He's gone.
Man, I liked JF Jacques as a prospect. About Valentine's Day in 2005, I wrote at HF "it's hard to look past what Jacques has done so far this season. That scouting report above was a pre-draft report ("raw skills") and a year and a bit on he's having a real impact at the junior level. If this guy turns into something, then all these risk picks at the top become less worrisome imo."
I think the best way to describe my belief in him (long after everyone had left, I still had my Pouliot hat and Jacque slippers) and my specific fandom is to pass along a story about JFJ's perfect comp: Billy Ashley.
Now I've posted this story before, so apologies if it's familiar.
--
Did I ever tell you my Billy Ashley story? I used to be in a baseball roto league (extremely competitive, I can't even describe how cruel and vicious we were to each other. It was great) and followed all the prospects very closely (one of the few ways to win in the ERL was to get prospects before anyone knew who they were. It was a keeper league). Anyway, Billy Ashley was an OF prospect in the LA Dodger system and he hit a lot of home runs in the Pacific Coast League (this was maybe 1994). I remember well doing the Bill James MBLE to let the air out of his offense in order to project him into the National League of 1995.
At the draft (we bid on players, didn't draft them) I got into a war with another owner and ended up spending $28 on Ashley (which should get you a veteran outfielder with an excellent power/speed number if you're rational). Ashley killed me. Jesus he was awful. I can't even describe how bad he was. He struck out all the time, he hit nothing but air and O by the way he was AWFUL in the outfield too. His hit totals were exceeded by his strikeout totals every season he played. Ashley hit .221, .243, .333 (6 ABs), .237, .200, and finally .244 in his last year with the Dodgers who liked him only a little more than me and his Mom.
I remember he hit two homers at Wrigley one day in 1995 and the next day I got a really good trade offer. Are you kidding me? I kept him baby, because my mighty team was going to have Billy Ashley on it right up until we finished 8th that season.
I'm afraid JF Jacques might be Billy Ashley.
--
So long, JFJ. You can absolutely be satisifed that the Oilers didn't give up on you too early.
He was an integral component of the Oiltastic Tankathon of 2010-11, so we should all tip our caps to this man.
ReplyDeleteI think the fear of losing a players on waivers should now be called "Jacquephobia" considering that was the only reason he kept a big league roster spot...
ReplyDelete"Man I'm Jacquephobic about Player X...what if someone takes him on waivers???"
relly - it's about time they let JFJ walk...
Deslauriers-itis was also a plague there for a time. Stortini not qualified as per Gregor.
ReplyDeleteMan, that 2003 draft was a beauty.
Billy Ashley? What was Steve Lubratich unavailable?
ReplyDeleteBill James on Whitey Herzog as a manager, from the 88 Abstract:
#1 Never have anybody on your roster that you won't use.
#2 If you lose confidence in a player but keep him on the roster, you're making the roster smaller.
#3 When a player loses his aggressiveness he loses his value.
#4 If a player doesn't want to do the job that you need him to do, get rid of him.
#5 Everybody has to play defense. If a player can't play defense it's hard to find an offensive role for him either.
And God wept.
ReplyDeleteAlmost as good as the 2004 draft..Well, at least there's Dubnyk left.
ReplyDeleteashambil - Nuff said.
James: He didn't play that much, even when dressed, so I'm not sure we can even give him credit for that. A strange Oiler career.
ReplyDeleteIt's getting harder and harder to criticize Tambellini. He seems to be doing quite a few things right. Good draft again, no blockbuster trades, got a good deal for Smyth, and he managed to avoid trading Hemsky, Gagner, Gilbert, Smid, and 2012 first round pick. His inaction on trading roster players who can actually play for draft hopefuls when the entire fanbase is screaming for him to do it is particularly laudable.
He's even sounding more confident and self-assured in interviews and seems to have lost his halting manner of speech so I can't even criticize him for that anymore. If he signs some solid veterans after July 1, then we might have to start admitting to ourselves that we have a legit GM.
GM's done some great things, sure: tank the team and then choose the player almost everyone said was the No. 1 prospect; cut ties with a bust only three years too late;... oh hell, everyone knows all the others.
ReplyDeleteword verification: flames
Waiting for the "Sail On, Zorg" post.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't feel right, that is Bruce territory. :-)
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the "Sail On, Zorg" post.
ReplyDeleteShhhhhh, we are trying to keep Bruce from finding out that achzay ortinisay is gone.
stollor is my word verification. I would assume that LA is not likely to send us Stoll.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, it is kinda sad to see Zorg & JFJ go. JFJ had a big skill set, with the speed and size and Zorg had some heart. Too bad you could not make a merger.
Any bets on Tambo completing the anti goon trifecta by not resigning SMac?
ReplyDeleteSo long, JFJ. You can absolutely be satisifed that the Oilers didn't give up on you too early.
ReplyDeleteMatty disagrees:
Oil don't qualify J.F. Jacques after 8 years in org.. Finally healthy but they're letting him go. Would small Habs sign him as free-agent?
It's completely possible another team would sign him, but I don't think anyone can say the Oilers didn't give him a chance.
ReplyDeleteSo with Stortini and Jacques gone, it seems to make sense that the Oil would pursue guys like Asham, Konopka, etc. We need some sandpaper and toughness somewhere in the lineup. So LT who would you pursue?
ReplyDeleteOr do you trade a Cogliano for a guy like Neil or someone of that ilk? Would love to get someone like Steve Ott. Yes he is paid a good amount, but he fights, hits, kills penalties, wins faceoffs and is funny as hell on the radio. No idea of corsi, etc., but he seems like the kind of player we need who can do multiple things not just one.
