Royals have some words for Ricciardi...

[DaWolf]

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/baseball/mlb/kansas_city_royals/16199527.htm

What’s great about Toronto?
Bell irked by Blue Jays GM, who says free-agent signee Meche lacks desire to play for winner.
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star
The Royals are steaming over remarks by Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi that suggest pitcher Gil Meche revealed a lack of competitiveness by rejecting an offer from the Blue Jays.

“No knock against the kid,” Ricciardi told the Toronto Star, “but we might have dodged a bullet there.”

Meche rejected offers Thursday from the Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs in agreeing to a five-year, $55 million deal with the Royals. Toronto and Chicago are believed to have offered $40 million over four years.

“When you’re talking to a guy about coming to a place that’s very close to winning,” Ricciardi said, “and he’s telling you how important it is to him — and then he chooses a place like that … that might have been an eye-opener for us.

“We’re trying to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox, so we need guys who want to compete against those guys.”

Meche could not be reached for comment, but several Royals officials lashed back — particularly manager Buddy Bell.

“(Ricciardi) is an interesting guy for all he’s done in the game,” Bell said. “He’s a little guy with a big mouth, and all he does is whine. And you can write that.

“That’s the kind of crap in this game that just drives me crazy. He knows nothing about our situation. You’ve got to be kidding me. Every time I hear this guy talk, all he’s doing is whining.”

[|Zach|]

“(Ricciardi) is an interesting guy for all he’s done in the game,” Bell said. “He’s a little guy with a big mouth, and all he does is whine. And you can write that.

Awesome.

[ChiefsFire]

haha

way to go buddy.....is this team actually starting to get backbone

[Coach]

LMAO

Awesome.

[Mr. Laz]

Buddy needs to call up this guy and tell him to go F#ck himself.


you don't say stuff like that about another team

[CHIEF4EVER]

Buddy needs to call up this guy and tell him to go F#ck himself.


you don't say stuff like that about another team

He pretty much did sans the phone call. LMAO

"(Ricciardi) is an interesting guy for all he’s done in the game,” Bell said. “He’s a little guy with a big mouth, and all he does is whine. And you can write that."

He got his message to Riccardi and didn't even have to use his cell phone.

[Bowser]

Most excellent.

What's the over/under on a benches clearing brawl between the Royals and Blue Jays this year?

[Deberg_1990]

“When you’re talking to a guy about coming to a place that’s very close to winning,” Ricciardi said, “and he’s telling you how important it is to him — and then he chooses a place like that … that might have been an eye-opener for us.



Whats the big deal?? The guy is 100% right. Its not like the Royals or Buddy Bell have anything to brag about....

[tk13]

Whats the big deal?? The guy is 100% right. Its not like the Royals or Buddy Bell have anything to brag about....
And what do the Blue Jays have to brag about? If this was Boston or New York or something, I'd agree it might make a little more sense... but this is coming from the Yankees and Red Sox' whipping post...

[Mecca]

It's bad etiquette to call a guy a pussy because he didn't sign with you.....it makes you look like a bitch.

And only in baseball do fans act like no good players should ever sign with a team worse than another one. "OMG we're better than them he should take less to play for us!"

[Anyong Bluth]

Dude's a pole smoker. That's pretty much all I got on that.

[DaWolf]

And what do the Blue Jays have to brag about? If this was Boston or New York or something, I'd agree it might make a little more sense... but this is coming from the Yankees and Red Sox' whipping post...
And what makes it funnier is that he's talking about them trying to beat the Yanks and Red Sox while we're here trying to beat some of the most successful teams in all of baseball the last few years who do it WITHOUT the payroll, including the team that just recently punked his precious Yankmees out of the postseason.

Come back to us when you have something worth saying, Ricciardi...

[Mr. Laz]

Whats the big deal?? The guy is 100% right. Its not like the Royals or Buddy Bell have anything to brag about....
it's called Sportsmanship ...... look it up.

[Halfcan]

It's bad etiquette to call a guy a pussy because he didn't sign with you.....it makes you look like a bitch.

And only in baseball do fans act like no good players should ever sign with a team worse than another one. "OMG we're better than them he should take less to play for us!"

I couldn't agree more. His comments show a lack of class. Hopefully Gil is the real deal and the Royals can get this thing turned around.

I have been pretty impressed with Moore-seems to be bringing a new attitude.

