The great Dave Till took care of this for us, year after year. I don't have Dave's fine sense of the classroom (it's been a while since I was actually in one, you know) but I'll do what I can.
Something to do while I wait hopefully for Jim Balsillie to give up on his NHL dream (they don't want you, Jim, can't you see?) and turn his attention to baseball.
Here's what the grades mean to me:
A - Outstanding
B - Good
C - Average
D - Below Average
E - Fail. (Replacement Level)
F - Epic Fail
There is no grade for Jesse Litsch or Michael Barret (on the Sick Leave List), or for Russ Adams and Bryan Bullington (on the Nobody Cares List).
As for team management...
I'll give J.P. Ricciardi gets a D- for this year. He made what looks like a decent trade for Rolen and he didn't get bullied into a Halladay deal he didn't like. On the other hand, he didn't do anything else that actually... you know, helped.
And Cito Gaston gets an E. It's true that two of the best things abut the 2009 team (Lind and Scutaro) follow directly from Gaston's work in 2008, but 2009 gave us a good, long look at all the things Gaston doesn't do well as a manager. He was the right guy in 2008, he may be the right guy next year. But he was the wrong guy this year.
Okay, on to the players. Rather than go through the roster by position, we'll go from the Top of the Class to the bottom.
Adam Lind A
Without question, the best thing about the 2009 Blue Jays. Took a nice
step forward from his 2008 half-season (which was impressive enough),
mainly by adding a lot of power, and by significantly improving his
plate discipline. Just turned 26 - he may have better seasons than this
ahead of him. What's not to like? Well, he's a really bad outfielder.
He may have delusions of adequacy, but they are delusions. He hasn't
played first base since college, and I don't know if I'd want him
touching the baseball a few times every inning. He's just geeky and
awkward at all things. Except hitting.
Scott Rolen A
He sure looked like a gruff and miserable guy to be around - did anyone ever see him smile? - but he
played just great. Gaston took a little bit of heat for his stubborn insistence
on following his Pre-Determined Rest Program with Rolen, but you can't argue with the
results. Rolen stayed healthy and productive until they traded him
away. You'll notice that Rolen hasn't hit nearly as well in Cincinnati,
and that Dusty Baker has given him exactly one day off since he returned from the beaning.
Roy Halladay B+
Was pitching as well as he's ever pitched in his life and was cruising to his second Cy Young Award. And then he tweaked something
in his groin against the Marlins in mid-June. Since coming back from the DL, he's
gone 5-9, 3.43 in 16 starts, and given up an alarming 16 HRs in 118 IPT. Half his season is A+, half his season is B-. Split the difference and here we are.
Jason Frasor B+
Just a really fine season. I've spent his entire tenure as a Jay finding holes in Frasor's performance. There are no holes in his 2009 season. He was hard to hit, he
didn't walk people, he got his strikeouts, he kept the ball in the
park. And he did it all the time.
Aaron Hill B+
When you have a good defender at a key position who hits 33 home
runs... you're just picking nits, I suppose. The only problem with Hill
is the enormous number of outs he makes. Which is actually a pretty significant
nit, when you think about it. Ah, hell. Nobody's perfect. But if he could improve his plate discipline just a little...
Marco Scutaro B+
Cito Gaston deserves quite a bit of credit in the talent assessment
department for his decision that Scutaro could indeed play shortstop and
lead off every day. It had never occurred to any of the half dozen
managers Scutaro had played for that he could do either of those
things. Unfortunately, Gaston proceeded to play Scutaro until he (quite
literally) dropped. By the time September rolled around, he was running
on fumes and a bad heel. And it's not like there wasn't a backup
shortstop on the roster.
Shawn Camp B
For a guy picked up off the scrap heap who's supposed to be the very
model of a generic, replacement-level arm - he had a really nice season. It would be hard for a professional athlete to be less flashy and charismatic and impressive. He just gets through his innings without allowing the other team to do much of anything.
