Friday Brevity II
John Heyman of Sports Illustrated writes that "There also appears to be one or two other American League teams on the periphery of the bidding [for Manny Ramirez]. The Yankees, after signing Mark Teixeira to an eight-year, $180-million contract, are not among them." Do I even bother making the suggestion or calling Rogers a bunch of cheap fucking assholes? Meh.
Of course, that may be a moot point now that the Dodgers and Andruw Jones have reworked his contract to make him uh... more attractive? So, they'll have some money freed up just as soon as they find someone dumb to take a guy who threw down a cool 34 OPS+ last year. (Note: Johnny Mac's career low OPS+ is 40.)
The Southpaw lists a bunch of youngsters who might be available on the trade market, and who the Jays should definitely be looking into.
Joe Posnanski shares JP Ricciardi's staggeringly bland tastes in music, food and culture.
Jason Frasor's cousin Bobby has some great seats for #1 North Carolina's dominant NCAA basketball season. He even gets on the floor sometimes. Occasionally he also has to rush from a game to get to Jason's wedding. And then other times he injures his knee, and then gets caught jumping from a balcony into a frat-house pool while still rehabbing.
Griff recaps the year, and gives us five to watch for 2009 including Alex Anthopoulos and JP Arencibia-- who he says "has a chance to be a Mike Piazza-type presence for the future Blue Jays."
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33 comments:
So JP Arencibia may be one of the most dominant hitting catchers of all time?
I am sick of hearing all this Alex Anthopoulous BS that Griff has been preaching all year - if the Jays next GM is going to be promoted from within it should be Tony Lacava...unless they want to simply have a Canadian at the helm for no other reason than appeasing the patriotic fan base...sigh
Not being sarcastic: Why do you say that? Do you have any idea which of them is responsible for what? How capable they are at whatever they do? I have no clue, personally.
Fuck off Parkes
I don't know everything that Antho/Lacava are responsible for, but Lacava has been linked with rebuilding the farm system and I'm pretty sure other teams would rather have him as a GM than Antho....Lacava was linked with the Mariners job, while Antho hasn't been linked with anyone else as far as I can tell...not that this necessarily means Lacava would be a better/worse choice than Antho, but from everything I've heard from ppl other than Hobo Griff, Lacava is far more qualified/respected around the game to be considered for a GM position
...and griff is just playing the Canadian angle like he did with Scott Richmond...
From Griff:
"The other key deadline move was the Brewers obtaining CC Sabathia from the Indians and earning the NL wild-card spot over the free-falling Mets."
I didn't realize that the deadline was Ju;y 7th. But I suppose expecting a guy employed to do nothing but write and think about baseball to know when the season's biggest trade took place would be too much.
"The team from Motown made the biggest off-season splash, obtaining all-stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins for prospects. It didn't work out."
Dontrelle Willis is about as much of an all-star as David Eckstein. Actually, less so. Eckstein was an AS in '06, Willis hasn't been since '05.
"The repercussions are already being felt with the Yanks anticipating huge new revenue streams across the street at the new place, allowing them to reach out and ink free agents Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira for 29 years and more than $420 million (U.S.)."
The combined amount that these three guys are gonna cost NY in '09 is less than the amount of payroll coming off NY's books from Abreu, Giambi, Pavano, and Pettitte.
But I guess this is par for the course coming from a guy who's business sense is highlighted by comments about increasing Doc's pay simply because Burnett is making more money with his new contract.
Alex Anthopoulous was responsible for the Aaron Hill contract, or so the rumor goes.
Chalk up one victory in his column.
Forget the error about where Halladay finished in CYA voting. It's not like the baseball columnist for the Toronto Blue Jays should know something minor like that, right?
And the final nugget about Russell Martin being an MVP candidate if he puts up the .282/.355/.436 line of his rookie season.
Do you think he's simply retarded? Or that he has a philosophical problem with spending ten minutes showing some professionalism and checking his facts?
Call me crazy.. but Andruw for $5 might not be a terrible risk to take...
you're crazy?
