Losing the Handle

It matters less what A.J. Burnett says than what he does.

And what he does, very consistently, is win about the same number of games as he loses. He’s 75-72 over the course of his major league career, 10-8 last season and 6-6 this season, albeit with an ERA more than a full run per game higher.

He’s been getting an awful lot of money to be basically a .500 pitcher from the Blue Jays mostly because J.P. Ricciardi believed he could be more than a .500 pitcher, and has been proven wrong.

With the team sinking – again – and with Burnett approaching a clause in his contract that will allow him to opt out of his deal after this season, of course there is going to be speculation about his future.

But instead of being bothered by the fact he apparently would love to pitch for the first place Cubs rather than the last place Blue Jays, Blue Jay fans should probably be more encouraged by the possibility that over the next six weeks there may be a chance for the team to cash in on this opportunity to auction off the right-hander for significant returns.

Of course, it would be quite another thing for Ricciardi to be excited about that opportunity.

If he has to dump Burnett, it will be painful repudiation of his baseball judgment, or at least that of his administration. Moreover, with the club currently sitting six games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, there is also rampant speculation already surrounding the future of Ricciardi and manager John Gibbons.

This ball club hasn’t played meaningful games in August and September for a long time, and Ricciardi was supposed to change that. Burnett is symbolic of Ricciardi’s empty promises, and for him to be forced to peddle the pitcher to a contender would probably erase the last vestiges of the baseball reputation he once held in this city.

Ricciardi and Paul Godfrey probably really began to lose a handle on this thing in spring training of ’07 when they out-and-out lied about B.J. Ryan’s arm injury, and the faith of local baseball fans was tested more in the fall when Troy Glaus was pinpointed as, if not a steroid user, one who liked to order them in the mail. Rather than face the truth police again, the Jays just helped Glaus never answer the questions about his training regimen.

The Jays made Glaus go away in exchange for the peppier, easier-to-sell Scott Rolen over the off-season, but now along comes the Burnett issue with the team having lost two of three in six consecutive series. Attendance is flat, with another season apparently gone south already by June.

So in the bigger picture, it really doesn’t matter what Burnett, a decent pitcher destined to never fulfill his potential, thinks about playing for the Cubs.

What matters is when a direction-less Blue Jays baseball club is going to get a new direction.

Burnett's simply an expensive symbol of seven wasted years.

Comments

[Rick GRace]

Paul Godfrey is the Jays problem.
But Rogers can't fire him.
Because Godfrey is leading his NFL charge.
And how can he fire his buddy who trying to bring him his NFL dream?
And Godfrey won't fire Riccardi.
Because Riccardi was Godfrey's handpicked man.
Meaning if he fires Ricarddi, Godfrey looks like a dope.
And we know how Godfrey does his best to always pass the buck.
So Ted won't fire Paul. Paul's afraid to fire JP.
Godfrey and Rogers make Peddie and Tannenbaum look like
Bowman and Pollock.

[Kevin Hill]

Bang on, It seems to me, not many writers besides Cox will write about getting rid of Riccardi, he has pretty much had a free pass as GM of the Jays so far. There has been a few smatterings now of him getting the axe. The damage is done, Just look at all the ex Jays gone on to success. Ex Jays that could`ve helped this yrs Jays. Gibbons should share blame as well. Do something Ted.

[Brad Mitchell, Calgary]

Bang on Damien! Both J.P. And A.J. are all about hype - all sizzle, no steak. The cold reality is that neither one has ever delivered anything worthwhile. Somehow each has miraculously acquired a reputation for being a proven winner even though the numbers clearly suggest otherwise.
Get rid of them both. Get rid of Gibby also - somehow other managers avoid having even ONE significant altercation with a player. Yet Gibby has had three of them ! The guy is the worst bullpen manager I have ever seen. And somebody please tell me what has he ever won?! Interestingly, his only adamant supporter is the dummy who decided to pay Frank Thomas 10 mil to play for another team.
Why is it that Toronto teams are full of these imbeciles at the management level ? How do we attract these people ?

[Peter Barnaby]

Damien:

Love reading your columns in the paper ... just wanted to correct you here. The Jays have only lost their last 5 series. They took 2 of 3 against Oakland to start their last roadtrip. I wholeheartedly agree with your thoughts though, direction-less is a great way to put it. There are still people out there though that assume this team can suddenly start playing .600 baseball and make a run at a playoff spot and they'll feel you're not treating the team fairly with wrong figures.

[Curtis]

Couldn't have said it better myself, "seven wasted years" of being told to be patient, to wait and see everything start to happen in 2008. It is truly embarassing to watch this baseball club year after year miss the post-season and not have any meaningful games end at the beginning of August. I was a Blue Jays fan, but I could care less at this stage, and I suppose I am not the only one with that opinion (just look at the attendance figures). In the end the excuses will come from Gibbons and J.P., and while some of those excuses might make sense, unfortunately for them, winning championships isn't about excuses, it's about winning and this team has proven it can't do that on a consistent basis. Maybe, if Jays fans are lucky, the best excitement they could hope for is watching the race of whether or not there will be a 20+ homerun hitter on this club.

