2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
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8 years ago, J.P. Ricciardi was brought to the Toronto Blue Jays to save the organization, who hadn't made the playoffs in 8 seasons. All Ricciardi did was continue the trend of mediocrity, never making the playoffs in his 8 seasons extending the Jays' playoff drought to 16 years.
Not only did Ricciardi fail to bring the Blue Jays to the next level, his tenure as GM was full of horrible decisions, especially in the department of contracts. His terrible decisions are headlined by these 5 decisions that all played a major role in his eventual firing: BJ Ryan's huge contract and eventual release, Frank Thomas' huge contract and eventual release, Alex Rios' giant deal and eventually given to the White Sox for nothing, AJ Burnett's opt-out clause that was exercised and allowed him to sign with the division rival Yankees, and, the worst of it all, Vernon Wells' $127 million deal during which he has been slightly above average at best. Not only did Ricciardi make these horrible decisions, some of the things he has said have been extremely questionable. In response to a Blue Jays fan calling him out to sign Adam Dunn, he said...
"Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much? Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? … I don’t think you’d be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here."
The final straw may have been his failure to trade Halladay, who desperately wanted out of Toronto, at the deadline. This accomplished nothing except lowering Halladay's value and making everyone wonder: "What the hell is Ricciardi doing now?"
With Ricciardi gone, the Blue Jays hire another Massachusetts native, Ninetyfourgoalie, to be their new GM.
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
Information
I used a 2009 file updated to the World Series and simmed through the playoffs, starting off before contract negotiations and simmed with trades set to -100% so the only transactions were signings, releases, and retirements.
Rules
For sim settings, I used YEAH DAAAAWG's parity settings located here
For free agency, I will use OldFatGuy's Free Agent House Rules but with modifications. I will only limit the amount of free agents where it makes sense. I will have no limits on the number I can sign but I won't be going crazy and signing 5 90 overalls.
I will be using perfect ratings with commish mode off
With every trade I make, it must make sense for all sides
My payroll must not ever be more than 50% of my cash more than my budget (for example, I have $10 million cash and $100 million budget, payroll can't be higher than $105 million)
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
Blue Jays President Paul Beeston Introduces New GM
Beeston: Welcome to our new GM, Ninetyfourgoalie!
M: What do you think of JP Ricciardi's performance as GM over the last eight years?
94: I think he has done a good job of growing some young talent, especially pitchers. But I do think he could have done a bit better with evaluating MLB players' worths and also managing of money.
M: What are your plans for the Blue Jays organization?
94: I think we have to get some more promising prospects into the organization and build around the core of some great prospects we do have
M: Will Roy Halladay be traded?
94: I will do whatever I feel is best for the organization. If that is something that makes sense, there is a chance it could happen.
M: How long do you think it will be until this team can compete?
94: Despite our plans to rebuild and restock our farm, we will put our best efforts into putting a competitive team out there. Last question.
M: If Halladay leaves, who will be the opening day starter?
94: My guess will be McGowan. He had a good season last year and has been with the team since he entered the majors five years ago.
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
The First Task: Re-Signings
SS Marco Scutaro 84/84: Released
SS John McDonald 66/66: Released
RF Russ Adams 75/75: Offered 600K arby & won
C Rod Barajas 81/81: Released
2B Joe Inglett 82/82: Offered $2 million arby & won
LF Jose Bautista 75/75: Released
LF Charles Thomas 73/73: Released
C Michael Barrett 73/73: Released
SS Eddie Rogers 76/76: Released
OF David Delucci 72/72: Released
SP Jesse Litsch 84/87: Offered $3 million arby & won
SP Shaun Marcum 84/84: Offered $3.6 million arby & won
SP Dustin McGowan 86/86: Offered $2.85 million arby & won
RP Jason Frasor 79/79: released
RP Dirk Hayhurst 72/72: released
SP Brian Burres 77/77: Offered $500k arby & won
SP Rodrigo Lopez 77/77: Released
RP Brandon League 82/84: Offered $2 million arby & won
RP Shawn Camp 81/81: released
RP Brian Tallett 79/79: Offered $1.1 million arby & won
RP TJ Beam 74/74: released
Let a lot of guys go but kept the young pitchers so the payroll cut and payroll gained ends up about even. We have three guys who can battle it out for the starting SS job with the veteran Joe Inglett (82/82) and the rookies Scott Campbell (80/88) an Brad Emaus (79/91). The catcher job will probably be filled by a free agent unless either of the prospects Jeroloman (73/88) or Arencibia (75/88) can show anything that makes us think they should start
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
Free Agency Month 1 (Up to Winter Meetings; Dec. 7)
Blue Jays attempt to sign Nick Johnson (84/84). Favorable Factors: 3 (Friend on team: Joe Inglett, Negative Ambition, Positive Greed)
Drew: http://www.random.org/playing-cards/36.pnghttp://www.random.org/playing-cards/3.pnghttp://www.random.org/playing-cards/32.pnghttp://www.random.org/playing-cards/15.png
So, he will negotiate and will only take a 2 year deal. He will only take 1 offer. We offer a 2 year deal worth a total of $15 million. Nick accepts. Looks like it will be our only major type free agent this season but we feel it is a big improvement at 1B over Overbay.
