Blue Jays Fire Charlie Montoyo Amid Disheartening Slide

The Toronto Blue Jays have finally done something to attempt to counteract the ridiculous downward mudslide they have found themselves buried deep beneath.

Losing nine of 10 games in series’ with the Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners through early-July, Blue Jays management had finally seen enough. Starting the month with a win over divisional opponent Tampa, the Jays went on to lose, and lose, and lose some more – quite often heavily.

Seven of those losses were by multiple runs, including five games dropped by four or more runs.

It is safe to say that things have not been pretty in Toronto for some time.

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Whether it was the clubhouse atmosphere, the home run jacket, the Gatorade baths after every single win or the manager, Charlie Montoyo took the fall.

It very well could have been any or all of those listed points, but when changes need to be made, it is usually a coach that takes the fall.

Montoyo simply was not getting the job done for a Jays team that many had predicted to come out on top or nearly on top of the American League East Division upon season end.

Right now, that dream will not come into fruition. Making a Wild Card game is even currently in question for the 46-42 squad.

Montoyo marks the third manager fired during the 2022 season (Joe Maddon, Joe Girardi).

“It got to the point where it felt as though there were a lot of good individual things happening and we need to be playing better as a team,” Jays’ general manager Ross Atkins said on Wednesday afternoon. “I think we’re just not playing to our potential. I see some small opportunities to help that, and this was one of them.”

Atkins, who saw what all of Blue Jays Nation saw, said it wasn’t easy to pull the plug on a man who had served the club for over three seasons – including that of two years living out of away ballparks as international border crossing was not an option.

“I believe in him still as a baseball leader, but I felt this change was necessary,” Atkins continued. “I truly wanted this to work with Charlie and wasn’t able to make that happen. I’m extremely disappointed in where we are. I think we’re better than how we’ve played.”

Despite owning a perfect .500 record of 236-236, the 57-year-old Montoyo had seemingly been on his way down for the better part of the past two months. With his club unable to string victories together like a team with the kind of talented bats on it that the Jays have, someone is to blame.

So now, with the happy-go-lucky Montoyo out of the picture, Atkins and the Jays have turned to bench coach John Schneider as the interim clubhouse manager.

“This is something that I’ve always wanted to do and I’m just looking forward to doing it with this group that I’m familiar with, both in the coaching office and the guys in the clubhouse,” Schneider said. “I don’t really see many cons, to be honest with you. This is a group that’s talented and wants to win.”

A Blue Jays draft pick (2002) turned coach (2008), Schneider has already received various praises from his team, with Wednesday’s winning pitcher Ross Stripling giving him a vote of confidence, calling his ways “energetic”. George Springer also added his positive reinforcement of the 42-year-old skipper.

“He’s obviously a very energetic guy. He likes to have fun,” Springer laughed. “There’s never really a dull moment with him. So hopefully, who he is as a person will ooze onto us as players and allow us to relax, have a little bit more fun and enjoy the day.”

On Wednesday night, the Blue Jays went out and picked up their second-straight win, finishing off a mini two-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies by way of an 8-2 win. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. his his 20th home run of the season, Teoscar Hernández had two two-run shots, while Stripling gave up just two hits through seven full innings of work.

Schneider and company return to home action for four-straight against the visiting Kansas City Royals from Thursday through Sunday. 10 players on the Royals’ roster will not be making the trip as they are unvaccinated, making up roughly 40 percent of the team. This is a must-sweep series, by all accounts, no matter who is calling the shots in the dugout.