It's funny, because we'd started writing up this post a few days ago, and Paul Beeston has been kind enough to confirm at least one aspect of our hypothesis."We've been working on a plan and in short order that will come out," he told CP's Shi Davidi.
Our notion for a while has been this: The Jays have a plan, and they are holding it back until the end of the season. And as much as we fans and bloggers alike are working ourselves into a lather like a dozen monkeys in a tub full of Mr. Bubble, the Jays brass is banking on the fact that when they roll out - in rapid succession - the new President, GM, a replacement for Cito and a budget number for 2010 through 2013ish, then we'll all prance about singing bold choruses in praise of the dawning of the team's new Aquarian age.
And who's kidding who? We probably will.
On a certain level, it makes sense to do this at the close of the current season. With the season still on, it would be difficult to can J.P. and shift Cito into a advisory role where he can do minimal harm. Moreover, they'll be able to cascade these announcements into one another, building momentum towards next year, hopefully erasing the memory of the dogfuck that was the last two-thirds of this year.
If we were a PR dude, we might even recommend such a strategy. But what they may have missed in taking the longer view is the effect that fielding a subpar lineup for the rest of the season is going to have on the consumers' confidence in the organization.
Sometimes, if you have good news to share, it's better to just get it out there. Because you never know what sort of misery tomorrow brings.
