The Gift That Keeps On Gibbons
When Shea Hillenbrand ceremoniously left the Blue Jays earlier in the season via a sordid mess with the organization, it was assumed that Hillenbrand was to blame. I guess you have to be at least partly to blame when you're leaving your team messages on the whiteboard that say "ship was sinking," the sort of baseball equivolent to "red rum." But, as I've been told before, it takes two to tango. Common reaction would be to question what Hillenbrand must have done to fire up a coach, a man of authority and self-discipline, to the point of physicality. But what if this coach was only interested in kicking some ass and drinking some beers, and had just finished all of his beer?
John Gibbons is ornery and he's not taking anyone's shit. Just ask Ted Lilly, who got into a shouting match and fight with the Blue Jays manager after a [understatement]disagreement[/understatement] during a game tonight against A's. From The Star:
The trouble began on the mound when, staked to an 8-0 lead, Lilly was bombed in the third, giving up five runs before Gibbons came to get him. Instead of a simple pitching change, what looked like a manager-umpire argument started.
Gibbons appeared to chew Lilly out, who began shouting back and refused to hand over the ball. When Lilly finally walked off the mound, the bills of their caps brushed.
After Gibbons gave the ball to reliever Jason Frasor, he followed Lilly down the tunnel and went at him according to Canadian Press photographer Aaron Harris, one of a handful of photographers to witness the incident. The two began wrestling, clutching at each others shirts before security and several Blue Jays players jumped in to break it up.
So, what's this guy's deal? For the record, for all of the bad-assery that Gibbons has going on this season, he still emerged from the scuffle with Lilly with a bloody nose. So, he can't kick baseball player ass. He's not that tough. Not to say anything derogatory about Gibbons. If he were to challenge me to a fight, I'd probably...uh...get into the fetal position and cry.
