Friday, September 26, 2008

J.P. Ricciardi to come back

The big news is that Cito signed a 2-year extension, but apparently J.P. is also, according to Godfrey to return.

I’m fine with that - J.P. hasn’t improved, but he hasn’t gotten worse. The key is that Paul Godfrey must be fired or kicked somewhere else within Rogers so that a real baseball man can accede to the President’s chair. The way keeps dangling Ricciardi from the helicopter as a live target for the press is ridiculous, and he doesn’t accomplish anything from the President’s chair. The rumours that Pat Gillick might be brought back as team President had me dancing in my office the other day. Gillick would provide fantastic cover for JP and prevent him from his worst excesses.

Dick Scott definitely needs to be retained and given more power if necessary; perhaps an Assistant GM title. I fear Tony LaCava might be on his way soon; if he doesn’t get a GM job this offseason in one of the few open spots, he might want to make a lateral move as a #2. This would be unfortunate, as I suspect Tony might make a better GM than Ricciardi has been though it’s hard to tell.

But Jon Lalonde, I’m sorry because he’s a smart guy and a young guy and a sweet guy who’s been good to a lot of people I know, he just has to go. He needs to go as of yesterday, actually; the scouting system is a disaster and while Dick’s done a nice job with what he has been given, I don’t have confidence that the scouting department knows a talented from a lugnut. Or a future Lugnut, as the case may be.

And J.P. needs to stop interfering in the scouting department’s evaluations. I don’t have any particular problem with him exercising executive authority over decisions like draft and signings, that’s fine, but he gets too involved in the decisionmaking process and he’s letting his personal peccadilloes overwhelm scouting judgment, and that’s bad; he doesn’t see the same way a cross-checker sees.