Gibbons fired; Jays go with Gaston

PITTSBURGH - The Toronto Blue Jays dipped into their past to shake up a last-place team that has looked overmatched at times in the competitive American League East, firing manager John Gibbons yesterday and replacing him with two-time World Series winner Cito Gaston.

The Blue Jays, as the Mets and Mariners did earlier in the week, decided it's far easier to fire the manager than it is to overhaul a disappointing team close to midseason. Despite having five players making $10 million or more on its Opening Day roster, Toronto is 35-40 with six consecutive losses and is 10 1/2 games behind division-leading Boston.

"We've underachieved at this point with a good club," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. "There's a lot of the season left and we've got a chance to turn things around."

Gaston said the Blue Jays' season "starts over again tonight - we've got to get to where we should be. There's a good club here." The Pirates topped the Blue Jays, 1-0, in 12 innings last night.

The move was not especially popular in the clubhouse, where Gibbons was respected despite the club's on-field failings.

While Gaston managed the Blue Jays to World Series titles in 1992 and '93, he hasn't managed since being fired by Toronto in 1997 and, as the team's special assistant to the president and chief executive since 2002, had little more than a nodding relationship with most players.

The Blue Jays are 15-7 against the AL Central, but are 9-14 within their division, with records of 1-5 against Tampa Bay and 2-4 against the Yankees.

"It's the worst part of the job when the manager gets the blame," first baseman Lyle Overbay said. "It's too bad because it's really the players."