Jays back in business
Sign closer Ryan to five- year, $47-million deal Biggest free agent for franchise since Roger Clemens
The Blue Jays’ anticipated winter spending spree began in earnest yesterday with the signing of free agent lefty closer B.J. Ryan to a contract of five years, $47 million ( all figures U. S.). The dollar amount is a record for any major-league reliever, although Yankee closer Mariano Rivera averages more per year. The Jays payroll suddenly stands at an estimated commitment of $68 million, with a starter and power- hitter still on GM J. P. Ricciardi’s wish list.
It should be noted, in support of the Jays and any other sports franchise with uber- critical, hyperventilating fans, that as long as the front office is not publicly whining about having enough money, then size of contract should not be an issue.
Dudes, relax. It’s not your cash. The one gauge should be results. Shut up and appreciate that the Jays, with their much- maligned, albeit personally defensive GM have actually started to spend some of that extra $60 million promised by the great Canadian Ted Rogers. They had to start somewhere and they say they are far from finished. We give them the benefit of the doubt. Ricciardi estimates this year’s final payroll at $75 million, which means he will be forced to spend $85 million in ’ 07 to exhaust his resources. For the first time in his five years here, the pressure is actually on J. P. to go out and spend.
In fact, because of the Ryan signing out from under the noses of the arrogant Mets and Yankees, leading into the key, preChristmas trading and freeagent signing period the message has been delivered loud and clear to starter A. J. Burnett, outfielder Brian Giles and the 29 other GMs heading to Dallas. The Jays are back in business.
Ricciardi admitted two of his first phone calls were to the agents of Burnett and Giles. Ryan is not the guy the Jays need to move up in the AL East. What he does is ensure that manager John Gibbons can manage his bullpen with a certain rhythm, always leaving the ninth frame for the same guy. Last year, with the uneven flaky Miguel Batista in the role, it was a crapshoot. What it does is ensure that they won’t drop down to fourth or fifth. So, it’s a start.
Press conferences at Rogers HQ always make one feel like the mythological Jason sailing
past the island of the Sirens. Everything feels good, but try not to listen. They are more like pep rallies, with cheering, live coverage on all Rogers media and, of course, total micro- management of all events and access.
There were many gross exaggerations designed to slip by at yesterday’s love- fest from the Rog. Some deserve comment. Among the feel- good pronouncements was Mr. Rogers’ animated assertion that this was “ a great day for Canada.”
Begging to differ, the Jays’ signing of a former O’s bullpen ace is, at best, a blip on Canada’s radar.
In the long term, more people will remember Pamela Anderson’s appearance as grand marshal of the Grey Cup parade, than they will the Jays’ inking of, arguably, their biggest free agent acquisition since Roger Clemens in ’ 96.
Another exaggeration thrown out innocently was Ryan’s assertion that the deciding factor was not the overwhelming dollar figure that will have commissioner Bud Selig in a tizzy, but instead, that team president Paul Godfrey and J. P. Ricciardi are “ the best people I’ve come across in baseball.” Maybe in comparison to the dysfunctional O’s. They featured an over- the- top owner, a drunken Aruban starter, a disgraced first baseman who tried to drag down a teammate before Congress and a banjo-hitting right fielder who once hit 60 homers. Not to pooh- pooh Ryan’s praise of the Jays, but maybe his perceptions were skewed. The Jays are like skim milk — bland and healthy. It’s comfortable.
Ricciardi is a smart baseball man, not yet finished his offseason negotiations that will likely include extending his own contract through 2010. But what should be recognized through all the back- thumping rhetoric is that by the time ’ 06 begins, J. P., always presented as a champion of the small market, will likely boast a 25- man roster with the highest payroll in the Jays’ 30- year history. The heat is on.