jaysblue

I started following the Blue Jays during the 1997 and 1998 seasons as a kid. Shawn Green and Roger Clemens were two of my favourite players. Even Jose Canseco in 1998 was pretty awesome. The Jays still had some leftovers from the World Series teams like Tony Fernandez, Ed Sprague, Pat Hentgen, Dave Stieb, Juan Guzman as well. I started becoming more of a student of the game once JP Ricciardi took over for some reason. His idea when he first came over was building a contender on a limited payroll and I found that Moneyball idea interesting at the time. I started watching baseball through the lens of a front office/GM instead of just a die hard fan. The 2002 season brought my excitement back after seeing guys like Doc, Wells, Hinske, Phelps, O-Dog breaking through. Started really following the team more in 2003 which was a fun season, seeing Halladay win the AL Cy Young for the first time and the seasons both Wells and Delgado had! I joined the message board in 2004 and even from having discussions and reading posts on here, have learned a lot more over the years from a lot of you guys!

It ain't happening. Jays win in 6. Edited the beginning of that post dawg! Didn't mean it to sound that way.

All I've said in previous posts, looking back at JPs tenure, he wasn't as bad as he was made out to be at the time by fans and the Toronto sports media. I mean I followed the Jays in the late 90s and early 2000s during some tough long years and during some fun seasons as well. I guess you just hopped on the bandwagon in 2015 and 2016 after the Blue Jays made the Postseason for the first time since 93?

If the Jays and Brewers met in the World Series and Tellez hits a World Series walk-off home run against the Jays in Game 7. The trolls will be out in full force and you would never hear the end of it haha.

Rays will trade McClanahan either during the offseason or next offseason before he becomes eligible for ARB.

His FO never drafted a true stud or elite talent which was the organizations biggest downfall, and like you said never had a pipeline of solid guys they could call up when they needed. They got solid production from some of his draft picks, but never over a long period of time. If an expanded Postseason existed during the 2000s, I do believe the Jays make the postseason in 3 or 4 of JP's seasons here with the rosters they had.

Blue Jays had to go extra years and cash on Burnett and Ryan. Even at the time, they both had question marks. Burnett had durability concerns and BJ Ryan was a closer just for one season and a setup guy the year before. The Burnett signing was a high reward signing mostly. They were paying for his potential more than anything. It wasn't like signing an established/elite player like George Springer or pitcher like Gerrit Cole. If you were following the Blue Jays during that time period, you would have known it was a lot more difficult to sign FA's back in the 2000s than it is now obviously. I think most Blue Jays fan would also agree with that.

Didn't the Nationals just take 2 of 3 in LA and the A's swept the Astros? LOL! They still play the Dodgers, Brewers and Braves which will be tough. Also, don't count out the Marlins if they throw Luzardo, Alcántara and Lopez in a series. It's not that easy of a schedule as you think.

He was only given a hefty payroll in the offseason before the 2006 season. As some posters discussed earlier, he actually did put together a very good roster that season. Some bad luck and with Boston and New York still power houses and having unlimited payrolls, Blue Jays were always the best third place team in the MLB. Some signings turned out bad afterwards like BJ Ryan and Vernon Wells, which strapped his FO from making any other big moves. But even after 2006, they were going hard both after Gil Meche and Ted Lilly so they were willing to spend. Unfortunately at that time, not many FA's wanted to sign in Toronto so was definitely tougher than it is now which is something you have to consider. No way a player like George Springer signs in Toronto during JPs tenure. After the 2008 season with knowing Marcum and McGowan were going to miss all of 2009, Burnett opting out and Doc in his two last years before free agency, JP knew the 2009 season was going to be a write off. If there was an expanded postseason during JPs tenure, the Blue Jays would have made the Postseason in 2003, 2005 possibly if Doc was healthy, 2006, and possibly close in 2007 and in 2008. They likely would have been more aggressive at those trade deadlines as well. Given the 2008 team with Halladay and Burnett at the top of the rotation, the Jays in a short Postseason series would have been dangerous.

