

It was totally manufactured by Jerry. Cito was sensitive to criticism about his baseball acumen, but I doubt he really gave a second thought to McCown in particular before Jerry brought it up. McCown is a pain in the ass but not a racist - just a guy that gets paid to run his mouth for 3 hours every day.

Once it became a larger issue, Cito dug his heels in. He knew he was probably wrong (about the racism), but why apologize? You experienced racism you're whole life, and Simmons and McCowns are hounding you every time to fill out a lineup card, F@$# it just let them deal with it.

hey, thanks for this, i wasn't old enough to remember any of this and always wanted to learn the story behind it. I can' t say i'm surprised about Howarth though, there was always something about that guy that i felt uncomfortable with. As for Cito, he should been the bigger man and given McCown the benefit of the doubt but we're all flawed as human being aren't we, i can't say for sure i wouldn't have done the same thing to someone that made it his job to rip on me everyday. McCown could have also dealt with the in a more diplomatic manner but he refused to, he didn't have to it but it would have been the right thing to do especially when he realizes Cito is fundamentally a good human being, all of McCown's buddies like Stephen Brunt have a great relationship with CIto.

[Avenger]

hey, why delete that Sharone? What does Christianity have to do with Jerry Howarth? Why do you keep bringing up irrelevant political talking points to a baseball forum?

[SargentBargs101]

Wow wasn't aware of this...

[Michael Bradley]

I agree with Law completely regarding Gaston. I'm glad someone in the media mentioned how ridiculous it is to have Snider as a bench player and JPA backing up Molina (although the latter is more defensible than the former).

[YogiStewart]

as i've said before, i had discussions with a person who is, shall we say, very close to the Jays.

i was told that Howarth is a snake and that Swirsky was a snake.