Posted on April - 30 - 2009
I find the topic of J.P. Ricciardi a very polarizing one. Some people are staunch supporters, while many want to burn him at the stake. I’m sort of in the middle, but one thing is for certain. Only a playoff spot for the 2009 Jays should save him his job, and they are not making the playoffs.
Given the Jays solid start, J.P. supporters might think I’m crazy, but hear me out.
My financial advisor was doing ok for me. He made some pretty good moves and some really bad ones. I told him, “Thanks for your time, but I’m going to move in another direction”. Mediocrity is not what I’m looking for. J.P. has made some good moves. He’s drafted players like Adam Lind, Aaron Hill and Jesse Litsch to name a few. He’s also made some horrible moves. Giving an aging Frank Thomas $10 million per was insane! Letting Reed Johnson go for squat to keep Shannon Stewart was ridiculous. I’m sure you can think of many more.
He has also alienated players and their agents. Remember what he said about Adam Dunn? Let me remind you. “He’s not a guy who like’s to play Baseball, or enjoys what he does.” FYI J.P., Adam Dunn has averaged 41 homers and 100 RBI’s the last five seasons. The last time I checked, no one on your roster has done anything close to that, including your $126 million dollar man, Vernon Wells.
Teams often make the mistake of keeping or resigning a GM just because of a hot start or better then expected performance. Remember the Leafs in 2006? They picked up the option on John Ferguson Jr’s contract because of a hot start to the season and we all know how that ended.
J.P. was signed in 2001. Of all the GM’s that are still with their team since that time, he is the only one who has not got his team into the playoffs. There are probably worse GM’s out there, but the Jays can definitely do better. So, unless they make the playoffs, thanks for your time J.P., but the Jays need to move in another direction.
Anthony
Posted on April - 30 - 2009
Here’s your bikini of the day from bikinibeat.org:
On Fan 590 Tonight- thanks to Mike S.
Toronto Blue Jays Baseball
On 640 with Brady and Watters:
440 Sergei Fedorov, Washington Capitals
510 Rob Higgins, Fantasy Hockey Insider
540 Warren Rychel, Spitfires GM
610 Dreger/Morrison
640 Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks
Posted on April - 30 - 2009
Editor’s Note: Here is an introduction from a new writer at TSM, Lilly. Lilly is an avid fan and a great writer. Please leave her a kind, welcome comment or 3. TSM
Hello sports fans! My name is Lilly . I’m from Toronto and am a Student enrolled at the College of Sports Media (CSM), for radio and television sports broadcasting. I was a wrestler back in 2002-2003. I was also part of the debut season with the Toronto Roller Derby in 2006. I decided to go to CSM after I saw an article in the paper about the school by Marty York. As far as I’m concerned it was the best decision I have ever made.I have always found it interesting that there are many different networks, stations and newspapers that will deliver the same information, but in a totally different style from one another. Allowing the viewer or reader access to the same material but to come away with a different view of what happened is paramount. Let’s start with TSN. This is where people will most likely go to first for their sports info. They’ve got their talent in suits and ties, formal format. It’s like watching the news but, not really. There is nothing wrong with this approach, but hey, it’s sports! For the most part you’re reporting on people playing games for a living. Shouldn’t it be a little bit more relaxed? I mean COME ON!! CBC is the same way. It’s a more formal approach to sports reporting. Which brings me to Sportsnet and The Score. These two stations are much more relaxed. The talent wears dress shirts, blazers and jeans. It’s a Casual and more relaxed environment. Cabbie’s approach to sports is the best out there. He brings new meaning to being yourself. He is 100% himself. I think that’s what athletes want. Not the same old questions, but rather a reporter asking them different questions that have nothing to do with the game or even the sport. I think it makes sense to have a more casual approach to sports. Because, after all it’s sports.
