Is it me or has Ron Wilson picked up where JP Ricciardi left off? Did these two go to the same PR and motivational schools? In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter what the hell the fans think of a coach. It matters even less when they are winning. Every time I read a quote from Ron Wilson lately, I want to strangle the guy, or at the very least stick a sock in his mouth.

“”You have one (expletive) goal in your last 10 games,” Wilson said to Kessel.”

From where I am sitting, there is no problem for a coach to rip one his players in front of his teammates. It’s not my preferred method, embarassing a guy, but lots use it. What I don’t get is doing it within earshot of the entire throng of media hounds hanging around watching practice. I once worked for a real SOB. He constantly reduced people to tears in his office. However outside that office, to the rest of the company, no one would say a bad thing about anyone on his team, he defended everyone like they were his kids. You want to embarrass your star player in front of his teammates, wouldn’t it be smarter to do so behind a closed locker room door?

“”We do it here because I’m pissed off, okay?” he said. “You do need a kick in the rump once in a while. Then we’ll see how people respond.”

You have to believe Wilson rubs his dog in it’s pee when it has an accident. I always thought coaches, including Wilson tried to create an environment of us against the rest of the world. Isn’t is kind of hard to establish that attitude when you treat your players like ass?

“”Actually at the end of the day, you guys shouldn’t even watch us practice,” Wilson said to the assembled scrum on Thursday. “This is the only sport where the media will report what you said to a player on the field of battle. You can’t do it in football, baseball or basketball. How many basketball practices have you ever been to? None.

“This is our office and it should be off-limits.”

i have no problem when guys rail on the press when it is deserved, here the pool did nothing wrong but show up. If Wilson prefers to work in an environment where there is only 1 or 2 writers, there is a league full of cities where he can beg for attention. If you can’t take the heat, get out of the oven.

“”We’ve got to compete harder,” Wilson said to reporters afterwards. “Not compete when we’re down 2-0. Compete from the start. Don’t get going when the score is five- or six-to-one. Compete all the time and consistently. That’s what we’re going to have to do if we want to be a competitive team.”

If the team doesn’t have the commitment to compete, isn’t that an attitude problem? Who is responsible for that attitude? I mean this isn’t Wilson’s first year here. He’s had this group for a while now. His team the other night looked as bad as the bunch did during the Paul Maurice era- which was about as bright as the John Brophy era.

I am curious what Wilson does if Kessel reacts to his lashing the same way Kaberle did to his benching? I mean what if it has a negative effect. What if instead of 10 bad games, Kessel quits on Wilson, says screw you and mails it in? I am not suggesting he will, but what if? I wonder if Wilson discusses these things with Burke et all before lashing out.

I have no problem with Wilson as a coach, I just really prefer he just shut up and coach, that’s all.

TSN’s story on Wilson is here

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

“We wanted to trade Roy and Roy wanted to be traded (in the summer), as he does now. I think there’s no secret that he would like to be traded,”

I don’t care if it’s true or not, but can someone please tell Montgomery. Burns’s boy Smithers to crawl back into this little hole and shut the hell up. If we want to hear from JP Ricciardi, we will let you know.

I have little respect for the guy as a GM and even less for him now that he is out of the game.

Mike Wilner had a pre-pre game show tonight on which he asked the best question of his listeners (me) that he has asked all year:

“Have you given up on the Blue Jays? If so, what do they have to do to get you back?”

Now I have to admit, when I heard Wilner ask the question, I laughed uncontrollably. Seriosuly, I chocked. Is he kidding, I asked myself. There is only 1 lone blogger out there who hasn’t given up on the Blue Jays. The rest of the world is mired in apathy towards Canada’s baseball team. The season started with a manager telling us to wait until next season and it’s ending with us wanting to put a gun to our heads. Have we given up???? Who the hell hasn’t????? I am not sure there is a player on the team who hasn’t given up, and for once I am not sure anyone blames them. Wilner admitted that the previous night it was “very difficult” to get people to call into the post game show. Hell, I didn’t even know they were playing a doubleheader that’s how apathetic I am about them right now.

The funny thing about the Blue Jays team is that the apathy is not based upon the fact that they suck this year or that they are way out of it. This one is squarely on ownership. It’s one thing when you cut payroll or blow things up to start again, but to do so in complete silence without ANY announced plan?????? If you can’t be bothered to sell it, I certainly am not gong to be dumb enough to buy it. So, to answer your 2nd question Mike, here is what Roger’s needs to do:

1. Fire JP
2. Announce that either Beeston is staying or going as of ____ date
a. If Beeston isn’t staying on as President, hire a new one
3. Announce team payroll for next season/intentions for the team
4. Show that you care in the team and the fans

All of those go together in one word- COMMUNICATE. Funny, the mother ship’s corporate name is Roger’s Communications, or at least it used to be. Yet ownership does a real shitty job at communicating. Do you know what the most powerful thing on earth is and the most dangerous? The most powerful thing on earth is HOPE, the most dangerous thing is apathy. Because ownership is sitting on their hands with their collective mouths shut, I don’t know a single person who would think of buying a ticket to a single game the rest of this season or next. By saying nothing, they have created a completely apathetic fan base. Not only don’t we care that they are losing, we have no interest!

