Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is a competitive and fiesty guy. He might be a little too competitve and fiesty. For the second time this season, Gibbons has been involved in a potential/possible/plausible punch-up with one of his players.
Yesterday, it was Gibbons vs. Ted Lilly at the ballpark formerly known as Skydome. Words were exchanged on the mound when Lilly was getting pulled and Gibbons wound up with a bloody nose after scrapping with Lilly near the Jays' dugout in the third inning. Eye witnesses say Gibbons pushed Lilly first and they disappeared into the tunnel.
Earlier in the summer, Gibbons challenged Shea Hillenbrand to a fight after the infielder wrote on the clubhouse bulletin board "This is a sinking ship." Hillenbrand refused to fight Gibbons and was quickly traded to the Giants. Notice a key difference between these two instances?
Lilly fought Gibbons, and gets to keep his job with the club. Hillenbrand didn't fight Gibbons, and he was out immediately. Gibbons is coaching out of Conn Smythe's handbook. If you can't beat them in the alley, you can't beat them on the ice.. in this case, the field.
7.5 games out of the wildcard spot, expect more blood to be shed before this season is done.
