Oct
14
2011

Could J.P. Fly Away?

An article by Jessep

One of the biggest moves in the Mets off-season may be one that they have little to no control over. While some of us sit here and dream about the possibilities, we also tend to see things from a very different angle and at times the makeup of the Mets front office is one of the reasons.

The Baltimore Orioles are a franchise in desperate need of a change. GM Andy MacPhail (whom some of my friends who follow the O’s call Andy BigFail), is not returning in 2012 as the teams GM.

With that said, the team is forming a “panel” to interview candidates for the GM position. Among potential candidates for this job are: Josh Byrnes who is currently with San Diego, Gerry Hunsicker who is with Tampa Bay, Thad Levine who is the Asst. GM to Jon Daniels, Tony LaCava the Asst GM in Toronto, and Dan Jennings the Assistant GM in Florida, and possibly Jerry DiPoto.

Oh, and J.P. Ricciardi of the NY Mets. Assuming the Mets give permission to the Orioles to speak with Ricciardi, this could be a great fit for Riccardi.

The biggest problem in Baltimore has been the involvement by owner Peter Angelos in team business. It’s going to take a special kind of talent to come into Baltimore and succeed. I personally think Dan Jennings has paid his dues and deserves a chance, but I also would not be shocked if J.P. Ricciardi ended up in Baltimore.

Don’t forget, when Ricciardi was in Toronto he too dealt with owners who were very involved in who and what he could spend the teams money on.

Baltimore is a franchise that should be able to compete with teams like Boston & New York. They have big market potential with a recent history of small market failure. As a GM in Toronto, Ricciardi is best known perhaps unfairly for the Vernon Wells deal. Yet people forget that in the mighty AL East with a limited budget, he had an over .500 record 4 out of his 9 seasons.

After reportedly getting told he can spend more money, Ricciardi’s Blue Jays finished over .500 in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

If Ricciardi does indeed get the job in Baltimore, what does that mean for the future of the Mets? Many have speculated that he could perhaps be the GM in waiting for the Mets, but is that going to stop him from getting an opportunity to turn around a once storied franchise right away? I’m not sure.

While some may have believed that Epstein leaving to go to Chicago impacted the Mets, the truth is if Ricciardi leaves NY it will have a greater impact.

About the Author: Michael J. Branda

My time with MMO began in July of 2009 when I wrote a Fan Post defending Omar Minaya (before it was cool to do that.) I grew up a Mets fan with the mid 1980's teams. My favorite Met of all-time is (and was) Wally Backman. When it comes to sabermetrics versus old school thinking, I like to think I meet in the middle. I believe thinking of new ways to get answers is helpful, especially when the same way has not produced results. However, I think over-thinking certain situations can get you into trouble. I'm excited for the new regime, because I believe they have pieces in place to focus on several aspects of the Mets organization. I've waited this long for a World Series, waiting a few more years for another chance isn't going to kill me.

12 Comments + Add Comment

alex68 October 14, 2011 at 10:46 am

if piccard can go to baltimore and do the same thing ed wade did for the phillies and send the best players they have for our crap, then yes, it’d be a good move.. is funny how the mets seem to focus more on the front office and coaches situation than the players situation..
- any October 14, 2011 at 12:12 pm
  
  It really does seem (probably because it is true!) that the Mets made a concious decision to step back and fix the foundation before they continued to remodel the house.
  - alex68 October 14, 2011 at 2:26 pm
    
    i have no idea why i thumb you up but i did…
    - Mr North Jersey October 14, 2011 at 2:27 pm
      
      LoL
  - Metsie October 15, 2011 at 2:16 pm
    
    Not saying your wrong just wondering what foundational fixing has been done to date?
    
    Wheeler? Nimmo?
    
    I think it’s too soon to tell what Sandy is focusing on other than lowering the budget which didn’t really take that much effort or thought considering that all those contracts were due to expire anyway!
    - t agee October 15, 2011 at 3:17 pm
      
      I would bet anything that the strategy is to get the best guys who will sign one year contracts, especially in the bullpen or in spot duty (like Paulino) in situations in which they thrive.
      
      If guys in the pen have even an average year with no blow up innings their almost guaranteed to be type B free agents the following season netting a sandwich round pick (where many of the best prospects at all levels of the minors come from)
      
      Getting four supplementary round picks in addition to your own #1 and #2 give you a great chance of having three good major leaguers up here in 3-5 years. Add in another minor leaguer from a deadline deal every year and that’s another half a chance for a good player 2-3 years from now. Do that for 3 straight years and your adding 10-11 good players to the 10-11 Minaya provided and then your down to selectively targeting the right 4-5 guys to round out your team and you’ve provided your minor league depth with next years crop.
      
      True, it didn’t work out that way but I still think that was the strategy and especially in the pen a guy having a better 60 innings than he’s ever had before is commonplace.
      
      Getting those guys that become type B’s is the hard part and then drafting the right guys with the extra picks is what will determine how good a GM/Player Personal Director or Scouting Dept is but ultimately adding to what we have in the minors that will come up at the same time or shortly afterwords is what will determine how successful we’ll be.
      - TruFan October 15, 2011 at 3:26 pm
        
        Don’t bet on it. It’s very possible that the new CBA will get rid of FA compensation.
        
        t agee October 15, 2011 at 3:44 pm
        
        Well that’s very true, and it would be extremely unfair to the smaller market teams. It’s basically been the way a TB can compete. Without getting both good play and fresh horses from the guys they draft they have no hope.
        
        The players union and the big market teams would love to do away with the current system but it works very well, for everyone all things considered. The only thing that’s a little unfair about it is that teams sometimes balk at giving up a #1 pick for a non closer relief pitcher. There should be a tweak in the minimum innings pitched so most relievers would be type B’s instead of A’s if their not closers.
        
        Bud likes to talk about what’s fair in terms of adding playoff teams but if he allows the current comp system to be watered down he’ll be extremely unfair to half of ML baseball teams and it’s not like the current system has prevented 95% of free agents from getting even more than they dreamed of.
        
        But I know your right, it has been talked about and once that happens……
        
        Joe D October 15, 2011 at 3:52 pm
        
        I like this discussion and I have very strong thoughts on free agent compensation. I’m promoting these comments to a post and adding my thoughts on this.
        
        t agee October 15, 2011 at 4:04 pm
        
        Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it Joe.
Satish Ram October 14, 2011 at 11:31 am

JP is an interesting case. I actually like his track record in Toronto. Even though he had inherited Halladay, he went ahead with the eventual signings of Burnett and Ryan. He also traded for Lilly. Those moves looked good back then.

I think he traded for Overbay, Glaus, and Benjie Molina too. He also made some pretty good bullpen finds. His draft picks also weren’t the worst in the world… Looking purely off the first round picks, I see Aaron Hill, JP Arrencibia (who I really think is going to work out for them), Cecil, Romero, and Purcey.

Of course, that whole BJ Ryan deception thing… I don’t know. He seemed a little shady after that.

I think a part of me prefers him to Alderson, but I don’t know.
OmarFan October 14, 2011 at 2:34 pm

Riccardi is the ONLY good thing the Mets have in the front office right now. If he leaves…..hmph….fughedaboutit

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