Luvofthegame
09-02-2006, 09:09 PM
By MIKE RUTSEY
TORONTO SUN
Sat, September 2, 2006
BOSTON -- The message from general manager J.P. Ricciardi was clear and concise -- no increase in payroll, no post-season.
It may not be the best marketing message for Blue Jays fans to hear, but last night Ricciardi said that is the only shot the team has at either re-signing Vernon Wells or being a legitimate contender along with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the American League East.
This season, the Jays' payroll is about $70 million US. Next year, the guaranteed 2007 salaries of current players would raise it to about $78 million without any other increase. Ricciardi says that is not enough.
"I'd have to say for the money we had to work with and what we got, we're probably doing as expected," Ricciardi said before last night's game. "I don't think you're going to win this division on $70 million. I don't think you're going to make the playoffs on $70 million.
"I think you can be competitive and you can have some good years, but I think these two teams (Boston and New York) with their payroll, it's going to be really tough to catch these guys if we stay at a $70-million payroll. It doesn't mean we can't be good, we can't compete. I just don't think you're going to see a chance to win 95, 100 games."
When it was suggested that may be a little hard for the fans to swallow, a hard sell in the off-season, Ricciardi said it's the truth.
"I think we tell the fans the same thing we did this year," he said. "It's not like there is no hope, but the reality is that we can be competitive and, if everything goes right, we might find a way to get in the playoffs. But a lot of things have to go right for us to overtake these two teams.
"It's not sour grapes, or anything. It's just the reality. We'll be competitive, but up to a point."
As for re-signing Wells, Ricciardi said the Jays don't have the money unless Ted Rogers and the club's ownership pony up some more.
"With Vernon, we're going to really try to sign him," he said. "We've already approached ownership about how badly we want to sign him (and they have been receptive). When I sit down and meet with (Wells) at some point and he says whether he wants to stay or doesn't want to stay, then we'll just see what our options are."
But even if Wells wants to leave, Ricciardi said they may decide to keep him through the 2007 season and take the draft picks when he signs elsewhere rather than not receive market value in return.
"There is a great value to keeping Vernon even without trading him," Ricciardi said. "We still have him, (Troy) Glaus and (Lyle) Overbay in the lineup next year.
"We don't want to get rid of a guy if we're not going to get something that's extremely great coming back. So I'd rather keep the player and have a great year out of him. We like him, we like him a lot. Wells and Glaus and Overbay. That's a pretty good 3-4-5."
TORONTO SUN
Sat, September 2, 2006
BOSTON -- The message from general manager J.P. Ricciardi was clear and concise -- no increase in payroll, no post-season.
It may not be the best marketing message for Blue Jays fans to hear, but last night Ricciardi said that is the only shot the team has at either re-signing Vernon Wells or being a legitimate contender along with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the American League East.
This season, the Jays' payroll is about $70 million US. Next year, the guaranteed 2007 salaries of current players would raise it to about $78 million without any other increase. Ricciardi says that is not enough.
"I'd have to say for the money we had to work with and what we got, we're probably doing as expected," Ricciardi said before last night's game. "I don't think you're going to win this division on $70 million. I don't think you're going to make the playoffs on $70 million.
"I think you can be competitive and you can have some good years, but I think these two teams (Boston and New York) with their payroll, it's going to be really tough to catch these guys if we stay at a $70-million payroll. It doesn't mean we can't be good, we can't compete. I just don't think you're going to see a chance to win 95, 100 games."
When it was suggested that may be a little hard for the fans to swallow, a hard sell in the off-season, Ricciardi said it's the truth.
"I think we tell the fans the same thing we did this year," he said. "It's not like there is no hope, but the reality is that we can be competitive and, if everything goes right, we might find a way to get in the playoffs. But a lot of things have to go right for us to overtake these two teams.
"It's not sour grapes, or anything. It's just the reality. We'll be competitive, but up to a point."
As for re-signing Wells, Ricciardi said the Jays don't have the money unless Ted Rogers and the club's ownership pony up some more.
"With Vernon, we're going to really try to sign him," he said. "We've already approached ownership about how badly we want to sign him (and they have been receptive). When I sit down and meet with (Wells) at some point and he says whether he wants to stay or doesn't want to stay, then we'll just see what our options are."
But even if Wells wants to leave, Ricciardi said they may decide to keep him through the 2007 season and take the draft picks when he signs elsewhere rather than not receive market value in return.
"There is a great value to keeping Vernon even without trading him," Ricciardi said. "We still have him, (Troy) Glaus and (Lyle) Overbay in the lineup next year.
"We don't want to get rid of a guy if we're not going to get something that's extremely great coming back. So I'd rather keep the player and have a great year out of him. We like him, we like him a lot. Wells and Glaus and Overbay. That's a pretty good 3-4-5."