FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Coletrain said 05/05, 02:33 PM
I'm gonna say John Gibbons of the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays have a ton of talent. Vernon Wells, Alex Rios, Scott Rolen, David Eckstein, Lyle Overbay, Aaron Hill and one of the best rotations in baseball containing Roy Halladay, AJ Burnett, Dustin McGowen, Shaun Marcum, and Jesse Litsch. They're a team that is trying to win right now. The start that they have had is unacceptable for this franchise. They're in a tough division that should actually only get better down the stretch. I agree the O's will fall, but the Yankees and Red Sox will no doubt pick it up as the weather gets warmer and the Rays are starting to be for real. Add the fact that Gibbons has gotten into fights with players before (Shea Hillenbrand, Ted Lilly).

It's a different spot in Texas. The Rangers realize that they aren't that good now, hence why there is talk of them being sellers at the trade deadline. They must know that it's not Washington's fault the starting rotation is a black hole and management has done a horrendous job with keeping the right talent. Washington is a great influence in the clubhouse and the Rangers know that, which is why they hired him in the first place.

Out of room. Cont.

Coletrain said 05/05, 03:04 PM
I agree the Rangers have some talent, but nowhere close to the potential of the Blue Jays. I mean seriously, look at the starting rotation for the Rangers. It's pretty ugly. And the offense is far too inconsistent. Firing Washington now would actually hurt this team because he's a player manager. No one is complaining about Washington. I realize the manager is always the one that takes the fall but the Rangers aren't as big as a disappointment as the Blue Jays. Some people had the Blue Jays finishing 2nd in the AL East. I know it's early, but they have more problems then they should it seems.

Gibbons has already taken criticism this season about leaving Halladay in the games too long and putting him in for too many innings. This is a guy who's a fantastic pitcher, but he's had injury issues in the past. He's already pitched 57 innings this year and it's only May 5th. With all the money the Blue Jays have spent, it's still not translating into real success for the franchise. On paper, this team looks good. But I think they need a new guy at the helm and I think they are starting to think that too. The Blue Jays need a change to the mindset of the team.

Coletrain said 05/05, 03:19 PM
"Gabbard, Jennings, and Nippert all went down with injuries because Washington was overworking them as well."

That may be so, but Washington has a good excuse if that's true. Who else is he gonna put in? The state of pitching on the Rangers is terrible so he doesn't have many options if he wants to win many games. With Halladay, he's the ace of your staff and the Blue Jays have a very good bullpen. It doesn't make sense to work your ace who's had past injuries so much for the first month of the season.

Gibbons has far more talent to work with and management has done a MUCH better job putting a team together than the Rangers have. The Blue Jays have spent money and brought guys in to try and win now desperately. They have at times come so close but never could get over the hump of the Yanks and Sox. Now the team has gotten off to a bad start and something needs to be done. Maybe this team needs personality. Maybe they need a good kick in the butt. The culture of the team needs to change. The Blue Jays have potential to win, the Rangers do not. There's nothing Washington can do about that.

I think Gibbons is going.