Dueling Blue Birds

What in the world happened in Toronto last night?

In case you missed it, in last night's Blue Jays/A's game, manager John Gibbons and starting pitcher Ted Lilly had some heated words on the mound and then, reportedly, had a spirited shoving match in the tunnel leading to teams clubhouse shortly after Gibbons gave Lilly the hook.

While both Gibbons and Lilly denied throwing any punches it certainly looked like Gibby was wiping away a bloody nose shortly after the fireworks subsided. Either Lilly got a shot in or perhaps another perturbed Blue Jay took advantage of the opportunity and snuck in a sucker punch- I didn't see Shea Hillenbrand sneak into the stadium though.

So, today all the talk has been about who's to blame in this situation and what should be done about it. Good topic of conversation if you ask me.

I say let's look at it from all angles because I think that's the only fair way to do this.

We'll start with manager John Gibbons. First off, you can't blame Gibby for going out there and pulling Lilly. After the Jays had jumped out to a huge 8-0 lead in the first two innings Lilly proceeded to allow 6 runs (en route to a 7 run third) before Gibons came out to make the change.

Now, I don't know about you but I would say getting pulled after surrendering six runs, and back-back home runs, is nothing out of the ordinary. I'd say Gibby was making the right move to go out and get Lilly. What manager, aside from I guess A's manager Ken Macha who left starter Dan Haren in the game after surrending 8 runs in the first two innings, wouldn't go out and pull a seemingly ineffective pitcher when you need to win the game?

If I were John Gibbons I'd be going out to get Lilly as well.

Now, let's look at Ted Lilly. I think all Blue Jays know that Lilly is a bit of a mystery. You never know what you're going to get in any given start. One night he could throw a two-hit shutout and strike out ten. The next start could be like last night where he gets hit harder than Mel Gibson at a Bar-mitzvah.

You can't deny the fact though that Lilly is a competitor and that he wants to win. You could clearly see last night that, when Gibbons went to pull him, one of the things Lilly said was, "I'm trying to win the game". That was followed by some other colorful statements about what he thought about his manager as he walked off the field.

I can't really understand why Lilly was so upset about getting the hook. I mean come on, the guy was getting lit up like the Rockefeller Christmas tree for crying out loud.

It does look like Gibbons said something to him though before taking the ball from Lilly. Lilly was clearly perturbed by something that was said that made him feel like he needed to defend himself by saying, "I'm trying to win the game".

If that's the case, I don't blame him for going off on his manager.

Gibbons should have just reached for the ball, let his pitcher walk away and let that be the end of it.

From my limited vantage point though it looked as though the manager incited the already-frustrated pitcher by saying something to him that was not necessary. Only Ted Lilly, and perhaps Bengie Molina, know exactly what was said out there and I doubt we'll ever find out.

So do I blame one guy more than the other or is there equal share here? I think the blame falls on the manager.

Let's be honest, this is the second physical confrontation this man has had with one of his players in a month. First Shea Hillenbrand and now Lilly. At first everyone blamed Shea for his actions that led to his departure because he had a reputation as a bit of a baby. I've not yet heard that description given to Ted Lilly.

In fact, the way Lilly took the high road in his post-game comments would suggest to me that he's very much the opposite of Shea Hillenbrand.

So why is that John Gibbons is turning into AT & T with his players and they all want to reach out and punch him? How can this be good for team chemistry?

I'm sorry but to me it says that there is a definite lack of respect between the Blue Jay players and the manager. If Joe Torre went out and gave the hook to Randy Johnson in the second inning would we see the Big Unit drop kick Torre? I doubt it.

If Bobby Cox pulled one of his pitchers early in the game after a less than stellar performance would we see him wiping away a bloody nose after a physical altercation? Not in this lifetime.

So how can John Gibbons get in two physical confrontations with two seperate players in the span of a month and still have a job?

Is JP Ricciardi afraid of getting beat up? Hey let's face it, a punch on the nose may actually work wonders for the guys physical appearance.

I'm very interested to see how this plays out because it certainly appears that this is one dysfunctional clubhouse and it's only a matter of time, if it hasn't started to happen already, until the Blue Jays players quit playing for this guy and all that promise that was talked about 8 months ago is flushed down the drain.

It's time for John Gibbons to move on and for the Blue Jays organization to bring in someone who can earn respect from his players and not bully it.