Rarely in professional sports is a general manager afforded the opportunity to do start over again. Alex Anthopoulos, you’re now on the clock for a second time.
This story began in late August, when the first rumblings that Bobby Valentine was a rock-solid, one-and-done manager with the Boston Red Sox. With his team battling the Blue Jays for last in the suddenly top-heavy American League East, and several of his players pulling an ‘Omar Vizquel’ and speaking out of school, the writing was on the wall. The hoots and cat-calls were louder every time he went out to change a pitcher, and all that ‘Bobby V’ was left to do was tip his cap to the venomous Fenway Park faithful, basically telling the over-served to "bite me".
By the time the Blue Jays made their third and final visit to Boston in September, the New England media was lying in waiting to ask John Farrell the same question fifty different ways: would you be interested in coming back to Boston?
In the final month of the regular season, Farrell answered all the queries calmly and patiently. But without a contract extension in the works, it was clear that a "lame duck" status was a month from being hung around his neck.
Two events had yet to surface that clearly had an effect on Farrell’s thinking: Yunel Escobar’s homophobic slur on his eye black and the embarrassing way the Blue Jays handled it in front of the New York media. And, as fundamental mistakes on the field continued to go unpunished, Vizquel called into question Farrell’s soft handling of the clubhouse.
Fast forward to this past weekend, when rumblings on the social media scene, originating from New England (imagine that!), had the Blue Jays sending their manager to the Red Sox via trade. This came exactly a year after those same rumours were squashed by the Blue Jays after Boston and then-manager Terry Francona parted ways following a choke of epic proportions. When Farrell told Anthopoulos that managing the Red Sox would be his "dream job", nothing was really left to say. How could their relationship continue?
While most expected the compensation for Farrell to be a starting pitcher (Clay Buchholz or Daniel Bard), that really wasn’t realistic for Farrell and his .475 winning percentage in two underwhelming years at the helm of the Blue Jays. So Toronto settled on infielder Mike Aviles who, for now, is slotted to take over for soon-to-be free agent Kelly Johnson and his club record 159 strikeouts at second base.
For some reason, the Blue Jays also had to throw reliever David Carpenter into the mix to get the deal done, but no big whoops there. With the amount of roster rollover that will be required to turn this organization towards contention, an open roster spot is more valuable than a middle reliever who posted an 8.07 ERA in 33 appearances with the Astros and Blue Jays this season. The only thing that really troubled me in this whole transaction is why, since Pat Gillick moved on the greener pastures, Blue Jays general managers continually have to throw in extra bodies to get deals done.
So, on the eve of the World Series, with the San Francisco Giants holding home field advantage over the Detroit Tigers, thanks to the ridiculous winner of the All-Star Game rule, the Blue Jays find themselves on yet another managerial hunt.
The names out there have been well advertised: current Blue Jays coaches Brian Butterfield, Torey Lovullo and Don Wakamatsu, Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr., Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, Orioles third base coach DeMarlo Hale, Rays bench coach Dave Martinez, former Rockies manager Jim Tracy, Padres front office assistant Brad Ausmus, Phillies new third base coach Ryne Sandberg and Blue Jays double-A manager Sal Fasano have all been speculated.
Personally, I feel the Jays are in need of a veteran manager at this point in their decade long rebuild. While I didn’t agree with Vizquel speaking out of school, what he said wasn’t wrong. As the season went along, it became painfully obvious that the Blue Jays young roster was in need of a more disciplined approach.
Whether it’s on the fundamentals of the game or the way they carry themselves as Major Leaguers, discipline needs to be addressed and it should be the job of an old school manager. First timers, which this organization has cornered the market on going back to Gord Ash’s regime, haven’t worked out and are not the direction Toronto should be going in at this point in time.
The only way I would endorse a first time manager is if the Jays go with a roster full of prospects so they all grow together. The fans might not want to hear that, but if it’s the case, then let’s go with Sal Fasano, who has been the bench boss of many of the organization’s top minor league players.
Whoever the next Blue Jays manager is, it needs to be decided with haste so that Anthopoulos can go about the business of filling the many holes on his active roster. As for John Farrell, I can’t even wish him the best of luck. He’s now the manager of the Red Sox.