Down and Out

YEAH BABY!!! JP is done with the Jays!!!

Wait...let me finish! There are so many people out in Blue Jay land that are jumping with joy after hearing of the dismissal of JP Ricciardi as the Jays General Manager. The guy came in 8 years ago with and what did he bring to the club. Four winning seasons, AJ, BJ, bloated contracts in Wells and Rios, $18mil for Thomas, $17mil for Koskie, and (in my opinion) a disaster in trade talks about Halladay. There was a lot of bad that has come with JP.

But looking back over the past 8 full seasons can you really put all the blame on the GM? Yes, he has the GM title and that is what comes with the territory so therefore he should take blame for what has transpired over the past 8 seasons. Some argue that he is not responsible for most of the decisions and Jay's fans should point their finger and direct their anger at upper management who JP reported to. Why do people even bother saying this BS about JP being the lightning rod when upper management is to be blamed. Maybe JP was a puppet and did whatever his superiors asked of him, we will never know. Ultimately, it all came down on his shoulders because he had the title of GM after his name. If he was opposed to the decisions coming from the top then he should have voiced his concerns and if they fell on deaf ears then a resignation letter should have been drafted and dropped off onto the proper desks.

Don't give me all this crap about JP shouldn't be blamed for the problems that Jays endured over the past 8 seasons. He was the GM and it was his team that took the field for the 162 games a year. It was his team that produced no post-season appearances. It was his team that finished with four losing seasons.

In my eyes, it doesn't matter who takes the GM office for the Jays because of how baseball is currently structured. The Rays showed it is possible to overcome the powers of the AL East but without a play-off birth in 2009, it proved my point, it was just a year that things went their way.

Looking ahead and all I see is a nice 3rd or 4th place finish in the AL East behind the usual suspects. You never know, our young guys can all put up career years and push us into the post-season and maybe even make a run at the World Series. Unlikely, but that's why we play the games.

Griffey in Toronto

Now that the free agent season is kind of over with the big dudes signing, well with the Yankees, I think the Jays and their "amazing" GM need to start shopping. As I mentioned earlier this month, they don't have to go out and sign players to $150million contracts, we all know they can not afford to do that. Just go out and throw some 1yr contracts around that are filled with incentives.

Dudes like Giambi, Smoltz, Baldelli, and Saito are out of the picture so looking at the guys who are left, what about Griffey? He's old and he's kind of washed up but if you give him a bat and a DH spot he can still provide some pop especially in a hitters park like SkyDome.

What do you think JP? How about signing Griffey to a 1yr contract with a club option for a 2nd and lace the shit out of the contract with incentives. Yes he's old and yes we have a turf field but all he has to do is walk to the batters box and swing a bat. He can provide a left handed bat to separate Wells and Rios, yes I would have preferred Giambi but that is over with, so come on JP go out and get it done.

If all fails, think of all the revenue the Jays will get from selling Griffey merchandise.

Jays Miss Another FA

It seems the Jays are content with just fielding a mediocre team and hiding behind the excuse of how much money they don't have to spend on landing free agents. The economic situation the Jays face, as do many MLB teams face, is in my eyes a huge excuse to fielding a winning team. I understand this isn't just about sports and more about business than anything else but it just starts to piss me off when I see other teams doing the little things to make a winning team.

As with most teams in the majors the Jays were not involved in talks with the big prize free agents like CC Sabathia and Mark Teieira, we just couldn't afford them and I totally understand. But why are they not trying to land some small fish that would cost little but could provide a huge upside. It seems like JP Ricciardi and the Blue Jays management are all about minimizing their losses in 2009. After the death of owner Ted Rogers, the Jays management were instructed to reduce/stick with status quo with respect to salaries, especially after the Jays lost AJ and his $14 million dollar per year contract.

Looking at what other teams are doing with their money and that $14 million could buy plenty of players that could potentially give the Jays a huge boost that might put them into the playoffs.

Below are the players that could have been added and their price tags.

Rocco Baldelli is an injury away from spending the lazy days of summer on the DL but with the doctors finally diagnosing his health problems and being placed on a proper path to staying healthy his deal with the Red Sox seems like a steal. His price tag, $500,000 guranteed and if he stays healthy the contract could jump to $2.25 million for a 1-year contract.
John Smoltz was signed for $5.5 million that could nearly double to $10 million if he reaches specific milestones/goals. Again, a 1-year contract.

Takashi Saito is another player that signed with the Red Sox. The deal is reportedly to be worth between $1.5-2.5 million in guranteed money with incentives that could reach $7 million plus. This seems to be a theme, Saito signed a 1-year contract.