You want to pay MONEY for somebody who had an OPS+ of 34? Yeah, you're crazy. That's worse than Mencherson.
well... jones is only 31, he had a wake-up call last year, and he hit between 26 and 51 jacks, and between 84 and 129 RBIs every year for the last 10. maybe he's not done yet, he's certainly not over the hill.
Alex Anthopoulous is from montreal, so Griffin is just blowing him for that reason.
The next GM should not have any link to the current regime and should not be another first time GM.
Andrew Jones? FUCK YEAH! He'll fit right in with our Past Allstar team. With him we win the World Series on past greatness alone
PAUL BYRD
I think Byrd would be a great addition, all things considered. Jones... honestly... I'd wager Snider and Lind both have better seasons, and are both better served not being blocked for however long it took before the Jays decided to cut bait on Jones. Now, Mr. B. Barry L. Douchebag Bonds? I still go for him-- those steroids can work wonders, you know.
I tend to agree that the next GM should have nothing to do with the current regime. In fact, I think it should be someone who has been pretty much singularly opposed to everything Ricciardi has done. Griffin for GM. It would be a fucking riot!
K i agree Jones sucks, but a man playing for a contract at the age of 31 has got to be a better DH than Barry Bonds right? Steroids and all, hes been off the scene for a yr now, and atleast fatty Jones has been i guess somewhat working out...he's not suited for the OF till he gets into shape but i dont see why we cant use him at DH, if Lind truly will take over 1B/DH duties full time when Overbay gets the fuck outta town.
By that standard (and without going deep into the stats), I'd rather have a guy that posted a 170 OPS+ in 2007 (Bonds) than someone who posted a 88 OPS+. And Bonds should theoretically want to clear his name as much as Jones wants to rehab is career.
By the way, how do you know that Bonds didn't worked out at all in 2008, unlike Jones? That's pretty good inside info - why are you posting anonymous comments on blogs?
Andruw Jones better than Barry Bonds?
Have you ever watched baseball in your life?
"I tend to agree that the next GM should have nothing to do with the current regime."
I'd more/less agree with this, except that the organization has fixed it's moronic drafting in large part (or so the rumour goes) to Tony Lacava. Whoever the GM, they need to focus on drafting/developing and going over slot in the draft for fuck sakes...
The Blue Jays won't be competitive until ownership (new or old) starts spending money again. Of course, we're also going to need a good GM. But replacing the GM won't solve the problem on its own. Not in the big, bad AL East. Besides, to attract a good GM the team probably needs to demonstrate that it will spend enough to be competitive.
I don't think any of us has a clue whether LaCava would be effective as a rookie GM. From a fan's perspective, it's all innuendo and speculation. He does seem to be well regarded in baseball circles. He might be the right candidate; he might not. In general, I think you want someone experienced, unless the candidate has clear star potential. JP seems to have improved as a GM, but he went through some growing pains (Jason Arnold, John-Ford Griffin, anyone?).
Andruw Jones: just say no.
Barry Bonds: give it up. Not only would the Jays still miss the playoffs, but they would lose all credibility as an organization.
greenfrog,
1) so u want the new owner to buy the team with the expectation to lose money in perpetuity. sounds like a winning business model. i volunteer you to sign up. and if you can't do it with a baseball team, why don't you just lose money by starting to send me checks every month.
2) does trading jason perry for john-ford griffin really bother you that much? are you jason perry's brother or something? or are you just grasping at straws to criticize JP. i can think of about 10 better ways to do so that dont involve john-ford griffin. the bottom line is that he's done a strong job building the farm system and his trade record is more positive than it is negative.
3) re: bonds. are you saying that the team would be better or worse without him? because if they're better with him than without him, who gives a shit about their credibility? they're a lot more credible by winning games, not how they win them.
1) read my comments above. I'm not taking ownership to task for not spending money. I'm simply saying that the Jays aren't going to be competitive until they do. that's just the reality of the division they play in.
2) arnold + griffin were acquired for Felipe Lopez in a multiteam deal. so yeah, that trade sucked. as for jp's "strong job building the farm system" and "positive" trade record, the jays haven't been anywhere near the playoffs in 15 years, and it looks as though the drought is going to continue. sure, jp has made some good moves (mostly minor ones), but it hasn't been enough. is it all his fault? definitely not. but however you slice it, the jays are treading water at best. and jp is the gm, so he has to bear some responsibility.
