This fence isn't very comfortable

So the Jays are out of the postseason again, for the umpteenth year in a row. After their 10-game win streak, they did have a small-but-legitimate shot at making the playoffs, so it could be argued that they played meaningful baseball in September for the first time since J.P. Ricciardi took the helm. I wrote back in August that Ricciardi should be fired, and now I'm not sure. It's true that he's ultimately responsible for putting together the team, but it really isn't his fault that Marcum will miss next year, that McGowan missed half of this year, that Accardo and Janssen missed all of this year, that Ryan missed all of last year, and on and on. Ricciardi has put together one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, even with all the injuries. Injuries to Wells and Aaron Hill are also not Ricciardi's fault. Also on the upside, this Travis Snider kid (drafted by Ricciardi) looks like the real deal as well. If he can keep it up, an outfield of Snider, Wells, and Rios might be the best Jays outfield since Bell, Moseby, and Barfield.

On the flipside, it is Ricciardi's fault that Reed Johnson is a Chicago Cub (I still shake my head over that move). The Shannon Stewart experiment was a total failure. The David Eckstein experiment didn't work out either. Is Scott Rolen really much of an improvement over Troy Glaus? The bottom line is that the Jays missed the playoffs again and despite the late-season winning streak, we knew that they never really had much of a chance. From that point of view, after seven seasons of not having a chance, Ricciardi should be fired. I heard the other day that of all the GMs that were in place when Ricciardi was hired, he's the only one left who hasn't made the post-season. Every other team that hasn't made the playoffs in that time has fired their GM. But not the Jays.

But it's not like the team sucks and has no chance next year — if they manage to resign Burnett (for a zillion dollars, since that's what it will likely take) and McGowan returns OK and they pick up a big bat in the off season, then the Jays could seriously contend next year. Maybe we should give him one more year. Of course, that's what I thought last year too.

My ass is getting sore from this fence-sitting.