Next we go after the 18 year old pitcher Arodys Vizcaino (63/84). He doesn't want to come to the Blue Jays.
Then, we attempted to sign RF Jeremy Hermida (79/79). He will take offers from the Jays and will only take a 2 year deal and will take up to 3 offers. First, we offer 2 years $2.7 million. Then $2 years $2.9 million. We then accept what he asked for, 2 years worth $3.2 million per season.
We then go after C Ryan Hanigan (79/79). He will take offers from the Blue Jays. He will take anywhere from a 1 to a 7 year deal. We eventually agree on a 3 year deal worth $5.7 million total.
We also go after 2B Travis Denker (77/77) but will not go to the Blue Jays.
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This brings us up to the Winter Meetings. Some notable signings so far:
Bobby Jenks to SDP
Carlos Guillen to NYY
Randy Wolf ends up going back to LAD
Vladimir Guerrero to KCR
JJ Putz to NYY
Joe Blanton to LAD
Miguel Tejada to BOS
Hideki Matsui back to NYY
Johnny Damon to CLE
I talk to many GMs about Halladay. This free agent class is very weak in pitching and Halladay is one of the best in the league. Halladay says he will only go to: BOS, LAD, NYY, PHI, STL, LAA, or SFG. Out of these, BOS, NYY, PHI, and LAA show a very high interest in Halladay. Here are the offers I received from each team:
BOS: SP Casey Kelly 69/97, CF Ryan Westmoreland 65/96, and SP Stolmy Pimentel 69/91
NYY: CF Austin Jackson 79/95, C Austin Romine 67/94, and SP Jairo Heria 70/88
PHI: JA Happ 82/93, RF Dominic Brown 69/95, SP Vance Worley 70/89
LAA: SP Anthony Ortega 81/90 and SP Jordan Walden 73/95
After reviewing these offers, the Sox and Yanks are clearly in the lead because the Angels are refusing to trade Brandon Wood and the Phillies won't trade Drabek. The Sox offer gives us more pitching while the Yanks get us more hitting. The offer by the Red Sox could provide us with 3 stars or could net us absolutely nothing so we are trying to get someone closer as well while the Yankees have Jackson on the table who will be ready next season. Catcher isn't a priority but Romine is very good.
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
Blue Jays Trade Roy Halladay to Red Sox!
The Blue Jays have traded Roy Halladay to the Red Sox! In return for the Cy Young finalist, the Sox trade Casey Kotchman, Ramon Ramirez and prospects including top pitching prospect Casey Kelly. This deal give the Red Sox one of the most powerful rotations in the league with Halladay, Beckett and Lester up top and with rising star Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Blue Jays add some great prospects to the farm and this will also allow Nick Johnson to DH while Kotchman starts at 1B.
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Halladay will be missed in Toronto but this was something that had to be done. Casey Kelly could be one of the best pitchers in the league in a few years and if one of Westmoreland or Pimentel work out then I think we got great value for Roy.
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Desperate to cut payroll, the Blue Jays manage to trade Vernon Wells, but not at the expense of two good prospects. The Blue Jays trade 2B/SS Scott Campbell 80/88 and C JP Arencibia 75/88 with Wells to the Cardinals for CF Jon Jay 76/88. The Cardinals get a badly needed MIF prospect and a C prospect where they have no depth behind Yadier Molina. The Cardinals lose a prospect in Jay that isnt very valuable with Colby Rasmus ahead of him. Despite taking on a big salary, the Cardinals come out with 2 solid prospects at positions where they have next to nothing for a blocked prospect.
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
Notable Free Agent Signings:
SP Chien-Ming Wang to ARI
2B Howie Kendrick to MIN
CF Shane Victorino to PIT
2B Freddy Sanchez to SDP
RF Jermaine Dye to MIL
3B Chone Figgins to FLA
LF Carl Crawford to TEX
SS Marco Scutaro to ATL
SS Yunel Escobar to SFG
RF Brad Hawpe to MIL
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Pre Spring Training Battles:
SS: Brad Emaus vs. Joe Inglett
RF: Travis Snider vs. Jeremy Hermida
1B: Casey Kotchman vs. Lyle Overbay
C: Ryan Hanigan vs. Brian Jeroloman
Closer: Accardo vs. Ramirez vs. League
#5 Pitcher: Rzepczynski vs. Cecil vs. Burres
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
After Spring Training, most jobs are clear. But some are not so cut and dry and will take some adjusting.
SS: Brad Emaus vs. Joe Inglett - They were equal but we are going with the youth
RF: Travis Snider vs. Jeremy Hermida - Snider a bit better and again, going with youth
1B: Casey Kotchman vs. Lyle Overbay - Kotchman blew Overbay away
C: Ryan Hanigan vs. Brian Jeroloman - Hanigan was less bad
Closer: Accardo vs. Ramirez vs. League - didnt put up better stats than Ramirez but closers are overrated; Ramirez will definitely get more innings
#5 Pitcher: Rzepczynski vs. Cecil vs. Burres - Rzep and Cecil were both impressive but there is only one spot. We could possibly trade Marcum to allow both into the rotation.
