I was listening to The Fan yesterday on the way into work, and two chuckleheads were praising Cito Gaston’s managerial acumen in demoting Vernon Wells in the Jays batting order.  Word is that Wells will be batting 6th today against the Yanks.

Here’s the problem: it’s taken a month longer than any sane manager would have let this go on.  Jays fans with any baseball knowledge at all have been calling for Cito’s head since the end of May.

Cito’s method of dealing with a slumping hitter is to let him try and hit out of it, because Gibson-esque juggling of the lineup messes with player’s confidence.  I’m fine with this theory, but here’s the problem:  WELLS HAS ZERO CONFIDENCE TO MESS WITH.  He’s been admitting to anybody that will listen for weeks that a big part of the Jays’ recent slump is his lack of production in the heart of the order, and that this is the most frustrating time of his career.

Cito has shown time and time again over the past year that he has no tactical skills. He constantly misses simple things like pinch hitting at the right time, or when to properly execute a double switch.  I have no problem with Cito being a part of this team.  He’s clearly had an impact since joining last year.  But his strength is in coaching players–somebody else should be running the bench.