Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

[Vince]

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/MoneyMatters/2006/12/09/2704207-sun.html

Remember when the Blue Jays and the Kansas City Royals were hated rivals in 1985?

They may be reaching that level again.

After the Royals landed free-agent Gil Meche to a five-year, $55 million deal, Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi questioned Meche's competitiveness.

"When a guy talks about coming to our place where he has a chance to win and compete against the Yankees and the Red Sox," Ricciardi told USA Today, "and then he goes to a place like Kansas City, that's an eye-opener."

Royals manager Buddy Bell, among others in Kansas City, took offence.

"(Ricciardi) is an interesting guy for all that he's done in the game," Bell told the Kansas City Star. "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 cra.p in this game that 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."

After losing out in the Meche bidding and offering a four-year $40 million deal, Ricciardi said "we may have dodged a bullet with that one."

Meche was 11-8 with a 4.48 earned run average with the Seattle Mariners this season.

The Jays won four of seven meetings against the Royals this season.

[MassNole]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

Sounds about right to me.

[chippered]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

Nice. You do have to question Meche's asperations after signing that contract. KC has some great bats coming up through the system in the next couple of years, but still.

[Vince]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

J.P. got what he deserved...

[SPTO]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

I dunno, I think JP was speaking the truth there. I mean there's a hell of a lot better chance of winning with the Jays then the Royals.

Eh, at least it'll make the Jays/Royals rivalry relevent again.

[Misfit]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

JP may have been speaking the truth, but its not like this is the first time he's whined to the media about such an issue. He always sounds like he's making excuses and often just sounds like a petty fool.

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

Nice. You do have to question Meche's asperations after signing that contract. KC has some great bats coming up through the system in the next couple of years, but still.

Alex Gordon and Billy Butler aren't going to resurrect the Royals by themselves, as good as they may be. Other than Hochevar, they're also screwed as far as pitching prospects go.

[The C]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

What ever happened to Grenkie( forgot how to spell it) and his sick mvp curve?

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

What ever happened to Grenkie( forgot how to spell it) and his sick mvp curve?

After his whole incident last year, I don't know if he'll be sticking around baseball too long.

[Sandman42]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

What ever happened to Grenkie( forgot how to spell it) and his sick mvp curve?

I hated that thing. Especially the first time I saw it I was like wtf?

[SPTO]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

After his whole incident last year, I don't know if he'll be sticking around baseball too long.

When I first saw him pitch I was amazed. I thought he had a bright future in MLB. What exactly was his "incident" or is it still not really known?

[CoRruPt-]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

Wasn't he abusing drugs or something? And that he's lost motivation to pitch in the big leagues... from what I remembered reading last year from spring training.

[AI_Franchise]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

Considering he played for the Royals, I don't blame him.

[rsox]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

I dunno, I think JP was speaking the truth there. I mean there's a hell of a lot better chance of winning with the Jays then the Royals.

Not really, if the Sox and Yankees can stay healthy next year the Blue Jays don't stand much of a chance at seriously competing.

[nkhera1]

Re: Buddy Bell: J.P. is a "whiner"

Not really, if the Sox and Yankees can stay healthy next year the Blue Jays don't stand much of a chance at seriously competing.

Agreed. In the Central it seems as if there is a new winner every year and just look at how bad the Tigers were a few years ago. Not I'm not saying the Royals are going to turn it around, but the Jays are going to have a hard time beating the Red Sox and Yankees though overall the Central does seem better.