Why exactly would Montreal recruit JFJ? FFS they DON'T take players just because they're french.
ReplyDeleteDBO: Ideally, you'd like someone who could actually play. Take a pass, make a pass. That's the thing I can't understand, why JFJ was so useless around the puck.
ReplyDeleteHe certainly scored at times (when healthy) in junior and the AHL. But it never happened for him.
I'd say the only way to get a player who can be physical and have enough skill to ride shotgun with the gifted kids is to get lucky on someone like Lucic.
But I don't know who that is.
TSN keeps saying that Weber is 2 years away from being a UFA...He already has 6 years in the NHL shouldn't he be a UFA next year?
ReplyDeleteLT: Or draft a guy like Landeskog, Brown, Pacioretty etc.
ReplyDeleteSo are we finally at Tambellini 3.1 or 4.0 at this point?
ReplyDeleteBest Sail On ever! Dennis DeYoung would be jealous.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tambo. This is almost better than the Smytty signing.
Do you think you could make your blog mobile friendly? In Blogger all it take is one click. It would make reading your posts much more enjoyable on my phone.
ReplyDeleteRob Schremp's Shinebox not welcome in Winnipeg. Didn't qualify him.
ReplyDeleteAny word on the other Oilers? I have a free agency post ready to roll but want to know about the rfa's before posting.
Tambo drafted some decent players, whored the LA Kings over Smyth, and now boots Crazy Train - perfect.
ReplyDeleteI understand. Some cannot like this guy, no matter what he does. I'm like that with MacT - even though I KNOW he was great in the 2006 playoffs, I'll die hating his regular season flaws - which are...many.
No brainer.
ReplyDeleteI frequently read Lowetide on my Android. No problem reading it at all.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I love the Interwebs.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Nov. 22,2006, Edmonton Fishwrap fake Q&A with Hockey Hall of Fame writer Jim Matheson:
Q. Do you think the Oilers committed a draft blunder in 2003 to make a draft-day trade with New Jersey to give them their 17th overall pick for the Devils' No. 23, and the Devils' second-round selection, losing out on Zach Parise and taking Marc-Antoine Pouliot instead?
A. Looks that way right now, although the second-round pick was turned into a hard-skating, bruising kid named J.F. Jacques, who might be an NHL third-liner some day.
Gawd that's beautiful. Trade down from a chance to draft Parise and instead take two complete POS. Who was their Q scout at the time? That's a bona fide franchise-wrecker.
Jonathan: I think it's friendly. I have significant readership from all kinds of things I've never heard of, this is the first time there's been a complaint.
ReplyDeleteWhere would I find the magic button (keeping in mind I once deleted the entire blog by accident)?
Lowetide : Man, that 2003 draft was a beauty.
ReplyDeleteThe stuff of nightmares really. Oh what might have been if someone competent had been in place.
Says a lot when your best player drafted that year came in the 7th round.
mistyr - "hey meester, you want to #*@% my seester"?
LT, in my Blogger account, I click on Settings and then Email & Mobile. Select "Yes, on mobile devices, show the mobile version of my template." I made the change to my own blog and it worked nicely. You might want to ask your readers first, if you thought about doing this.
ReplyDeleteHere is a day I didn't think would come.
ReplyDeleteNot that it makes me like the GM any better. So far, as has been pointed out, he has done the obvious things, sometimes a year or two late, and has not done the little things to keep the team competitively bad instead of horrifically, soul-crushing bad.
I will be impressed with Toonces only when his team is actually in playoff contention after an All-Star break (over under on that is 2013 All-Star game).
Jonathan: Nah, I've changed it. We'll see how many people react. :-)
ReplyDeleteSail on Baie Comeau Longshipman.
ReplyDeleteThank god there are finally enough other wingers on the roster to take your spot.
Never have I seen any organization re-drill a dry well so often.
I like the new mobile view on my blackberry, but it ate my post.
Magisterexx,
He became v3.1 after acquiring 94.
He won't become v4.0 until Hemsky is re-signed.
The .1 is for starting to add Actual NHL players.
I don't think we can give him full credit, Smyth bullied is way onto the roster, but I'm not checking the teeth on that horse.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI frequently read Lowetide on my Android. No problem reading it at all.
ReplyDeleteSame here. In fact it's easier to umlaut on my mobile. Important stuff these days.
I don't think we can give him full credit, Smyth bullied is way onto the roster, but I'm not checking the teeth on that horse.
ReplyDeletePerfect read.
#4 If a player doesn't want to do the job that you need him to do, get rid of him.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like Marc "I'm Not Guy Carbonneau!" Pouliot to me.
The 2003 draft wasn't as superficially disastrous as the famed 1990 washout, but it had an equivalent effect on the franchise. What an unmitigated fucking disaster.
Never mind trading down, they took the wrong guy when they got there. The finishing touches came last week when #24 Mike Richards was traded for three assets including Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds; #23 Ryan Kesler won the Selke Trophy; and #22 Marc Pouliot was traded from his second organization to his third for a 7th rounder FFS.
And the less said about #28 Corey Perry, the better. Wormstud!
I think the same can be said of your love of MacT.
ReplyDeleteWhen your coach starts playing a 7 minute-per-game 4th liner on the first power play because he sees more effort and "heart" from him, despite the completely obvious lack of talent, he's lost it :)
#4 If a player doesn't want to do the job that you need him to do, get rid of him.
ReplyDelete--
That sounds like Marc "I'm Not Guy Carbonneau!" Pouliot to me.
Cogs on the wing, anyone?
sadve - How JFJ feels today.