Red Sox Nation still angry that the Rays took down their pale faced heroes...Like the cockroach, I didn't think the Red Sox could be killed. Seriously, after the Game 5 comeback I thought that Jason Veritek and Dustin Pedroia could survive a nuclear attack, no problem. I was mentally preparing myself for the endless national media wack off about how much "heart" the Sox had, the endless testamounts of how great Pedroia was because he made it to the MLB dispite being a drawf, and I would have had to read Sports Bitch talk about the power and resilience of "Red Sox Nation" (btw, check out his column post game 5 if you don't believe me). But.......
There is a God and the TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS are AL CHAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I am not going to pretend to be a Rays fan, I'm not, in fact, I delighted in the fact that I used to be able to count on them to finish behind the Jays every year in the AL East (congrats to Baltimore for becoming the AL East's doormat). The Rays have consistently been one of the worst teams in baseball for the past 10 seasons, but they have finally emerged from the wilderness on the backs of their number 1 picks, and a few VERY shrewd trades. Drafting Crawford, Upton, Beldelli, Longoria high, dealing some marginal talent away for Scott Kazmir, and making the deal of the year by sending a very good player (Delmon Young) away for Matt Garza, have put the Rays on the precipice of winning the World Series (which I think is going to be awesome).
Why am I writing about the Rays on the blog? Because their success makes me realize that now is the time to FIRE JP Riccardi!!!!!!!!
Here is a short list of sins that Riccardi has committed that in my opinion make him unfit to be the GM of a little league team, let alone the Jays:
1. Russ Adams was drafted ahead of Cole Hamels (NLCS MVP). Why did this happen? Cause Riccardi likes to masterbate to stats, and he doesn't trust high school pitchers.
2. Trading Gabe Gross (starting LF for the '08 AL Champs) for a bag of peanuts. Seriously, who did we get back? If Gross is good enough to start for the Rays, Riccardi should have gotten something back, but he didn't.
3. Not drafting anyone useful (with the exception of Aaron Hill). Do you realize that Alexis Rios, Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells, Adam Lind, and Dustin McGowen were all drafted by Gord Ash? Gord freaking Ash!!!!! Riccardi has a SHOCKING inability to find talent, Moneyball be damned.
Anyway, now is the time to rid the organization for the Riccardi cancer. The Jays are getting some cash to spend with the impending AJ Burnett opt out, let's hope that Rogers doesn't let Riccardi piss that away!!!!!!!!
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7 comments:
I definitely did not see the Fire-JP Ricciardi angle coming. Totally took me by surprise.
Can't say I'm pleased to read this. I thought we were past this. JP is staying aboard next season, regardless of who the next President is.
1. Ricciardi wasn't the only one who passed over Cole Hamels, so perhaps every other GM should be fired too, right? And I'll be the first to admit that Russ Adams was a mistake, but how about props for all the other guys JP's drafted? You can't pick and choose, my man. How about Aaron Hill? Shaun Marcum? Casey Janssen? Jesse Litsch? Travis Snider? Adam Lind? David Purcey? I think that's a pretty decent list right there, n'est pas?
2. You're complaining about trading Gabe Gross. Seriously? Gross is only the starting left fielder for the '08 AL Champs because Rocco Baldelli has a disease which keeps him from playing everyday. Gross hit .238 on the season with a .767 OPS. This guy's shit, a 4th outfielder at best, there's no need to be complaining about him, especially considering we got Overbay in the deal that sent him over to Milwaukee.
3. Look at number 1. And, umm, Lind was drafted in 2004. Riccardi came aboard in 2002. That would mean that Ricciardi drafted Lind. Ricciardi has the inability to draft talent? I guess Shaun Marcum's 3.39 ERA wasn't good enough for you eh. Speaking of finding talent, how about picking up Scott Downs off of waivers. Yeah, that turned out to be a pretty deft move by my man J.P. Ricciardi. And how about that Jesse Carlson fellow, another free agent signing. Yeah, Ricciardi's just taking up space up in the front office. I mean, all we had was the best pitching staff and best bullpen in the American League.
I think I've made my point, and that is, that your points are weak.
I will defend Ricciardi until the final days and I'm glad he's coming back next year. This is his team.
I largely agree with the comments of Eyebleaf. I am more on the side of Ricciardi as a decent GM.
My only real problem with him over the years has been his mistreatment of Johnny Mac. I mean, c'mon, Eckstein?!?
However, given the parameters within which Ricciardi has been given to operate, I'd say his performance is slightly above mediocre. He doesn't deserve praise really, but I think he has earned the right to be the GM for 2009.
richie
Absolutely Ridiculous. Let me address a couple of points.
1) You're right about Lind, I thought he was drafted by Ash, but indeed he is a Riccardi product, so he does get some credit for that.
2) David Bush was sent to Milwaukee for Overbay, and Gabe Gross was still a Jay 2 seasons ago. You're right, he is starting because Beldelli does have some weird disease, but he is good enough to be starting. He had Matt Stairs in the lineup this season, you'd rather have Stairs then Gross?? Really????
3) Cole Hamels has a top 10 pick. So yes, the teams that passed him over were some of the worst in the Majors, and by that definition their front offices probably should be fired for making those kinds of mistakes.
4) Shawn Marcum????? Let's just say I don't see Shawnie boy turning into a great pitcher. Good sure? But he is a dime a dozen guy, and the Jays don't have any semblence of an ace of the future.
The cupboard is BARE. BE AFRAID of the future of the Jays. I for one, welcome the descent into the basement. Its the only way to get some talent onto this rudderless ship.
Billy Bee, the cupboard is bare? Shaun Marcum (in 2010), Dustin McGowan, Jesse Litsch, Casey Jannsen, David Purcey, Adam Lind, Travis Snider, J.P. Arencibia, Brett Cecil (I forgot about Cecil in my previous comment), Kevin Ahrens, Ricky Romero...
And I'm not going to over look Aaron Hill, a JP draft pick who has turned out to be a pretty solid player.
Yeah, the cupboard is really bare.
As for Gross, he was part of the Overbay deal back in '05, not sure where you're getting your info. And, yes, I'd rather have Stairs, for strictly Canadian reasons, than Gabe freaking Gross. He's a 4th outfielder, and 4th outfielders are a dime a dozen, we saw a ton of them this year in Stewart and Mencherson.
And you'd be the one of the few people in this city to call Marcum a "dime a dozen" guy. Had the Jays given him some run support this year, his record would have been much better, and you'd have been more impressed. C'est la vie. The kid has talent, and the Jays know it.
RE: Hamels. It's baseball. Shit happens. You want to define JP's legacy on overlooking Hamels, be my guest, but I will challenge you every time you say the cupboard is bare.
I don't know shit about baseball (and proud of it), but even I wouldn't have traded Reed Johnson for Shannon Stewart (unless it was the model version).
@ Fermat: Everyone is allowed to rip JP for the Shannon over Reed debacle. It was a bad decision, but one that was based on historical statistics. I still don't have a problem with JP selecting the, over his career, better hitter in Stewart. It just didn't work out.
Rip JP all you want about it, but also give him props for taking a chance on Joe Inglett, whose stats compare, almost to a T, to Johnson's. Inglett actually put up a better OPS+, by one point.
See here: http://nvsportsandthecity.blogspot.com/2008/10/joe-inglett-is-reed-johnson.html
Hey, I was just beating the dead horse and surprised no one had mentioned it. As I said, I don't know baseball and I sure as hell never heard of Joey Inglett. But he sure fits the sandbox roll call of Joey, Shawn, Aaron, David, and Adam. I'll take it! Nice column too.
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