JP Ricciardi, the GM for your Toronto Blue Jays (why are they yours? I don't know, maybe you're from Canada or something) recently was forced to apologize for some rather candid remarks about everyone's favorite Cincinnati Red Adam Dunn (actually, that is probably not true. I think Jay Bruce is the favorite Red at this point. Or Corey Patterson, everyone loves him.) Here are Ricciardi's remarks about Dunn, who in the picture to the left is reacting to taking a called 3rd strike for about the 99th time this season:
“Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much?” Ricciardi said to the caller. “Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? How much do you know about the player? “There’s a reason why you’re attracted to some players and there’s a reason why you’re not attracted to some players. I don’t think you’d be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here … “We’ve done our homework on guys like Adam Dunn and there’s a reason why we don’t want Adam Dunn. I don’t want to get into specifics.”Ricciardi was generally sympathetic as callers vented following the Jays 5-4 loss to Milwaukee. But Ricciardi’s demeanour changed when a caller mentioned Dunn as a hitter who might “save” the Jays’ moribund offence.“He’s a lifetime .230, .240 hitter that strikes out a ton and hits home runs,” Ricciardi said.
So, what exactly does JP need to apologize for? Let's get the easiest ones out of the way first, and that is the stats at the end. Dunn's career average year is .247, which is about what JP said, his average per year strikeouts is 181, which equals a ton, and he averages 40 home runs, which is a lot of home runs, but most of those are in the home run factory known as the Great American Ballpark.
Now, the harder stuff. Doesn't like baseball/Doesn't have a passion to play. Now, because I am not a mind reader or know Dunn personally, I don't have real insight here. However, I can make a guess based on a few things:
“Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much?” Ricciardi said to the caller. “Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? How much do you know about the player? “There’s a reason why you’re attracted to some players and there’s a reason why you’re not attracted to some players. I don’t think you’d be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here … “We’ve done our homework on guys like Adam Dunn and there’s a reason why we don’t want Adam Dunn. I don’t want to get into specifics.”Ricciardi was generally sympathetic as callers vented following the Jays 5-4 loss to Milwaukee. But Ricciardi’s demeanour changed when a caller mentioned Dunn as a hitter who might “save” the Jays’ moribund offence.“He’s a lifetime .230, .240 hitter that strikes out a ton and hits home runs,” Ricciardi said.
So, what exactly does JP need to apologize for? Let's get the easiest ones out of the way first, and that is the stats at the end. Dunn's career average year is .247, which is about what JP said, his average per year strikeouts is 181, which equals a ton, and he averages 40 home runs, which is a lot of home runs, but most of those are in the home run factory known as the Great American Ballpark.
Now, the harder stuff. Doesn't like baseball/Doesn't have a passion to play. Now, because I am not a mind reader or know Dunn personally, I don't have real insight here. However, I can make a guess based on a few things:
- His inability to get in shape
- His inability to improve his fielding
- His inability to play one game in left field without some sort of defensive lapse (note: this is limited to the number of Reds games I have seen which, while quite a bit, is not every one. So, there is a chance that in the games I don't see he is Willie Mays out there, but I doubt it)
Was there ever a real point to any of this? Probably not, but I think Dunn is terrible.
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