Lilly
Posted on April - 30 - 2009
Yup, you read that correctly. Tony Kornheiser, one my favourite journalist is included in the group. This is a wise investment of a few short minutes of your day:
Posted on April - 29 - 2009
Fantasy Notes: Inge Keeps Rolling
Here’s the most recent post from RotoRob.
Brandon Inge has been one of the biggest surprises in the first month of the season, emerging as a top 10 AL player.
On Tuesday, for just the second time in his last 12 games, Brandon Inge failed to record a hit, but he did draw a walk to run his streak of consecutive games reaching base to 20 games (the longest for a Tiger since Inge reached in his first 21 games in 2005). After batting a butt ugly .205 last season, Inge says the work he did with hitting coach Lloyd McClendon this spring has made all the difference. He concentrated on raising his hands higher in his stance, and itís definitely paid off, as Inge has been one of the most popular waiver wire picks early this season thanks to a BA of almost .320 and seven dingers ñ tied for second in the AL. He leads Detroit with a superb .694 slugging percentage and has driven in more runs than any other Tiger, which is pretty damned amazing considering heís spent most of his time batting seventh or eighth in the lineup. Shockingly, Inge is just the fifth Tiger to spank at least seven long balls in the teamís first 18 games. Factoring in his catcher eligibility, Inge is currently one of the most valuable Fantasy commodities in the American League. Itís hard to believe he was barely a top 20 catcher and didnít even crack our top 25 at third base heading into the season.
One player who took a decidedly worse turn after our rankings is Chris Shelton. We ranked him No. 30 among first basemen, but he failed to even make Seattleís Opening Day roster (despite a fantastic spring). Meanwhile, both Russell Branyan and Mike Sweeney are hitting very well for the Mariners, and Shelton ñ probably disheartened ñ has struggled badly out of the gates at Triple-A. He showed some life Tuesday night, going 2-for-5 with his first homer of the season, but with a .239 BA, .304 OBP and 19 strikeouts in 18 games, the 28-year-old Sheltonís prospects are fading. Sweeney will obviously get hurt at some point, so you know Shelton will get another look in the majors, but itís pretty obvious that great power potential he showed a few years ago in Detroit has gone AWOL.
Ryan Raburn failed to make the Tigers out of Spring Training, and although he hit just .255 at Triple-A, he had smacked five homers, driven in nine runs and swiped a couple of bags in his first dozen games before he got called up by Detroit last week. With Carlos Guillen hurting and limited to DH duties for now, Raburn is seeing some action in left field against lefties, but heís hitless so far (hey, at least he got a freaking walk on Tuesday). I liked Raburn as a super sup type a couple of years ago before the Tigers made the ill-fated deal to acquire Jacque Jones, but he didnít see enough action to have value. He got more PT last year, but unfortunately wasnít nearly as effective. At this point, the recently turned 28-year-old Raburn does not deserve any Fantasy attention, especially with his platoon partner (Josh Anderson) tearing it up.
Despite the shellacking they took Tuesday night, the Tigers are off to a good start, and currently sit atop the AL Central. One of the big reasons for their success has been the rebound of a rotation that was among the ALís worst last season, but has been among the best so far in 2009. Itís been good news almost all around for the Detroit starters: Armando Galarraga has built on a solid rookie season and is quickly becoming a must-own pitcher; Edwin Jackson is enjoying a breakout campaign; Rick Porcello has shown flashes of greatness, but is going through the typical ups and downs that rookies experience; Zach Miner has struggled, but looked much better in his last start; and Justin Verlander is off to another crappy start, but on Monday, he looked superb, so perhaps heís turning things around. And now the Tigers are getting good reports about Dontrelle Willis, currently rehabbing after suffering an anxiety disorder this spring. He pitched very well on Sunday at Double-A and will move up to Triple-A for a start on Friday. If that goes well, Willis could be ready to rejoin the big league squad next week, so keep an eye on that situation, as he might be worth picking up if he is going to regain a rotation spot. At this point, Miner or Porcello are the likeliest candidates to be shifted out when the D-Train pulls into Detroit.
