March 31, 2005
Billy Koch is Hopping Mad
Billy Koch is rather upset with the Toronto Blue Jays organization these days. After being released two-weeks ago, Koch is struggling to rationalize the teams quick decision. Well this struggle has seemingly led to anger. The Toronto Sun is reporting a meeting with Koch in which he took a bite out of his former team.
Koch claims it was reportedly his lax work ethic causing his recent release. He then asks how a team could cut someone after four trips to the mound. Dear Billy, perhaps it was the $950,000 commitment coupled with your 15.00 spring ERA that signaled to management it was time to part ways. You burned General Manager JP Ricciardi when he brought you to Oakland. He was certainly not going to let you get the best of him for a second time.
When asked if he would join another team, therefore negating the Jays contract, Billy simply replied "Nope". He later went on to add that, "I’m going to make the Toronto Blue Jays pay every cent of my salary. They can pay my gas money for my car, they can pay to fill up my 240-gallon tank for my 30-foot Pursuit, they can gas up my jet boat and our three jet skis." That sounds like more gas than the 95 mph fastballs Koch wildly guns all over home plate.
He has however enjoyed the opportunity to spend significant time with his family this spring. Living close to the Jays training grounds, he speaks fondly of the opportunity he had to dress up as the Easter Bunny and surprise his kids this past weekend. "My wife said 'what's that on the lawn?' The kids looked out and for two seconds they didn't know what to think, then they recognized it was me hopping up and down. It was 130F degrees inside the suit." Don’t worry Billy, Torontoist can re-count numerous times where you’ve looked equally ridiculous serving up blown-save after blown-save in your #44 Jays jersey.
Taking his children’s classmates to the Jays opening game against the local Devil Rays this upcoming Monday, Koch put the icing on the cake when one of his kid’s friends asked him whether they were still going to the game. His reply? "Not only are we going, but I'll be sitting with you and we'll be holding up signs reading 'Go Devil Rays!' "
Thanks for wasting our time again Billy. Atleast the Jays will have somewhere between four and seven more wins with you out of their lineup this year.
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this guy is such trash.
Dont you just love his stringy goatee though?
It would be nice to say Koch burned JP for bringing him to Oakland, except that it isn't true. Ricciardi had already become the Jays GM at that point and is also the guy who shipped him away for the 2002 rookie of the year Eric Hinske and Justin Miller.
And while I'm no fan of Mr. Koch's abilities or his contract (you could argue Lightenberg was a far worse investment at 2 mil this year) citing a 15.00 ERA based on 3 innings of work is reaching and misleading. Under that logic, Chacin who is tentatively #2 or 3 in the rotation should be let go or demoted because his ERA is poor as well despite being given 20 innings of work.
I stand corrected about the Oakland issue. But Lightenberg, also cut yesterday, has had many good years, and was effective seemingly right till the point he came to the jays.
we all saw koch before and knew he was garbage. this discussion could easily have be foreseen.
You clearly missed the point though David. I just needed to fill the story about him wearing the bunny suit.. he looks good.. perhaps he can get a job hugging kids at canada's wonderland while he waits for the jays to make another mistake trying his arm for a 3rd time.
Adrian there's two ways of looking at it: Either Koch can rack up the miles driving back and forth to Wonderland and charge the gas and mileage to the front office, but I'm thinking if he's in Tampa babysitting anyways why not look for something a little more stable at say, Busch Gardens? And for the sake of Toronto, let us pray JP doesn't develop Tony Fernandez syndrome and bring him back in every odd numbered year.
It's sad that Koch's career fell apart so quickly. He seemed so promising. But pitchers often get blown out early. Very few of them have long careers. It might have been an error to bring him back with such a contract after leaving both Chicago and Florida the previous season with such poor numbers. But the Jays were good to offer him a chance to revitalize his career. It just didn't work out for either of them.
I remember that Kelly Gruber was pretty angry at the Jays after they traded him away just after the 1992 World Series. At the time he was ending his playing days on a really sour note, but many years later has come to appreciate how the Blue Jays treated him. A few years from now Koch may return as a coach in the system. Sorry to see these two players fizzle out so soon.