Drafting under his tenure wasn't top notch, though the Jays system still rolled out solid players who contributed or were used in future trades to land other assets even under AA's tenure. Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum (turned into Brett Lawrie who was turned into Josh Donaldson), Brandon League (was turned into Brandon Morrow prior to 2010), Brett Cecil, Eric Thames, and Drew Hutchison. Travis Snider was a bust unfortunately, though when coming up there was a lot of hype around him as any prospect in the game. It's unfortunate McGowan couldn't stay healthy because he had some of the best raw stuff I've seen. In terms of trades and free agent signings, Ricciardi did a great job at finding value and even his big signings/trades turned out well. The Blue Jays always had a solid bullpen. His FO did a great job at evaluating talent. Look at guys he brought in via trade or minor league contracts for the bullpen like Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, Brian Tallet, Justin Speier, Jeremy Accardo, and Pete Walker. If Pete Walker never spent most of playing career with the Blue Jays, who knows if he would be here as the pitching coach right now? In terms of bats, look no further than Jose Bautista when they brought him in from the Pirates. Others include Frank Catalanotto, Marco Scutaro, traded Bobby Kielty for Ted Lilly, Gregg Zaun, and got solid years out of guys who were near the end of the line on one-year contracts like Gregg Myers, Mike Bordick and Matt Stairs haha. When you look back at the big trades and signings he did, I actually appreciate those moves even more now. After the 2005 season, he had a huge offseason signing AJ Burnett, BJ Ryan, Benjie Molina and trading for Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay. There was a lot of buzz surrounding the Blue Jays for the first time in a long time. Burnett was a really solid signing and pitched well here especially in 2008 before his opt-out. BJ Ryan was lights out in 2006 and decent in 2008 though yes injuries really made his contract look bad. If he was healthy, he was performing though. Glaus and Overbay were great in their first seasons here. Overbay was never the same after getting hit on the wrists in 2007. He resigned Roy Halladay to a very favorable contract extension to keep him around longer and did leave AA with one of the best trading chips to completely retool the farm system. As much as I hated the Vernon Wells contract, he managed to keep a big name player from leaving Toronto as a free agent at a time when nobody wanted to come play with the Blue Jays. He traded Glaus for Scott Rolen after 2007 and AA turned Rolen into Edwin Encarnacion in 2009. I wish though JP was more aggressive in 2008 in terms of adding solid bats. A lot of ABs were wasted on Shannon Stewart, Brad Wilkerson, Kevin Mench, David Eckstein etc. The team had no real true power threat that season and wasted all that great pitching they had. Losing Marcum and McGowan though to injuries that season and long term did really impact what the Jays were going to do in 2009. I think if the Jays knew they would have had a healthy Marcum and McGowan in 2009, they would have added more in the offseason or went after Burnett harder.

Yeah if Berrios turns it around which it looks like he has recently, that Top 3 is good enough. In a 7 game series anyways, you would maybe use your No. 4 starter just once. Though you can never have enough pitching. Jays still need to get to the Postseason which is two months away. If an injury happens to Manoah or Gausman, Jays would be screwed. I still think it would be a good idea to add another starter, whether its a Castillo or Montas or Quintana or Kelly and/or go after an innings eater like Kuhl. One or the other. Won't hurt and at least if anything happens to Manoah or Gasuman, Blue Jays can still roll out a solid rotation the rest of the season and in the Postseason.

They're missing Trevor Story.

One of my all-time favourite quotes!

Adam Dunn didn't even like baseball!

Yeah I don't think the Yankees care about the one remaining series in Toronto this season. Even if Beintendi is left off the roster, they still can put together a solid lineup. Even during a Postseason matchup in October if they played the Jays, the Yankees would have home field advantage anyways. And who knows by October if the policy changes for both the United States and Canada in terms of travel.

Given Stanton's injury and the way Gallo has played, Benintendi might be boring but he's definitely a nice add and will be a positive upgrade IMO. Also gives the Yankees a different type of bat in their lineup instead of a big power bat, so he'll add some balance. Also, I see his power numbers improving hitting at Yankee Stadium and other AL East ballparks.

Unless he gets traded again

The no beard policy is so stupid. I'm shocked its still a thing given todays PC culture haha.

Funny how in May/June so many posters on here wanted the Jays to trade for Benintendi. He doesn't suck. He's not an elite guy by any stretch, but can be a solid guy for the Yankees. Then again, some guys just can never play well in New York...

JP Riccardi was a good GM. Definitely underrated and got a lot more hate from the Toronto media than he deserved.

Looks like the Stanton injury is more serious. Don't see them rushing Stanton back quickly given their lead in the division anyways. Benintendi with the short right field porch can be a nice fit at Yankee Stadium and provides the Yankees with nice OF depth even when Stanton gets back.

Offensively, the Jays were amazing in 2006. Reed Johnson, Frank Catalanatto, Vernon Wells, Troy Glaus, Lyle Overbay, Alex Rios, Eric Hinske, Shea Hillenbrand, Bengie Molina, and Gregg Zaun. Pitching wise, Burnett missed a good chunk though, and like you said Towers and Chacin came nowhere close to their 2005 seasons and s*** the bed. They only had Doc and Lilly in the rotation until they got Burnett in June. Outside of those guys, they had no other viable SP options. Janssen as a starter looked alright in his first couple of starts, though he wasn't reliable. BJ Ryan was lights out as a closer. Also, defensively, the Jays were a bit sloppy. Russ Adams was awful. Boston and the Yankees were still power houses which made it tough for the Jays to break through.

Jesse Litsch was a nice guy. In 2010, he came to chill with me and my friend for a bit at the bar at the Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia when the Jays were doing that home series there. He said he was bffs with Ryan Howard haha.

I remember the first message board fantasy baseball league was in 2007. It was the Fantasy Challenge and was a redraft league for 2007 and 2008 and then before 2009 decided to make it a dynasty league. Afterwards other leagues followed.

I still have mine and it's a huge chick magnet.