Share this Story: Blue Jays' Gibbons 'didn't think twice' about punishing Pillar for base-running gaffe Blue Jays' Gibbons 'didn't think twice' about punishing Pillar for base-running gaffe Article content John Gibbons sat back in his office chair and laughed that laugh that has endeared him to Blue Jays fans for years now. Perhaps mildly surprised that a day later he was being asked why Kevin Pillar wasn’t being “disciplined” for a questionable base-running decision on Sunday in New York, Gibbons seemed more amused by the interrogation than anything. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Blue Jays' Gibbons 'didn't think twice' about punishing Pillar for base-running gaffe Back to video “Actually I don’t give a … I don’t care,” Gibbons said when asked if the reaction was contrary to his laid-back reputation. “Gotta give the talking heads something to talk about in a tough year. I am laid back. Nothin’ wrong with that.” “I don’t know if it would be smart to punish him. I didn’t even think twice about it.” Such a reaction is just part of the reason veteran Jays players admire Gibbons, and why he will be missed by many of them if and when he leaves. Sure, on Sunday the manager was irked when Pillar selfishly (and unsuccessfully) tried to steal third base with two out and his team down to the Yankees by four runs. But Gibbons addressed it with an eruption in the dugout that was caught by Yankee Stadium cameras and the end to a frustrating seven-game road trip was magnified. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “It’s hard to criticize Kevin Pillar for the way he goes about his business,”Gibbons said when pressed for a third time about a lack of consequence (Pillar was hitting second on Monday. “I’ve got zero complaints about Kevin Pillar other than I didn’t like what he did (on Sunday.) There was no motive behind my reaction.” REID-FOLEY FOLLIES Sean Reid-Foley, the 22-year-old Jays rookie who made his major league debut last week, was shipped back to Buffalo on Monday and took with him an 0-2 record and an ERA of 8.68 from his two starts. But Gibbons feels the learning experience will be well worth it and that includes the eight runs (six earned) he gave up in 4.1 innings Saturday at Yankee Stadium. “It’s been a good experience for him,” Gibbons said. “He didn’t necessarily get the results he wanted but I did see some good things And he’ll be back. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “He’ll go down and catch a little breather and then when we expand (rosters on Sept. 1) he can come back up.” Gibbons is a big believer that getting the initial onslaught out of the way is important, including the daunting task of pitching at Yankee Stadium. And in Reid-Foley’s case, he went through a similar blip when he was promoted from double-A New Hampshire to triple-A Buffalo. “Young guys, I don’t care if you are hitting or pitching, there’s a lot of adrenaline flowing,” Gibbons said. “It’s hard to play baseball when there’s too much of that. When you have everything you need to be successful, you’ve just got to play. You’ve got to pitch, pitch, pitch and figure it out.” Reid-Foley was the odd man out to make room for catcher Luke Maile, who was returning from parental leave. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content AROUND THE BASES Third baseman Lourdes Gurriel Jr. continues his rehab work to get back in the lineup and is with the triple-A Bisons. The expectation is that he will be ready to rejoin the big team this weekend … In a season that has felt like a root canal, second baseman Devon Travis had one for real on Monday. It’s expected he will be back in the lineup on Tuesday … Infielder Brandon Drury had the cast removed from his broken hand and continues to work on throwing drills. He’ll be re-evaluated next week … It certainly was a rough ride overall for Jays starters in the three-game series at Yankee Stadium on the weekend where not one of the three (Marcus Stroman, Reid-Foley or Ryan Borucki) completed five innings. Their combined ERA? A fat 17.00 … Speaking of Stroman, if you want to see gross, check out the Instagram picture of the blistered finger that landed him on the DL … Including the one Borucki allowed in the Bronx, the Jays have allowed eight grand slams, tied with Baltimore as the second-most in MLB. Kansas City is tops with 10. Share this article in your social network Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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Please try again Trending<doc-sep>NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 19: Manager John Gibbons #5 of the Toronto Blue Jays is thrown out of the game against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning by first base umpire Jansen Visconti at Yankee Stadium on August 19, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) After