Tracking the Preaux Career of B.J. Ryan

[TheRaginCajun06]

Awesome!

I wish I could aquire him in a trade for my fantasy baseball team!

[NewsCopy]

Last season, he quietly became major league baseball's dominant set-up man.

This year, B. J. Ryan's arriving one inning later, and the numbers are equally eye-popping.

Not by coincidence, his Baltimore Orioles are in the thick of the American League East race, ahead of the New York Yankees and only two games behind defending World Series champion Boston at the All-Star break.

And Ryan, who seven seasons ago was the Most Outstanding Player in the Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament for Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns, adds a slightly more elite honor to his resumé this week.

Tonight at Comerica Park in Detroit, sitting right there in the American League All-Star dugout with the best in the game, will be a guy that the Sun Belt coaches didn't think was good enough to be on the all-conference first team.

It wasn't even a tough pick for this year's All-Star contest. Many people inside the game felt that the big lefthander from Bossier City could have been in last year's All-Star tilt.

"You can't measure what B.J. did for this team last season," Baltimore manager Lee Mazzilli told the Baltimore Sun before this season began. "I think he's one of the best in the game, left-handed, right-handed or whatever."

Ryan, ever the jovial Louisiana boy - except when pitching -, is only the third player in SLI/USL/UL history ever named to an All-Star team. The others - Ron Guidry and Al Dark - make for pretty good company.

"It's exciting," Ryan said last weekend, one week after his selection. "It's the kind of thing you call and tell your family about and they're excited for you."

The folks that may not be excited are National League hitters, if the AL gets into the late innings with a lead.

Ryan has made 28 mound appearances since May 1 as the Orioles' closer. In 26 of those games, the opposition hasn't managed a run. He's struck out 59 batters in 39 innings this year. He has 19 saves at the mid-point of the season.

More? His ERA in night games this year is 0.42, a fact that says something about how nasty his cutter can be away from the light of day. At home in Camden Yards this year, with a crowd that swells his confidence past his 6-foot-6, 255-pound frame, his ERA is 0.40.

The rest of the story

Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[RaginRash]

Turbine, where is that "Ragin' Cajun for Life" quote form BJ? That gets me geeked up.

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ESPN - Closer B.J. Ryan plans to enter the free agent market, Orioles executive vice president Mike Flanagan told the Baltimore Sun. Ryan's agent, John Courtright, informed the club that they had no interest in negotiating during the team's 15-day exclusive window. "We'll see when we get there, but we certainly have not been eliminated from that process," Flanagan told the paper. "It's what most players do when you've come this far. You're a couple of weeks away from being able to be a free agent. I can't think of too many cases where it's any different than that." The Orioles will likely be up against big spenders like the New York Mets, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The rest of the story -->

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The Toronto Blue Jays, with a payroll surplus of $25-30 million for next year, have made a bold statement that they intend to be big players in the AL East by signing lefty free agent reliever B.J. Ryan to a five-year $47 million contract, the Daily News has learned. The 6-6, 260-pound 29-year-old Ryan had 36 saves in 41 attempts for the Orioles this past season and had been pursued by the Indians, Tigers and Red Sox, with both the Mets and Phillies viewing him as a fallback in the event they couldn’t sign Billy Wagner. Early on, the Yankees talked to Ryan’s representive about the prospect of him being a set-up man for Mariano Rivera and were willing to pay him closer money ($8-9 million per year) to do it. However, Ryan told them he was only interested in closing and the Yankees would never have offered him more than three years. The rest of the story By BILL MADDEN DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

[JMV JustMyView]

Nice fat ||| contract...just sucks that he sign with a ||||ty team...none the less congrats to BJ...

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B.J. Ryan once described himself as a redneck. But it's a term that fits the Jays' new closer rather loosely. By all accounts, Ryan never assumed the stereotype profile. According to critics and handlers, he's carved a reputation as a very big lefty, one with a great wit and sense of humour, one who's a bit of a card in the clubhouse, but who keeps his opinions out of the public domain. "He's the kind of guy players enjoy having in the clubhouse. He was an instigator but it was always good fun with him," said University of Louisiana baseball coach Tony Robichaux, who had Ryan in 1997 and 1998, when his team won the Sun Belt Conference championship. "He never gave us any problems. He had the size and talent, and he was a good person. He's one of those people who you'd be disappointed about if they didn't go on to a great career." Ryan arrived with the Blue Jays yesterday after a tumultuous season in Baltimore with the Orioles, and back home in Bossier City, La., which is a six-hour drive northwest of flood-ravaged New Orleans. Ryan was often approached by reporters as the Orioles fell from first place to a distant fourth in the American League East. Players — including several relievers — confided in off-the-record reports that manager Lee Mazzilli had lost the confidence of his clubhouse, and was mishandling his bullpen. Mazzilli was fired Aug. 4, but Ryan never uttered a word to the media about the manager. Many reporters expected he had a strong opinion on the steroid disgrace that surrounded Rafael Palmeiro, and ultimately pulled the O's further into oblivion. Ryan, though, remained tight-lipped. "Those were tough times and some players put their team in tough," Ryan said. "They were isolated incidents and not something you pin on the organization." Ryan acknowledged his willingness to face critics after a blown save, but said after a win, he's just as comfortable hanging out in a corner of the dressing room with his buddies. The rest of the story MARK ZWOLINSKI