[Sure-Oz]

Little man with a big mouth haha

[tk13]

And what makes it funnier is that he's talking about them trying to beat the Yanks and Red Sox while we're here trying to beat some of the most successful teams in all of baseball the last few years who do it WITHOUT the payroll, including the team that just recently punked his precious Yankmees out of the postseason.

Come back to us when you have something worth saying, Ricciardi...
Yeah, there's been a lot of trash talk on Royals and Blue Jays boards the last couple days... the best part is the Blue Jays fans bragging they finished in 2nd place by 1 game last year. It took maybe the one of the worst rashes of injuries, ever, to derail the Red Sox. And they still almost finished ahead of the Blue Jays.

[CHIEF4EVER]

Yeah, there's been a lot of trash talk on Royals and Blue Jays boards the last couple days... the best part is the Blue Jays fans bragging they finished in 2nd place by 1 game last year. It took maybe the one of the worst rashes of injuries, ever, to derail the Red Sox. And they still almost finished ahead of the Blue Jays.

They're bragging about finishing behind the Yankmees (whot got the shit beat out of em by a small market midwestern team with half the payroll of the Yankmees)? LMAO

[banyon]

Wow, smack talk from the manager with the lowest career winning percentage among active coaches with more than 700 games managed.

[teedubya]

When is Heinous Jenkins getting in here to spread some piss?

[KChiefs1]

The Blue Jays vs Royals games this year just became pretty interesting....

[Reaper16]

I hope they Jays sign Runelvys.

[Demonpenz]

who can blame the guy I would be pissed if I was in canada

[KC_Connection]

And what do the Blue Jays have to brag about? If this was Boston or New York or something, I'd agree it might make a little more sense... but this is coming from the Yankees and Red Sox' whipping post...
Atleast they win games, maintain a payroll in the top 10 in the league, and have challenged for 1st/2nd place over the last few years (they did come 2nd last year). The Royals do none of those things. Come on, you can't seriously be comparing these two teams' situations, right?

And while it was incredibly stupid for Ricciardi to open his mouth like that (I agree with Buddy Bell, he is a small guy with a big mouth), he was in fact right. For Gil Meche to be going around telling people that he's interested in a competitive playoff team, and actually coming up to Toronto to meet Frank Thomas and Pat Hentgen among others as JP and him went to a Leafs game, but then signing with the Royals, a team that routinely loses 100 games, for more money, I think it shows you right there what actually drives the guy.

[KC_Connection]

And what makes it funnier is that he's talking about them trying to beat the Yanks and Red Sox while we're here trying to beat some of the most successful teams in all of baseball the last few years who do it WITHOUT the payroll, including the team that just recently punked his precious Yankmees out of the postseason.

What? How does that even make sense?

You're trying to spin this situation in a way that makes the Twins, White Sox, Indians, and Tigers look like harder competition. Well don't you think it's harder to compete with teams who spend 150M-220M, and routinely win atleast 90 games, then compete with those 4? There is no possible way you can spin it in a way that says the White Sox are harder to compete with than those 2.

[tk13]

I already said it once, the only reason you guys sniffed 2nd was because the Red Sox had a killer set of injuries. Ortiz, Papelbon, etc... and you still only finished a game ahead of them.

I really don't think what I'm saying is that far fetched... the Royals have a better chance of competing in our division than the Blue Jays do in theirs over the long term, because you guys have the Yankees and Red Sox. Every single team in the AL Central has spent time at the top of the division over the last 4 or 5 years... you can't say that at all about the AL East.

[KC_Connection]

Yeah, there's been a lot of trash talk on Royals and Blue Jays boards the last couple days... the best part is the Blue Jays fans bragging they finished in 2nd place by 1 game last year. It took maybe the one of the worst rashes of injuries, ever, to derail the Red Sox. And they still almost finished ahead of the Blue Jays.
You mean the MLB.com message boards? Those are filled with idiots. Any reasonable Jays fan wouldn't brag about coming 2nd and not making the playoffs.

[Deberg_1990]

I already said it once, the only reason you guys sniffed 2nd was because the Red Sox had a killer set of injuries. Ortiz, Papelbon, etc... and you still only finished a game ahead of them.

I really don't think what I'm saying is that far fetched... the Royals have a better chance of competing in our division than the Blue Jays do in theirs over the long term, because you guys have the Yankees and Red Sox. Every single team in the AL Central has spent time at the top of the division over the last 4 or 5 years... you can't say that at all about the AL East.

Im sorry TK, you just cant defend a sorry organization like the Royals who havent done a damn thing in 21 years.

