Buchholz's no-hitter comes on the heels of last night's gem by Minnesota's Scott Baker, who came within three outs of a perfect game and two outs of a no-hitter against the Royals.
I must say Clay seemed to be putting his fingers to his mouth a lot, but that's just me. His last strikeout reminded me of the World Series perfect game: a rabid home town crowd and the ump wants it, too, so you'd better be hacking, because you can forgetabout it being called a ball: it's Fenway.
Call me crazy, but the Blue Jays are going to beat out the Yankees and go all the way this year.
The Jays almost certainly can't compete with the resource part of the equation. But they really don't need to. Where they need to be better is having a better organization and I don't think you'd find anyone who thinks the Jays are better run than their competition.
Right on the money. The Yankees and Red Sox are two very well-run organizations with smart leadership. They have more money than the Blue Jays and they always will. But give Brian Cashman a $90M payroll and JP Ricciardi a $200 million payroll, and I think the Yankees would still have the edge, because I simply think Cashman is a better GM and the Yankees have a better executive team. Or put it this way: if money were all that separated the Jays from the Sox and Yanks, I would join the chorus of complainers. But it's not all about how much money you have: it's also very much about how you spend it and what kind of brand you build for your organization in the process. The Jays under Gord Ash were a lost muddle, but under JP Ricciardi, they've become a whine factory.
I was immensely cheered up when Ricciardi first arrived, and later when Keith Law joined, because I felt the Jays were finally in a position to outsmart their competition. That enthusiasm has dissolved, to say the least; Tony Lacava is the only person in the front office whom I now think of as a standout talent, and there's lots of buzz around him being the next hot GM hiring. The Jays' current success cycle is nearly complete, and after 2008, the organization will have to start re-engineering the roster. If a lot of things go right, the Jays could make some serious noise next year. But this has never been a franchise blessed with a lot of luck, and my expectations for next season are modest. More problematically, my expectations for the GM are equally modest. I think this current team is the best that Ricciardi can do, and it's not equal to the task.
i make no apologies for J.P. But too many people expect a team with the 16th highest payroll to have a top 5 record. Beyond the ability to sign free agents and acquire high-priced players through one-sided trades there is also the significant issue of the draft budget-which impacts which players are selected in the draft. I think JP has made some poor picks-Adams and Romero come to mind. But you have to give him credit for Marcum, Hill, Janssen and Litsch. Bush and Jackson were traded for Overbay and Wolfe. Lind and Thigpen look like they will be regular players at some point. Snider looks like a great pick. How many teams have had more players come up and contribute during the draft years that JP has been running the team? My guess is not many. And really, what are the current weaknesses on the Jays? They have had the best pitching in the league in the 2nd half-both starters and bullpen. Almost all of their pitchers are young and not even in their prime. Do they need anything more than a 5th starter for next year? In terms of position players-CF, RF, and 2B are set for years to come. Overbay will probably bounce back. Lind/Snider will eventually replace Johnson. They need an eventual replacement at 3B and DH and they need a C and a SS.
Take all of JP's 'big money' moves and compare them to other moves made by other teams. Was Damon a great signing by the Yankees?? What about Giambi? If JP had made those kind of mistakes, he's out of a job. Every single move made by a mid-market team is magnified because they can't afford to screw up and have $ tied up in players that aren't producing. It doesn't matter if Cashman or Epstein make major mistakes because money doesn't matter to those teams-they will always re-load in the off-season. Sure, his decisions have been far from sound, but which teams with a comparable payroll have been better than the Jays over the last few years.....Oakland, Cleveland and Minnesota, that's about it.
I think some Jays fans are too critical of Ricciardi. The Hillenbrand/Accardo trade, the Koskie/Wolfe trade, the Overbay trade, the Lilly/Kielty trade, the Mondesi dump, to name a few, all seem to have been good moves. Some trades haven't been great, but you can't win them all. Some free agent signings have worked out well, others not so well. Some draft picks have worked out great so far, such as Marcum, Litsch, Lind, Janssen, Snider, Hill, etc., while others such as Adams have not panned out. Again, you can't win them all. But overall, I think Ricciardi has done a good job with drafts and trades. On baseballcube.com, there's a draft score ranking system that seems to be based on the number of players who've reached the majors from each draft year. The Jays are tied for 5th for 2002, tied for 2nd for 2003, and are 1st for 2004. It's too early to tell how 2005 and 2006 will pan out. Ricciardi has done as he's said he would, drafting college players for a few years to get the bodies at the major league level, and now he's started to shift his strategy and target high-ceiling high school players. We really won't know how those players will work out for a few years.
I don't think that the Jays' system is bereft of prospects. I heard similar things about the Yankee's system a few years ago, and then Cano, Wang and Cabrera showed up. Some players will step up and surprise while other highly regarded prospects may never make it.
Finally, the financial situation is real. Considering their payroll, the Jays have done a good job of competing with the Yankees and Red Sox, in my opinion. With another $110 million to spend, Ricciardi could sign A-Rod for SS, Posado or I-Rod for C and Dunn for LF and still have money left over. I'm not suggesting that constantly whining about it is constructive, but its foolish to dismiss the argument that the Jays' inability to reach the playoffs is in large part due to the fact that they have a huge disadvantage because of payroll disparity.
I'm even excited about the dregs that are left in this season.
We've a plethora of young talented arms and the walking wounded are slowly coming around. Sparky, our lead off guy had back surgery, Wells our number three hitter has had a bad shoulder since May, Glaus our four hitter has had foot and ankle injuries all season, Overbay our number five guy has had a broken hand, Zaun our number seven hitter had a broken hand, Thomas spent the first half of the season on vacation, Hill is just in his second full season, if the offensive guys were not all cycling themselves through various medical centers then JohnnyMac's stellar defence would get him a pass offensively and Rios is just in his first full healthy season.
Next year with Stairs and Thomas as a R/L DH duo, and the return to health of at least four or five of the walking wounded we've every reason to ASSUME we will contend to the final day. Even this year I smell Yankee blood seeping into the grass and turf during the 7 games we've left with them.
I have not given up.
As for Clay's feat of gold I say it's spinach and to hell with it.
Depeche Jay
It's about the Jays and it's about the confidence that the fans, organization, players, coaches are lacking.
The players and coaches came into this year expecting to win. I'm not clear on why you say the confidence is lacking with the players and the coaching staff? Of course with struggles, the players may lack confidence...but what are you suggesting about the coaches?
This is a positive staff. You can watch Guillen react to his team's shortcomings, or you can watch Gibbons protect his players. Can you elaborate on your statement?
