1. Resigning a 41 year old DH eventually to be released to a contender.(Why bring back a 41 year old, if your team is only a playoff contender not a world series contender.A 41 year old is looking for a ring not a plyoff appearance

2. Trading a big slugger For a third baseman with known shoulder problems, who now only has 9 home runs 39 RBIs and batting .250 in 320 @ bats, pretty much the same as last year. Glaus who was traded for Rolen. In 420 @ bats is batting .271 with 85 RBI’s and 21 home Runs.(can JP ever get the third base situation right, Hinske,Koskie,Glause,Rolen In seven years)

3. Releasing Reed Johnson for a declining stock in Shannon Stewart (who was later released)instead of replacing Johnson with a fresh young bat in Adam Lind, Who was only brought up permanantly when Cito got here.

4. The Blue Jays are yet again are double digit games out of the division this time fourteen as oppose to last years eleven, sadly enough this time they trail the lowest payroll, and probably about to finish again no better than seven games out of the wild card. It baffles me that you continue to try and convince fans that this team is getting better, although the wins and losses and GB, at this point prove that they are not.

5. Almost 40% of the payroll is going to (a) a guy who has had one season out of three with the jays in which he was not injured and over 500
The jays were the only team to offer an opt clause and the first team ever to offer a pitcher that clause. AJ will likely walk away from the jays

b.A third baseman who is batting .250 with 8 homeruns in 320 @ bats. Pretty much the same numbers he put up last year.

c. A DH(frank Thomas) we no longer have which was highly overpaid to begin with given the fact that he is 40 and has had alot of injuries. Only the Yankees can afford to overpay aging players.

It is time for fans to see that
JP would only like to be held accountable under these circumstances

Get the Yankees and The Bo sox out of the division although it is the lowest payroll that is running the table

Completely no injuries all year long,

Pitching and hitting are all inline.

More money (although he has 100million already.)

Mike you yourself have said the fans want everything and a team just can’t have eveything, The things outlined above are things JP has always deemed as roadblocks in his path , It would make one think that unless JP has the perfect team he will always have some excuse for why this team did not make the postseason. Minesota and Florida face simialr cicumstance being amoungst high payrolls yet still are alot more competive than the jays.

MW: 1 - Who is the 41 year-old DH that the Jays re-signed? 2 - Nice job ignoring the fact that Glaus had serious injury problems three of the five season before the Jays traded him, and he wanted out. 3 - Mistake, but not without benefit of hindsight. 4 - Wins and losses prove that the Jays aren’t getting better? How’s that? As for 5, the Jays weren’t the only team to offer Burnett the opt-out (St. Louis did, too, as probably did the Orioles), and if you think he was a bad signing, why are you upset that he is opting out? How about holding the hitters who haven’t hit all season accountable for what the Jays have done?

The Jays payroll in 1996 was only $28,000,000, $45,000,000 in 1997, 1998 and 1999 it was only $48,000,000 and went down to $46,000,000 in 2000. There were alot of teams spending more than that.

JP has had a steady increase in his payroll for the last 3 years , yet this team has not gotten any better.

The Jays are spending $9,000,000 of their payroll this year for Thomas to play on another team. He overpaid for Thomas in the first place.

MW: In 1997, the Jays were 7th in MLB in payroll, and in 2000, they were within $10 million of being in the top 9. This team has gotten a lot better in the last three years - look at the pitching staff.

No, do defend J.P. again. I am no Overbay fan but he has filled a gap at 1st and J.P. didn’t give up much to get him. I think anytime you can give up mid level prospects for an everyday player you have done your job. I think people can expect more out of overbay, i know i do, and people can believe it is time for a better hitting 1st basemen while believing that bring in Overbay at the price J.P. was a good move.

As for the Glaus - Rolen trade, hiden sight is 20/20, but Glaus didn’t want to play on turf anymore and had been banged up alot in the past 3 years. Medical report on Rolen were all positive. It was really the only place J.P. could move Glaus and get back comparable value.