TRADE!!
Blue Jays Trade: SP Shaun Marcum 83/83
Mariners Trade: C Rob Johnson 74/74, SP Mikael Clato 63/79
Get a solid C and a prospect with decent vitals. also cut some salary and allowe Cecil and Rzep to get in the roto.
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
Opening Day Lineup
1. SS Brad Emaus 84/90 - Solid, young all around player
2. 1B Casey Kotchman 81/81 - Good hitter that will get on base often
3. DH Nick Johnson 84/84 - Very good power and will put up a .375+ OBP
4. 2B Aaron Hill 92/92 - Tons of power, great contact
5. LF Adam Lind 89/89 - Great power, contact and eye
6. 3B Edwin Encarnacion 83/86 - Good eye and nice power; not much contact though
7. RF Travis Snider 85/91 - Good power, decent contact
8. C Ryan Hanigan 79/79 - Solid contact and eye
9. CF Jon Jay 78/83 - good contact
PITCHING:
1. Dustin McGowan RHP 88/88
2. Ricky Romero LHP 84/88
3. Jesse Litsch RHP 84/86
4. Mark Rzepczynski LHP 83/93
5. Brett Cecil LHP 82/84
CL: Jeremy Accardo RHP 83/83
SU: Casey Janssen RHP 84/84
SR: Ramon Ramirez RHP 82/82
SR: Jesse Carlson LHP 86/86
MR: Brandon League RHP 82/82
LR: Scott Downs LHP 81/81
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
Opening Day
April 6-9
http://209.85.12.227/14283/69/emo/ChicagoA_WhiteSox.png@http://209.85.12.227/14283/69/emo/Toronto_BlueJays.png
Game 1: Blue Jays 4 vs. White Sox 1
Game 2: Blue Jays 6 vs.
White Sox 9
Game 3: Blue Jays 5 vs. White Sox 3
Game 4: Blue Jays 7 vs. White Sox 0
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Great series, taking 3 of 4 with some great pitching including a complete game 2 hit shutout from Mark Rzepczynski in the fourth game. Besides Snider, Emaus, and Nick Johnson, the whole team is hitting well. Edwin Encarnacion finished the series with 4 home runs to power the offense to 3-1
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Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
April Series 2: Toronto Blue Jays @ Detroit Tigers
Game 1: Blue Jays 4 @ Tigers 6
Game 2: Blue Jays 12 @ Tigers 3
Game 3: Blue Jays 12 @ Tigers 10
April Series 3: Toronto Blue Jays @ Kansas City Royals
Game 1: Blue Jays 2 @ Royals 9
Game 2: Blue Jays 10 @ Royals 1
Game 3: Blue Jays 1 @ Royals 5
Game 4: Blue Jays 3 @ Royals 1
April Series 4: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Oakland Athletics
Game 1: Blue Jays 7 vs. Athletics 0
Game 2: Blue Jays 4 vs. Athletics 3
Game 3: Blue Jays 5 vs. Athletics 9
April Series 5: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Los Angeles Angels
Game 1: Blue Jays 3 vs. Angels 1
Game 2: Blue Jays 3 vs. Angels 1
Game 3: Blue Jays 6 vs. Angels 4
April Series 6: Toronto Blue Jays @ Cleveland Indians
Game 1: Blue Jays 9 @ Indians 2
Game 2: Blue Jays 10 @ Indians 3
Game 3: Blue Jays 0 @ Indians 6
April Series 7: Toronto Blue Jays @ Minnesota Twins
Game 1: Blue Jays 8 @ Twins 5
Game 2: Blue Jays 5 @ Twins 3
Game 3: Blue Jays 6 @ Twins 5
Game 4: Blue Jays 2 @ Twins 3
April Record: 17-7 1 Game Lead in AL East
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
April Review
Obviously we are off to a great start with the best record in the league and a 1.5 game lead over the Yankees and 2 games up on the Rays. But, we have yet to play any division rivals and just one team we played currently has a winning record. We can't let this fast start get to our heads but it is something to be happy about. The biggest surprise has been Jon Jay who leads our team with a .388 average and is among the leaders in the league. Our best pitcher so far has been Mark Rzeczynski with a 3-1 record and 2.41 ERA. Dustin McGowan has also been great, going 3-0 with a 2.87 ERA. Our fielding has been a huge cause for concern. With a team .978 fielding percentage, we have the lowest of all 30 teams. But, with a 17-7 record our pitching and hitting has been good enough to negate the fielding concerns.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/2009/writ...am-lind-p1.jpg
Adam Lind hits one of his 8 home runs.
April Team MVP: Adam Lind .345/.431 8 HR 16 RBIs
April Blue Jays Rookie of the Month: Mark Rzepczynski 3-1 2.41 ERA 27K 1.07 WHIP
April Blue Jays Minor Leaguer of the Month: Kevin Ahrens (A) .418/500 16 RBIs
Re: 2010 Toronto Blue Jays- A New Era
nice dynasty, and even a nicer way to kill the boredom today. :P
