Yesterday Jays GM JP Ricciardi made the following announcement:
“Please be advised that Bart Given is no longer an employee of the Toronto Blue Jays.
“Bart wishes to remain in baseball, and can be reached at this phone number “Thank you.”
Bart Given began his career with the Jays as the Travelling Secretary and acquired the Assistant GM role (along with Alex Anthopolous) when Tim McCleary was fired in 2005. Given is best known for marrying Sportsnet fox Jody Vance, pictured above.
I am not clear as to what Bart Given really did in his role. I have heard plenty about Anthopolous, most notably his stroke of creative genius in putting together the Aaron Hill contract extension.
I can only echo the thoughts of Bob Elliot in the Toronto Sun:
Making a change on Jan. 23 is an odd time on the baseball calendar since most contracts expire at the end of October or December
Please feel free to speculate as to why Given was given the heave-ho in the comments section, and do try to avoid being safe by blaming the economy.
Photos courtesy of Chris Gallow – www.chrisgallowphoto.com
thanks for the pics of Vance. much appreciated.
Strictly a payroll move? The Jays seem hellbent in cutting costs. Not a bad idea if they use the money moving forward. With the Ted Rogers blank check now a thing of the past, the Jays may very well be turning into a profit driven franchise like the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I find it humorous that Bart Given was “given” the heave-ho. I speculate he was let go due to the joke possibilities from his last name.