JP Ricciardi Making Few Friends With Blue Jays Coaching Change

Adam Dunn is one of many who are starting to like Blue Jays general manager JP Ricciardi less and less. (AP Image)"]

Times have been tough for the Toronto Blue Jays front office lately as they've finally begun to deal with the fact that they now sit in last place in the American League East division.

In an attempt to stop the bleeding on Friday, general manager JP Ricciardi made it clear that a coaching change might help turn things around. With his contract set to expire at the end of this season, Ricciardi sent Jays skipper John Gibbons packing in place of former manager Cito Gaston (Yes, that Cito Gaston).

Also fired in Ricciardi's attempt to clean house were Gibbons' coaches, Gary Denbo, Marty Pevey and Ernie Whitt.

The tumultuous week has Jays fans on the edges of their seat as they await the results of the change, but that's not to say Ricciardi has been winning anyone else over these days.

Just last week Ricciardi made headlines for going out of his way to insult Cincinnati Reds slugger Adam Dunn. Ricciardi, answering questions on Toronto's Fan 590 responded to a callers suggestion that Dunn be brought in to solve the team's hitting woes in an unconventional manner.

Dunn, surprised by the comments, made it clear that he didn't have a whole lot of respect for the general manager but more or less left it at that.

After the dust had appeared to settled on the Dunn situation Ricciardi is back in the media looking like an ass again.

When asked about dismissed hitting coach Ernie Whitt's comments saying that he remains the "best manager never hired by the Blue Jays", Ricciardi reminded everybody that if it weren't for him, Whitt wouldn't have even gotten his first Major League job in the first place.

Classy JP.

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