The sound you hear in the background is the bell that tolls the end of JP Ricciardi's career as Toronto Blue Jay GM. He'll take John Gibbons with him (or before him) and I can't really see how Paul Godfrey escapes the noose either. Of the three, the only one I'm sad to see go is Gibbons. And HE'S the one I've received three emails (all complaining) about in the last month.
First, Gibbons has actually done more this year than I thought he was capable of. He's pressured opponents more than a little bit (well, more than last year) and I think he's done an okay job of NOT sitting on his hands while the inmates overrun the asylum. Granted, his career longevity is down to days, not months, but he's going down trying to play HIS brand of baseball. Reminds me a lot of Paul Maurice. 'Cept Gibby doesn't get to the end of another non-playoff year.
I should be chortling with glee at the latest Ricciardi comic opera. Two shortstops go down with injury, so he acquires two outfielders. And let me point out, one of the players designated for assignment down in Syracuse was none other than last year's starting shortstop, Sergio Santos. That makes it a three for two trade. Heads are still shaking.
'Cept mine. You see, I actually like the Wilkerson and Mench gambles. I was a fan of Brad Wilkerson and even drafted him on my Roto team two years ago. Now, time and injuries have diminished Wilkerson to the point where I'm not so stupid as to draft him, but giving him a two-week trial while waiting out the return of a shortstop or two isn't the stupidest gamble Ricciardi's ever took. (insert one of ..... I'm too tired to type out the WHOLE list). And Kevin Mench is a platoon player who plays the short platoon against lefties. Given the Blue Jays roster of last year, Mench would have no utility. But this year's Jays lists a little starboard and Mench can pair with Stairs and Stewart to mix and match better.
Then Vernon Wells gets hurt, and suddenly they both have to play a lot. Instead of a look-see and cut your losses approach if they don't pan out, now Ricciardi is tied to both of them working out. So far, it's a bad gamble. And, of course the Jays had to reach out for a couple of downside former prime time players. They've got Adam Lind all twisted into a knot of unproductivity. Baseball is all about the three C's, Capability, Concentration and Confidence. Most big leaguers have a surprisingly similar amount of capability. What sets the stars apart is often the latter two C's. In Lind's case, Confidence is waning and with it goes concentration. He's close to being useless for the Jays.
Alright, so Lind needs some AAA mashing to get the confidence up and be back in T.O. in time for June. The Jays will just call up ...
Oh, that's right. NOBODY! Wunderkind Travis Snider's at least a year and a half away. Any thoughts he'd do a Griffey and be with the Jays before being old enough to vote is a pipedream. And we've already talked about the psych bag job they are doing on Lind. So who's left? The next best outfielder in the organization is, wait for it, (the sounds of hysterical laughter well up in the background), Russ Adams. He's hitting for a better bad average than Buck Coats.
THIS is the organization that Ricciardi's built. ONE offensive prospect in Snider. Two if you count the flagging Lind. Seven years of this man's command, achieving mediocre results at best, using mostly components put in place by Gord Ash, the oft-putdown predecessor. There are some pitchers in the pipeline, none with Star! written all over their bio's.
But he talks a good game. Not for much longer. Heh, heh, heh.
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