Gibbons has dealt with job speculation before

TORONTO -- John Gibbons doesn't appear to be putting much thought into a recent report that suggested the Blue Jays have at least contemplated making a change at either manager or pitching coach.

According to the Toronto Sun, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos and president Paul Beeston met Monday morning to discuss the organization's current state of affairs. The report suggested every aspect of the club was examined, with a particularly close look at the coaching staff.

Anthopoulos publicly denied the report during an appearance on Toronto's Fan590 radio station Tuesday afternoon, but these are the type of situations teams with losing records often have to deal with. Gibbons has been down this road before and didn't seem overly concerned about being on the hot seat once again.

"You learn over time," Gibbons said when asked how he deals with the speculation. "That's the way you have to approach it. I've been in this racket for a while now and really it goes with the territory. When the team is struggling, that's generally what happens. I don't think it's any different here than anywhere else, you just learn how to deal with it."

Toronto entered play on Tuesday night with an 18-22 record, which has the club in last place in the American League East. That's not where the Blue Jays expected to be at this time of the year, especially considering they have aspirations of contending for the postseason.

Beeston is set to retire at the end of the year, while Anthopoulos' position could be closely tied to his club's final record. It's easy to pinpoint the biggest problem with Toronto's pitching staff combining to post an AL-worst 4.81 ERA in 40 games. The Blue Jays also led the Majors with 140 walks and are 28th in WHIP (1.40).

It's unrealistic to think another pitching coach could come in and magically turn things around, but considering the report also touched on Pete Walker's job security, Gibbons did come out strongly in his defense when asked about the former big league reliever.

"Pete's one of the best pitching coaches in the game," Gibbons said. "He's a young guy; Pete's doing everything he needs to do. You just deal with [the criticism]."

In Anthopoulos' view, he has conversations with Beeston on a regular basis and wouldn't read much into a meeting even if one had been scheduled.

"Paul and I talk all of the time," Anthopoulos told the Fan590. "When we're on the road I talk to him daily, multiple times a day. We're always talking about team, players, everything, ways to get better -- especially when we're not playing well."