How To Fix the Toronto Blue Jays
By Travis Mills
Originally this was to be titled "How To Fix the Montreal Expos", however Bud Selig and the rest of the executives at Major League Baseball are more interested in saving 0’s then saving a team. The Expos are basically done, it was a great run, but when the stadium only draws 14,000 fans when tickets are only $5, there is more hope in Rick Ankiel throwing a strike, or Juan Pierre hitting a Home Run.
The Blue Jays are another story, they have a hope, a great fan base was created at SkyDome following the World Series wins in 1992 and 1993. The Stadium is easily accessible from any modes of transportation and in a great location. The four winning seasons in the last six years and what seemed to be a lock in the number 3 spot of the division, got fans excited about a potential Wild Card run.
What the fans did not know, was the ability, or lack there-of concerning J.P. Riccardi. He was hired November 14th 2001, "useful" players acquired since- 3 (still with team),"useful" players parted with- 20.
Here is a look at those acquired in no particular order:
Eric Hinske- for Billy Koch, 2002 AL Rookie of the year, struggling since.
Frank Catalanotto- Free Agent, decent OBP
Ted Lilly- for Bobby Kielty, average year
Here is who they have let go in one capacity or another, how they were obtained, and what they got in return:
Tony Batista, MTL –
Gave- Dan Plesac
Return-claimed off waivers by Baltimore
About- Pretty good power numbers in Toronto and since leaving Toronto. Enough that the Jays should have gotten something in return.
Alex Gonzalez, MTL-
Gave- Drafted
Return- Felix Heredia and James Deschaine
About- Always decent, 20 HR’s last year, not the best, but worth more then received.
Shannon Stewart, MIN-
Gave- Drafted
Return- for Bobby Kielty
About- consistent Lead-off man. Kielty was horrible and Stewart is still thriving.
Jose Cruz Jr., TB-
Gave- Mike Timlin and Paul Spoljaric
Return-Signed as a free agent
About- was fairly good at driving in runs with Toronto, could have been traded for something, anything would have been better then nothing.
Raul Mondesi ANA-
Gave- Shawn Green and Jorge Nunez
Return- Scott Wiggins
About- One of Toronto’s best power hitters, got rid of him in exchange for a AA player.
Brad Fullmer, SD-
Gave- David Segui
Return-Brian Cooper
About- Better then average hitter, Solid DH, gave him up for nothing
Cesar Izturis, LA-
Gave- Signed as free agent
Return- Luke Prokopec and Chris Ricketts
About-A top defensive SS in the NL, improving offensively every year
Billy Koch, FLA-
Gave-Drafted
Return-Justin Miller and Eric Hinske
About- At a time was solid closer, career high in saves after he left. One move that might have been beneficial, but the jury is still out considering Hinske’s slump.
Paul Quantrill, NYY-
Gave-Howard Battle and Ricardo Jordan
Return-Luke Prokopec and Chris Ricketts
About-Decent relief man at times, always a low ERA, was second half of Izturis deal, both for essentially nothing, again.
Esteban Loaiza, NYY-
Gave- Darwin Cubillan and Mike Young
Return-Free Agent
About- one of Toronto’s best pitchers at the time, won 20 games, after he left.
Chris Carpenter, STL-
Gave-Drafted
Return-Free Agent
About-Another solid pitcher that produced wins, just given away…
Josh Phelps, CLE-
Gave-Drafted
Return-Eric Crozier
About-Toronto’s best hitting prospect, good average and power. Who is Eric Crozier? Maybe his mother knows.
Jayson Werth, LA-
Gave-Jason Bale
Return-Jason Fraser
About-Another high-ranked prospect, another who? Producing relatively well in LA.
Kelvim Escobar, ANA-
Gave-Signed
Return-Free Agent
About- Toronto’s most valuable pitcher. Saved 38 games one year, double digits in wins 3 times. Following tradition, he was let go for nothing.
Felipe Lopez, CIN-
Gave-Drafted
Return-Player to be named later
About-Young prospect, improving in Cincinnati offensively, at least they got something in return, just not too sure what that is…
Bobby Kielty, OAK-
Gave-Shannon Stewart and Dave Gassner
Return-Ted Lilly
About- Gave up one of there best hitters, for him. At least in return they got a decent pitcher, trading him was probably the best deal Riccardi has made.
Cory Lidle, PHI-
Gave- Mike Rouse and Chris Mowday
Return-Free Agent
About- Double digits in wins, triple digits in K’s, and let go…
Tanyon Sturtze, NYY-
Gave-Free Agent
Return-Free Agent
About-Dramatic improvement with the Jays after consecutive 12+ loss seasons, had a winning record., never given a chance to improve.
Mark Hendrickson, TB-
Gave-Drafted
Return-Justin Speier
About-12-9 in 2 seasons, decent pitcher at times, better then the 3-6 Speier.
Giving away decent, performing players for either nothing, or minor leaguers who are worse, is not a winning strategy. Pat Gillick had a way of building teams through all aspects, the draft, trades and free agency. 3 seasons later, a decent player has yet to emerge from the draft, successfully. As seen above, trades are not the way to go, unless you are looking for the short end of the stick. As for Free Agency, there is Chris Gomez, .285 average, and 11 Errors in an important defensive position, which leads the team. When you have 2 other Shortstops, Why spend $750, 000 on Gomez? They could have spent an extra $250,000 on Eric Young and got a more consistent infielder, who can play more then one position, and start. Well let us see Riccardi’s free agent misses and missed signings this past winter.
