I didn't realize, or more likely had forgotten, that the Jays offered him the GM job.

Did they invite him to interview? Or did they actually offer him the job?

I believe DePodesta declined an offer to be considered for the job, leading Godfrey to go to the next man down in the A's hierarchy.

I remember that scary time right after DePodesta had declined. I thought we were going to get stuck with Doug Melvin. Apparently Melvin's chief qualification was that he was from Ontario.

Back in the fall of 2001 during the GM search, someone posted Paul Godfrey's email address on a message board, and several people emailed him suggesting Paul DePodesta as a candidate.

Not sure if that influenced the GM search or not, but Godfrey did send back personal replies to people after JP was hired saying "We couldn't get DePodesta, but we got the next best thing..."

DePodesta said: A huge part of the game is dealing with people. We're glorified human-resources people.

I love this line.

From the interview it sounds like he got a job offer and declined........

__________

Neyer: I've been wanting to ask you for a long time, what kind of guy has the courage to turn down a GM job?

DePodesta: (Chuckling ... ) Well, when I got the offer from the Blue Jays, I was pretty happy here.

"We couldn't get DePodesta, but we got the next best thing..."

I'd rather have Ricciardi than DePodesta. With all due respect to DePodesta; he doesn't have Ricciardi's playing/coaching/scouting background.

Is there any evidence that DePodesta would/will be a better GM than Ricciardi? While the final verdict is still out on Ricciardi, he hasn't, afterall, dealt with signing players to longterm contracts, or dealing with the Jays during the contending portion of the success cycle, he has demonstrated an acute awareness for many of the subtleties that make GMing difficult. Maybe Ricciardi was considered "the next best thing" at the time he was hired - would that assessment still hold water?

On the matter of Doug Melvin, how bad of a GM was he? The Rangers seemed to do pretty well while he was there, though taking a job with the Brewers seriously calls his intelligence into question.

More on DePodesta.

At the time Godfrey was going through the interviewing process, DePodesta was being touted due to his experience and success in the financial side of Baseball Operations (he is a Harvard economics grad). That was obviously attractive to Godfrey, as the Jays had a pretty bloated payroll at the time.

Ricciardi's strength was known to be scouting and player development. It was unknown whether or not he could handle the financial and transactional side of the role. So far, with Tim McCleary's help, he's got to be given more than a passing grade on that side and his player evaluation skills seem to be nothing short of excellent. In hindsight, Ricciardi was a much better choice than DePodesta...he's more well rounded.

Melvin was a terrific GM. John Hart came in here and blew up his rebuilding plan to "win now" with John Rocker, Carl Everett and HOF-bound Chan Ho Park.

Now, suddenly, the stRangers are "building for the future" with Kevin Mench, Hank Blalock, Mark Teixiera, Colby Lewis, Coco Cordero, Mike Young (ouch, Jay fans), Ben Kozlowski, Laynce Nix ... seriously, there is a buttload of young talent in Arlington and ALL of it was either drafted by or traded for by ... Doug Melvin.

It's the new baseball math: build around two potential Hall of Famers you can pay (A-Rod, Raffy), fill in veterans where cheaply applicable and build with kids.

The Rangers are doing it right. Oh, no, wait, WERE doing it right. Now John Hart is waffling between doing exactly what Doug Melvin had laid out as his plan before getting dumped and trading kids to "win now." Carlos Pena for Mario Ramos? Travis Hafner for Einar Diaz?

Hey, I know! Let's sign a bunch of older (and/or injury-prone) pitchers like John Thomson, Ismael Valdes, Todd Van Poppel, Jay Powell and Ugueth Urbina to "complement" Chan Ho, and maybe just not worry about deciding who of Kozlowski, Lewis, Joaquin Benoit, Doug Davis, or heaven help Buck Showalter, even Rob Bell and Ramos ... can ... actually ... help the team.

Gggghhhhhhhh!!!!

Hey, Mick, what do you really think?

I'm ducking for cover now. ;)

I'd rather have Ricciardi than DePodesta. The economics of baseball can be learned by anybody who is bright, has a head for figures, and is willing to work hard. The ability to judge whether to keep a player or get rid of him is much harder to find.

"He (Ricciardi) was my first choice. He (Ricciardi) was the only one that got an offer of a job."
-- Paul Godfrey, following the press conference introducing
J.P. Ricciardi

Mike Young (ouch, Jay fans)

That's going to require some explanation before this Jay fan feels too badly about it... sure we wasted a bunch of money on Loaiza, but that's over now and methinks the appropriate label for MikeY is "defensive specialist utility infielder". Notice no mention of a bat in there. I'll take Woodward or Hudson or Rich or Adams, you take Young.

If the Jays have established one tradition over the years, it's dealing overhyped prospects for underperforming veterans:

Mark Whiten, Glenallen Hill = Tom Candiotti

Jose Pett, Jose Silva, Abraham Nunez et al = Carlos Garcia, Orlando Merced et al

Michael Young = Esteban Loaiza

Brent Abernathy = Steve Trachsel

Are there others?