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.

This is not the kind of quote you want to hear from your catcher:

He kept saying he was sore, he was sore," catcher Bengie Molina said. "He couldn't do another pitch. He couldn't handle it."

He was referring to A.J. Burnett, the new acquisition for the Toronto Blue Jays. The team needed to pay Burnett 55 million over 5 years to pitch with the club. So after J.P. Ricciardi overpays for a pitcher the team needed to hang with Boston and New York, it could be all a waste if Burnett's elbow has flamed out once again. It was only 2003 when Burnett had reconstructive surgery that kept him from participating in the majority of the season and the playoff run for the Florida Marlins.

So this year, the Blue Jays were looking to spend on talent to put themselves into a better position to succeed in the crowded AL East division. One of their pieces could be falling to pieces if the MRI on Burnett's arm comes back saying "Dear Blue Jays, this arm is completely f--ked. Have a nice season in third place." Then Dr. James Andrews will write a glowing letter saying, "Thank you once again for giving me A.J.'s business. He is a delightful person to operate on. Sincerely yours, Dr. J." If the team's catcher says something like that, it cannot be positive.

The entire off-season for the Blue Jays was make or break/damned if you do, damned if you don't. Though you could question moves made by the team, you cannot question their desire to win and compete. That cannot be said for certain other Toronto teams (Maple Leafs). An critical blow to the baseball team will continue to keep fans away from the park because of mediocrity, thus more money lost by the baseball team. Plus, with all the money tied up what will they do for 2007?

This would certainly be a tremendous blow to the team if the results are a worst case scenario. The ballclub cannot have any setbacks if they want to get back what they once had 15 years ago.

It's not like Dontrelle Willis or Miguel Cabrera are sitting at 30+ years of age looking for one last shot at glory.  These two guys are relatively kids with a lot of years left in their promising careers.  With that said, wouldn't you go after one of these players?  Or both?

The first team I thought about was obviously the Toronto Blue Jays, only because they are my favourite team and close to home.  No, I didn't think of them as the team who would be at the front of the line to obtain these guys, but I looked at them and saw they have a deep farm system.  For the last few years GM J.P. Ricciardi has done some great work with the farm system and the drafting.  The Florida Marlins are looking for young talent and they are one franchise that has it.

But there are several teams around the league looking for talent to put themselves over:

- Oakland A's: This franchise likes to make a move for these kinds of players to get to the playoffs and (possibly) make a run through the playoffs.  Oakland could use a bat in Cabrera and an arm like Willis's to make a new Big 3 along with Barry Zito and Rich Harden.

- Milwaukee Brewers: You keep looking at this team and wonder just how they've steadily improved over the last two years.  Maybe the 2005 season was just a fluke and they'll come back to be the Milwaukee Brewers.  Or, they build from last year, get Willis and Cabrera, lock them up long-term and then possibly make a run in 2007.  Or if St.Louis get's old over this past off-season, contention could start now with those 2 added to the roster. 

- Atlanta Braves: They have a lot of good young players and they like to make moves like these (Hudson, JD Drew, Sheffield etc.).  This is a Braves kind of move, but Florida might not workout a deal with someone in the same division (though because Florida's terrible, why should it matter?).

- Cleveland Indians: They might want to upgrade their team to actually have a better shot at the post-season.  This is a franchise that has gone through the rebuilding phase and should have a good crop of players to deal to Florida.  They certainly need another arm and a bat to make themselves a dangerous team.

Blogger-Nation will have their say as to which team should go after them.  I could probably write in another 15 teams in this but I just went with a few just off the top.  Any team could improve vastly with both of these guys, especially if they just need to give up players who would not make an impact on their MLB roster this season.  If these 2 guys are on the trading block and your time to win is now, I'd be ready to throw the kitchen sink at the Marlins to get these two for this year.  So bring it on Blog-Nation.       

 

 

The Toronto Blue Jays have been very busy over the winter break signing players to prepare for the run JP Ricciardi said this team would make by 2006. Let's not argue over his decision to pay guys the x amount that he did (I think they overpaid but he adressed the needs of the ballclub with those pickups). In the midst of obtaining Troy Glaus from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Orlando Hudson and Miguel Batista, there is at least one more move Ricciardi must make.

The real question is, whom? There are 5 guys holding down 3 spots; 3B, 1B and DH. Here are the following players: Glaus, Shea Hillenbrand, Corey Koskie, Lyle Overbay and Erik Hinske. Glaus will be third, Overbay will play first base. Odds are Hillenbrand and Koskie are the guys that will be trade bait. Koskie is a gold glove type third baseman who has not produced with the bat. Hillenbrand is a steady hitter with a questionable attitude. Which one of you do you trade? Answer Erik Hinske. Oops, he's not part of the options given because nobody wants his contract and lack of production that comes with it.

If there was a need for the Blue Jays right now it would probably be a bullpen arm. Though last season their bullpen was not a problem, that does not mean it won't be a problem this year. We have seen over the years how relievers can be lights out one year and putrid the next. Success seemingly comes and goes when you are a reliever, and only the best one's physically and mentally can maintain it. Having said all of that, another relief pitcher (hopefully one that does not crash and burn) would help the ballclub and free up more playing time for some of the guys. Hillenbrand can swing the bat, and if he will be the DH anyway, he's probably the guy you want to keep. However, if Glaus's shoulder is bothering him, play Koskie at third. And if there is a way to get rid of Hinske, tell Ricciardi. Although Hinske has been his boy since he traded for Hinske in 2002.

Odds on favourite to be traded is Hillenbrand. You'll get more out of him in a trade plus he will be a free agent after the 2006 season. The Blue Jays want to contend for this year and next. If I had to say who will be gone, I'd say Shea, reluctantly.

I am 10 years old. It is 1992. It is a cold October night as my brother and I walk past the CN Tower in Toronto to head for Game 3 of the World Series between my beloved Blue Jays and the Atlanta Braves. The game featured one of the greatest catches ever made by Devon White, a near triple play that was missed by the umpire, and a thrilling 3-2 victory for my hometown boys. Fast forward a year later and I get to see one of the most historical homeruns ever hit in baseball history. I was there, and I have the ticket to prove it.

Now let's fast forward to present day. This is what I don't see: playoff runs or a packed ballpark. What do I see: empty seats, empty confidence and desperate measures this offseason. Certainly JP Ricciardi and Blue Jays management have opened the bank to contend with bigger spenders like the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, who are just spenders by the looks of it.

The way it looks for Ricciardi is, 'your damned if you do and damned if you don't'. Unfortunate, but that is how this writer sees it. He threw out big money to BJ Ryan and AJ Burnett to fill the needs of his team. Problem is, he has squeezed out too much to get a hitter such as Nomar Garciaparra or Mike Piazza. So we wait to see if he will trade Miguel Batista or Orlando Hudson. But for whom? I wish Alfonso Soriano, but that won't happen. Brad Wilkerson? Why? Jays already have an underacheiver in Erik Hinske. The Blue Jays need a bat, with someone prepared to use it effectively.

Overall we cannot accuse the Blue Jays of not caring. They have over 20 million reasons to back that up. The money could have been better spent, or less spent on the two pitchers. At the same time, they had to have a closer and another arm to compete. Their time is now and 2007, as they face the problem of two key players becoming free agents: Roy Halladay and Vernon Wells. That means they must make a run for the playoffs now.

If the signings don't pan out, the setback could be detrimental for the franchise. Not signing anyone would make the fans furious at the team. So your damned if you do and damned if you don't.