[Spencer]

I betcha' Paul Godfrey and Richard Peddie are bowling buddies. They've so much in common!

[bagoverheadguy]

Damien has nailed it...this club is in 'nowhere's ville'.

Godfrey, Riccardi and Gibbons have had ample time to prove their mettle, and have failed.

Ted Rogers is in a bind if he cans all three...who does he turn to to establish a new management/coaching team that can win??

The Jays regretfully stink out the joint at home, often before their largest crowds...things could get real ugly attendance-wise if they are 8-10 games out at the All-Star break.

[rob]

it's pretty clear this team is finished. anything better than a last place finish in the division will be considered a bonus. decisions have to be made and i'm not sure i want ricciardi making them. the jays have to start a rebuilding process and i don't think anyone is untouchable. as much as i love what he's done for toronto i think halladay might be starting on the downside of his career. maybe dealing him and burnett for a couple of top notch players and prospects might be a good move at this point. and i don't think there are any everyday players who are untouchable either. going back to what i said earlier though i don't trust ricciardi to make good trades and i don't jays ownership does either, so i think very little will happen until a new gm and manager are in place.

[jeremy]

Ted Lilly 81-71 4 years - 40$ Million
Carlos Silva 58-53 4 years - 48$ Million
Gil Meche 68-65 5 years - 55$ Million
AJ Burnett 75-72 5 years - 55$ Million

I could go on but i don't have the time. Let's do this in bullets:
- Wins and Losses are not the measure of a pitcher's ability. I only included wins and losses it to disprove your assertion that the jays overpaid for a 500 pitcher.

- If it is such a bad contract then why is AJ going to opt out and sign for more money?

- His potential is a #1 pitcher and one of the best in the league. He has absolutely not lived up that. He is still a good pitcher and a valuable member of a good rotation.

- There are valid criticisms to be made of Ricciardi's regime. AJ's contract is not one of them.

[Darryl]

Why is it Damien that the Leafs and Blue Jays mirror each other so much when it comes to management? Now granted, after Labatt's was purchased by Interbrew and Gordy Ash was left with an absentee owner who essentially strangled the team, there was some excuse for a few years but J.P. talks so much like your friend and mine Sir Richard that you'd swear they went to the same idiot's school for management. Why won't Rogers just do this guy and send him to the executive scrap pile? What is it about Toronto that we get such lousy, arrogant men to run our sports teams when there is so much money at stake? Imlach the second time around, Ballard, Fletchy drafting and schmafting (he's baaaaack!), Peddie, etc. Oy! Toronto has demonstrated that it has a passion for sports matched by few others cities and yet, like our politicians, we keep ending up with stupidity that takes us for being stupid. I am really fed up with how I, as a sports fan who invests my spartan free time into the teams I love, am being treated by morons who couldn't manage their way out the house in the morning without getting lost or saying something inane. What has to change here for Torontonians to get a little respect?

[Matthew Boddy]

I think the Jays have a fundamental problem as a franchise: most of the MLB star players are either American or latin. So it makes sense that they would typically want to live in America, and play for American teams. Also, I read in the David Wells biography that getting across the border constantly for road trips could be a pain, and he made some criticisms of the fans not knowing/caring much about baseball.

It seems the only way the Jays have been able to get good players, aside from the draft, is through high-priced free agent market - where they often must overpay to convince stars it's worthwhile to play in Canada.

Unfortunately, what this seems to wind down to is players with no heart, questionable skills/value in relation to their contract, and a tendency to moan when Toronto fan's don't kiss their butts for playing .500 ball.

Anyone who thinks Toronto isn't a sports town doesn't know what they're talking about.

But still, now burnett, thomas, hillenbrand and lilly have all started to run out of town because they don't like the club or the atmosphere - starting to look like a pattern, and Ted Rogers can only ignore so many botched contracts before he holds management accountable.

[james]

First I agree that Richardi and Gibbins should be let go. Riccardi has made some good and bad decisions in the past 7 years: Good (Catalanotto, Stairs, Ryan, Overbay) Bad (Burnett, Thomas, Hinske, Johnson).

At the end of the day if I were Ted Rogers all it would come down to is that my pocketbook is lighter as my team still floats around a 500 winning percentage.

