Music: {allcanada} Committed to the cause

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

{allcanada} Committed to the cause

TORONTO - Assistant general manager Tony LaCava is returning to work with the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday after turning down an offer to become GM of the Baltimore Orioles.

LaCava made his decision to stay put Tuesday, citing his relationship with GM Alex Anthopoulos and the office environment created by team president Paul Beeston as reasons why he declined the promotion from the AL East rival.

"It's not a reflection on the Orioles," LaCava told sportsnet.ca in an interview. "I just don't want to leave the Blue Jays. Baltimore did everything right, we had good baseball discussions, they have some good ideas of where they want to go, but at the end of the day, I really had to look at how I really enjoy my job, I love what I do, Alex and I are very close, and I want to see things through with him."

LaCava's decision is a coup for the Blue Jays, who would have been left without the front office's No. 2 man just as the off-season's business gets going.

The 50-year-old from Pittsburgh, lured over from the Cleveland Indians in 2002 by then GM J.P. Ricciardi, is one of Anthopoulos's most trusted evaluators, and oversees both the farm system and the club's Latin American operations.

In an interview last month, Anthopoulos said LaCava's potential departure would be "a very, very massive loss" and that "it's just too young a front office, too inexperienced, myself included, to replace what he brings because he's the total package."

Left out of the loop on the team's planning while he was in talks with the Orioles, LaCava is eager to rejoin the club Wednesday when he flies in from his Pittsburgh home.

"When you're in a good spot and you're working with good people and you feel you're on the verge of something really fun and really great, it would be a real regret to leave," he said. "I think that's where we're at right now."

LaCava is well regarded around the game and has previously interviewed for GM jobs in Pittsburgh and Seattle, and has turned down a few other interview opportunities.

The Orioles are looking to replace Andy MacPhail, who decided not to return to his post after the season. They made their offer to LaCava in Baltimore on Monday, but at the end he felt staying in Toronto was the right move for him.

"That was why I made the decision, not anything to do with the Baltimore Orioles," said LaCava. "Obviously there are only 30 GM jobs in the world and I'm honoured that they thought of me, but I just could not leave the Blue Jays."