TORONTO - Blue Jays manager John Gibbons sat down with TSN.ca before Saturdays game against the Kansas City Royals to discuss his status, the degree to which leadership matters in baseball, and whether hell make significant adjustments to next Februarys spring training schedule. Listen to the interview here or read the transcript below. TSN.ca: Some heat around here, John, the hot seat is a little warm. Look, its been a tough year. Im giving you an opportunity to say your piece. Youre on the hot seat. Is it fair? Is it unfair? Does fairness matter? GIBBONS: Scott, fairness doesnt matter. Thats the business were in. Its the entertainment business but its serious sports. I dont get caught up in all of that to be honest with you. Yeah, it hurts, nobody likes to be ripped and things like that but on the flip side of that, Im responsible for what happens with this team on the field and it hasnt been a good year. You just grind it out. Ive said before, I show up every day and its a new day. You go out there, I love competing. You go out there and try to win that game and do the best job you can. At the end of the day, you know, all the decisions you make, do they all work? Of course not. Some of the best decisions you make backfire on you. Some of the worst ones you make, you come out smelling like a rose. Thats just the way the game is but you deal with it, you learn to deal with it, you expect it and if you cant handle it, youre in trouble. TSN.ca: You look at this team heading into the offseason, and Alex has said youre going to be back next year so you have that security, the support of your general manager, which we knew that you had. Can this team, as currently constituted, come back in spring training and head into next April and be a winning group? GIBBONS: Scott, we like the core group of this team. Theres no question, we liked it going into this year with all the big moves made and we still like it. But we have to make some additions to upgrade some areas, thats no secret. In saying that, thats not always easy. Alex, weve talked about it, I think everybody understands its pretty obvious what we need to do and hell attempt to do that. Its not easy because you go around to most teams in the game, theyre basically in a lot of ways. One thing about Alex, hes tireless, hes not afraid to make some things happen and hell put his best foot forward. Its still a good group out there but theres no question to be a better team we need to make a few changes. TSN.ca: When you assess this season, John, that 11-game win streak stands out obviously as the high point and there have been some down points both before that and after that. So lets talk about that 11-game win streak. Does that tell you that theres something in there that we just havent seen enough of or was that an outlier? Because a lot of teams dont win 11 in a row, not even the best. GIBBONS: No question about that. What really happened there is it all came together for that period of time. We pitched well during that stretch, you know we played good, solid defence and the bats, we were swinging the bats. It was one of those stretches when everything was clicking. You dont always get that over the season. Some stretches you pitch well and youre not hitting and the defence, the defence needs to be the constant. Youre going to have some bad games but thats one thing you can control a little bit of. That needs to be there every day. Pitching and offence can be hit or miss but for that stretch, it all came together for a length of time there. Everybody goes through those ups and downs but you know what those good teams do, they may not have the 11-game streak but theres more consistency throughout the year. The best teams in baseball go through their down stretches where theyll lose five, six, sometimes seven games in a row, something like that. Thats because maybe theyre not pitching good, their bats went silent or whatever it is. Over 162 games, thats the norm but the better teams, they do it better and they generally, their pitching day in and day out gives you a shot. When we talk about good pitching, it doesnt mean you have to go out and throw shutouts every night but its really, they keep you in the game and give you a shot and let your offence maybe take over. In fairness to our pitching also this year, we havent played good enough defence at times and theyve suffered for that. Im not just talking about errors and things like that. I mean, there are some balls we havent gotten to that you really need to at this level. Some double plays you need to turn at the big league level to bail you out of a tough inning that we havent always done. Lets face it, at the big league level, you have to take away hits, too. You need the routine play made but you know what, you still need to take away hits because thats what the better teams do. TSN.ca: In hockey, theres a player on each team that wears a C and that denotes leadership. What value do you place on leadership in such an individual sport like baseball? GIBBONS: Thats a good question that will always be debated. First off, youre not going to win anything without talent, in any sport, thats just a given. But still there needs to be a couple of guys, they have to be guys with credentials, those are the guys they look to, and youve got to be able to snap somebody back in place, snap a team back in and say, Listen, were not doing this well, lets go guys, lets pick it up and things like that. If its always got to be the manager or the coach, I mean its not going to work. Sooner or later, if you talk too much, they tune you out. Its just like your own children or your teacher at school, whatever it might be, talk is cheap and if you have to do it too often, apparently somebodys not listening. It always helps to have a couple of guys on a team, they take that role whether they like it or not and its not always talking, its how they carry themselves and their actions. That can be very valuable. That point will probably always be debated because Ive been on some teams where you have a bunch of renegades, you know talented teams but it can be a mess but yet they play as a team, they show up to win and that usually overrides the day. TSN.ca: The kids that have come up have injected, I guess, some refreshing air into the environment here. What have you seen, I guess you take your pick on who you want to talk about but what have you seen from Goins, Gose, Pillar and Sierra? GIBBONS: Ive been really, pleasantly surprised. Theyve all helped one way or the other and theyre doing a nice job. Like Ive said before, some guys never get opportunities in this game so when you get it, you know you may only get one so take advantage of it. Theyre all showing us something right now. Goins has been in the spotlight lately with some great defensive plays and some big hits. Hes really doing everything right now. You know, Gosey, (Friday) night had the big triple to set up an inning in a tight ball game to plate a big run for us and hes playing great defence and throwing his hits in along the way. Pillar, its been kind of hit or miss for him, he hasnt really settled in offensively but you look, hes been a good base runner, hes been good in the outfielder and things like that. Sierra, hes starting to heat up a little bit. When he keeps his swing under control, theres a lot in that bat. Hes a good, solid outfielder with a great arm. He can be a difference maker with that arm. Theyve all, one way or another, done some things to benefit us and you get excited about that and youre happy for them because, like I said, there are only so many opportunities you get in this business so it always helps to make that good impression and theyre all doing that. TSN.ca: Next year cant be this year with the record. The expectations were high coming in and you havent lived up to them this season. Do you change your approach at all heading into spring training next year? Do you make some adjustments next season based on what youve seen out of the group this year to give yourself a better chance to have a better record? GIBBONS: What you always do, game-to-game, you reflect on the game and from a managers standpoint, what might have I done different that might have affected the outcome, this and that. Youre constantly doing that and of course, at the end of the year and were getting there, you always reflect and think you know what, maybe we need to do this, more of this, less of that, what have you. Going into spring training, there will be some adjustments that will be made. Well look at the personnel and well deal with that. We were ready coming out of spring training, no doubt in my mind, we just didnt play well. We just didnt handle expectations well, whether we were a little bit tight, what have you, thats just the way it went. But you need to make some adjustments and do some things to change some things because theres no question that, you know, you need a better year next year. A lot was put into this team and we were really hyped up, as we should have been, everybody liked all the moves and there were a number of them. We like the group that we have, of course there needs to be some additions, but you know were always optimistic. Like Ive said before, the fans have turned out this year. Theyve done their part of it and this place will explode with a winning team out there and we dont think were that far off and this city and this country deserve that. Tyler Lyons Jersey . An in-person hearing allows for Garbutt to be suspended for five games or longer as per the leagues Collective Bargaining Agreement. Garbutt delivered a high hit to Penner in the second period of Sundays game. Alex Rodriguez Yankees Jersey .ca/CurlingSkins - with the Top 16 curlers earning a ticket to Banff, Alta. to compete in the TRAVELERS ALL-STAR CURLING SKINS GAME Presented by Pintys, running Jan. https://www.cheapyankees.com/2371g-gary-...ey-yankees.html. They signed their first kicker. Ottawa inked Nick Setta, a 32-year-old native of Lockport, Illinois, to a contract. Edwin Encarnacion Jersey . Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were third with 210.84 points. Teammates Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto were fourth. Duhamel and Radford, who were seventh at the Sochi Olympics, also won bronze at last years world championships in London, Ont. Jorge Posada Yankees Jersey . -- Jacksonvilles offensive makeover is just getting starting. MONTREAL -- With veteran Henry Burris at quarterback, maybe the Ottawa Redblacks wont be quite the pushovers most expansion clubs have been. Burris threw for 247 yards in one half of a game -- on pace for a nearly 500-yard outing -- as the Redblacks downed the woeful Montreal Alouettes 26-10 in CFL pre-season play Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium. Former Hamilton Tiger-Cat Chevon Walker ran in two touchdowns and caught a five-yard pass for another to lead the Redblacks, who will be on a bye when the regular season opens next weekend and wont make their debut until July 3 in Winnipeg. "We knew we had to play well," said Burris, who signed as a free agent with Ottawa. "The fact that we dont play next week, we had to have a good feeling coming out of this game because now we have a few days off. "We know we made an improvement from last week (a 21-17 loss at Saskatchewan) and we wanted to carry the momentum of playing good football into the Winnipeg game in a couple of weeks." Brett Maher added a fourth-quarter field goal for Ottawa when Thomas DeMarco was in at quarterback. The Ottawa defence held Montreal without a touchdown, although some of that had to do with Troy Smiths struggles to find his receivers. Delbert Alvarado had a pair of field goals and Sean Whyte had another for Montreal, which went 0-2 in the pre-season under new coach Tom Higgins, and looked shaky on both sides of the ball heading into their season opener June 28 in Calgary. "It was definitely a pre-season game," said Smith, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner who has the tall order of replacing future Hall of Famer Anthony Calvillo as the Alouettes starting quarterback. "You understand things arent going to be as good as you want them to be all the time. "We did some positive things, we just werent able to capitalize on any drives." The less-than sellout crowd of 18,141 got their first look at former NFL star Chad (Ochocinco) Johnson, who is on a comeback after last having played in 2011. He made a 13-yard catch on the Alouettes first play from scrimmage but that was all. "Hopefully the timing with the guys will get better," said Smith. "Youve got to give Ottawa some credit. They played defence and came out with the win. Its very premature. Were embarking on something great. I can feel it in my bones.dddddddddddd But you have to go through trials and tribulations." A lot of Ottawa players made it difficult for coach Rick Campbell to make his final cuts on Saturday, when all nine CFL teams have to trim rosters to 46 players. Burris had six players make at least two catches, while the defence held Montreal to 290 yards in net offence. "When the decisions are easy, its not good," said Campbell. "We had some guys make some big plays, but it is a pre-season game. Well watch film and evaluate it. "Were not going to pat ourselves on the back too much. Well get back to work and try to get better." Burris couldnt get a first down on Ottawas first three possessions, but adjustments were made. Then he couldnt be stopped the rest of the first half. He completed 17 of 22 passes, all against Montreals first-string defence. The Redblacks led 22-7 at the intermission. Smith completed nine of 17 for 122 yards in the opening 30 minutes and gave way to the equally ineffective Tanner Marsh early in the second half. Alex Brink also saw action. The Alouettes got on the board first with Alvarados punt single, but then Burris threw 28 yards to Dobson Collins to set up Walkers three-yard TD 12:16 into the game. Montreal answered with a field goal, but Kierrie Johnsons 36-yard catch to the Montreal one set up Walkers second TD of the night 44 seconds into the second quarter. Just before the intermission, Burris led an eight-play 85-yard drive capped by Walkers five-yard TD catch. With second and third stringers on in the second half, neither team was able to move the ball very far and spectators were streaming out by the end of the third quarter. Unusually for the pre-season game, there were relatively few penalties called and there were no fumbles or interceptions. Last week, Montreal blew a lead in a 28-23 setback at Hamilton. Their bright spots were Alvarados powerful kicking and some long returns by Larry Taylor, who returned to Montreal from Calgary in the off-season. Notes: The Alouettes were missing running backs Brandon Whitaker (sore leg) and Tyrell Sutton (hamstring). Their replacement Brandon Rutley had a quiet game 29 yards on nine carries. Linebacker Kyries Hebert didnt dress, but he has returned to practice after suffering a concussion June 7. ' ' '