MW: It’s very easy to make your points well but still be difficult to read.

What exactly are “props” — I know how the term is used (i.e. “accolades”), but what is the derivation of the word? I assume it is a contraction of something, but what?

MW: Propers, as in proper amount of respect, I believe. But I could be wrong.

50,000 may have been the highest payroll in 1993 but there were alot more teams close to that payroll. It is not like the Jays were spending alot more than most of the other teams. There were a number of other teams spending close to the same money. Ash did not run the team in 1993. When Labatts sold the team they froze the payroll for a number of years.

Your comment that Ash had an $80,000,000 was wrong. Never $80,000,000. And only 1 year at the 76,000,000 range

For the last 3 year JP has had alot more to spend. A lot more than Gord Ash. This team has not improved.

I agree Gord Ash was not a good GM,but neither is JP he. wastes alot of money and does not fix the problems areas. The team has not improved

As for the BJ Ryan lie, there was no gain for him to make.

Okay I was wrong with Hinske, it was 1 year they paid for him on another team. Still 1 year though.

MW: And you completely ignore the point about the Jays’ payroll now and under Ash, relative to their competition. You should ignore it, though, because you don’t have much of an argument if you consider it. I explained the gain in the Ryan lie in my first comment to you - there clearly was a gain to make. Your timeline was wrong, too, another point you didn’t address.

We’ve been Garzafied and Jacksonized these past two nights. THe hitting is really getting on my nerves. Last blog I wrote about 11000 people there and you replied 7:10 is a late start in Florida. I assume this was sarcasm, right? I know you cant and wont comment on The Sportnet broadcasts. And I’d like you to know that I LOVE Jerry Howarth calling the games with you and Alan.

One comment on JP:

People say he’s arrogant and a full of it GM. I’d like the mto name me any other GM that talks to the fans every week and hears their opinions and keeps his cool when some fool calls up and says: “Trade Russ Adams and Gregg Zaun for A Rod.” (no one has said this but theyve said other stupid things like that.) I think JP couldve done better but overall hes done well and taken the disaster Gord Ash left us and turned it into a good team. Not great, good.

I’ve been impressed by Rod Barajas this year. Hes had numberous clutch hits all season long and I don’t think he gets enough credit for it.

Why would the Jays trade Robinson Diaz for this Bautista? I’m not judging him from his first twelve at bats, but his career 240 average and mediocre numbers. Diaz had potential and they might have made one of the dumbest trades in the past few years. Why do we need 6 infielders???? It is a pointless deal and I don’t understand it.

Cito is a great manager. I think next year they will finally make it. And maybe they can bring in a world series back to Toronto. If Manny is a Jay next year, is there a realistic chance they can make the playoffs and winning some games there?

Thanks mike! Love your shwo and blogs!

MW: I cut your ripping of certain broadcasters, I don’t know why so many people feel that this is the right forum for that. There’s a realistic chance the Jays can make the playoffs next year even if Manny Ramirez doesn’t come here. As for Barajas, he’s hitting .277/.346/.468 in “close and late” situations, but in only 47 at-bats.

I heard you mention several times this year how Gord Ash had an $80,000,000 payroll. You give the impression that he had a lot more money to work with than JP. However the fact is that from 1996 until 2000 the Jays payroll was under $50,000,000. Gord Ash had only 1 year with a payroll above that and that was 76,895,999. Then he was fired. JP has had only one year with a payroll under $50,000,000

You talk about the bad contracts of Gord Ash but JP has been just as bad. He paid too much for Frank Thomas and the Jays are now paying him to play for another team.

He signed an injury prone Corey Koskie who played 1 year for the Jays and then the Jays paid for him to play(not play)for another team for a couple of years.

He signed Eric Hinske and then the Jays end up paying him to play for 2 or 3 years on other teams.