[Eric]

Do all those fans who were labelled by the Jays' front office as "impatient" 2, 3 years ago get an apology now? I would like one. The solution is always to just wait forever, "at some point it'll turn around" instead of actually doing something about the problem. The fact that this team is terrible with RISP is not a new phenomenon. This team has been suffering on that statistic for 3, 4 years- even when they had 'good' hitters! How long does it take to identify that as an intangible problem and not just a slump or a coincidence? There is something that encourages underachievement around this team and instead of being addressed, it has been swept under the rug as "something that will take care of itself... eventually." I'm so sick of mgmt teams who are scared to make big decisions. The Jays have been one of those under Ricciardi, and they're paying for it now.

[Rami Poticha]

I agree and disagree. AJ has not lived up to the potential that we were "sold on". However the pitching has not been the problem as much as the despicable effort we get on the offense. I was at the game on Sunday and frankly first time in my life I walked out before the game was over. 6 (barely) hits is not the effort this payroll should get. AJ and gang would have better records if the offense would simply do their job.
JP dropped the ball with Thomas and numerous others. What was the point of getting rid of Reed Johnson? He saved a couple of dollars but wasted it right away on Mench and Wilkerson - players nobody else wanted. I am sorry, but I think Rogers has to move Godfrey out and clean house. I keep hearing how players love playing for Gibbons but they are not producing. Maybe they should the manager but play better.

[Joel]

I think the best repudiation of Jip's baseball knowledge is when he said last year that the team would hit big to compensate for so-so pitching. Which in itself is a dumb admittance because you win with pitching. And the jays led by the Ash-era boys Halladay and McGowan (o.k. Jip picked Marcum), were pitching rich and hitting weak! Fact is, he has little baseball acumen compared to other baseball men. You never hire a dude who's cocky before having done anything. Probably never hire a cocky guy, period.

[Matt]

Most of your comments are good, Mr. Cox, but I think my head will explode if I read, hear or see one more comment about a pitcher's win-loss record being an important measure of his ability.

In his last seven starts, Greg Maddux is 0-2. Yet his ERA is 2.29 in that span. Can you slam Maddux for being a "loser," then?

Tim Wakefield won 17 games last year with a 4.76 ERA pitching on the powerhouse Red Sox. Chad Billingsley won 12 games with a 3.31 ERA. Would you really say Wakefield is the more valuable pitcher?

[norm depalma]

As I wrote elsewhere, Jays and Leafs share the same underlying problem: an ignorant, quiet and quiescent population of fans.
Only these fans would allow such blatant mismanagement.

Only in Toronto can a team be constructed so poorly as to completely erase the home field advantage. Instead of fielding a lineup of gap hitting, take the extra base type of offence that won the 92 and 93 series, the Jays have taken a page out of the mythical Moneyball book. Their current lineup is comprised almost completely of stocky hitters who can't take the extra base and short hitters who can't take the extra base. Sometimes both. An offence which may 'work' in a natural turf, bandbox but not in Rogers Centre.

This team is almost as much of a joke as the Leafs: a team which cannot figure out how to strategize a power play and penalty kill.

[chris]

Bravo Damien. You and Bob McCown are the only ones in Toronto who actually see what the real problem is with the Blue Jays.

Ted Rogers thinks he's a sports owner who knows what he's doing, Paul Godfrey truly believes he's a sports executive with the Midas touch who can do no wrong, J.P. Ricciardi really believes he's a baseball guy who has the team on the right path and that we should all shut up, mind our business and wait until the team becomes a contender. A comedy of errors if there ever was one.

The media and the fans (those who have drunk the kool-aid) need to snap out of it and realize this franchise has been spinning its wheels in the mud for years and will continue to do so until real baseball people are brought in to clean this mess up and will put the needs of the franchise first and not the self interests of their egos like these three arrogant boneheads have done.

[Don]

Add Bat-less as well as direction-less to your description of the Blue Jays. I read the other day they were 30 home runs behind last years pace. We all know how well they did last season.
Pitching is not the problem with this team.
AJ is doing what he has always done.
Damien, don't blame AJ for signing with the Jays. If you blame AJ for his so-so numbers then you are just as bad as JP who signed him and expected more than a .500 pitcher.

[Selby Martin]

Mr. Ricciardi's brutal grammar lends credence to the theory he isn't very smart. Perhaps we ought not be surprised that we have been treated to a mystifying parade of overage utility infielders who couldn't hit water if they fell off the boat ( Olmedo, Luna, the ridiculous Jorge Velandia , et al ) and a pile of pitchers over the years , from Loiza to Benitez, who would be employed in the boxing world as punching bags.
The nipple-ringed, tatoo - laden scruffy mediocrity that is AJ Burnett has unfolded exactly as predicted to those of us who study human behaviour . By the way, look for the hardly-interested and sleepy Alex Rios to retire in a couple of years,
as he is clearly bored with baseball.
Kelly Gruber told The Star in March the 2008 Jays would win 77 games ( look it up ). What did he see and why haven't any of your writers asked him to expound further on that ?