[Adept Havelock]

Heh. Sour Grapes in Toronto. ROFL

[tk13]

You mean the MLB.com message boards? Those are filled with idiots. Any reasonable Jays fan wouldn't brag about coming 2nd and not making the playoffs.
You mean just like you did a few posts ago?

Atleast they win games, maintain a payroll in the top 10 in the league, and have challenged for 1st/2nd place over the last few years (they did come 2nd last year). The Royals do none of those things. Come on, you can't seriously be comparing these two teams' situations, right?

[KC_Connection]

I already said it once, the only reason you guys sniffed 2nd was because the Red Sox had a killer set of injuries. Ortiz, Papelbon, etc... and you still only finished a game ahead of them.

I really don't think what I'm saying is that far fetched... the Royals have a better chance of competing in our division than the Blue Jays do in theirs over the long term, because you guys have the Yankees and Red Sox. Every single team in the AL Central has spent time at the top of the division over the last 4 or 5 years... you can't say that at all about the AL East.
It's not like the Jays didn't have their own set of injuries either (Halladay, Burnett, Chacin, and Rios all spent a fair amount of time out), but yes, the Red Sox were in big trouble at one point in the year there.
If you look at Pythagorean record, the Jays were actually one of the best teams in the league last year, but in the end that doesn't really matter.

And no, I don't think it's too far fetched either. If the Royals actually choose to spend money, they'll easily have a far better chance at the playoffs than the Blue Jays. It certainly won't be because of the Royals having a better team than Toronto's, though.

[KC_Connection]

You mean just like you did a few posts ago?
I believe I said challenged for 1st/2nd, and then pointed out that they actually did come 2nd when somebody said they are "always" behind the Red Sox and Yankees. That's not bragging.

[homey]

The page is turning for KC baseball, I love this attitude.

[KC_Connection]

I hope they Jays sign Runelvys.
Do you remember when he outpitched Roy Halladay with a 9 inning shutout, and won 1-0 or something? Man, the Jays gave up in September last year.

[KC_Connection]

They're bragging about finishing behind the Yankmees (whot got the shit beat out of em by a small market midwestern team with half the payroll of the Yankmees)? LMAO
It's far harder to beat a very good team over a 162 game season, than a 7 game playoff series (which, can be attributed to luck many times).

[KC_Connection]

The Blue Jays vs Royals games this year just became pretty interesting....
I hope they do, because those are the games I like to go to, especially when I'm in KC for a few weeks in the summer.

[KC_Connection]

who can blame the guy I would be pissed if I was in canada
What's so bad about Canada, and to be specific, Toronto? Have you ever been there?

[tk13]

Im sorry TK, you just cant defend a sorry organization like the Royals who havent done a damn thing in 21 years.
I said what I said, and I believe what I said. It has nothing to do with being a fan of any team, I think I'm pretty fair. I'm not sure I was defending anyone, I was making a statement discussing the future of baseball... the Royals have made a bazillion mistakes, but so did the Tigers for the last 20 years. I'm discussing the potential for future success.

If you believe the Blue Jays have a better chance of consistently beating the Yankees and Red Sox than the Royals do of winning their division in the long term, you are welcome to argue otherwise.

[CHIEF4EVER]

What's so bad about Canada, and to be specific, Toronto? Have you ever been there?

I have, many times. I'll admit, I like Ontario much more than I like Quebec. Both are too damn cold in the winter though.

[Deberg_1990]

I said what I said, and I believe what I said. It has nothing to do with being a fan of any team, I think I'm pretty fair. I'm not sure I was defending anyone, I was making a statement discussing the future of baseball... the Royals have made a bazillion mistakes, but so did the Tigers for the last 20 years. I'm discussing the potential for future success.

If you believe the Blue Jays have a better chance of consistently beating the Yankees and Red Sox than the Royals do of winning their division in the long term, you are welcome to argue otherwise.

I love your optimism about the Royals, but im gonna reserve judgement for awhile. I realize its a "new day" and all with Dayton Moore, but the Royals are what they are until they prove it on the field and otherwise. Potential doesnt mean anything.

[KC_Connection]

If you believe the Blue Jays have a better chance of consistently beating the Yankees and Red Sox than the Royals do of winning their division in the long term, you are welcome to argue otherwise.
Well as I said, if the Royals choose to spend money to build a half decent team (Is Glass willing to do that?), then that would be the case. Until that time, the Jays will go along winning 85-90 games over the next few years, and that obviously gives them the better chance if the Royals stay at 65-70 wins.

