The Toronto Blue Jays‘ eyebrow-raising move to pull an effective Jose Berrios in the fourth inning of what turned out to be a season-ending loss has been a huge sports talking point since the game in Minnesota last Wednesday.
Many Blue Jays players expressed reservations about the call to insert Yusei Kikuchi while manager John Schneider was emotional, saying fans could second-guess him or the organization.
Three days later, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said at a press conference that the decision was Schneider’s and he did not face any front-office pressure. The club does hold pre-game planning meetings, which Atkins said are attended by Schneider, the coaching staff and Theron Simpson, the club’s game-planning co-ordinator. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi has reported there’s always someone from the front office there, too.
On Tuesday, Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe was asked by Justin Bourne about the Blue Jays’ situation. While Keefe didn’t go into any specific thoughts about the Blue Jays, he did elaborate when asked by Bourne how he manages what general managers want done in the heat of the moment on the bench.
“That’s really kind of the art of coaching in a lot of ways,” Keefe said on Real Kyper and Bourne.
“You can’t speak specifically to what anyone else’s arrangement is or what each situation is. I think in general, in any business or any walk of life, you know who you’re working for and you know what their vision is.”
At the same time, Keefe said part of a coach’s job is to make quick decisions when certain moments dictate a move.
“I think in my position or any coach’s position, you’d like to think you’re hired in part because of your instincts, especially in a game like ours that is so dynamic and unpredictable and so many things arise that maybe can’t be predicted. You have to be able to adjust on the fly and you have to trust your instincts.
“I try to get as much information as I can, whether it’s specifically tied to the vision (of the front office) or whether it’s connected to our opponents or the status of our players and how guys are playing. You’ve got to be able to make decisions and you trust your coaching staff to help you with that. You get as much information as you can and the puck drops and you’ve got seconds to make decisions. Some are game-altering and you have to sort of live with them and I think over time you like to hope you make more good decisions than bad ones.”
Keefe is now working for his second general manager — Brad Treliving — after Kyle Dubas was dismissed in the off-season. Treliving rewarded Keefe with a two-year extension this summer.
Keefe is gearing up for the Leafs’ season opener on Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens.
That big Toronto sports moment comes less than 24 hours before Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro is scheduled to hold a much-anticipated season-ending news conference on Thursday.
