Ottawa Citizen

Hold off on the rebuild plunger, says Jays’ Pillar

- STEVE BUFFERY SBuffery@postmedia.com

When it’s the dog days of summer and a team is stagnating, as the Blue Jays appear to be, the atmosphere inside the clubhouse begins to feel like a swamp. Not with insects buzzing everywhere, but rumours and innuendoes.

There have been reports this week that manager John Gibbons is on his way out, perhaps even before the end of this current homestand, though GM Ross Atkins brushed aside that suggestion Tuesday. Typically, Gibbons just laughed it off.

There’s also a sense there is a leadership void in the clubhouse and some of the Jays — given the team’s spot in the standings and the fact the playoffs are not going to happen for the second year in a row — have given up playing hard and are just interested in their individual numbers. Centre-fielder Kevin Pillar can understand why fans (and media) may think that way, but he is adamant the Jays aren’t just going through the motions.

“The writing ’s on the wall as far as our playoff chances, but we’re all profession­als in here and I think we’re all still trying to go out there and do what’s best for ourselves and do what’s best for our team and still try to compete and try to win games,” Pillar said. “Baseball’s a unique sport. It’s a very individual­ized sport, but you’re also playing for the greater good of your team, your teammates, your organizati­on, your city and, in our case, our country.”

Pillar is an American, but he has played in Toronto long enough that he almost feels Canadian. And he wants to stay in Toronto. He said there are veterans on the Jays’ roster like himself who want to prove to front office they are part of the solution going forward and management doesn’t have to blow up the roster in order to get back to being a competitiv­e team.

“I think we have enough talent in here to have a pretty good foundation, a pretty good core to be successful in the major leagues,” he said. “Obviously, going out and getting help in certain areas is always encouraged, but health is going to be a big thing moving forward. If we can keep guys healthy and on the field, anything can happen.”

 ?? FRANK GUNN/THE CANADIAN PRESS ?? Manager John Gibbons is the latest Blue Jay rumoured to be on the way out, possibly before the end of the team’s current homestand.
FRANK GUNN/THE CANADIAN PRESS Manager John Gibbons is the latest Blue Jay rumoured to be on the way out, possibly before the end of the team’s current homestand.

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