Toronto Baseball Guys
The end of July has finally arrived. The All-Star-Snoozefest has ended and the trade deadline is quickly approaching. The Jays are sellers once again and everything is all too normal in the Universe.
One thing, however, is different. This year, the Jays aren't heading into the trade deadline with the king of all scum (KOAS), J.P. Ricciardi, at the helm. The Jays are still sellers, but this year, there are no excuses, no lying about injuries, no family time in Worcester, Mass. This year, the king of all scum is using his stupid Boston accent to try and impregnate those who watched the Futures Game with his sickening ideas of how to build a ball club. What am I talking about? I'm glad you asked. During the Futures Game in All Star Weekend, the KOAS was asked for his top 5 farm systems in baseball. Wanna know where he ranked the Jays system? Number 5! "That's just a system with a ton of depth", he says. Really!? Before Ricciardi was fired, Sports Illustrated rated the Blue Jays as the 28th best farm system in the league. Since his firing and the Halladay deal (soon to be known as the Drabek deal), websites have ranked the Jays system anywhere from 22nd to 26th. Somebody, please get the ESPN Ombudsmen on this one. Between hiring the King of all Scum and airing The Decision, ESPN’s programming is deteriorating faster than Vernon Wells’ batting average. Hiyo!
On to bigger and better things...
This year, Alex Anthopoulos (or as I'll refer to him from now on, He Who Can Do No Wrong) is implementing a novel idea. He is not settling for 4th place in the division (gasp!). He actually is going to take some pieces, some that are overachieving and others that simply do not fit the plan for the future and turn them into pieces that do fit the plan and may have lower values than they should.
Of course, the Yunel Escobar trade is prime example of this. Alex Gonzalez is having a career year. Yunel Escobar is having his worst year to date. It’s textbook. Trade old for young; overachieving for underachieving; speaks a lot of English for speaks 11 words of English. It just works. Dividends are already showing. Not only has he hit some dingers and gotten on base, he might also create a hilarious feud between our baseball and radio commentators. Buck and Pat are in the ‘Yunel’ camp, Jerry and Alan are in the ‘Junel’ camp. Somebody start snapping dramatically. Bottom line: Good work, He Who Can Do No Wrong.
So, who else might HWCDNW trade come July 31st? Here are some prime candidates:
1. Scott Downs: Relief pitching: Everyone wants it. Long flowy black curly hair: Everyone wants it. Downs’s value couldn’t be higher. Cito has slotted him into his precious 8th inning slot and he is basically unhittable there. Of course, the ninth inning gives him some kind of panic attack where his blood pressure rises, he goes pale and poops his pants. But let’s just keep that between you, me and the other 3 readers of this blog. Should we trade him? Of course. Let’s not wait for the inevitable collapse (read: BJ Ryan, Justin Speier, JJ Putz, etc). Relievers are not long term investments. Nurture them until they hit their peak, then trade em away.
2. Jose Bautista. If you’re scoring at home, put me in the ‘keep Jose Bautista’ camp. Sure he’s having a career year, but he’s never had the chance to have a career year prior to this. He plays many defensive positions well, he is good in the club house, and he’s extremely proud to be a Blue Jay. He fits the future. He’s a keeper.
3. Lyle Overbay: My fear is that no team will be willing to take Lyle. Everyone knows Brett Wallace is waiting in the wings and that Overbay is a goner whether or not there’s a team that wants him. More likely than not, August roles around, Overbay gets claimed on waivers and traded for a low level prospect. Then, the Brett Wallace era begins. Can’t wait.
4. Jason Frasor/Kevin Gregg: Similar logic applies here as applied to Scott Downs. Relievers are replaceable. Of course, it would be sad to part ways with the tiny Frasor or the terrible Gregg. Really though, there’s not much reason to keep them. Unless of course, this convinces you.
The truth is, at this point, just about anybody could go. HWCDNW has balls. He’s not afraid to make a splash. But most importantly, he can do no wrong. Bring on the deadline.
Labels: Anthopoulos, Bautista, Downs, Ricciardi
¶ posted by Yoni at 5:33 PM | 0 comments
Scenario #1) Radio show caller asks about the possibility of acquiring Adam Dunn.
Recommended Answer: He's a talented player, but we've had no discussions regarding him, and we like the make-up of our outfield... (continue to praise the efforts of your personnel at the major league level, while touting the potential of those in your minor league chain).
NOT: Oh no, you don't want him - that guy has no heart, he'd be a terrible fit.
Sure, answer #1 is kind of boring, but it doesn't a) offend a player and his organization, thus making that player an unacquirable asset, and b) force you to spend a lot of time and energy making apologies and clarifying the ways in which you acted stupidly. What if the market had gone soft this past winter, and the Jays had had the opportunity to land Dunn on a 1-year/$6 million type of deal? Those 38 homers would have looked awfully good in left field and more than compensated for the fact that he's a blundering lummox in the outfield. Of course, that could never have happened, because now Adam Dunn hates you.
Scenario #2) The trade deadline is coming up and you guys aren't in contention. Would you trade Roy Halladay?
Recommended Answer: Roy Halladay is the heart and soul of our organization. We're not remotely interested in trading him.
NOT: Well, we wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't listen to offers.
Answer #2 has the benefit of being absolutely true. It also chums the water for rampant media speculation and results in relentless trade questions and rumours for almost a month. Of course it's your job to listen to trade offers, but you don't have to broadcast that. You simply dismiss all rumours flatly. Then, if you manage to land Kyle Drabek, J.A. Happ and other shiny objects, you can grudgingly give the "they blew us away with an offer we simply couldn't refuse" mea culpa at the post-trade press conference.
Scenario #3) B.J. Ryan is listed as day-to-day. Is it anything serious? And isn't that Dr. James Andrews standing over there?
Recommended Answer: It started off as some mild discomfort. We're concerned that it may be something more serious and we're taking all precautions and exploring all avenues.
NOT: Nah, he's fine. Dr. Andrews? Oh, he's helping me install some drywall this weekend. (to be followed two days later with:) Oh, B.J.? Yeah, he should be getting out of surgery about now.
Lying about Ryan's condition wasn't going to make it any better, but it helped to alienate a group of reporters who didn't care much for Ricciardi in the first place. Some of them had been calling for his head since about the 3rd minute after he arrived back in 2001.
Ironically, he was too honest and too deceptive, just at the wrong times. He was a Moneyball guy, a book whose premise was "you can win without money if you're smarter than everyone else." Coming from that background, you had better win or be really likeable, or you're going to be the butt of jokes about computers and spreadsheets.
Ricciardi came off as too slick and too confident for media tastes (and based on his treatment in the Toronto Sun, he may have skullfu**ed Steve Simmons' cat). He downsized the scouting department, axing many of the traditional scouts that beat writers love.
None of the scenarios above cost Ricciardi his job - but they certainly complicated it. Ultimately, he was fired because the big moves he made - the high-risk, high-reward moves - failed. He was gutsy with a pretty good eye for talent, but in the end he just didn't win.
Ricciardi did make out better than fellow Oakland alum Paul DePodesta, dubbed "Google Boy" by the L.A. media and run out of town after just a year helming the Dodgers. With no playoff appearances in eight years running the Jays, and Moneyball a fading memory, J.P will be hard-pressed to land as prominent a post again. If he does, he'll have to watch his mouth. ¶ posted by Jim Turner at 5:27 PM | 0 comments
