John Gibbons? That was the big surprise? I guess when you considered the alternatives, it wasn't such a bad choice. The guy has managed in the majors before. He's familiar with Toronto and he'll do just about anything Alex Anthopoulos says. In the meantime, the entire country of Canada has gone ga-ga for Gibby and the Bluejays. Even the French CBC had a reporter at this morning's news conference and about a half hour in, after all the anglais had asked their questions, he fired off his query to Anthopoulos "en francais", to which AA responded "John (Gibbons) do you want to break out your french?" Much laughter ensued, and Alex fired off a response in french that seemed to answer the reporters queries, although we'll never know what he really said.
OVERHEARD IN THE BLUEJAY CLUBHOUSE SPRING TRAINING 2013
(Manager John Gibbons comes out of his office to greet his new team.)
"Hola Jose, my name is John. John Gibbons. Gibby. No, I'm not the clubhouse attendant. I'm the manager. Sorry, Ozzie isn't here this year. I'm the guy. Hey Emilio, remember me? John Gibbons. No, no. I'm not a coach, I'm your new skipper" J.J., you know me, I'm the anti-Guillen. I never say anything controversial, except to an umpire if I'm really mad. Or Shea Hillenbrand. And Mark, c'mon Burls, remember that brushback incident back in '07 with Aaron Hill? I could've charged the mound but I didn't. I was the Jays manager back then, don't you remember? Bucky? C'mon Bucky you know me. Gibby. Yeah, I'm back. Hey Melk man. Leche. Buddy, how's it going. Did you pee in the bottle today...ha ha. It's Gibby. Don't you remember me from KC? Those were the days."
(Gibbons moves slowly to the makeshift podium in the crowded dressing room)
"Can I have your attention please guys. My name is John, and I'm your manager this year. They wanted a guy named John so they wouldn't have to replace the sign on the door, but I'm not like the last manager named John. He was an idiot. I'm not. Guys, guys listen up please. We're going to win it all this year and anything less will be a major disappointment. That's what management has told me. If you think I'm going to take any guff from you guys, you're wrong. Anybody wants to fight me, come and get me. Farrell was too soft on you guys. We got rid of the dead wood and now we're going to kick some ass. Now, many of you have not met each other before, so I've got some sticky backed nametags for you to wear. If you're not sure of a guy's name, just shout out his uniform number. Like, "Hey 23, get your head out of your ass" or "Come on 24, throw strikes for a change". You'll get it. Now, I know all the writers and broadcasters from when I was here before, and they're all my drinking buddies, so just let me handle the media and you guys go out and play. Ok, all for one and one for all. Now go get 'em!
What's that JP? Oh, it's Gibbons. G-I-B-B-O-N-S."
I have a passion for music that is equal to my affection for sports. The two are inexorably linked with me. My fantasy is to sit and watch a baseball game with Bruce Springsteen. Jays versus Yankees. Talk a little ball. Talk a little music Have a couple of beers and just bond. Two guys. Sports and Music. Ask most athletes what their fantasy job would be and the answer is likely "musician". Ask a performer what his/her fantasy is, and the common response would be "athlete". I wanted to be both: Rock star in the summer, defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the winter. My parents thought it might be a good idea to finish my education, since I wasn't a very good skater and had no musical talent whatsoever. Couldn't play a note. Had to have something to fall back on. Luckily, I had a way with words, so I went into radio.
The first radio gig I ever had was at CKKW in Kitchener, Ontario. It was the graveyard shift, Midnight to 6 a.m. The late Dan Fisher was the program director, and asked me if I knew anything about country music, because that's what they played at the time. I said "sure", even though I didn't know Barbara Mandrell from Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie).
So I played the songs I was supposed to play. Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, Crystal Gale, Loretta Lynn, etc. One day, at about 4 a.m., I got bored playing the stuff on the playlist and broke out a song by the Rolling Stones called "The Girl with Far Away Eyes". It had a country twang to it, so I cued it up on the turntable, flicked on the mic and announced it as "A new song by a band called the Country Maladeers". Pretty soon the phone was ringing. It was Dan Fisher. What P.D. was up at 4 a.m. on a Saturday morning? He was. I got fired. End of my career as a radio deejay. Next up, a career as a sportscaster. I'll update my life in media during my next blog. Stay tuned.
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