Mark Rzepczynski B
Everyone who looks carefully at these things says Brett Cecil has way more
upside. They may be right, but Rzepczynski is quite a bit better right
now and he's only eleven months older than Cecil. He fights his control
from time to time, but he's really, really hard to hit. Only Jason Frasor
(.211) held opposing hitters to a lower BAVG than R-Zep and only
Brandon League struck out more guys per nine innings. And I didn't
notice Frasor or League starting any games this year.
Scott Downs B
Remains a very effective pitcher when you can actually get him in the game. I'm not
sure how key a role you'd want to assign to a guy who regularly hurts himself
simply fielding his position.
Ricky Romero B
His monthly ERAs since he came back from the DL are 2.36, 4.26, 5.03,
and 6.26 - you normally don't want to know what comes next. I think
he's run into a little of a rookie wall and I think the league has
adjusted to him a little bit. But I think he's going to adjust to the
league and be just fine. I believe in him, without reservation. He's a pitcher, and he's young, so you never know - but he's got a chance to be really, really good.
Lyle Overbay B
He's just a good ball player. He gets on base, he has some pop in his
bat, he plays good defense. The only hitter on the team with a better
OPS+ is Adam Lind. Unfortunately, he has completely lost his ability to hit LHP, so he now needs a
platoon partner.
Randy Ruiz B
Well, hello there. He's too good for the Pacific Coast League, and on this team he's blocked at
his natural position, which is DH. If he doesn't fail another drug
test, he's earned a chance to be Overbay's platoon partner. In other
words, he'll end up in Kevin Millar's roster spot. Now if Adam Lind
could play even a passable left field - well, forget it. Not going to
happen.
Jeremy Accardo C+
He had options remaining, so he was the guy on the yo-yo to Las Vegas when
someone was ready to come off the DL, or they felt like looking at
someone else for a couple of weeks. Had a very nice-looking ERA (2.49) but
while Carlson and League were both better than their ERAs, Accardo was
nowhere near as good as his suggested. He walked 14 guys in 21.2 IPT,
which is... Purcey-ish.
Jesse Carlson C
Had an awful patch in the middle of the season, when he suddenly found
himself the only LH in the middle of the pen. Ryan was useless, Tallet
was starting, Downs was either closing or hurt. Carlson couldn't carry that
load by himself, and got hammered regularly. He eventually got himself straightened out, and regained his effectiveness. Important to realize that
he's not a true LOOGY - like Tallet, Carlson has a reverse platoon split. He's
a bit tougher on RH batters
Alex Rios C
What did the teacher always say? He doesn't always seem to pay attention in class? We're not sure if
he's really applying himself? Well, Alex is someone else's problem now. I'd note
that, like a lot of tall hitters, Rios has a long and complicated
swing. A lot of things can go wrong, and it can get quite totally out
of sync. And unlike, say, Frank Howard or Dave Winfield, Rios doesn't
have the brute strength to power the ball even when he had a lousy cut.
Dirk Hayhurst C
No one seems to take him seriously as a pitcher, and the ERA (1.31) is a fluke. But there's no reason at all to dismiss him yet.
Brandon League C-
A very strange season for the Jays own Nuke LaLoosh. On the one hand, there's that none too attractive
4.77 ERA and our memories of some pretty epic failures along the way.
But League made quite a bit of progress in 2009. He's got the walks
down to 2.5 per 9,and he's striking out more batters than ever before.
He did this without allowing more hits or more home runs. I think he's
almost got it figured out. He'll probably just explode on the league one of these days. Probably just in time for his free agency...
Jose Bautista C-
An odd player. Obviously a very handy guy to have around. In the day of
the 12 man bullpen, a guy who can play all three outfield spots, both
corner infield positions, and probably the middle infield in an
emergency is pretty useful. He doesn't hit for much of an average, but
he gets on base more often than Aaron Hill (not to mention Vernon
Wells.) Doesn't have much power to start with, and he showed less than
usual this season.
