OPINION

By Sean Deveney

updated 11:20 p.m. ET April 30, 2008

Sean Deveney

BOSTON - For manager John Gibbons, one nice thing about the Toronto Blue Jays' current road trip was the opportunity to visit his 96-year-old grandmother, who lives a few miles north of the city, in Beverly, Mass. But there hasn't been much else nice happening for Gibbons lately. Heck, even his grandmother knows that. Upon seeing him, her first question was, "Are you going to be fired?"

It's a pretty relevant question. Gibbons is a good candidate to be the first manager fired this season. With one of the deepest and most talented pitching staffs in the league, the Blue Jays were expected to contend this season. Instead, the Jays are in the midst of a miserable 1-6 road trip that has them now at 11-16, second-worst in the American League.

The sharpest criticism of Gibbons usually centers around overuse of starting pitchers. On Tuesday night, Roy Halladay pitched his third consecutive complete game. But that's not why the Blue Jays are struggling — they're struggling because they can't hit, and they've put up a puny .213 average on the current trip.

Halladay allowed just one run to the Boston Red Sox but still lost, 1-0. "It's tough," Halladay says of the lack of run support. "It's just something you have to put up with."

If players aren't hitting, there's not much a manager can do, of course. Gibbons has pulled out every trick available. The Blue Jays have been notably more aggressive this year, using sacrifice bunts, hit-and-runs and stolen bases more than at any other time under Gibbons. They've stolen 22 bases in the first 27 games, after stealing 57 the entire '07 season.

Gibbons also tried shuffling his lineup Tuesday night with Alex Rios back in the leadoff spot and David Eckstein batting second. Third baseman Scott Rolen, healthy for just four games now, batted third. No matter. Toronto managed just one hit in eight innings off Jon Lester, who had yielded 19 hits in his previous 11 1/3 innings.

It's not necessarily Gibbons' fault.

Much blame belongs with Toronto honcho J.P. Riccardi, who hasn't supplied Gibbons with enough offensive help. But Gibbons is involved with personnel decisions, too. He could have intervened when the Jays kept aging Shannon Stewart (batting .200) over sparkplug Reed Johnson (hitting .303 with the Cubs). Gibbons could have given designated hitter Frank Thomas a chance to break out of his slump (he has a .440 on-base percentage in his first six games in Oakland). Gibbons could have objected to the notion of trading Troy Glaus (21 RBIs with the Cardinals) for injury magnet Rolen (15 at-bats for Toronto).

And Gibbons, historically, has not always got along swimmingly with his players. He has had confrontations with Shea Hillenbrand, Dave Bush and Ted Lilly. His abrupt handling of Thomas, a Hall of Fame hitter and a 19-year veteran, was flawed, too. This offense plays without enthusiasm or energy, and that could be linked to Gibbons' personality.

Maybe, in time, having a healthy Rolen will kick the Blue Jays into gear. But the offensive struggles are part of a troubling trend for Toronto under Gibbons. The Blue Jays were fifth in the American League in runs per game in Gibbons' first full season, 2005. They were seventh the following year, then 10th. They are now 12th.

Again, there isn't much Gibbons can do about that. But it's obvious he is not inspiring players to peak performances. A new guy might just do that. Even grandma knows that much.

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