The once tight-fisted Jays have become as acquisitive as Elton John at a Tiffany’s sale. That’s because last fall, Jays owner Ted Rogers handed his sizable wallet over to the team’s general manager, J.P. Ricciardi, who promptly went on a George Steinbrenner–esque free-agent spending spree ($55 million for starting pitcher A.J. Burnett; $47 million for relief pitcher B.J. Ryan; $46.5 million more for hitters Troy Glaus, Lyle Overbay and Bengie Molina). It remains to be seen if Big Ted’s bucks will bring the fans—and the playoffs—back to the Rogers Centre. But, if nothing else, the binge has created some desperately needed buzz around the long-dormant baseball franchise and its 46-year-old, headline-grabbing, history-buff GM, the Massachusetts-bred Ricciardi.

How much fun was it to spend Ted Rogers’ money?
It’s only fun if you can get the guys and they go out and play well, so we’ll know as the season unfolds.

Do the Jays have any chance of getting back to the attendance figures of the early ’90s?
I see more and more people getting interested in the club. I do see a day when they’ll come back in droves.

Which historical figure do you admire most?
Probably Abraham Lincoln. The guy failed at everything until he finally got elected to the U.S. Senate. From there, he took off and didn’t let failure get in his way. He took the U.S. through one of the most critical times in its history: the Civil War and the freeing of the slaves.

Would Lincoln be aggressive as a baseball manager, or would he sit back and wait for the three-run homer?
He’d probably be a patient guy; he endured the entire Civil War, so I can’t believe he’d be someone who would want to do things quickly. He’d probably sit back and take a lot of pitches and a lot of walks.