We Don't Really Know These Guys!

The Blue Jays are in search of a new manager. I'll be quite honest with you, if I think rationally, I have no preference for who gets the job. People in baseball have strong opinions, because these baseball people know the candidates personally, and this opinion is reasonable. Most Jays fans have their heart set to one guy. Whether you want experience, (Manny Acta), a fresh face who happens to be related to a Blue Jays legend (Sandy Alomar Jr), someone who was your favourite Montreal Expo (Tim Wallach), or just some plain fun (Ozzie Guillen), you simply do not know who would be the best fit to be the skipper.

There is more to managing than situational substitutions. You have to interact with players, in a way that they will enjoy, and understand. You may think that you know about these managers, because of the way that the players speak about them, or the way that the managers themselves address the media. The fact is, that no player in his right mind would speak negatively about a manager, unless it's in a book several years later, and most managers aren't their true self when it comes to talking to the media(Guillen is the obvious exception). 

The point that I am trying to get across here is that Jays fans initially should be happy about who the Blue Jays hire. Even Jim Tracy, because there have been many instances when a manager hasn't had success with one team, but then went to another, and enjoyed great triumph (See: Joe Torre). The main goal of every coach is to one day become a manager, so there aren't any coaches who wouldn't come to Toronto. Therefore, there isn't a lack of candidates that Alex Anthopolous has to choose from. AA will have a good reason for hiring whoever he hires, that's enough for me to be happy, and it should be enough for all Jays fans to be happy, too.

You can follow me on Twitter, @IsaacBlueJays.
To connect with the site, Follow us on Twitter, and Like us on Facebook.

Settle Down, Jays Fans

Aviles could be a great
utility man if used wisely.

This past week, many Jays fans were furious. Most of them were happy with getting rid of mediocre manager John Farrell, but were unhappy with the player we got as compensation in return (Mike Aviles), and how it was handled by the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and the media. I'm here to look at the bright side on this one, because honestly, it wasn't a bad turn of events at all. I'd even venture to say it was a great move by AA and the Jays Front Office staff.

The news broke yesterday from Buster Olney that the compensation that the Blue Jays would receive came down to Mike Aviles, or relief pitcher Andrew Bailey. One thing that AA achieved this season through a few mid-season trades was a good, young bullpen. So, the Blue Jays are no longer in need of relief arms, especially ones with as many question marks as Bailey.. He was injured in 2012, and has an injury prone past, which may come as a red flag for the Blue Jays.He also hasn't been the same pitcher since his 1st two years in the MLB, especially this past season, when his numbers were horrible, albeit in a small sample size. There would be no place to put him, as he has no experience in middle relief, and the back end of the bullpen is solidified pretty well with the emergence of Casey Janssen. Both utility infielder, and second baseman were unoccupied positions for 2013, so it was almost a no brainer for Anthopolous.

I noticed the general expectation for compensation was much too high. People were hoping for Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, or Clay Buchholz. There is never a time when a manager is worth anything close to that caliber of a player. Not even Connie Mack! As a matter of fact, I would say that of all the managerial trades of all time, (all 5!) the Blue Jays made the 2nd best trade, only behind the Randy Winn for Lou Pinella deal. If the Blue Jays use Aviles as a utility player next year, playing 1 game(3 in total) a week filling in for Brett Lawrie at third, Yunel Escobar/Adeiny Hechavarria at short, and mystery man at second, he could even be an above average offensive and defensive contributor.So please be happy, Blue Jays fans.

Another positive from this trade, is that the Blue Jays get to find a new manager. The general consensus around the Blue Jays was that John Farrell didn't cut it as a manager.From his horrible bullpen management, to his wacky base running styles, Farrell cost us some winnable games the past 2 seasons. Now, there are many options to choose from. It's easy to speculate who that manager will be, names like Sandy Alomar Jr, Tim Wallach, Brad Ausmus, and Brian Butterfield are names that have appeared. But, the truth is, that it could be anybody, and to be completely honest, I would be happy with anybody who I have previously mentioned. None of them have managing experience, so we don't actually know who would be better. But, for a position that makes such a minimal impact on the outcomes of games, a name mentioned above might be just as good as an experienced manager such as Manny Acta or Ozzie Guillen.

The final positive from the deal is a little bit of excitement. I think Blue Jays fans will flood the dome next year when the Blue Jays take on the Red Sox, and boo John Farrell out of town. He is a traitor, and for 2 years as our manager, he wanted to be on another team. This could spark a rivalry from the 2 teams, making games as exciting as ever!

Let's show Farrell what a real "first class organization" looks like! 

You can follow me on Twitter, @IsaacBlueJays.To connect with the site, Follow us on Twitter, and Like us on Facebook.