2009 season, Matthias

Toronto Blue Jays Release BJ Ryan. JP is an idiot

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Jays Release BJ Ryan. JP is an idiot

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God damn it J.P., you love pissing away money, don’t you? The Jays released BJ Ryan a few hours ago. From Bastian:

Ryan is still on the books for roughly $5 million more this season and another $10 million in 2010 — paychecks that will continue to head his way from the Blue Jays.

I’m sure they did what they could to shop him around and no one took. Wait, no they didn’t. Instead of sticking with him, giving him a ton of innings, etc, they cut him loose. J.P. does not like players venting in the media, does he?

For the Record: BJ Ryan had a 1.04 JUNE ERA with a .207 opponents batting average. Control issues? Yes. An overall 1.38 WHIP in June. Is that stat line worth releasing at a cost of $15 million?

Add this to the Frank Thomas debacle and J.P. will pay about $25 million in released contracts over the past season and a half. Fuckin’ idiot. First time I’ve used the F-word on this site and if things continue it won’t be the last.

I’m going to agree with BJ. He needed to pitch more. This club is one game over .500 and going nowhere fast. Ryan should have been given a prime spot in the bullpen to up his trade value. He certainly would have passed waivers later in the season if need be for a trade, so value was still present. It’s not a matter of having BJ pitch for his effectiveness. You use him to get his contract off the books. Instead BJ rides the pine and gives Cito and J.P. lip. Nothing gets solved and $15 million goes right down the drain.

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If the Jays brass bitch and moan about not having enough money, yet can afford to piss money down the drain by releasing these “clubhouse cancers” then… Man, this really pisses me off. When the money’s not around to re-sign Marco in the off-season… Stepping away from my incoherent rant. But don’t worry folks. J.P. will go back to the old stand-by “players get injured, what can I do?”. Same old shit, same old results. Actually Ricciardi quote:

“We thought that he was not going to be the pitcher that he was able to be for us,”

The alternatives were to send a kid down with available minor league options. Or eat $15 million. Whatever. The Jays need to maintain that .500 winning percentage. 83 wins each and every season, don’t ya know? It really doesn’t mean that much to the fans but it keeps Ricciardi employed, so that’s how we’ll roll. Shit.

Update: Fellow Mopupduty.com Writer Callum has written a post defending the move. Cutting BJ the Right Thing to Do – Check it out. Which side of the argument are you on?

Matthias Koster
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has written for mopupduty.com since 2006. Follow Matthias on Twitter, Facebook and Google +

  • I don’t agree with releasing Ryan because of the money involved, but it was clear to anyone watching the team that he was a sunk cost. He’d shown nothing since returning from the DL- pitching him more when he was crapping the bed outing after outing was not the solution.

  • Thank you, I’m glad to someone else is pissed off about this. I’ve seen too many “good riddance” type stuff. This was a stupid, stupid move.

  • Here’s a comment I left in response to Matthias on my blog about this:

    Matthias, I know Ryan is walking out of Toronto with $15 million. But his $10 million was on the budget for next year, and I’m sure it will remain there, able to be spent as J.P. sees fit.

    It’s basically an infusion of $10 million. Nobody was trading for him, if you believe that there was, I think you’re solely mistaken. So we knew we’d pay him for the rest of the season. Now, Ricciardi and Beeston went to Rogers and asked for an extra $10 million, and it was granted, or they have a war chest, which they can reach into every now and then.

    If it didn’t happen now, it would have happened in the summer. But that $10 million is still on the budget to be spent in 2009, it’s not like the payroll is going down by the amount of B.J.’s salary (I know, it’s possible it could go down, but I’m not banking on that.)

    Bottom line: Ryan was finished.

  • K, with the 1.04 JUNE ERA with a .207 opponents batting average would you say that is enough to keep BJ? What would you have done?

    If BJ was so concerned about getting more work in it would have been nice for him to accept a minor league assignment a la Dontrelle Willis/Jose Contreras.

  • Eyebleaf: The Jays are on the hook for the $10 million next year. In no way is this a cash infusion. That $10million goes straight into BJ’s pocket whether he is pitching or catching fish with Billy Koch on the Gulf Coast.

  • Yeah, I would have kept him. His control had gone to shit but he wasn’t getting knocked around the park. It’s not like he had a Wang like .360 opponents batting average. If his control comes around he’ll be effective again. That’s what bothers me. It was a control issue, not a matter of him being very hittable (in the past month and a half at least).