[CajunProud]

What a first class guy. Somebody who typifies what it means to be a Ragin Cajun. Congrats to him and his family. Once a Ragin Cajun, always a Ragin Cajun.

[CAJUNJUDO]

Nice fat ||| contract...just sucks that he sign with a ||||ty team...none the less congrats to BJ...

I was hoping he would re-sign with the Orioles, especially since Leo Mazzone was named pitching coach....

3 years, $18 million offer from the O's.....
or 5 years, $47 million from the Blue Jays

....I guess I would sign with a ||||ty team too!

....only to make more money to donate to UL of course!!!!!!

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In November 2001, J.P. Ricciardi returned to home base in Worcester, Mass., after being named general manager of the Blue Jays. Greeted by more than 300 phone messages, Ricciardi said he felt like Tom Hanks in the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. "Things were going on all around me," Ricciardi said. "I thought if I could ever get off the beach I'd be fine." Off the beach, Ricciardi has found his own Ryan. This one is named Robert Victor and nicknamed B. J. And he's here to save games. When B.J. Ryan was introduced yesterday at Rogers headquarters, no one mentioned Ryan's rank, but with a five-year, $47-million US deal, Ryan can call himself whatever he wants. The Jays outbid the the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees for Ryan's services -- much like in 1996 when then-president Paul Beeston brought Roger Clemens to town, giving him a three-year, $24.75-million deal. And now Ricciardi is looking for another high-ranking officer/free-agent, making a five-year, $55-million offer to outfielder Brian Giles. The 34-year-old left-handed hitter batted .301 this season with 15 homers and 83 RBIs in 158 games for the San Diego Padres. Ryan, meanwhile, has been on the job for just one full season, saving 36 of 41 attempts for the Baltimore Orioles. Now he has a five-year deal. The rest of the story By BOB ELLIOTT -- Toronto Sun

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DUNEDIN, Fla. -- B.J. Ryan has always been in a hurry. The Blue Jays' new closer's routine of coming to the mound from the bullpen is much like his ascent through the minor leagues -- a quick sprint. Ryan's rise up the ladder went like this: He was quick to sign out of college after leaving the Louisiana-Lafayette Rajin' Cajuns. He sped through the Cincinnati Reds organization so fast that it's hard to believe his change of address notices had any affect. He disposed of hitters toute suite closing for the Baltimore Orioles in 2005, his first year as a closer. And in November he was the first of five key additions to join the Jays when he signed a five-year, $47 million US deal. In 2005, Ryan chalked up some impressive numbers: l A total of 22 appearances where he faced the minimum three batters. l He struck out the side eight times. l Ryan picked up a win against New York Yankees June 28, working two innings and facing the minimum six hitters without allowing a hit or a walk. l In 69 games, covering 701/3 innings, Ryan walked 26 and struck out 100, averaging 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings. Like most good closers, Ryan grew into the role. First, though, he had to grow into a pitcher. He was a position player and pitched for the Centenary College Gents before transferring to the University of Louisiana. And his discovery was not one a scout a MoneyBall number cruncher would have made -- there were not any numbers to crunch. "A good coaching friend of mine who had been at Centenary told me how live his arm was," Reds scout Johnny Almaraz said. "I watched him taking infield at first and asked his coach if the game got one sided either way, if he could (let Ryan) pitch." Sure enough the game turned lopsided and coach Tony Robichaux brought Ryan on in relief. "He had arm strength, he was rolling out fastballs at 91-to-93 m.p.h.," Almaraz said of his first sighting of Ryan. "I knew what type of pick he was, I never asked again to see him pitch." Almaraz drafted Ryan in the 17th round of the 1998 round. However, the scout was a tad busy on draft day and for the next five days. "B.J. kept calling me, almost every day asking 'when are you coming to Shreveport to sign me, when are you coming?' " Almaraz recalled. The rest of the story BOB ELLIOTT TORONTO SUN

[BabbForHeisman]

Rajin' Cajuns? First time I've ever seen that.