[KC_Connection]

I have, many times. I'll admit, I like Ontario much more than I like Quebec. Both are too damn cold in the winter though.
II'll give you that. It's damn cold here in December and January.

As for Quebec..well yeah nobody likes it.

[DaWolf]

Well as I said, if the Royals choose to spend money to build a half decent team (Is Glass willing to do that?), then that would be the case. Until that time, the Jays will go along winning 85-90 games over the next few years, and that obviously gives them the better chance if the Royals stay at 65-70 wins.

Yes but you also need good players to agree to come and help you make that turnaround too. I mean think about it, was Pudge Rodriguez a loser for choosing to go to Detroit? Or was he competetive and looking for a challenge in helping to take a leadership role in trying to turn a team around? That's why Ricciardi's comments are rediculous, because the way baseball and in fact sports have been these days, it is not out of the realm of possibility that in two years the Royals could be in the World Series and Toronto could be in last place...

[KC_Connection]

Yes but you also need good players to agree to come and help you make that turnaround too. I mean think about it, was Pudge Rodriguez a loser for choosing to go to Detroit? Or was he competetive and looking for a challenge in helping to take a leadership role in trying to turn a team around? That's why Ricciardi's comments are rediculous, because the way baseball and in fact sports have been these days, it is not out of the realm of possibility that in two years the Royals could be in the World Series and Toronto could be in last place...
I agree, you always need good players to come to make that turnaround, and that's why the Jays brought BJ Ryan and AJ Burnett to the team last year. But Gil Meche isn't one of those good players like a Pudge Rodriguez or a BJ Ryan, He's the definition of mediocre pitcher (he's never once had an ERA+ over 100), and certainly not somebody you should be investing 11M of your future in per season. Spending money is the answer, but the thing with it is, you just have to spend it right.

Ricciardi's comments are certainly not ridiculous the way things are right now. That's the point. Although it was incredibly stupid to say what he said, he said what basically everyone else was thinking. It is the truth that the Royals are basically the jokes of baseball at the moment with their many 100 loss seasons, JP is just stupid enough to actually say it with media in front of him.

As long as the Royals keep spending what they're spending (50-60M right now?), and the Jays keep spending what they're spending (100M) and keep their base, the Jays will continue to be the better team.

[ChiefsCountry]

Are we going to break out 1985 again on Toronto like we use for St. Louser. :p

[huskerdooz]

I agree, you always need good players to come to make that turnaround, and that's why the Jays brought BJ Ryan and AJ Burnett to the team last year. But Gil Meche isn't one of those good players like a Pudge Rodriguez or a BJ Ryan, He's the definition of mediocre pitcher (he's never once had an ERA+ over 100), and certainly not somebody you should be investing 11M of your future in per season. Spending money is the answer, but the thing with it is, you just have to spend it right.

Ricciardi's comments are certainly not ridiculous the way things are right now. That's the point. Although it was incredibly stupid to say what he said, he said what basically everyone else was thinking. It is the truth that the Royals are basically the jokes of baseball at the moment with their many 100 loss seasons, JP is just stupid enough to actually say it with media in front of him.

As long as the Royals keep spending what they're spending (50-60M right now?), and the Jays keep spending what they're spending (100M) and keep their base, the Jays will continue to be the better team.

That's OK, if I'm not mistaken most of baseball was saying the same thing about the Jays last winter when they went out and paid the big bucks to Burnett and Ryan. As far as I'm concerned 11 mil per year isn't that much different than 10 mil per year. Not in todays market anyway.

[DaWolf]

I'll agree that 11 mil is too much if Meche continues to pitch at that level. What the Royals are banking on is that he's entering his prime and ready to emerge with the good stuff that he has. There is no way of knowing that for sure. But considering the price other clubs were willing to pay him, including the Jays, the Royals aren't the only team thinking that way about Meche...

[Hammock Parties]

hearing buddys comments, im beginning to love the guy as a manager. He don't want to take shit from no little pussy that only crunches the numbers for a team that knows nothing about the royals....

[ChiefsCountry]

If the Cubs or Blue Jays signed Meche for the same deal, would people think its that horrible?

[Hammock Parties]

If the Cubs or Blue Jays signed Meche for the same deal, would people think its that horrible?

i assume that it wouldnt be a big deal. When people are spending as much money as they are on piching these days, its almost to the norm to have to pay somebody 11mil with any potential, just to outbid any other teams like the jays or cubs.