Kevin Pillar was thrown out trying to steal third base on Sunday, John Gibbons was seen scolding him. For a team that has plenty of reasons to check out, it was great thing to see from the Blue Jays’ skipper. I’m not suggesting for a moment that Kevin Pillar has given up on the 2018, not at all. He wouldn’t have rushed back from a serious shoulder injury if he didn’t care, and there’s no point in suggesting otherwise, especially if you watch him play the game. The guy always puts an honest effort in on the field, and that’s the biggest reason I admire him. That said, he made a base-running blunder on Sunday that we’ve seen before, and this time his manager wasn’t as patient with the speedy centre fielder. The broadcast showed John Gibbons scolding Pillar for the decision to try and steal third base with two out, something that’s in the “unwritten rules” of things you just don’t do. In this case, Pillar was thrown out while he was already in scoring position. On one hand you can’t fault Pillar for trying to make something happen with his team down a bunch to the Yankees, but on the other you can’t blame Gibbons for wanting his players to play the game the right way either. There’s a reason this team is 14 games below .500 at 55-69, and it’s not just because of the injuries to their star players, even if that’s been a truly significant factor. All too often we’ve watched this team making needless mistakes, and obviously Gibbons had had enough and wanted to make a point to Pillar and his teammates. This is excellent to see for a number of reasons, especially because of the presence of younger players starting to filter on to the roster. Fostering an environment of accountability and playing the game the right way is crucial for organizational success, and Gibbons understands that and plans to continue to do his job, even if he might be on his way out after the season. It should also help to further dismiss the notion that Gibbons has checked out on this season, which has been suggested by a section of the fan base. That said, there have been plenty of folks suggesting that’s been the case from the laid back Texan for years, so this isn’t exactly a new discussion. He may have a pretty chilled out disposition, but don’t mistake that for a man who doesn’t care. John Gibbons probably owes some money to the swear jar. pic.twitter.com/ce8aCo14Ir — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 19, 2018 For many of us, watching Gibbons get fired up after Pillar’s mistake, and even getting ejected afterward, was a sign of life from the manager on another tough day at the ballpark. Getting after Pillar and/or getting thrown out doesn’t change the score on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean it won’t have an effect on his team going forward, and that’s exactly the idea. With 38 games remaining in the 2018 season, the Blue Jays will spend a lot of time evaluating their in-house resources, and deciding what the best course of action going forward might be. Whether or not that includes John Gibbons, it was great to see that he’s still the leader this team needs, at least for the time being.<doc-sep>For those who may have missed the public dressing down of Blue Jays centre fielder Kevin Pillar in the dugout at Yankee Stadium by manager John Gibbons, here are the circumstances in the 10-2 loss that led to the tirade. The Jays were already being embarrassed. After Ryan Borucki had failed to escape the first inning, throwing 44 pitches and allowing six runs, the Jays’ bullpen picked it up. Kendrys Morales led off the top of the sixth with a home run, pulling the Jays back to 6-2. The next batter, Pillar, doubled against J.A. Happ. One batter later, Jonathan Holder came in relief. With two men out, the Jays trailing by four runs and already in scoring position, Pillar took off and was thrown out at third base to end the inning. Gibbons’ reaction was one of disbelief that a veteran player would allow that to happen. He gestured and yelled immediately, continuing the dressing down of Pillar as he returned to the dugout and gathered his equipment before heading to centre field. It was all captured by TV cameras. Read more: More lows than highs on Blue Jays’ rocky road trip Blue Jays swept by Bronx Bombers Richard Griffin: Rebuilding Jays run into fundamental roadblocks in Big Apple The manager has since been criticized on both sides, one, for coming down too hard and in public on Pillar with the suggestion being that he should have waited until after the game. On the other side, he was criticized for not immediately replacing Pillar in the lineup. They were still in the game trailing by four in the sixth. This was not a hand-slap moment. This was not a teaching moment. This cannot be blamed on lack of preparation by the coaching staff. The bottom