May 19, 2008
What Happened to the Plan?
Richard Griffin levels some fair criticism at J.P. Ricciardi:
The truth is Ricciardi has stumbled badly. The initial misstep involved his promise of rebuilding the farm first. The second involved proceeding with the acquisition of high-priced talent even though his homegrowns weren't ready to lead.
The whole plan wasn't done as he laid it out and it might ultimately mean that his total tenure will end up being seven years and gone after this season, the exact amount of rope that his predecessor Gord Ash was given by Ted Rogers before he ran out of time.
Consider Ricciardi's six-year won-lost record heading into '08. From 2002-07, his teams were 481-490, a win percentage of .495. If you compare that to Ash's final six seasons, 485-487, a win percentage of .499, where's the improvement?
Griffin also notes that in 2008, there are as many Gord Ash drafted players representing the core of the team as Ricciardi drafted players.
Posted by David Pinto at
08:59 AM
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The article is a little unfair to Ricciardi although I agree he hasn't done the job well. The Jays prospects may not be brilliant but they still have time to develop especially a guy like Adam Lind who wasn't mentioned.
"Build a contender from within, then spend more money to add the missing parts from outside to put the team over the top. "
Missing parts added:
Bengie Molina
Lyle Overbay
Troy Glaus
Edgardo Alfonzo
A.J. Burnett
B.J. Ryan
Frank Thomas
Matt Stairs
Jeremy Accardo
Tomokazu Ohka
Victor Zambrano
Joe Kennedy
Plans rarely work out. In fact, the best planners are the ones who can adapt to change and still be successful. The drafting for the Jays hasn't worked out some years, but he is getting some excellent value from some of his drafts. 2003 was a great year. What seems to be lost in the shuffle was that this isn't an exact science... you can load your deck and still not make the big show. I'm getting kinda sick of people trying to blame the GM for this one... he put the team together... its not totally his fault injuries and ineffectiveness killed the past 2 seasons.
Anyway, I'm going to go back to ignoring anything Dick Griffin says... I've not read anything relevant from him... ever.
He hasn't been good, time for a change...
Everybody faces injuries and sometimes players don't work out. Seems to me they've had a handful of prospects not really turn out Hill, Lind, Adams - paid a lot for Burnett - haven't been able to find a catcher - Wells and to a lesser extent Rios have certainly been disappointing in that they haven't lived up to their potential so far. Right now they've got a lot of mediocre vets and not a lot of good young prospects for a sub .500 team
J.P. still has not found a shortstop, catcher, and there is no farm depth. Good teams need to be strong up the middle, this one clearly is not. The record tells the truth, mediocre team and management.
J.P. still has not found a shortstop, catcher, and there is no farm depth. Good teams need to be strong up the middle, this one clearly is not. The record tells the truth, mediocre team and management.