    I think if BJ got his act together (questionable) he could have been traded late in July or in August. It would have taken the Jays to pay a good portion of his contract. Still less than the full boat. Ryan would have cleared waivers with his contract (team that picks him up would have had to pay him).

    In a perfect world he accepts the demotion. He did not, being a douche. Still, I’m not about to give away eight digits worth of money for a guy being an asshole. Very simply I’d tell him, you want out, you pitch you’re way out. On the side work, whatever is needed. At $10 million what needs to be done will be done as far as I’m concerned from a Jays brass perspective.

  • Callum, I know that, but that doesn’t mean the 2010 budget is down $10 million.

  • And I maintain that there’s no way anybody trades for THAT B.J. Ryan with another year and $10 million on that contract. It’s unfathomable.

  • In my mind BJ gets more than a fair chance to pitch out of his funk. Does a .500ish ballclub in baseball’s toughest division need that last bullpen spot at the cost of $10+ million? That’s what I don’t get.

  • Asher

    Increase his trade value? Are you serious?

    The only reason his ERA was decent was because he would walk a ton of batters, and then Cito would pull him because he didn’t trust him to work his way out of his own jams.

    How exactly would bringing him in key situations so he could blow games for the Jays have increased his trade value?

    It’s a sad sight to see. And you’re totally right that JP needs to be accountable for the huge busts two of his biggest free agent signings have been (and the costs they have swallowed because of it). But this was the only way out, and if you think Ryan could have had any trade value at all, carrying a $10 Million salary next year, I want some of what you’re smoking.

  • Ok Eyebleaf, I don’t understand where you think JP/Beeston are getting an extra 10 million from? Cutting a player doesn’t mean ownership automatically gives you a mulligan and eats the player’s contract and then matches the amount you were going to pay him to spend on someone else.

  • BJ’s stats in June weren’t that bad. 8.2 IP, 6 hits, 6 walks. 3 K and 1 HR allowed. Of the six hits, five were singles. Opponents slugging was .310.

    Lefties earn premiums. I honestly believe that BJ could be traded if he can show regained control (and the Jays eat a good portion of the contract). Maybe not at the deadline but perhaps in August. And I’m not saying that the Jays would receive anything of value in return. Worst case, you give him another look in 2010 and see if you can trade him then.

    The Jays aren’t in a legitimate playoff run. That last bullpen spot is not worth the $$$. I’m not one for these clubhouse cancers. If he is that way then the blame should fall on the scouting staff. Ryan + Thomas bitching until they get paid to leave? Somebody’s head should be rolling.

  • Callum, one of the things I’d love to find out is if, and how, this effects next year’s budget. I’m totally going on assumptions right here, in thinking that that $10 million is still available.

  • I haven’t seen one performance related reason for keeping him yet. Anyone?

  • That’s because his performance has been shit. Matthias believes Ryan can salvage some sort of major league usefulness. I don’t believe he can, and I stand by it. Only time will tell.

  • There’s no performance reason to keep him at this point, except for the possibility that he becomes useful again. It’s about payroll and value for your money. If the team may not be able to afford Halladay again, those are pretty important things to consider.

  • Early

    This isn’t going to effect Halladay. He isn’t going to leave or stay in Toronto because of money.

  • Ian

    If you add up that wasted Frank Thomas and B.J. Ryan money, the Blue Jays could have signed a couple of great players. I can imagine the Blue Jays relationship with B.J. was worsening and they thought the writing was on the wall for this move anyway.

  • “This isn’t going to effect Halladay. He isn’t going to leave or stay in Toronto because of money.”

    Very good point. If Roy leaves it will be due to his perception of the team winning now and in the future. The captain jumping over board, so to speak

  • daperman

    I agree that it is best to let him go. You have to pay the guy the money no matter what. Rotting on the bench or sitting at home. Why have him sitting in the bullpen taking up a spot he might as well be home. And to trot him out there to get hammered might as well let a rookie or journey man making peanuts do that.

    Not really a win win situation, but rather a no win situation.

    As far a comparing to Frank Thomas. Ryan was a good investment at the time. A sought after closer who delivered while he was healthy. The Thomas affair was not well handled. Not a sought after commodity, but instead way overpaid never full filled any promise.

    For Riccardi Ryan’s injury was unfortuate and so in my view JP gets a pass on Ryan. But not on Thomas.

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