line is you cannot end an inning with a caught stealing at third base when you’re trailing by four. Junior players know that. College players know that. The fact is four runs down you can’t win the game by yourself. You are a piece of the puzzle that needs all nine players in the lineup to do their jobs in creating a comeback to celebrate a win. Pillar is not a rookie. He is a 29-year-old with 657 major-league games under his belt. There were seven position players younger than him in that dugout trying to confirm how to play the game properly as they saw the most veteran of Jays (after the trade of Aaron Loup) take off and try to steal his 14th base instead of allowing a teammate to drive him home from second. Either it’s a case of padding stats or else the Jays being 32 games out has affected his focus and decision-making. It was not the first time the oft-fiery Gibbons has challenged one of his players in the dugout. There was the pruning of David Bush after Gibbons removed him from a start on May 28, 2005. There was the cutting down of Ted Lilly who had refused to hand the ball to Gibbons on a pitching change on Aug. 21, 2006; they met at the bottom of the three steps behind the Rogers Centre dugout that turned into a shoving match broken up by players who were seen by the cameras racing down the steps to help. Then how about Gibbons’s televised nose-to-nose confrontation with Josh Donaldson on Aug. 18, 2016? Donaldson had struck out and fired his bat against the rack as he returned to the dugout. The bat bounced crazily and almost hit Gibbons and his coaches. Afterwards, Donaldson explained wryly that the manager was merely asking for a close-up sniff of his new Tom Ford cologne. Then came Pillar this past Sunday. Three of those four incidents have been mid-August. Dog Days are real. As for the circumstances leading to Gibbons’s loss of temper, here are some of the dismal stats from the seven-game road trip on which the Jays were 2-5. The Jays scored 28 runs, four per game, and had 57 hits on the trip, batting .252 with a .722 OPS. Blue Jays’ unnecessary outs on the bases in seven games included two thrown out at the plate, two at third base, two at second and one pickoff at first, plus a runner that only was able to advance from second to third on a double off the fence and one that failed to advance to second on a throw that sailed the cutoff man to the plate. The Jays also grounded into six double plays. As far as any lack of aggressive baserunning over the seven days, there were only two Blue Jays in seven games that managed to advance first to third on a single. There were zero team steals and three caught stealings. Frustration, thy name is Gibby. JAYS’ MINOR LEAGUE TEAMS SHOW SYSTEM’S DEPTH: The Blue Jays, emerging from the perceived wreckage of trading away 15 prospects around the 2015 trade deadline, have risen back to be to No. 3 in the ranking of MLB farm systems according to Bleacher Report, compiled as of Aug. 1 after the trade deadline dust had settled. Ahead of them are the Padres and the Braves. Rounding out the Top 5 are the White Sox and Rays. Granted, back in 2015 the Jays had traded just three or four premium farmhands among the large group from the system and were able to parlay those deadline deals into back-to-back playoff runs. But just the raw number of prospects that were dealt by GM Alex Anthopoulos meant that some younger players were forced in subsequent years to be advanced more quickly. The upper levels of the organization at New Hampshire and Buffalo required temporary minor-league free agent help and those franchises struggled. But given the passage of time, many of the Jays’ youngest prospects that remained in the system have now emerged, rising on schedule to the Bisons and Fisher Cats. There are eight teams in the Jays’ farm system, from Triple-A Buffalo down to rookie league teams in the Gulf Coast League and Dominican Republic. Combined, the affiliates are 393-342 (.535). As of the weekend, only Buffalo (58-65), A-Dunedin (62-63) and the Gulf Coast Jays (22-25) were under .500. TOP 10 PROSPECTS A look at the Blue Jays’ top prospects as of Aug. 1, according to The Bleacher Report, with position, age, level of play, how they were acquired and 2018 minor-league stats (through Sunday): 1 . Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3b Age: 19. Teams: Buffalo (AAA), New Hampshire (AA), Dunedin (A+), GCL Jays (R) Signed: International free agent, 2015 Ave: .389 | OBP: .446 |SLG: 1.096 2. Bo Bichette, ss Age: 20. Team: New Hampshire Drafted: 2nd round, 2016 Ave: .277 | OBP: .333 | SLG: .777 3. Danny Jansen, c Age: 23 .Teams: Toronto, Buffalo Drafted: 16th round, 2013 Ave: .279 | OBP: .390 | OPS: .863 4. Eric Pardinho, rhp Age: 17. Team: Bluefield (R) Signed: Free agent, 2017 ERA: 2.93 | WHIP: 1.02 | Ave: .200 Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... 