A few weeks ago, I talked about the criticism J.P. Ricciardi had been getting, and said, “It’s easy to see why.” It seems the pressure from years of mediocrity is getting to Ricciardi, who re-inserted himself into the spotlight with his on-air criticism of not only Adam Dunn but his own team’s fans: "Maybe we have more information and know the player a little more than the average fan." Although true in 99% of cases, doesn't that break some kind of PR rule? The last time I checked, you're not supposed to get snippy with your fans. Getting back to Dunn, he responded with his own outburst, calling Ricciardi a “clown.” This isn’t the first time someone has had negative comments regarding Ricciardi. Back in December 2006, Ricciardi questioned Gil Meche’s competitiveness when he signed with Kansas City instead of Toronto. To which, Buddy Bell responded with:

"(Ricciardi) is an interesting guy for all that he's done in the game," Bell told the Kansas City Star. "He's a little guy with a big mouth and all he does is whine. And you can write that. That's the kind of #### in this game that drives me crazy. He knows nothing about our situation. You've got to be kidding me. Every time I hear this guy talk, all he's doing is whining."

Moving past the soap opera, I think the Blue Jays are in desperate need for a rebuilding effort – more on that in the weeks to come. For now, let’s take the caller’s question on face value: we’re trying to make the Blue Jays better soon. If that’s the case and Ricciardi doesn’t think Dunn can improve the team, the real question becomes: is J.P. Ricciardi making the best decisions for his team? He’s not the first to question Dunn’s passion for the game, but I take issue with his decision that “I don’t think you’d be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here” for two reasons:

1. Jeff Kent hates baseball and he’s put together a pretty nice career.

2. The Blue Jays really need help on offense.

Let’s expand on that second reason.

Lyle Overbay leads the team in OBP at .371, and Rod Barajas leads the team in SLG at .474. Adam Dunn has a .395 OBP and .514 SLG.

Shannon Stewart has seen the most time in LF with 34.5 Adjusted Games (innings played there divided by 9), and he’#### .240/.325/.303. Wilkerson’s seen time there lately; he’s hitting .254/.331/.377. Dunn has hit .227/.395/.514 in 63.5 Adjusted Games.

Blue Jays’ left fielders have a Rate of 99. Dunn’s Rate is 105.

Shannon Stewart’s Revised Zone Rating is .896, and Wilkerson’s is .900. Dunn’s RZR is .888.

Conclusion

So what do we have here? Dunn is better at getting on base than anyone on the Blue Jays’ roster, and he hits for more power than anyone on their roster. He’s light years ahead of their current left fielders on offense, and his defensive numbers this year are on par with their current options. Combining Stewart and Wilkerson, they have 0.9 Wins Above Replacement Player. Dunn has 3.3 WARP. I think it’s safe to say that Adam Dunn is a better left fielder than any of Toronto’s current options, just like it was safe to say that Frank Thomas was a better DH than any of their other options. For J.P. Ricciardi to decide otherwise is pure ignorance of the facts. Maybe he’s a firm believer in truthiness…