Roger’s needs to send someone, hell it can Beeston to get in front of a microphone and announce that JP is gone, that he Beeston is staying on, that he will announce a new GM asap, and that Rogers has promised to give him the payroll he needs to compete. If that were to happen, I would take my kids to a game or two this month (something I haven’t done all year). Hell, I would buy a couple of pairs to give away on this blog. Why? Because I would have some degree of hope that maybe, one day this team will be exciting again. When ownership doesn’t care enough to speak, I don’t care enough to support. Give me hope, and I will participate.

So, Mike there you have it. Have I quit on the Jays? Hell yes, the same way ownership did. Can they get me back? Yessir, it’s pretty easy. Make a plan, announce a plan and sell it. otherwise, good luck with your 2010 budget projections. Next year will be uglier than this, I guarantee it.

TSM

“We’ve been in trade discussion with Toronto before the deadline to try to get this guy,” Williams explained of how the whole thing came together. “And the way the waiver claim was made was to A: hopefully resurrect talks. B: in the event someone else claimed him, we didn’t want him going elsewhere because we targeted him not only as a guy who not only would help us in our quest for the division but future seasons as well.”

Fascinating revelation by Chicago White Sox GM Ken Williams. So the two teams talked trade before the deadline and couldn’t work out a deal and so JP figured nothing was better than whatever they had been offered. I understand the logic. Better to unload the whole salary for nothing as opposed to taking crap back that you don’t want and have to pay for. Still, how does one weak season kill a guys marketability so quickly? Whatever the White Sox offered had to be total crap for nothing to be a better package. Jays had better hope that Rios stays on his current path and never materialize or they will join the Leafs in giving away guys before their time to shine and having nothing to show for it. Not cool if that happens.

TSM

you can read more on the Chicago White Sox acquisition of Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios here.

That hollering you hear is JP, Cito and Beeston. It seems, according to ESPN that Alex Rios has been claimed off of waivers:

“A waiver claim has been placed on Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Alex Rios, according to Major League Baseball sources.

At a time when most teams have very little financial flexibility, it could be within the realm of possibility that the Blue Jays will consider a trade of Rios, who still has six years remaining on a seven-year, $69.35 million contract he agreed to in April 2008, or simply waive him to the team that claimed him.

It is not yet known which team has been awarded the claim on Rios, but Rios might be on his way out of Toronto, one way or the other, because the Blue Jays may embrace the opportunity to shed his contract — much in the same way they unexpectedly allowed the San Diego Padres to take reliever Randy Myers in a waiver claim more than a decade ago.

The Blue Jays, it appears, have three options, and must make a decision by next Tuesday, because the waiver period will roll through the weekend:

• They could work out a trade with the team that claimed Rios.
• They could pull him back from waivers, and keep him for themselves the rest of this season.
• They could simply allow the team that claimed him to take him, at no cost.”

WOW- this could be interesting, I have asked DL to keep an eye on this for us

TSM

The good news is that JP is alive. The bad news, if you are Ted Rogers, or anyone else on the ownership team is that your GM and Manager have, in essence thrown in the towel for the 2008 season. No matter how you spin this, it just can’t be good.

All the major dailies have the story, but in essence here is what has been said:

“We’re still going to play hard and see what happens,” Gaston said earlier Tuesday before the Jays took to the field for the first of a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre.
Cito Gaston observes his team during the three-game sweep in Seattle.

“There’s a lot of teams to get over the top here,” Gaston continued. “We’re certainly not going to quit. But if you look at our scheduling the rest of the way, it’s a pretty tough schedule.”

JP adds:

“My job is to have expectations,” he said. “And our expectations are that this team is not as bad as it’s played and hopefully will play a little better.

“Now, does that mean we’re going to be a playoff team? No, chances are probably not good that way. But that doesn’t mean we can’t hold out hope that we can play better.”

The problem, Ricciardi said, is easy to pinpoint — .238 — Toronto’s pitiful average when hitting with runners in scoring position.

“That’s it in a nutshell,” he said. “That’s why they put scoreboards up. You got to score more runs than the other guy and we’re not.

“It doesn’t mean the guys aren’t trying. It just means they’re not doing it.”

The problem for JP is that A for effort doesn’t lead to bums in the seats.

As I stated yesterday, no matter how you spin it, this is team without a plan, or a hope. There is nothing to hang your hat on and no reason to buy tickets.

The above quotes come courtesy of the Globe and Mail….

They only get better over at the Post…

“Season’s done, folks. And to think there are only two months, 19 days, and 72 games to go.”

“He sent out a call for trade offers: “We’ll have to see if people are interested in some of our guys.”

He speculated on September callups for four minor-leaguers: pitchers David Purcey and Brett Cecil, catcher J.P. Arencibia, and outfielder Travis Snider (“That’s four young guys who could possibly help us going into next year”). And he sort of called out the guys whom he is paying almost US$100-million and who responded with a 42-47 record in their first 89 games.

“We’ve got a [first baseman who's a good hitter], a second baseman who’s a good hitter, a third baseman’s who’s a good hitter, a centre fielder who’s a good hitter, right fielder who’s a good hitter,” Ricciardi said. “They’re just not doing what they’ve done offensively. So I find it hard that you can blame anything on coaches all the time when it doesn’t go well. You’ve played a lot of baseball, at some point you’ve got to figure out, ‘this is what I’ve gotta do.’ We’re just in a collective slump as a group, and it’s just not fun to watch, for anybody.”

Come fall, JP had better be gone and a plan in place or the Rogers Center is going to start looking a lot like the Olympic Stadium, and we all know how that story ended.