AP fileGibbons said someone was done in Toronto — him or Hillenbrand.
“If the front office felt differently than he wins and I lose, and I would be one out of here,” Gibbons said. “I mean it. It was either him or me.”
Asked if Hillenbrand did it because he wanted out, Gibbons said: “I know he wanted to get out. That’s no secret. To be honest I don’t think he really wanted to be here for the last two years.”
“You’re either with us or you’re not,” he said. “He got his wish. It’s that simple.”
Said Lozano, the agent: “From everything Shea told me of the situation, I think it all could’ve been avoided had it been handled differently.”
Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi was getting acupuncture treatment and had eight needles in his back when he learned what Hillenbrand wrote.
Ricciardi agreed that Hillenbrand had go to.
“We are a better team without him,” Ricciardi said. “I would rather lose than sell myself out to have someone play here that says those type of things about organization.”
Ricciardi objected that Hillenbrand said there isn’t a winning atmosphere in Toronto. He added, “Gibby’s job is more secure than it’s ever been.”
Ricciardi said he wasn’t surprised by Hillenbrand’s behavior — Hillenbrand once called Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein a derogatory term for homosexuals.
“He made some pretty disparaging remarks when he left Boston. I don’t think people forgot that,” Ricciardi said.
“I don’t think his behavior is inconsistent with what his reputation has been. People knew the deal,” he said. “The cards are on the table, so if someone wants Shea Hillenbrand we’ll try to make a deal. Enough clubs called today.”
With the trade deadline approaching July 31, Ricciardi said he’s looking for a pitcher than can help this year.
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