Ricciardi's ties can't be cut
Blue Jays' GM says his family remains Sox fans
ST. LOUIS -- Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi, a Worcester, Mass., native who was a devoted Red Sox fan before his career forced his loyalties to change, is a believer. "It's going to happen," he insisted yesterday.
Ricciardi has a 92-year-old uncle and a 93-year-old aunt, and he believes they will finally be able to enjoy and experience "what they've been waiting for all their life."
A Red Sox world championship.
Ricciardi's family legacy is typical of generations of New England families -- those who have waited since 1918 to savor the big prize.
Ricciardi's story is slightly different in that he runs a rival team in the American League East, yet his children, and his extended family, are Red Sox fans.
Two years ago, Ricciardi was approached about becoming the new general manager of the Sox after Oakland's Billy Beane had turned down the job. Ricciardi had worked for Beane as an assistant GM prior to taking the position with the Blue Jays.
Ricciardi had been on the job in Toronto for a year, and while flattered by the Sox' interest, he elected to stay with the Blue Jays.
Theo Epstein got the job.
And we know the rest of the story.
Most lifelong Sox fans would have jumped at the opportunity, as was the case with Dan Duquette.
Does Ricciardi regret it now?
"My wife asked me the same question, and I have to say that I don't," he said. "My parents raised me to be a man of my word. I gave my word when I took the job in Toronto that I was going to stay there and try to build something. I thought about it hard, and why wouldn't you? It's the Red Sox. But I don't look back. I made the decision, stuck to it, but I have to say I'm so happy for Theo and Larry Lucchino and John Henry and Tom Werner. I'm a little envious of them because they have a lot of money they can spend on their payroll, but I'll take my satisfaction from trying to build something our way with what we have down the road sometime."
Ricciardi, whose Blue Jays slipped to 67 wins from 86 the year before, attended the first two games of the World Series in Boston with his children.
"Theo did a fantastic job building that team and putting the right people in place," said Ricciardi, who had predicted a Boston-Philadelphia World Series. "They built up their pitching and that's been the key for them. Acquiring [Curt] Schilling and [Keith] Foulke have been key for them in the postseason. They dismantled Anaheim, they staged that unbelievable comeback against New York, and now they're dismantling the Cardinals. It's not that surprising because the Cardinals have decent pitching, but it's not of Boston's caliber."
Even when the Red Sox were struggling much of the season as a .500 team, Ricciardi felt they would get untracked. He's already praised Epstein for his trading deadline moves to shore up the defense, but even without the deals, Ricciardi thought they were loaded.
"It's funny sometimes when talking to the local sportswriters and they'd point out some of the deficiencies in Boston's team, and I'd just say, `Are you nuts? We don't have 20 things that they have.' We had to face the Yankees and Red Sox, what, 38 times? We understood what we were up against when we'd have a two-run lead in the eighth and you walk away with a loss. It's a sobering experience for a team like ours.
"I think what the Red Sox have done has shown our industry how tough the AL East is, and that we play two of the best teams in the game in our division. I think it makes you appreciate how difficult it is to build a championship franchise, and it's a tribute to Theo to have done it in a relative short period of time."
In analyzing the first three games of the series, Ricciardi said the Cardinals might have been intimidated by Fenway Park. "At least a little bit," Ricciardi said. "If you're not used to it and haven't played there at all or not much, it can be a little bit imposing, whether you're a young player or even veteran players like the Cardinals have."
