Who's watching this Brunt special? Seriously, Gibby is probably one of the most likable guys I have ever seen.

I feel ashamed for having started the 5000 Posts To Fire Gibbons thread back in the day

What a guy

Gibby is indeed the man. Would drink beers with.

I just hope he learned and grew up a lot while he was a part of Royals coaching staff for three years

We were young we didn't know what we had till it was gone...and replaced by complete stupidity...TWICE.

This is a really likeable team in general. There's reyes a little ball of energy always smiling. Dickey is a treat to listen to. Bautista is the stoic well spoken leader who show's his passion when he plays. Then Gibby is just a likeable guy who actually considers Toronto his dream job, not his training ground.

This team is going to have lots of leaders IMO and I can't wait for the season.

I don't have cable, is there a link to the special?

Truly one of the good guys for sure.

What's most important is that he's approachable, which allows him to build real relationships with the players. Farrell always seemed so distant, not the type of guy you can just hang out with and whose decision-making you can have faith in due to your faith in him as an individual.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/

The videos on the right.

His lineup was

Reyes
Cabrera
Bautista
Encarnacion
Lind
Lawrie
Rasmus
Arencibia
Izturis

Anyone else think we may see a 3/4/5 of Melky, Bautista and EE if Lawrie is tearing the cover off of the ball?

Reyes- S
Lawrie- R
Melky- S
Jose- R
EE- R
Lind- L
JPA-R
Rasmus- L
Bonofacio/Izturis

Or am I reading too far into splitting L/R? I really hate the idea of having Lind hit in front of Lawrie just because he hits left.

I don't mind your idea. But really, batting Lind 5th or 6th doesn't really matter much. Personally, I don't care where he bats as long he's not in the lineup against lefties.

I wouldn't put Lawrie #2. He just doesn't come accross as the kind of guy who will hit behind the runner and stuff like that. If Reyes leads off with a walk and steals 2nd, will Lawrie be satisfied to ground out to the right side? Naaaa... maybe in a few years when he matures a bit, but for now he'll still want to mash a double into the left field corner... and instead ground out to 3rd, freezing Reyes at 2nd.

Bat him at the bottom with JPA, there's another who just wants to hit home runs. And Rasmus. Put those 3 guys together, they deserve each other.

If Lawrie hits to expectations, he is a pretty good #2 for this squad. I would hate to waste that just because we want to split the righties with Lind.

Vs RHP
1. Reyes
2. Lawrie
3. Melky
4. Jose
5. EE
6. Lind/Rasmus
7. JPA
8. Lind/Rasmus
9. Bonifacio/Izturis

Vs LHP
1. Reyes
2. Lawrie
3. Melky
4. Jose
5. EE
6. Rasmus
7. JPA
8. Bonifacio/Izturis
9. Davis

Well he doesn't necessarily have to ground out to the right side. I would hope thats not what they're preaching. He still can look to drive the ball that way, and he certainly has the ability to do so. I understand what you're saying, I just don't think that it "not being his style" should be the reasoning. If he buys into a system, situational hitting should take care of itself.

You obviously haven't watched many games this year, thus you haven't got a clue as to how Lawrie hits. His strength is gap to gap but loves to go the other way. If anything, we need him to pull the ball more often.

"If anything, we need him to pull the ball more often."

Are you nuts?

Most of the balls he hit last year that caused his GB% spike were hit to the left side, it looked like he was trying too hard to pull the ball, and ended up topping them. That's just as bad as grounding to the left side.

This graph shows what I mean.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/player/brett-lawrie/hitchart/1254987?q=brett-lawrie

"His strength is gap to gap but loves to go the other way."

Then if it ain't broke why did they have to try and fix it?

You're missing the point - I was not talking about his spray chart, I was merely providing a single illustration. Lawrie doesn't play what I (or Omar Vizquel) would call a sound tactical game; instead he plays aggressively (good, usually) but frequently crosses the line into recklessness (bad, usually). Not sure if that's what I want from my #2 hitter.

If you want to disagree, and assert that Lawrie is an astute tactical player who understands his actions in the broader context of the ebb and flow of the game, be my guest - have at it! But you'll probably get a worse beat-down than you suffered from your last post.

thank you. Gibbons seems to be a likeable guy, he won me over a bit with his positive attitude and honesty.

I think Lawrie is perfectly suited for the 2 hole. He goes the other way for fun!!

What a great piece on Gibbons.

Can't wait!!!

GO JAYS GO!!!
#BlueJays2013BELIEVE!!!