Opinion | Blaming manager John Schneider for the Blue Jays’ slow start doesn’t make sense. Firing him isn’t the answer

The way Barkley saw it, anyone pointing fingers at the coaches, instead of the players and front offices that put the rosters together, was making excuses.

“I just want to say this about coaching. Anybody who thinks the reason the Lakers suck is because of Darvin Ham, or the reasons the Suns suck is because of Frank Vogel, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Barkley said.

“The Lakers suck, and the Suns suck, because of the players. It has nothing to do with the coaches.”

Barkley’s rant seems applicable to the Blue Jays, who have received a lot of criticism following a 15-17 start. After every loss, manager John Schneider gets torn apart on social media for his lineup, bullpen usage and pinch-hitter choices.

Schneider isn’t perfect, and the nature of his job is to be second-guessed, but blaming him for problems beyond his control defies logic. He’s not the one stepping into the batter’s box, and he’s not the one who acquired the guys who do.

The reason the Jays are five games back in the American League East isn’t decision making in the dugout. It’s because George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette have yet to do much of anything and the front office failed to improve what everyone knew was a flawed roster.

“Darvin Ham needs to get fired. Frank Vogel needs to get fired,” Barkley said sarcastically. “Whoever put them teams together, them trash-ass teams, needs to get fired. Those guys didn’t just all of a sudden suck as coaches. People who put the teams together, they should start packing up their stuff.”

Part of what makes Barkley such a great entertainer is his flair for the dramatic, and that often includes hyperbole. The Lakers weren’t trash; they finished a respectable 47-35 before losing to the Nuggets. They were a good team, just not a great one. The same could be said about the Jays, who have been down this road before. 

Midway through 2022, following a similarly underwhelming start, the Jays fired Charlie Montoyo and replaced him with Schneider. The postgame quotes changed, but the in-season results stayed the same.

Last fall, there was another opportunity for change. Following a down year with the bats, general manager Ross Atkins said his organization would undergo a deep dive to determine what went wrong. Don Mattingly had offensive co-ordinator duties added to his resumé, while hitting coach Guillermo Martinez and assistant Hunter Mense remained in their roles.

If they were good enough for the job then, they should still be good enough several months later. If for some reason they aren’t, that’s on the front office for putting them there in the first place and then doubling down.

The Jays arrived in spring training knowing full well it was a make-or-break year. With Guerrero, Bichette and closer Jordan Romano among those eligible for free agency at the end of next season, the window of opportunity for this once promising core had already started to close.

The window could have been propped open by the players who were already here, or the additions of several key pieces. Through the first month of 2024, neither has happened and the clock continues to tick.

So sure, complain about who is hitting where, or why someone wasn’t used to pinch hit. That’s fair game and Schneider knows it. But when you’re airing those beefs, at least acknowledge it’s low-hanging fruit compared to the much bigger problems facing the organization.

Schneider might not be the solution, but no manager would be with this roster. Springer, Guerrero and Bichette were supposed to do damage and yet none of them have an on-base plus slugging percentage above .683. The bottom half of the lineup is littered with light-hitting utility players.

The fact that so many people saw this downturn coming should be enough to let Schneider and his staff off the hook. The Jays’ struggles aren’t on the coaches; they’re on the players and front office executives who put this team together.

Making a change in the dugout now wouldn’t accomplish much of anything. What would? Injecting a couple of big bats into the lineup, but that seems unlikely to happen until closer to the trade deadline in July, if it happens at all. 

One thing Atkins doesn’t deserve is the benefit of firing others to buy himself more time. This is the house the Jays built and now they have to live in it, leaky roof and all.