Okay, before you start hurling your overpriced Rogers Center beers at me, let me explain myself. If you are a Toronto Blue Jays fan then this year has no doubt caused much frustration, disappointment, and possibly even anger for you. 15 years of what seems to be institutionalized mediocrity will do that to any sports fan. Whenever a team disappoints like this the blame has to be placed on someone, and usually the fall guy is either the manager or the General Manager, and in this case it’s both.
John Gibbons paid the ultimate price a big league manager can pay for the Jays’ futility this year, but many Blue Jay loyalists want J.P Ricciardi’s head as well..
The only responsibility of a Major League General Manager is to put together a team capable of winning, and I would argue that J.P has done just that. Before the season started media in cities around the Major Leagues were hailing this years’ Blue Jay team as the one that could finally disrupt the New York/Boston stranglehold on the AL East (very few failed to predict the Tampa Bay insurgence however), Jays fans seemed to be very optimistic heading into the season, and comments from AL East players echoed the sentiments that the Jays would be a team to be reckoned with in 2008. While clearly all these optimistic onlookers would be proved wrong throughout the season, what is clear is that JP fielded a team that was capable of winning, they just haven’t done it.
Let’s take a closer look at the team J.P has fielded and see if we can really lay blame on the General Manager.
First Base: Lyle Overbay – You would be hard pressed to find anyone in baseball who doesn’t believe that Lyle Overbay is a quality first baseman. The lanky first baseman is a great fielder with a long reach off the bag, and his ability to hit doubles and left handed bat would be a great addition to any teams’ lineup. With a .275 avg., 21 doubles, and a great glove at first, even the most pessimistic Jays fan can’t realistically lay blame on Overbay for what has happened this year.
Second Base: Aaron Hill/Marco Scutaro – Earlier this year J.P locked Aaron Hill into a lengthy contract extension, and with good reason, Aaron Hill is really good. Granted Hill had a very slow start at the plate this year, but Hill is a player who can realistically win multiple Gold Gloves in his career. The problem with Aaron Hill this year is that nobody told David Eckstein to not elbow him in the head. Luckily J.P stocked this team with utility fielders who can play at all positions, and one of them, Marco Scutaro, has done a more than adequate job filling in for the concussed Hill.
Catcher- Greg Zaun, Rod Barajas – Barajas’ bat has shown signs of excellence this year, while Zaun’s has stayed consistent with what he is usually able to do at the plate: not much. But the true value of a catcher comes not with what they do at the plate but with what they do behind it. You can’t argue that Zaun and Barajas have both done an incredible job working with the pitching staff. If you don’t think that a smart quarterback-style catcher is important to a pitching staff, you have clearly never been a pitcher or a catcher in competitive baseball. These two have done an above average job helping this pitching staff to be one of the best in baseball.
Shortstop: David Eckstein/Joe Inglett/John MacDonald – Some of you might be saying that J.P made a bad signing in former World Series MVP David Eckstein. While Eckstein’s .273 avg. and .360 on base avg. is nothing to be scoffed at, he has proven to be somewhat of a liability in the field. Luckily J.P was prepared for this risky signing with a handsomely paid backup John MacDonald, and journeyman left-handed bat Joe Inglett. Shortstop might be a hole for the Jays this season, but it’s not a major one.
Thirdbase: Scott Rolen – Rolen is the best fielding thirdbaseman in baseball, period. While his bat has trailed off recently this career .280 hitter can in no way be considered a poor acquisition
Outfieding Allstars: Vernon Wells/Alex Rios – JP signed both of these two to long term contracts this year. Injuries have hampered Wells’ season, but when he’s been healthy you can’t argue that he has performed. Rios on the other hand is not having an Alex Rios quality year, but can we lay the blame for that on JP? Who in baseball could have predicted that Alex Rios would have a poor year?
Other outfielders: Shannon Stewart...okay, that was a bad idea, but it hardly cost a thing.
Brad Wilkerson- well, he hasn’t really played that much.
Kevin Mench – ditto
Joe Inglett – filled in nicely in the outfield when given the chance.
No doubt we have a hole in left-field, but if that’s the only place you are missing an everyday-quality player, you are ahead of most teams. This is a problem that is readily solved however as Adam Lind’s bat is coming around and he should be the everyday guy next year. Travis Snyder is ripping it up in the Minors and has been touted by many as a future allstar. The solution to the left-field problem is a home-grown one.
DH – Frank Thomas/Matt Stairs – If you want to say that Frank Thomas was a poor move, well you would be right, but considering the year Thomas had with Oakland the year before he signed in TO this was a pretty good gamble for J.P to make, it just didn’t pan out. Stairs has had a disappointing year , but considering the year he had last year can we really blame J.P for giving him another shot on the squad?
I won’t even comment on our starting staff and bullpen, because anyone who feels that those are the areas that have hurt the Blue Jays this year has absolutely no business even watching baseball, they would be better served switching the channel to American Idol or one of the 200 home renovation shows now airing on AandE.
So taking a look at the team J.P fielded, can we really put the blame on the GM? The pitching staff is great, and on paper this team should be a solid hitting team. In reality, this team has not hit worth a lick and it has cost them the season, but what GM aside from Nostradamus himself could have predicted that the above-listed lineup would prove so futile at the plate?
If there is one move the organization has made that will prove to be a major blow to the club it is without a doubt the releasing of the beloved “Ice Cold Beer Guy” Wayne McMahon, who was quickly picked up off waivers by MTV.
I am laying the blame for the Jays problems this season in a place that few ever choose to do, I blame the players, for they are the ones who have not lived up to their potential.
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