5. Nate Pearson, rhp Age: 22. Team: Dunedin Drafted: 1st round, 2017 Injured, made one appearance. 6 Kevin Smith, ss Age: 22. Teams: Dunedin, Lansing (A-) Drafted: 4th round, 2017 Ave: .307 | OBP: .362 | OPS: .899 7. Cavan Biggio, 2b Age: 23. Team: New Hampshire Drafted: 5th round, 2016 Ave: .258 | OBP: .399 | OPS: .929 8. Anthony Alford, of Age: 24 Teams: Buffalo, Dunedin Drafted: 3rd round, 2012 Ave: .230 | OBP: .304 | OPS: .640 9. Jordan Groshans, 3b Age: 18 Teams: Bluefield, GCL Jays Drafted: 1st round, 2018 Ave: .314 | OBP: .374 | OPS: .845 10. Ryan Borucki, lhp Age: 24. Teams: Toronto, Buffalo Drafted: 15th round, 2012 ERA: 3.27 | WHIP: 1.17 | Ave: .221 Read more about:<doc-sep>
NEW YORK – Miserable losses are going to be a part of this period of transition and acclimation for the Toronto Blue Jays, especially when they’re facing American League East powers like the New York Yankees. The already wide gap between the clubs is only exacerbated by the inherent growing pains and dismal weekends like the one in the Bronx are part of the deal. In other words, get used to it, gang. Still, there’s a big difference between learning the ropes and playing bad, fundamentally flawed baseball, which is why manager John Gibbons lit into Kevin Pillar for getting thrown out trying to steal third to end the sixth inning. With two outs, the attempt was absolutely needless and Gibbons sure seemed to mumble the word selfish after a few saltier terms during a roughly 30-second tirade in the dugout once Pillar came in to get his glove. Given all the kids currently on the roster, making such points is especially important lest bad habits become normalized as the turnover moves forward. “Well, that play is unacceptable in rookie ball. That play is unacceptable in high-school ball. That shouldn’t happen. It can’t happen. You’re down. He knows it,” said Gibbons. “It’s tough to criticize Kevin because of the way he plays the game. He does everything right. He sacrifices his body and all of that. But every now and then we lock up mentally, I guess. “He knows that. That’s part of it.” So that’s why Ryan Borucki gets a pat on the back after giving up six runs to the first six batters of the game before recording two outs and leaving after 44 pitches. And it’s why Pillar – who plays hurt and plays hard – gets lit up in front of teammates immediately after a play more about self than team. “That’s what was said and that’s what should have happened,” said Pillar. “Live and learn. Made the mistake before. I’m out there trying to make something happen when sometimes I’ve just got to allow things to happen. The way the game was going, it was rainy, it was wet out there, I was trying to do something that probably rarely ever happens, getting (the catcher) to throw the ball away, try to score a cheap run, try to get us back in the game. But I’ve got to trust the guys behind me to drive me in, which they’ve been doing a good job of.” The weekend certainly reinforced to J.A. Happ just how better a place he’s in now. The Blue Jays made several infuriating mistakes in the three games, not just in Sunday’s 10-2 pounding that capped a three-game sweep by the Yankees, and that may have contributed to Gibbons’ decision to make his point right then and there to Pillar (he got ejected for the sixth time by first-base umpire Jansen Visconti in the bottom half after two close calls went against the Blue Jays). On Saturday, a trio of miscues contributed to Sean Reid-Foley allowing a pair of unearned runs in his difficult 4.1 innings of work, while leadoff walks issued by pitchers led to runs in each of the three losses. On Sunday, Borucki was off from the jump, missing the zone with eight of his first 13 pitches en route to a pair of leadoff walks, before some unfortunate BABIP luck loaded the bases with two runs in. Greg Bird then turned on an inside sinker for a grand slam that essentially sealed the deal, and the 24-year-old lefty, already 30 pitches into his inning at that point, was left to salvage whatever he could from there. “Ryan had a tough one but you know, that’s not the worst thing in the world,” said Gibbons. “As long as he’s pitching, he could be a 10-year vet and that same thing happens to those guys. You just have to learn from it. It helps you figure out, when things go good, what you’re doing, when things go bad, what’s happening to you.” With some better fortune, the inning could have played out much differently. Didi Gregorius just beat out an infield RBI single, colliding with Kendrys Morales at the bag and leaving with a bruised left heel, while Gleyber Torres followed with a little nubber he just beat out, loading the bases with none out instead of having one on with two out. “It’s not really frustration, that’s just how it goes sometimes,” said Borucki.