[KC_Connection]

If the Cubs or Blue Jays signed Meche for the same deal, would people think its that horrible?
Yes, the Lilly deal signed by the Cubs this week has been widely recognized as just plain bad (and the Meche deal had they signed him, I have no doubt would have been thought of as worse), and many Jays fans and baseball columnists in my area commented on how signing Gil Meche for 30-40M would be a waste of resources (he ended up signing for 55). And looking at it from last year's perspective, if writers were saying the Jays overpaid AJ Burnett at 11M, then they certainly would be saying they overpaid Gil Meche at the same price. No..I don't think it has anything to do with the Royals having signed the guy. It's just not a very good signing, period.

[KC_Connection]

I'll agree that 11 mil is too much if Meche continues to pitch at that level. What the Royals are banking on is that he's entering his prime and ready to emerge with the good stuff that he has. There is no way of knowing that for sure. But considering the price other clubs were willing to pay him, including the Jays, the Royals aren't the only team thinking that way about Meche...
Just because other clubs were willing to pay him 9M for his potential like the Jays and Cubs were, it doesn't make it a good signing. It shows a bit of stupidity on the part of those organizations for even letting the bidding on Gil Meche get that high. He just simply isn't that good. And I'm just not prepared to say that just because Meche is a little bit younger than most of the other FA pitchers in his 20s, that he's suddenly going to get it together and become a good pitcher. The Royals are going to have to hope for a Chris Carpenter-like turn around in this guy's career for this deal to be worthwhile in the end, I suspect.

[Marty Mac Ver 2.0]

Buddy Bell: "Let's give 'em all a nice big sh*t burger to eat!"

[alanm]

Yes but you also need good players to agree to come and help you make that turnaround too. I mean think about it, was Pudge Rodriguez a loser for choosing to go to Detroit? Or was he competetive and looking for a challenge in helping to take a leadership role in trying to turn a team around? That's why Ricciardi's comments are rediculous, because the way baseball and in fact sports have been these days, it is not out of the realm of possibility that in two years the Royals could be in the World Series and Toronto could be in last place...
Hell with all high draft picks from the last few years alone starting to emerge in the high minors and destined for KC shortly, I expect no less then for them to be contending for the division within 2 yrs.

[gblowfish]

Toronto can have El Taco Grande. He's available.

[DeezNutz]

Wow, smack talk from the manager with the lowest career winning percentage among active coaches with more than 700 games managed.

No question that Bell hasn't gotten it done from a wins and losses perspective, but he's been in very difficult places to win a lot of games (i.e. Colorado, KC pre-Glass's head out of ass, if that's actually happened). Even great managers usually are only slightly above .500.

Back to my point, though. When Bell talks, he does so from the position of both a manager and a former all-star caliber player. The latter distinction still matters and carries much weight, and this is part of what he seems to be alluding to with the Toronto GM. If you don't think this kind of thing matters, listen to the backlash the next time someone like Salisbury (sp?) rips a player like Tony G. Sports people have long memories.

[siberian khatru]

J.P. Ricciardi has even less room to talk than Hamas Jenkins. At least Hamas' team has won a World Series.

[banyon]

No question that Bell hasn't gotten it done from a wins and losses perspective, but he's been in very difficult places to win a lot of games (i.e. Colorado, KC pre-Glass's head out of ass, if that's actually happened). Even great managers usually are only slightly above .500.

Back to my point, though. When Bell talks, he does so from the position of both a manager and a former all-star caliber player. The latter distinction still matters and carries much weight, and this is part of what he seems to be alluding to with the Toronto GM. If you don't think this kind of thing matters, listen to the backlash the next time someone like Salisbury (sp?) rips a player like Tony G. Sports people have long memories.

You forgot his terrible times in Detroit. But that's ok. Bell's just an interim caretaker. Moore knows that and will can him after this season probably. I've liked almost every move that Moore has made since he got here except for te Burgos trade.

[DeezNutz]

You forgot his terrible times in Detroit. But that's ok. Bell's just an interim caretaker. Moore knows that and will can him after this season probably. I've liked almost every move that Moore has made since he got here except for te Burgos trade.

Wasn't trying to recount all of Bell's past failings, but your point is taken.

When Dayton took over, I thought the same thing as you concerning Bell's job status. New GM usually = new manager. However, I started to rethink this toward the end of last year. Bell's calm, collected, professional attitude might make him a keeper. Not sure about his in-game decisions, but DeezNutz is grateful for his "been there, done that" attitude, which is particularly welcome after the last guy showered with young men.