dennis.ca

As a fan one of the things I appreciate about professional sports is when an athlete shows genuine passion for their game. The caliber of player -- and person -- you are is best exhibited when you're losing; not when you're winning.

Blue Jays pitcher Josh Towers is a fiery sort who takes pride in winning, though he hasn't enjoyed much personal success. Granted, there are plenty of instances where lack of run support and fielding mistakes have cost him wins. That is true for the entire Toronto pitching staff and true for any pitching staff.

On Saturday, Towers lost his cool after being pulled in the 6th inning during a game with Chicago:

"I just don't think that we consistently put ourselves in position to make plays every time. I don't think that we consistently show up as a coaching staff and as a team every day. I think it shows sometimes. It's a game that we're in full control and we should have won and we didn't. All around, it wasn't a great game by us."

"I think it was a horseshit game, all around. We just gave the game away."

Out of context these comments could be explained away as 'heat of the moment' statements. Towers, though, has done this before. He has been given nothing but second/third/fourth/fifth chances by the Blue Jays. Calling out staff and players to the media without addressing the issue internally is inappropriate and should be addressed quickly by management.

It isn't a secret that players have had issues with Manager John Gibbons. Both he and General Manager J. P. Ricciardi have got to go before Toronto will enjoy any success. Ricciardi hired Gibbons as a bullpen catcher in 2002. Within five years he was miraculously elevated to bench boss. That topic is best saved for a different entry, though. Right now the team is what it is. Cito Gaston, where are you?!

During last season fielder Shea Hillenbrand wrote "the ship is sinking" on a bulletin board in the Jays clubhouse. Manager John Gibbons was so irate that he allegedly challenged Hillenbrand to a fight. Gibbons said someone was done in Toronto -- him or Hillenbrand. Ricciardi traded him two days later. In 2005 there was yet another dust-up with pitcher Dave Bush.

Drama aside, Towers has the potential to be a good pitcher. Good, but not great; he's a solid 5th man in the rotation, maybe a 4th. He's always going to rely heavily on fielding to get him out of tight situations. Reason dictates that he should show a little more respect for the players that bail him out inning to inning. Towers is notoriously inconsistent and habitually offers up home runs at an alarming pace. I'm skeptical that he offers any sort of apology when outfielders watch someone knock a ball into the stands.

With the trade deadline approaching and A. J. Burnett set to return to the line-up, the time is right to dump Towers. After years in the system he simply isn't producing. The amount of noise he generates for a 1:3 win/loss ratio is not worth the hassle.

Are you listening, Ted Rogers? I'm coming for Gibbons and Ricciardi in the off-season!