To make the situation any worse for the Toronto Blue Jays would be seemingly impossible.  Last night they achieved the impossible after a report that J.P. Ricciardi claimed to have talked to Adam Dunn over the telephone to squash any hard feelings stemming from comments they have made towards one another.  Dunn claims he never made a phone call to Ricciardi.

The situation reminds me of a politician who decides to make up a story which would have no real effect in his or her political campaign.  Regardless of what story you believe, whether Ricciardi was tricked or whether he made the story up, J.P. should have been the one to go out of his way to make the phone call.  He did start the fire.

Here in Toronto it has been difficult to give Ricciardi the benefit of the doubt.  We have seen some baffling changes over his 7 years as General Manager of the Blue Jays - considering he is in year 7 of a 5-year plan.  Here are a few quick points...

- What was once a proud franchise that use to have one of the best minor league systems around has now become one of the worst.  That comes to no surprise when Ricciardi got rid of most of the scouting department that had ties with the organization dating back to Pat Gillick.  Since the changes, few of Ricciardi's draft picks have made any kind of impact at the major league level.  The 3 faces of the Blue Jays organization, Vernon Wells, Alex Rios and Roy Halladay, were all drafted by Gord Ash.

- Ricciardi was specifically hired to make a contender out of a team that was not going to spend a lot of money.  Coming from the Oakland Athletics organization, Ricciardi was brought in to be the next Billy Beane, his close buddy.  After the 2005 season, the Blue Jays decided to boost payroll since they had brought in more revenue after the franchise successfully purchased Skydome - now Rogers Center.  The problem is, Ricciardi was brought in to win without a huge payroll and he still can't win WITH the boost in spending options.

- Ed Wade, the GM of the Houston Astros, offered Ricciardi Ryan Howard in exchange for Ted Lilly back in 2005 when Wade was GM for Philadelphia.  It was a deal that should have been made; Howard was ready for the big leagues after tearing up AAA for a couple of years and Lilly was just an above average pitcher at best.  Lilly was Ricciardi's guy, he liked Lilly from his Oakland days and felt he was going to accomplish big things.  Lilly walked after 2006 and signed with the Cubs while Howard won an MVP and hit nearly 60 home runs.

- In 2002 the New York Mets were interested in Jose Cruz Jr., then an outfielder and soon-to-be free agent for the Blue Jays.  Ricciardi was looking to deal Cruz and the Mets could only offer a Single-A player by the name of David Wright.  Cruz was not traded and signed with San Francisco after the season.

- That same year, Orlando Hudson called Ricciardi a "pimp", which Ricciardi did not take kindly.  He sent down Hudson who had a great spring training.  In AAA, Hudson was having a great year but as punishment, Ricciardi did not call him up to the big club.  Meanwhile, Homer Bush was battling injuries, Felipe Lopez was not adjusting to the major league level and Ricciardi decided to call up 1st round draft bust Joel Lawrence, who couldn't hit in the minors, let alone the majors.  Lawrence batted a cool .180 in 150 at bats while Hudson continued to abuse pitchers in Syracuse.  Hudson deserved a shot months earlier.

- 2005 draft.  The Blue Jays looked up and down the list and Ricciardi felt the need to draft a pitcher Ricky Romero.  Although the next best prospect on that list was Troy Tulowitzki, Ricciardi felt no need to draft another shortstop.  Unlike basketball or football, you have to draft the best available player in baseball because they will take a couple years before they are ready to play in the big leagues.  Therefore, not drafting the best player in the draft was a mistake.  Tulowitzki helped Colorado get to the World Series in 2007 while Romero may not ever make it to Toronto.  Other notable players that were passed over by the Blue Jays: Cameron Maybin, Jay Bruce, Michael Pelfrey and Jacoby Ellisbury.

- After the 2006 season Ricciardi had agreed to a deal with catcher Rod Barajas - or so he thought.  Barajas apparently backed out of the deal and signed with Philadelphia.  Ricciardi was enraged and spoke out about how Barajas had given him his word on signing with Toronto.  A year later, Ricciardi signs Barajas.  Funny considering the way he laid Barajas out just a year earlier. 

- If Ricciardi does his homework on guys like Adam Dunn, why did he sign Shea Hillenbrand?

There have been other things during his 7-year tenure as GM of the Jays (calling out A.J. Burnett through the media, lying about B.J. Ryan's injury last year, etc.).  What baffles me is how he still has his job.  He is down to his last few bullets after firing his friend John Gibbons, so he may be on the clock.  He has, however, established a great relationship with the media.  There have been very few people in Toronto that has taken a run at Ricciardi.  Whether it's the newspapers, television or the pre-game and post-game radio host, Ricciardi seems to have been given a pass within the media.  From now until his run as GM is over, he'll maintain a positive relationship with the media. 

Otherwise his days are numbered.