Slumping Blue Jays still have time to get back on track

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I have fired people and I have been fired. I have real-life experience in this area. 

When I was the New York Mets general manager, I fired coaches, trainers, physical therapists, scouts and a manager. Having to fire someone is a very painful process. You know that you are not just impacting the employee, but also his, or her, family. The firing process creates sadness, fear, anxiety, stress, anger and resentment for a whole group of people that you often care about.

But make no mistake, getting fired is much worse than being the person who fires someone. 

When I was fired as Mets general manager in June of 2003, I immediately left the owner’s office and went to a travel agency to book a long overdue vacation for my family. I needed to disappear from all the noise that followed my dismissal. Plus, I wanted my family to feel like it was a good thing, not a bad thing, that I was going to be around them more.   

Charlie Montoyo can probably relate.

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins made a bit of a surprising move Wednesday when he fired manager Montoyo and replaced him with bench coach John Schneider on an interim basis. Schneider had been Montoyo’s confidante and bench coach.

From the outside looking in, it was obvious that the team was underperforming, but it didn’t seem like the Jays had a managerial problem. The people closest to the team, however, saw it differently.

What I learned in my 13 years in the Mets front office is that the fans and media have no idea what is really going on behind closed doors. I remember when former Mets manager Art Howe was fired in September of 2004, he said to me, “If people only knew what really went on here, they wouldn’t believe it. We could