by Jeremy Visser… More horrible news for reeling Toronto sports fans: Cito Gaston is officially back as manager next season, signing a deal last night that will have him on the bench for one more season before “retiring” into a four-year consulting role, which will give him plenty more time to sit on his hands. As frustrating as it is to have the old man back, this move was expected after Paul Beeston signed on as president earlier in the week.

Along with Cito’s deal, there was plenty of shakeup on the Jays coaching staff: Out is pitching coach Brad Ansberg, who’s heading home to Houston to fill the same role for the Astros, who hired former Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills as manager earlier in the week. Shifting from bullpen to pitching coach is Bruce Walton, while Rick Langford, who previously served as pitching coach with the Jays in 2002, returns to work the bullpen. Nick Leyva replaces Brian Butterfield as bench coach while Butterfield heads back to third base, and Dwayne Murphy takes Gene Tenace’s hitting coach spot with Tenace retiring.

So, a whole lot of nothing. We lose our most valuable coach (Arnsberg), with the rest of the crew shifting around and a guy that wasn’t capable of sticking around in the first place coming back (Langford). Then again, our entire coaching staff was already been let go once in 1997, so it only makes sense.