Ricciardi's Tenure As Blue Jays GM is Over
Toronto Fires GM On Last Weekend of Regular Season
J.P. Ricciardi failed to live up to his abstract promises from the day he took over for Gord Ash as the new GM of the Blue Jays in 2001 and he paid for it.
Not once under Ricciardi did the Jays make the post-season, the closest coming in 2006 when the team finished 2nd in the East but lost the wild card to the eventual World Series runner-up, Detroit Tigers.
Hired for his 'moneyball' approach, a trait used to great lengths by his former team, the Oakland Athletics, Ricciardi never really found his niche in Toronto. The low budget, small-ball baseball, that he was supposed to be implementing, would have been a refreshing change of pace from the days where teams only relied on the long ball to score runs (also known as the steroid era).
The Blue Jays were one of the lowest base stealing teams in the majors, finishing tied for 25th (with Washington) out of 30 teams with a measly 73 steals. Red Sox CF Jacoby Ellsbury led the MLB with 70 steals almost equalling the total of the entire Jays roster.
One prime example of a team excelling at playing small-ball are Toronto's division rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays, who use a combination of speed (Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton combined for 102 stolen bases) and power hitting (Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria combined for 72 home runs) in '09.
Another solid example for baseball's future GM's are the Florida Marlins, a team with the league's lowest payroll (just under $37 million this season) yet they still produced an impressive 87-75 record with some of baseball's great, young stars in SS Hanley Ramirez and SP Josh Johnson.
Ricciardi vs. the Media
The pressure of competing in baseball's toughest division surely took its toll on Ricciardi. He mishandled the media on several occasions, most recently, leaving star pitcher Roy Halladay out to dry with the constant trade rumours swirling around him.
In a response to a caller on a radio talk show, Ricciardi famously criticized Cincinnati fielder Adam Dunn by saying, "Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much? Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? I don’t think you’d be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here."
Ricciardi's desire to be the spotlight only brought negative attention, something he could ill-afford to do in a city like Toronto where baseball isn't top dog (behind hockey and in competition with sports like basketball and football). Not surprisingly, free agent signings were one of Ricciardi's major downfalls. Attracting free agents is difficult enough in a hockey-mad city, then add in the haunting fact the Jays play the Red Sox and Yankees 18 times a year, it's a tough sell to players.
Aftermath
Like those before and after him, there will be a job in baseball somewhere down the line for Ricciardi. Making promises and failing to honour them is unacceptable at the major league level and Ricciardi's track record in Toronto was mediocre. It's about time the Jays get a fresh start under someone new.
Now the Jays' future belongs in the hands of newly appointed GM Alex Anthopoulos and fans are hoping he can fare better than that of his predecessor.
Blue Jays Reliever Scott Downs
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The Rogers Centre in Toronto
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