Unless Boston gets a comparable CF to replace Damon, then Riccardi has a good shot at saying he's assembled the 2nd place finisher in the AL East in 2006. That still will leave them out of the playoffs, though.

I like 'rate the GM', I think it's a good feature, but I don't think you should do so many guys back-to-back. It's overkill, to some extent.

Dayn Perry had a piece in BP this week defending JP...

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4662

Granted, I understand the argument, but where did the guy who worked with Billy Beane go?  Personally, I think he's been abducted, and his body is occupied by Wally Pipp's ghost.  Why else would he pick up so many jilted 1Bmen?

I realize he has to overpay for free agents/exchange rate, etc, but Burnett will probably never give JP what he hopes he will.  Detroit had to do this over the last few years (remember Fernando Vina)

His team looks good on paper (lots of names) and what is the deal with 1B/3B Hinske, Coskie, Hillenbrand.  

Signing BJ Ryan for that contract was not a good move.  Ryan must think he's still dreaming landing a contract like that after one great season.  I'll get a 6% pay raise this year and I am very excited, but he received like, a 500% raise...jeepers creepers!

... and the faithful are still waiting.  Spending just about all his available cash and not addressing the club's glaring needs for more pop, about all I can think of that would be good to say is that at least he has not saddled the next Jay GM with huge contracts - he's given them to himself. JP was given a 3 year contract extension after the club pres Godfrey purportedly said that "free agents were asking whether JP would be sticking around". Ya. I would be more concerned with my own players.  With all the clubs that could use pitching and a minor league system full of it, JP can't seem to get a deal done.  Maybe he has an eight year plan.

He has gotten all he could get out of Billy Beane's coattails.

He put a mediocrity on the field.  Normally, I'd say anyone could do that, but KC and TB keeping refuting that assessment.

He has been a success to this point.  He took over the Jays and lived through the bad contracts he had inherited.  Now with the increase in payroll he has gone out and spent the money.  The results of this next season will probably write the JP story for years to come.  Burnett and Ryan were pieces that were necessary to change the perception of the Jays and playing in Toronto.  A second place finish in the east and an opportunity to sign future free agents at market value (instead of setting the market) will make the second chapter of the JP story a success.  With that I would like to say that nothing goes as planned and the next season or two could also end his time as a GM.

I think he's done a pretty good job.  Given how things were when he started, he had a lot of unmovable contracts, it was actually impossible to get anything for Delgado, as he used his no trade clause, and he was taking 40% of the payroll.  I'd say the minors are more in the range of average than weak for sure.  Whatever else may have happened, he fixed the biggest problem the Jays had, and that was economic.  After this year we'll see if he can field a winner too.

...that I haven't been a big fan of JP's work, excluding his lead-off efforts unloading horrible contracts and getting some decent returns in the process.

However, I think JP's gone from being overrated to being rather underrated. The Blue Jays are not a powerhouse team, to be certain, but a lot of folks seem to overlook the fact that they're not built to be a powerhouse: Their best asset is preventing runs, and they do a very good job at this. They have good pitching and are excellent defensively.

My bottom line is this: The Blue Jays Expected Won-Loss record in 2005 was 89-73, and if they had actually reached that (or, outperformed it), everyone would be describing JP as one of the better GM's. Looking forward, the 2006 Blue Jays are essentially the same team, with a lot of room for improvement if 1) Halladay is healthy all year, 2) Burnett pitches to reasonable expectations, and 3) they aren't as unlucky. They could make a large leap forward if the above conditions are met and they manage to add another good bat by trading Miguel Batista and one of their spare corners. One has to think that a package of Batista+Hillenbrand+Rios would land a pretty decent bat.

Simply put: The Blue Jays could very reasonably surprise a lot of people this year.

...but of interest...JP is extremely accessible to the fans; he takes tons of calls on the Jays radio show once a week (win or lose - calls 'em as they are)and is very media friendly...he constantly emphasizes protecting the future...he has built up the farm system, and cleaned up the bottom line...as a local Jays fan, I'm really pleased with the job he's done, and am looking forward to spring training...

This from Keith Woolner, in his chat the other day...

Jay Jaffe commented on this on the BP-internal list earlier today:

"Bowden fleeced Towers in the Lawrence/Castilla deal
Daniels fleeced Bowden in the Soriano/Wilkerson deal
Towers fleeced Daniels in the Young/Eaton deal

The circle is complete."

Ricciardi has followed his plan to the letter, it just seems this may not have been the ideal offseason to bust the budget. Ryan and Burnett probably would be something like third or fourth options most years.

Upon his hiring, Ricciardi stated the Jays plan was three years of purging older, expensive players and flooding the farm system with upper-level talent. He's done this.

