…mostly because the National Post’s John Lott fills in the necessary gaps, suggesting that Toronto’s recent jettisoning of several fixtures addresses an alleged clubhouse chemistry problem. Amongst those with a favorable take on the transactions is starter R.A. Dickey, who by chance was recently described by Jays broadcaster Jerry Howarth as, “a man onto himself on an island.”
“I think having guys in the clubhouse all pulling the same rope is really, really integral,” Dickey said as he tiptoed through the topic. “I think it all starts with communication and being able to deliver that in a way that is encouraging and positive. So we’ll see what happens.”
He paused, then added: “But I think you saw where the front office sat on the issue by the way they made the moves in the offseason.”
Behold the moves of the offseason. The occasionally outspoken Adam Lind, traded to Milwaukee for pitcher Marco Estrada. The hyperkinetic, loud and oft-injured Brett Lawrie, traded to Oakland for Donaldson, a reputed leader type. The moody Anthony Gose, dealt to Detroit for prospect Devon Travis. The underachieving and often-candid Colby Rasmus, waved into free agency. Martin, another renowned leader of men, lured with a five-year, US$82-million contract.
Do those moves speak to chemistry as well as performance?
Seemingly backtracking, Dickey said he didn’t know for certain. And he stressed, of course, that he had nothing against any of the departed.
“But it was evident that we needed some kind of shakeup,” he said. “We’d stuck with the guys that we had in our clubhouse for two years. I think [management] thought it was time. What did Einstein say the definition of insanity was? Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result?”