Gibby's off the dole

It didn't take long for John Gibbons to get back on his feet again. MLB.com reports that Gibby's been tapped to be the bench coach next year for the Kansas City Royals.

And we say: good for him and good for them. The Royals have an interesting core of young talent, and we think that Gibbons will do well as a sounding board for Royals skipper Trey Hillman. Or if nothing else, it will give Gibbons a place where he can wear a windbreaker, slump on a bench, and spit tobacco juice all summer long. (And we're sure that Missus Gibbons is grateful that he'll have someplace other than their backyard to indulge in this behaviour.)

The Future Depends on Chad
Since we're talking coaching staffs (for lack of anything else Jays-related to talk about) let's discuss the Jays' roving minor league hitting instructor.

The Canadian Press is cutting and pasting from a Jays news release reporting that the Jays have signed former prospect Chad Mottola to serve in that role for the coming season. He takes the spot vacated by miracle worker Dwayne Murphy, who set the Jays back on the right track after being summoned by El Cito to clean up the mess made by Gary Denbo.

Mottola strikes us as an ideal hire in this position. A one-time first-round selection of the Cincinnati Reds, Mottola was a quadruple-A player who was always a good performer in the minors, but who never quite had the tools to play in the big leagues. Mottola was the 2000 International League MVP with Syracuse, and has a couple of cups of coffee with the Blue Jays, including 16 ABs in 2006.

Two Playoff Thoughts, For Whatever They Are Worth

Thought #1: So that Rafael Furcal is some good offensively, huh?
Thought #2: So that Rafael Furcal is kinda awful defensively, huh?