Joe Inglett C-
A left-handed version of Bautista. Bautista's a better outfielder, but
Inglett has proven he can play a passable second base on a regular
basis.
John McDonald D+
He is what he is.
Bill Murphy D+
Kind of strange. Made 8 appearances early on and allowed 4 H in 11.1 IPT. Went back to the minors and was never heard from again, even while the bullpen lost 3 of the 4 southpaws who had played such a key role in 2008.
Rod Barajas D+
His defense is adequate enough, at an important defensive position. But that bat. Yikes. All he does - quite literally - is hit home runs. It's not like he hits a lot of them, either. He has scored just 22 runs this season when he didn't actually drive himself in. Which is what you'd expect from someone who never gets on base and can't run at all once he gets there.
Vernon Wells D
Off his 2009 season, he's still good enough to be on a major league roster.
He can get by
at all three outfield positions, he chips in a bit with the bat. He'd make a fine fourth outfielder, the new Reed Johnson.
Brian Tallet D
The injuries and the Purcey demotion gave Tallet his first real chance
to start in the majors. Seeing as how he went 7-8, 5.49 he may not get another chance.
He's a useful guy to have on a staff. He's left-handed, he's
versatile, he can be effective in spots. But he's not a major league starter.
Travis Snider D
He's probably going to be an outstanding hitter some day, but he
isn't even a good one yet. It's pretty obvious that he's been rushed
to the major leagues before he was remotely ready. But what can you do?
He's way too good right now for the Pacific Coast League.
Edwin Encarnacion D (?)
It's been a lost year for him, an injury year. His bat does seem to be recovering these last few weeks.
David Purcey D
It seems to me that one of the worst decisions the Blue Jays made this
season was sending Purcey back to AAA after five starts. I suspect
Gaston was responsible - I think he got tired of watching Purcey hunt
for his command and throw a zillion pitches. But this is who Purcey is.
All pitchers struggle at times. Some guys give up three home runs in an
inning, some guys give up ten hits in four innings. This is how Purcey
struggles. He's the new Al Leiter. Anyway, they sent Purcey out when
they were already down two starters (Litsch and Romero). I think that
was dumb.
Raul Chavez D-
He might be to catchers what John McDonald is to middle infielders. His defense is quite impressive, but it's just impossible to put up with his bat. We don't have a very good sense of the actual impact on the game of a catcher's defense - we have a much better sense of an infielder's impact.
Brett Cecil D-
The pitching version of Travis Snider? He's got a chance to be
really good, I guess, but there's no way he should have been in the major
leagues this season. Gave up 17 HR in 93.1 IPT, which brings back
memories of the late, lamented John Cerutti.
Scott Richmond D-
Since returning from the DL, he's gone 1-5 8.52 in nine starts. He's so
tough on RH batters that you could see him carving a bullpen role that
suits his abilities. But if he's starting, the opposition is just going to load
up the lineup with LH hitters and let the good times roll.
Casey Janssen E
I don't believe in him. He's just too easy to hit. Richmond's edge on Janssen is that Richmond at least has one thing - retire RH batters - that he does really, really well. I don't see anything for Janssen.
Josh Roenicke E
Throws really, really hard. Doesn't have a clue where it's going, or much of an idea about where it should be going. So who gives a damn how hard he throws?
Kyle Phillips F
Too soon to tell. Might make it up to replacement Level.
B.J. Ryan F
His career is almost certainly over.
Brian Wolfe F
Actually pitched worse than Ryan. Opposing batters hit .407 against him, which pretty much speaks (speaks? Screams!) for itself..
Brad Mills F
Actually pitched worse than Wolfe. The good news is that he likely has a better future.
Brian Burres F
Actually pitched worse than Mills. No future for you.
Kevin Millar F
Better than Dellucci.
David Dellucci F
Better than me.
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