Deivi Cruz, SF-Riccardi must have missed the memo on Deivi Cruz (.300, 6 errors) Signed to a minor league deal which would have been much more productive use of money then Terry Adams and his $1.7 million (who was 4-4 before being traded for John Hattig). Cruz would have been a big boost to the middle-infield with Orlando Hudson, but instead, there is shared playing time between Chris Woodward and Chris Gomez.
Paul Quantrill, NY- Available for 2 years $6.4 million, has a 6-2 record. Although considering he should have never been traded with a solid young prospect (Izturis) for nothing following an 11-2 season, that would have shown the man who traded him made a big mistake. Kerry Ligtenberg, TOR- 4-2 record, in 2003 with a 3.34 ERA. 4.5 Million over 2 years was signed instead.
Mike Myers, BOS- Signed on with the Mariners for $550, 000 and posted a 4-1 record, before being traded to Boston. Would have put experience and a relief into an erratic bullpen.
Glendon Rusch, Cubs- Had a horrible year in 2003, but was given a chance and $750, 000 for a year, has produced a 5-1 record.
Ismael Valdez, FLA – 10-7 this year combined in San Diego and Florida, was a steal at $800,000 for one year. Again, would have given Toronto some experience in their rotation. They did end up getting experience in Pat Hentgen, he was given $2.2 million for a year he didn’t even complete, and a 2-9 record with an ERA of almost 7. Hentgen was good back in the day, however he hasn’t had a winning season since 2000.
Good news however, Greg Myers was re-signed, then sprained his ankle in May, with 18 AB’s and 4 hits, good use of money. Miguel Batista was signed for 3 years and $13.1 million (about $4 million a year) and responded with a 9-9 record and an ERA of over 4. Kelvin Escobar signed with Anaheim, 3 years and $18.75 million (about $6 million) following a 13-9 season, that followed a 38 save season. He would have been worth the extra $2 million a year.
At least the young outfield hasn’t been tampered with, although you never know these days, Vernon Wells better watch out before he goes to Arizona for Quinton McCracken.
This brings us to pitching…Miguel Batista, Pat Hentgen, Terry Adams and Kerry Ligtenberg were signed in the off-season for a combined $21.5 million. They have produced a total 16-27 record with a combined 5.32 ERA. Those 4 players have been credited for 38% of the team’s loses. Letting go Cory Lidle may have been acceptable; he has been struggling, even though he did get 12 wins last year, almost as much as those 4 combined, and he could have stayed for under $3 million. Roy Halladay has been injured for a big portion of the season, that left a big void to fill, Josh Towers has stepped up his game with a 9-5 record, 6-1 in his last 7 starts. Hope he doesn’t get too comfortable, a record like that might land him in St. Louis in exchange for Rick Ankiel. Inability to make decent, fair trades will haunt any team, and signing free agents that don’t produce is a waste of money.
The Blue Jays have finished in third place in the AL East for the past six years, their last place finish in 1997, two years after another last place finish, which was their worst since 1982, when they were last in Bobby Cox’s first season. Bobby Cox then improved the team every year until 1985 when he won the division, but did not return the following year. Jimy Williams took over, and eventually led them to a division win in 1989, then did not return. Cito Gaston took his try and won the division in his second season, followed by consecutive World Series Championships. Losing is not prominent for the Blue Jays, at the moment they are 25 games under, yes, under, .500. The last time they were there record was this bad was 1995, even the last place finish in 1997, they were only 10 games under an even record. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were becoming accustomed to last place in the AL East, but unless the Blue Jays can make up about 7 games in the final 40 or so games left, it will be the basement for Toronto. It seems like that will be the inevitable, following Carlos Tosca’s firing as manager, and John Gibbons taking over in lieu of a permanent replacement. That is assuming the management will be looking for another Manager, if not, they should be looking for another General Manager. Next year should be a huge rebuilding step for the club, they will either get back on there winning ways, and show this is a just a fluke year plagued by injuries. Or, they will flounder and go in to a full nosedive, and be the bases of jokes usually reserved for the L.A. Clippers and Arizona Cardinals (or Diamondbacks for that matter). The next few months will dictate the next few years for the ball club, it is time J.P. Riccardi used the skills he learned under Billy Beane, or he can go mess up another team (preferably the Yankees). It would be a shame for Canada to go from two teams to zero, because of incompetence and ignorance.
The Blue Jays now open a 4-game series against the division leading Yankees, who they are 2-8 against this season. Looking at the Blue Jays current pattern, they went 1-2 against Baltimore at SkyDome, and then swept them at home. The Jays then managed one win in three chances against the Red Sox, are they just preparing for another sweep? Let’s hope so, for the sake of baseball fans everywhere. The mighty Dave Bush (a Riccardi draft pick, 3-2 with a 3.69 ERA, one of the "better" pitchers J.P. has acquired) is scheduled to start against the $185 million payroll and Jon Lieber (Personally, if I was on a team with a $185 million payroll, and Jon Lieber was the starter, I would kick the crap out of the owner. However, knowing the owner is George Steinbrenner, I am kind of biased). The Blue Jays bats have seem to come alive in the past week, not including when they faced Pedro, but most teams bats are silenced by him. If the Jays can keep up what they did in the 8th and 9th innings of last nights game, and what they did against Baltimore, the Yankees will be in for a tough series.
