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July 13, 2022 • 59 minutes ago • 4 minutes read • 48 comments Manager Charlie Montoyo #25 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on before the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on July 07, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images
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Charlie Montoyo didn’t miss an out at first base on a leg in a major league routine.
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He didn’t untie the strings on Vlad Guerrero’s glove, nor was he personally responsible for Hyun-Jin Ryu’s injury.
And he certainly wasn’t responsible for Yusei Kikuchi’s wayward hand or the large contract it took to bring him here.
However, Montoyo was considered expendable and therefore a scapegoat, a path that had been paved for weeks by the Blue Jays front office and ended in ingloriously with his firing Wednesday afternoon.
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“It’s a collective failure, and it starts with me,” said general manager Ross Atkins, adopting the polite manner most sports chiefs prefer when tying the can to their coach or manager. “I really wanted it to work with Charlie. I am extremely disappointed with where we are.
“I think we can play better as a team.”
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If the GM is to be taken at his word, then, the collective rebound starts with Atkins himself and what the Jays front office can do to shore up the weaknesses in the lineup that led to the team’s recent slump.
And it also starts with the players, those we’ve spoken to over the last 10 days admit to a person that there has been a level of underachievement.
“I think (Montoyo’s firing) is an understanding that we’re not where we expected to be,” relief pitcher David Phelps said before Wednesday’s game against the Phillies. “As a group of players we know what is expected of us and we know we haven’t achieved it.
“It takes a lot of self-reflection and time will tell. But at the same time, it’s a new beginning.”
This new beginning will see the Jays under the guidance of John Schneider, the respected bench coach who has guided stars such as Guerrero, Bo Bichette and Cavan Bijou at various levels in the minor leagues.
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Montoyo, who leaves with a 236-236 record and a contract through 2023 to be paid out, was the scapegoat. What happens next will define a group that was expected to be much better than the 46-42 record at the time of the manager’s firing.
Hired in October 2018, Montoyo was a finalist for AL Manager of the Year in 2020 and did an admirable job leading the team through two seasons in which the Jays were sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic. A 91-win season in 2021, in which the Jays agonizingly finished a game short of the playoffs, earned him a contract extension through 2023.
The decision to get rid of him finally (mercifully?) became official on Wednesday, given that Montoyo was left hanging in the wind for weeks. Atkins acknowledged as much from the sacking chair, saying the decision wasn’t made lightly — or quickly.
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“It wasn’t 24 hours to finalize it,” Atkins said. “There were many considerations. Whether the days turn into weeks is not important. But it was carefully considered.”
It was also Atkins’ way of dealing with the delicate moment, two days after Montoyo and his coaching staff traveled to Virginia for the funeral of 17-year-old Julia Budzinski, the daughter of pitching coach Mark, who is still with her grieving family.
“Out of respect for Charlie, once you’ve made the decision, regardless of the circumstances, it’s the best thing for the individual and for the team,” Atkins said of the difficult times at the club over the past 10 days.
Spending time with Montoyo on the recent 1-6 road trip through Oakland and Seattle, you could see in the demeanor of the now-former manager that he could sense it coming.
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His team was struggling and tired after playing 18 games in 17 days, all while trying to cope with the emotional gut punch of Budzinski’s ordeal. Through it all there was a sense of impending doom.
As for the timing of making a change, this before a four-game series with the lowly Kansas City Royals coming to town — already a bad team with 10 players out due to Canada’s COVID regulations — can’t hurt either.
A successful weekend will set Schneider on track and bring some momentum into the MLB All-Star Break.
But what’s next now that the trade deadline is two weeks away and a change is remote? Perhaps interestingly, Atkins refused to buy into the popular opinion that the team needed help if it wanted to be competitive down the stretch.
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“Good teams win,” Atkins said. “It’s not necessarily good pitching and good bullpens. You look at the history of the game and good teams win championships.”
Meanwhile, if Montoyo could feel the ax ready to swing, you better believe the players did too. Let’s just say there was no surprise in the few players we spoke to – both officially and off the record.
The transparency of what has happened around the team over the past few weeks has been crystal clear.
“We as players know that things can be better, things have to be better,” center fielder George Springer said. “We understand what we can do. It hasn’t really shown itself yet, and that’s the disappointing part.
“At the end of the day, we’re still in a pretty good place. If we can get back to doing the little things — not looking at the numbers and the stats and just getting back to enjoying the game and playing with a sense of urgency, I like our chances.”
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