I'm just not sure anybody else can do any better. Lets look at the facts. Their payroll isn't high enough and they play in the best division in baseball.
True
Sure Tampa doing just fine but they were terrible for years. As a result they got high draft choices which translated into good players. toronto's problem is that they are never terrible so they don't get the high high picks.
Also true, but the MLB draft is such a farce that having the top pick is no guarentee that you are getting the best player available.
The wells signing in hindsight is aweful but at the time he was a .300 hitter with 30hrs and 100RBI's who was in his prime. It looked like the sky was the limit with him. Many GM's would have signed that deal.
True, but who was predicting Wells to be one of the top 10 players in all of baseball. If he did, then you pay him. Part of what should have been the beauty of the deal was that Wells was to be paid handsomely over the remainder of his arbitration years, and the Jays were to receive a 'discount' on his first few 'post-arbitration' years. Look at the Albert Pujlos contract.
Rios is another odd one. Who knew he was going to tank like he did. At the time his deal seemed logical. Christ the Chisox thought he was worth the money.
True. This deal is more a Rios developing thing than a JP thing. Compared to what he was doing when the deal was signed if he had slightly improved, then the deal would be great for both sides. However, his tanking made the deal a huge mistake. The Jays have always been 'waiting' for Rios.
Frank thomas was good for one year. So J.P. gave him one year to long, but that was the price he had to pay to get him.
True. It wasn't the two-year deal that made it bad, it was the third year option (that kicked in with at-bats) that made the deal bad. If Thomas hadn't been paid more than he ever was as a White Sox player... What was JP doing trying to build a contender by making the most threatening offensive player one that had no chance of playing in the field. Not to mention that he had had many injury filled years with the ChiSox and one 'comeback' year in Oakland.
B.J. Ryan was lights out until he got hurt. Who could have predicted that?
Closers, as a position are very over-rated. Not to mention that they have a 3-5 year shelf life and are very sporadic in effectiveness (see Brad Lidge; and I am not only referring to this year).
They didn't resign Carpenter but who knew he was going to come back so strong after his surgery. I think they offered him a minor league contract to sit out a year to heal but St.Louis gave him the major league deal. St.Louis took a chance and it worked out but how many teams would have taken that gamble?
I can't really blame him for this move. Carpenter was underachieving as a Jay anyway. Who would have believed that he would become an 'ace' after his injuries.
How was J.P. supposed to know that Marcum,Jansen, Mcgowan,Litsch were going to get hurt? There was no foreseeing that.
Agreed.
The Burnett signing was decent. Not great but not bad either.