When that phase was complete, the Jays were to move on to signing for and trading for big-name players. It's debatable whether he identified the best values here, but in fairness he offered Giles the same money the Padres did. Giles wanted to stay home.

Every GM makes bad signings. Koskie and Hinske aren't nearly as repellent as the signings of Terrence Long, Arthur Rhodes or Jermaine Dye, for example.

I don't see how anyone can say they liked him in '02, but not now. If the Jays tank this year, then, yeah, I could see criticism as justified.

I think the Jays will succeed this year, but they won't come close to winning the division with Vernon Wells as their best offensive option.

With a Evil Empire going through it's last big burn, this was a year to rebuild for Toronto.  I think JP wasted $100 Million Canadian on BJ and AJ.  What's with all the initials anyway?

With the two teams with the highest payrolls of all-time in your division, why would Toronto, Baltimore, or Tampa Bay be spending right now?

The Twins did their rebuilding when the Indians and White Sox were spending money.  Then the Twins won three division titles while those teams re-grouped.  That is how a GM should be thinking.

It seems like guys like JP function better when they are on a limited budget. Give them some free agent cash and they act like a kid when he first gets to college being able to drink without having to hide it. Bad things happen.

First he signs a closer to an overpriced contract and then he signs a headcase pitcher with an injury history to a five year deal who gets to opt out after three if he chooses. If the guy emerges as a talent, you have to trade him after two years to get anything in return or if he sucks, you are paying for two years that you shouldnt have to. Makes sense to me.

He is no different then the Colorado GM who ruined his team for five years by signing Hampton and Neagle to those contracts years ago.

Any thoughts about Annibal Sanchez? Is he a future ace? When will he arrive at the Show? And should the Marlins have held out for Lester?

I put this thread in the wrong post. My bad.

As mentioned, he has done a good job at shedding contracts while remaining a decent ball club. I think this offseason is a good indicator of the things the Jays are trying to do. The AJ and BJ contracts are not as bad as some people make then out to be. For one thing, the Jays had one or two scouts at each start made by AJ Burnett during the entire year, something that is, as I understand, somewhat unprecedented. In addition, he has a great gb/fb and k/9 inning ratio.

JP has too many players - one or two of Batista, Hinske and Hillenbrand will probably go. The Jays need a RF - what JP does now is a big part of how successful he is.

Whose bad contracts did Ricciardi shed?  I'm not questioning that he did, just wondering because I don't follow the BJs much.

His overall record since taking the job is below .500 and he's yet to mount a challenge to the Sox and Yanks, but I think that is likely to change this year, especially if the Glaus deal goes through (which it looks like it will).

JP's record in trades and free agency has been a mixed bag - a bad move for every good one.  That said, he's done a number of promising things:

1. Got rid of the bloated contracts he inherited from Gord Ash - Gonzalez, Cruz, Quantrill and got the finances in order.
2. Changed the club's culture from an underachieving and lackadisical to committed and resilient.
3. Drafted players who could move through the system quickly - Adams, Hill, Bush, and Jackson (who netted Overbay).  He does need to start looking for some impact bats this June, however.
4. Moved aggressively when the time was right - he waited patiently for a payroll bump and is going full bore at the aging Yankees and overhauled Sox.  In another division he could probably have stayed the course with the club he had, but he recognizes he has to take risks in the AL East.  He may fall flat, but you have to admire his guts and willingness to stay with his plan.  Kudos also to ownership for letting JP take his best shot and making a real commitment to the fans.

I don't know the details of all the trades sited, but Stewart was not a salary dump. He was a free agent at the end of the year when traded and the Jays picked up the remainder of his salary for the Twins.

What the Jays gave up was the two draft choices they would have received for a type A free agent (assuming they offered Stewart arbitration), three months of Stewart who helped the Twins to a division championship and a left-handed pitching prospect in Dave Gassner who is still on the Twins 40 player roster.

What they got was three months from Kielty who produced almost nothing and Lilly. If they hadn't made the deal for Lilly this trade would look a lot worse. But it certainly was not a good deal by any standard.

"I would hardly call an 86 MPH throwing 5.7 K/9 in AA as a 23 year old a prospect."

Maybe you and Ricciardi wouldn't, but Terry Ryan obviously did. And Gassner rewarded him with a couple of major league starts last year.

We'll see if Gassner provides anything more, but the fact is that trade was one-sided for the Twins. Kielty was a 27 year old corner oufielder who hasn't had a SLG over .400 since. And that's despite being platooned. Kielty may be a less marginal major league player than Gassner will be, but not by much. And, of course, Gassner was just a throw-in in that trade.