It pains me, it really does, to give the (false) appearance of jumping on the bash-Gibby bandwagon but I cannot be silent. It may be the first week of the month but I think there's enough stupidity here to easily nail this month's "You Big Dummy Award."According to MacLeod, John Gibbons has apparently allowed his job-security panic to trump his good sense. Good ol' Gibby has decided that Shannon Stewart will do more for his continued employment than young stud Adam Lind. Here's the relevant quote:
Gibbons said the plan is to have Stewart take a regular turn in the lineup for the time being.
“Stewie's always hit and we still think he's going to,” he said. “The best way we feel to get him going is to give him some regular time and see what happens. He's always hit at the top.”
Gibbons would not speculate what the immediate future holds for Lind, who was hitting at a .365 clip down in Syracuse.
“You don't want you top guy sitting around,” Gibbons said. “That doesn't do him any good because he's a hitter. A hitter's got to be hitting, they've got to be swinging, getting at-bats.”
What does that imply to you? It looks to me like Gibbons is ready to cut bait on Lind for now and ship him back to AAA where he has nothing at all left to prove. That would be a massive blow to any player's confidence. Gibbons is prepared to block the guy who is said to be the future of that position, a 25 year old who has demonstrated that AAA holds no challenge for him, and possibly permanently scare his confidence . . . to make more at bats for Shannon-fucking-Stewart?????Tell me this is some kind of sick practical joke!
Look, you can argue all day long about Reed Johnson vs. Shannon Stewart. I think it was a bad call but I think it's close enough that there is no definitive slam dunk winner in that debate. But this?
THIS???
THIS is monumental legendary "Ruben Sierra over Shawn Green" insanity.
If Gibby is so paranoid over his job, then extend his ass or fire it - we can't afford to do stupid shit like this in a mindless panic.
~WillRain
6 comments:
you are wrong. Stewart is a good choice for now. I could have waited another week or so for Lind to come around but I don't think you can really blame Gibbiardi for the decision. 1 for 19 sucks choda. Anyway, great blog.
Haha, like I said in the comments for the last post, if the AB threshold for non-performance continues to shrink, tough shit to the next guy who goes 0 for 4 because Marco Scutaro is the proclaimed "indefinite" starter in your place. That's Steinbrennerism at it's worst.
I still think JP gets 80% of it right, but what he gets wrong isn't mind-bending calculus. That's why I think he should be shown the door.
JW
And thanks for the love g, right back at you.
JW
I sympathize with your argument. I've always been partial to stewart I must admit. He has been a very consistent player in his career. Six games is brief but I've never been totally sold on Lind. Small sample sizes for experienced players are useless, but when you desperately need wins you can't afford to wait on a prospect, which is why I'm ok with Gibbiardi's (spelling intentional by the way) decision. Maybe we can trade Lind and a pitcher for Micah Owings and bat him between starts. I know it's a pipe dream but that is my current Blue Jay fantasy now that it is evident that Bonds ain't coming. Owings absolutely destroys righties and hits lefties well. Prayer, and animal sacrifice of course, will help bring this about. G.
yes, lind's average is downright scary right now...but i think he's just looked so awful in hitting 1-for-19 that the jays can't play him right now. we can't afford to wait for him to "get it" at the major league level. going into may 12-17 we can't afford to fall further behind the 8-ball. this year is about making the playoffs, not letting adam lind play through his struggles.
while i agree that lind has nothing left to prove in AAA, we just don't have the luxury of waiting for him to put it together. and stew is hopefully coming around.
i think it's a tough call for gibbers.
i'm new to your blog, got a subscription on the reader, and am enjoying it.
cheers,
navin
And cheers to you, Navin.
g: I agree that Micah Owings is just too awesome for words. I would be sad if he left the NL, though, b/c he can show off all of his talents there.
JW.
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