Brad Penny signed for, you guessed it, 1-year worth $5 million.

Jason Giambi signed a 1-year contract with a club option for the 2nd year and a buyout of $1.25 million. The deal is worth $4 million plus the buyout, $1.25 million, as guarenteed money.

As you can clearly see, the market for potential baseball studs was filled with plenty of players that could be wearing a Blue Jays uniform in 2009. It disappoints me to see all these guys landing on teams where their GM's are doing yeomans work.

Just add up the salaries on all these guys and it comes to a grand total of $18.75 million. Of course, the Jays didn't have to spend all that money to grab all those players but it would have been worth it. The risk the Jays would be taking is minimal since they are all 1-year contracts and if they did perform extremely well they would pay for themselves in wins for the team. Plus, if the Jays were going nowhere in 2009 and these players were performing well they could easily make a trade with a team in contention.

Mr. Theo Epstein of the Red Sox seems to be doing the dirty work that makes a great and potentially a World Series team. Adding little pieces to fill the small cracks will most likely land his team in the playoffs and a chance at a World Series ring. I just wish JP would stop smiling and take off those stupid sunglasses and make an appearance at the free agent table. We all know job security is nice, especially in a recession, and listening to your boss will keep you employed but just stand up and explain the entire situation to them. The Jays need some extra cash to succeed but it doesn't have to be $500 million. Winning can easily come at a price tag of $18.75 million.

At the end of the day, it seems the smart GM's are out playing the complacent GM's. If the Jays plan on spending the next 10 years rebuilding and following the Rays' set path then please go a head. Just know that all the Jays fans in Toronto and around the world are suffering.

Ricciardi, do something!!

As you can clearly see in the above picture Jason Giambi is now a part of the Oakland A's. You have absolutely no idea how pissed I am right now. Not because he signed with the A's but the fact that the Jays need help in the lineup and this is the type of guy that they could afford and someone who fits their needs but they didn't sign him.

1 - Just look a the Jays lineup and you can easily see that we need a bat from the left side that can rake balls out of the Skydome.
2 - We don't have the resources like the boys from NY to throw at free agents. Giambi is cheap!

Why the fuck did JP not do anything to sign Giambi and bring him into a friendly hitters park like the Skydome. Of course, the media can't report and doesn't report everything because they don't have information on everything. So the Jays could have been in negotiations with Giambi and things just didn't work out. Also, Giambi could have just straight up said, "Hell's no, I'm not going to stinkin Canada."

All I see is the Jays being complete idiots who seem to know nothing about running a successful baseball team to compete in the AL East. We don't have the money to spend but when someone like Giambi is available on the market we need to grab him!!!

Just think about what Giambi could bring at such a low price. Splitting Rios and Wells with a left handed bat that can easily hit 30HRs and drive in another 100...is that something you'd be interested in? What about Giambi taking the pressure off Wells and Rios to produce. Allow them to relax and do their own thing without having the media always critizing them if the team isn't producing runs.

Just another reason the Jays are going to sink to the the bottom of the AL East.

Oh yeah, one more thing. You know that guy named Roy Halladay, well say good bye to him. Take a step in his shoes and think about this, why the hell should he stay put in Toronto and waste his time pitching for a loser. Please, don't give me the loyalty crap, we all know you would drop your team if you had a legitimate chance at a World Series ring.

Can we just fire this so called GM, JP Ricciardi, already!!!

Giambi in Toronto

The rumours are flying at the GM Meetings in Dana California and one rumour that sounds fairly interesting in my eyes is the newly free agent Jason Giambi signing with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Even with the news breaking in New York and Oakland about his return to the A's lineup, I could easily see JP Ricciardi, GM of the Jays, try and sign Giambi to a 1 or 2 year deal. If you look at the numbers and the surrounding situation it could be a nice fit.

The numbers speak for themselves. Giving Giambi, who will be 38 for the 2009 season, a 1 year deal with an option for the second gives the Jays the DH they badly need. Coming off a poor 2007 season, Giambi bounced back with 32HRs and 96RBIs in 458ABs. That is exactly what the Jays need, a HR/RBI guy.

As most baseball fans know, the Skydome (stupid new name sucks ass) is a great place for a slugger to hit HR's but does take a toll on some guys due to the artificial turf. But, since this is the AL Giambi can be the DH and not have to deal with running on the turf for defence.

Having Giambi sandwiched between Rios and Wells could break the right handed bats up plus bring in some protection for Rios who had a disappointing 2008 season.

I would love to see Giambi and his stash in the the Jays lineup plus, the Jays could obviously spend their money on worse free agents.


Photo Courtesy of Sports Illustrated.