A little OK Go on this rainy friday here in D.C. So the Jays made it official - J.P. Ricciardi will be returning as Jays General Manager next season. Paul Godfrey, though, Jays president, hasn't yet decided whether he will be back next season.
Predictably, some believe the move to keep J.P. on to be quite head-scratching. But I have to say, though some of J.P.'s individual moves have been poor, others have been great, and I do think J.P. has the right idea in terms of building a baseball team. He put together an incredible pitching staff over the last two years, both in the rotation and the bullpen, and with so many rotation questions going into next season, the Jays could use his acumen in assembling their starting staff. He's done a fine job retaining his players, even though in the case of some of them, it may have been better to let them go.
Like any GM, he has his strengths and weaknesses. My biggest concern with J.P. is his tendency to approach problem areas by throwing several mediocre players at a problem and hoping that one sticks. This isn't always a bad strategy, but it hasn't really worked out well for the team so far and the result has basically been that the Jays' problem areas remain as problem areas year after year after year. I am also concerned that he lacks the creativity to put the Jays over the top in a tough division. I'm afraid he is treading water with the team, never rebuilding, but never going all in - tying up his payroll and playing time by locking in average and slightly-above average players, and just hoping that one year, things break the Jays' way. This might work, but it doesn't seem to me that it is what GMs get paid for.
What do y'all think? Vote and more importantly, leave your comments below.