He trades for an injury prone Scott Rolen who makes big money.I do like Rolen but he is not worth the money anymore. He will never hit with the power he once did.

Overbay trade was okay, but he has had only one good year since coming here.

JP may have put together the best pitching staff but he has failed to put a good team together. The hitting has been bad since mid 2007.

JP has had the same amount of time as Gord Ash but has done no better at building a team.

JP lied about the BJ. Ryan injury last year. Then makes a stupid statement that it is not a lie if he knows the truth. Yes, GMs do not always tell the truth but I have never heard any that try to hide an injury like this, when the player is scheduled for an operation the next day. Usually you know well a head of time when a pitcher is going for an operation. There was no point in him lying about it.

Then he makes the comments about Adam Dunn. Not called for. JP brought Troy Glaus in here and talked how great he was but his hitting is very simlar to Dunn’s, low average, big power.

I am not a Gord Ash fan, I was glad when the Jays replaced him. I was happy and excited when JP was hired, but he has done no better than Gord Ash. The team is no better. I heard on your radio station yesterday that USA today ranked the Jays farm system as 30th in Baseball.

MW: Your comment about Hinske isn’t true, they only paid for him to play one year elsewhere. As for Ash and the money he had to spend, remember that $50 million was baseball’s top payroll in 1993. It’s all relative, and relatively, Ash had a lot more money to spend than J.P. has. Also, Ricciardi didn’t lie about the Ryan injury right up until he had his surgery. We knew a good month before Ryan went under the knife that he was having elbow problems. And he should lie, so that he can still leave his options open for making a deal.

I think that these bloggers that support JP a guy who thinks he is here to teach canadians about baseball are fans that have a pretty low standard when it comes to their toronto blue jays. Fans on the show have subjected themselves to talking alot about potential or what could possibly be, instead of what’s proven. from year to year when we finish outside the playoffs we are always talKing about what could possibly be for this team or this player the next year, isn’t that a Toronto maple leaf thing. Mike you and your JP supporters need to stop and think about the great young minds that are out there that are waiting for an opportunity to shine. yet there is a GM in place who has been here for almost eight seasons with the no playoff appearance. How is one to get a fair chance if the one who has recieved countless opportunities continues to get opportunities Unjustifiably. Opportunities do not last forever and there are those who deserve them and there are those who should have run out of them.

Ask youself the following

1. Why is JP so special that he should get a longer tenure with no playoff appearance than Gord Ash, When there are guys awaiting this coveted position, Guys who are deserving of a chance.

2. Are we not starting to sound like the Leafs when we constantly keep saying we’ll be good next year. Since JP has been here all I keep hearing is about potential shouldn’t seven years worth of potential translate to at least a wild card

3. How many GM’s in professional sports have had several years of no playoff in a tenure and still have a Job.

4. How many GM’s that were hired in JP’s time still have a Job.

5. When the jays lost all that money back in 1999-2000 did JP not assure Paul Godfrey that he can build this team on a limited payroll through the Draft.(I believe this is where the five year plan came in)

6. After promising to build a team on a limited payroll did JP not say he needs about 75 million to contend, not considering that there where teams contending for the wild card with a lower payroll

7.How many free agents sign and end up staying when the contract is up.

8. Why would Ted Rogers Not clean house in terms of upper management when, his near billion dollar investment in the Blue Jays has translated to @ best 9.0 GB of the wild card with no playoff berth.

MW: I asked myself all those questions, and am very pleased with my answers.

By BP writer Joel Sheehan:

The Toronto Blue Jays have the fifth-best adjusted record in baseball. I had said at the start of the season that they might be the eighth-best team in baseball and we’d never know it because of their schedule. Well, they’ve outdone that, thanks to tremendous pitching and defense. One other thing: they’re 33-23 since recalling Adam Lind on June 22. Way to finally get there, guys. Shame the New Shannon Stewart Era didn’t work out; no one could have seen that coming.