Is it hard to be the GM of the Blue Jays?

[LittleOzzy]

Q: Hey Richard,

I know (or think I know) your opinions of J.P. Ricciardi and agree that he's no Pat Gillick, but I've always kind of thought that the job itself (as Blue Jays GM) is a real tough one. What are your thoughts of where Toronto ranks in difficulty for a GM to be successful?

In Toronto's case they have to convince/overpay players because they're in a Canadian market, they have to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox (not to mention that they can't trade their stars to these teams - we can't fleece the Yanks in a trade like other teams can) and they've got a decent but by no means high salary cap.

Expectations might play a factor in that I don't think fans here ever really think we'll be in the playoffs any given year anymore, but aside from that, I don't think there's a more difficult market to win in.

Hmmm, maybe these are excuses for J.P. I just don't think that if Theo Epstein stepped in as Toronto GM that we would necessarily see success in five years. Maybe it was JP's arrogance in setting expectations that is doing him in.

Steve S., Vancouver

A: I think the problems of being a GM in Toronto are over-stated in your question. The Jays did fine luring players to Toronto in the early ‘90s. The secret was in winning. The other secret was in treating the players and their families with respect and affection. The Jays have strayed from those principles over the years.

They fell into the trap, for a while, of throwing in escape clauses to seal deals like the ones they gave to Roger Clemens, Ricciardi and A.J. Burnett. Before he left office, ex-president Paul Godfrey insisted they would never do that again.

Do you think it’s easier to sell a player on Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland or other towns just because those teams are in the States?

As for being in the same division as the Red Sox and Yankees and not being able to trade with them, when was the last time J.P. fleeced anyone in a trade?

Ricciardi’s job should be easier now than when he arrived because his payroll budget is now mid-pack in the major leagues and that is good enough to compete - if the money is spent wisely. I think fans every winter believe that the Jays can and will compete for the wild card, but it’s difficult when the front office, as they did this past winter, downplays their own team’s chances of reaching the playoffs. When you speak of no expectations for the playoffs, maybe you’re thinking about the Leafs.

I do believe that people are looking for any positives in support of the eight years of Ricciardi. So they point to his drafted guys on the 25-man roster like Ricky Romero, Casey Janssen, Adam Lind and Shaun Marcum; they brag of free agent bargains like Scott Downs, Brian Tallet and Jesse Carlson and they shake a fist in the general direction of those that doubt the direction of the program. Dude, if you’ve been there eight years, you should have guys on the roster that can play. But can they win?

From Richard Griffin's blog.

Also on the lighter side of things...

Q: Hi Richard,

I was at the Jays game on Sunday and noticed that every time Kevin Millar came to the plate the song Tiny Dancer by Elton John was played. I was wondering if this is a regular occurrence or if maybe he had lost a bet with one of the guys on the team.

Thanks and I love the mail bag,

Brian R., Orangeville, Ont.

A: Yes, unfortunately Tiny Dancer and Kevin Millar will be forever linked. Millar has a tremendous, self-deprecating sense of humour that has served him well over the years. The team at spring training always asks the players for their preferred theme song. For instance, Scott Rolen has Coldplay. For Millar, the rumour is that it was a tossup between Elton’s Tiny Dancer, The Safety Dance by the Canadian mega-group, Men Without Hats and Disco Inferno by The Trammps. He settled on Captain Fantastic.

http://thestar.blogs.com/baseball/

[youreachiteach]

I think the truth about Ricciardi is somewhere in the middle. He is a conservative, half decent GM with a good drafting pedigree. But he never tries for the big kahuna IN A TRADE(that isn't low equal risk)--perhaps due to monetary constraints or maybe because he feels they don't want to come here...maybe he simply thinks that it's easier to protect himself that way.

When he first came in, his job was to compete on a small budget--so he went college and re-tread vets while spending money on pitching. And released Delgado. That wasn't smart.

Then, once he saved enough money (and they bought the dome), they gave him a cookie for his efforts. He then brought in either injury-prone, likely to be injury prone or old talent to surround a questionable core of Wells and Rios (Old man Thomas, TJ surgery waiting to happen Ryan, Banged up Glaus, arm trouble/attitude Burnett...) and some solid depth moves.

Due to his drafting skills, we are seeing a slew of nice young pitching through the system--but few position players. Ricciardi (rightly or wrongly) has decided to go mainly with pitching and hope some retreads/college player development guys catch lightning in a bottle one year. If only we played in the American League West, that would be enough. Interesting he comes from Oakland, huh?

Truly, this team needs a payroll that doesn't just sniff the middle, it has to sniff the top of the league or we're never going anywhere. That's just fact. We lament his methods but perhaps they are his only options on a team that just has to finish third unless something miraculous happens and we never get hurt one year.

Now, maybe Halladay, Marcum, McGowan and Cecil are all healthy and ready next year---and that will be Ricciardi's shot. He has to make it count, which is why he's been so depressingly non-commital about giving any help to the players or considering this year as a real opportunity.

We shall see.