So what would have happened had Cito Gaston made the slow stroll to the mound last Monday?
Gaston was standing down the third-base line of the Rogers Centre last night, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other before answering.
"You know, pretty much the same thing would have happened," he said. "I'm not trying to take sides, but you don't show each other up on the ball field."
In case you have just returned from your underwater sea cruise, the Blue Jays were involved in a downright giggler -- one stage up from a laugher -- on Monday.
In the top of the third, they led the Oakland A's 8-0. Lefty Ted Lilly then issued a 10-pitch walk to Eric Chavez after getting ahead 0-2, then went single, double, homer, homer, ground ball out and a single.
Jays manager John Gibbons made a second trip to the mound with the Jays' lead at 8-5, runners at the corners and the tying run at the plate.
Except Lilly didn't want to give up the ball, and a subsequent shouting match ensued as well as a 1-on-1 confrontation in the tunnel leading to the clubhouse.
It was a replay of Gaston hooking David Wells, from the give-and-take profanity to the conclusion in the tunnel on Aug. 9, 1991. Only difference in the Wells-Gaston confrontation was Wells hurling the ball into foul ground.
"You know something, I never saw the ball ... people asked me what I thought about David throwing the ball into the corner," Gaston said, of what was Wells' best pitch of the night.
Gaston was the latest ex-Jay here on a flashback Friday night and to flash back to his night with Wells:
The Jays were trailing the Boston Red Sox 3-0 in the top of the fifth. Wade Boggs walked to open the inning and Jody Reed singled. Carlos Quintana hit into a double play and Wells threw a wild pitch to score Boggs. Jack Clark walked and up came Mike Greenwell.
The way we remember infielder Rene Gonzalez telling us that night, Gaston called for a changeup. Wells shook off catcher Pat Borders.
Borders put the signal down again. Again Wells shook his head no. Then, after a mound visit from Borders, Wells threw a quarter-hearted hanging change. Greenwell belted it on a line to right and Gaston made an angry line for Wells.
"I was moving pretty quick," said Gaston, who was out of the dugout before time was called.
"That's baseball, the heat of the moment. People forget three or four months later David was at my house in Dunedin, taking my son Adrien fishing ... and drinking all my beer.
"We're friends to this day. We made a mistake releasing him."
Wells was released in the spring of 1993 -- taking beer to the minor-league complex in Syracuse was the Labatt that broke the camel's back -- and outfielder Derek Bell was released for getting doubled off second on a pop up.
"Outside of Troy Glaus and Bengie Molina this is a young team, not a lot of these guys have had the experience of being in the race," Gaston said.
Gaston has not been interviewed for a managerial job since the White Sox chose Ozzie Guillen over him in 2003. He was interviewed for the Cleveland Indians job when they hired Charlie Manuel in 2000 and the Milwaukee Brewers when they hired Davey Lopes the same year.
He was ask to interview for the Anaheim Angels job but declined, so they hired Mike Scioscia.
"I'd still like to manage, but I'm not going for any more interviews," Gaston said.
"I think the only way I would manage was if someone phoned me and said 'Hey Cito, c'mon over, this team is yours to manage."
He should manage again.
He almost managed the White Sox and was the choice of general manager Kenny Williams. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf chose Guillen.
But when Gaston does land another job, pitchers had best give him the ball.