3) re bonds. I'm saying that the '09 jays aren't making the playoffs either way. given that last year ricciardi publicly said that the jays felt it was inappropriate to sign the steroids king, it would be hypocrisy to sign him now. i think it would send a signal to the league (and future free agents) that the jays need to pull desperate stunts to keep from tanking, instead of making the necessary investments to win long-term. not a good reputation to establish, especially on the heels of the thomas and hillenbrand fiascos.
Why is it inevitable that spending more money means Rogers loses more money? Isn't it slightly possible that a higher payroll equals more winning which draws more people and helps to boost revenues from ticket prices, concessions, and a likely spillover to TV and radio ratings? I think a Manny Ramirez signing would essentially pay for itself.
I think that argument only works up to a point. Any company has to figure out at which point spending more on marketing is unlikely to generate additional profits. What's the optimal level of spending in terms of boosting Rogers' profitability? That's a good question. In any case, I think the payroll will likely be modest (say, $80-90M) until the Canadian dollar soars above par again, and/or the economy rebounds.
Lots of teams are in the same boat as the Jays. I think the best strategy right now (assuming the short-term budget will remain limited for a year or two) is to batten down the hatches, continue to focus on acquiring and developing young talent, maybe make a strategic move or two (like extending Halladay), and anticipate upping spending in a couple of years when the economics improve. Of course, many teams are probably thinking along the same lines. The underlying issue is that the North American (and global) economy is in pretty rough shape and may take quite a while to recover.
"Barry Bonds: give it up. Not only would the Jays still miss the playoffs, but they would lose all credibility as an organization."
Since when did the Jays have credibility as an organization? They haven't made the playoffs in how long??!
I would argue that the Jays gained credibility last year (the Thomas imbroglio notwithstanding). The reason was their outstanding pitching. Even Joe Sheehan of BP commented on the team's strong run differential and admitted that the Jays were the best fourth-place team in baseball last year.
The problem is that the modestly upward trend has taken a hit b/c of injuries and payroll issues.
On the other hand, the team still has some good young players and an improved farm system. So it still has some credibility. But the general perception is that the Jays aren't quite good enough--or spendthrift enough--to win in the AL East. Signing a late-career Bonds won't fundamentally affect that perception, but it would signal a kind of desperation on the team's part.
desperation? i would hope to god they are desperate, considering they are one of four teams to not make the playoffs in the last fifteen years
JP doing a strong job building the farm? Are you fucking retarded? The farms been nothing to write home about. Aside from sure things like Snider/Lind, and Marcum/Mcgowan, the farms been adequate. JP's drafting has been suspect at best. The hype surrounding all our draft picks make everyone think that they're better than they are. You don't hear about teams trying to steal our oh so good prospects do you? Theres a reason for that
I'm talking about the present, not the past (much as people like to moan endlessly about the latter). I would argue that the farm system is currently in better shape than in recent years (when the system regularly ranked in the bottom 5 in baseball).
It doesn't compare to, say, Texas's, which is about to start cranking out some serious talent. It's probably somewhere in the middle of the pack. But after being pretty sketchy for years, our current top ten prospect list is at least respectable:
Snider
Cecil
Arencibia
Cooper
Jackson
Mills
Rzepczynski
Ahrens
Romero
Emaus
Keep nailing it, Greenfrog. I have nothing else to say.
The reason people moan about the latter is because predicting the future is hard. You evaluate drafts by major league success, not on potential or even scouting reports..most fans look at reality. We have had tons of guys come through here with the same "bluejays" hype, but they turned out to be shit. I'm talking about Banks and Purcey for instance that were supposed to be sure things at one point, Quiroz and Thigpen were at one point in our top 10 prospect pool too. I'm not saying that i dont believe the system is getting better, because like all jays fans with nothing else to hope for, i have to believe our prospects will save this franchise. However, until we see these players actually make a difference in the bigs we cant say for certain that the farm actually is improving.
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