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Having spent most of his first four years trimming the fat from the payroll, J.P. Ricciardi finally had himself positioned to make a big splash last winter, and splash he did, like an offensive lineman doing a cannonball into a swimming pool. It paid off, as the additions of A.J. Burnett, Troy Glaus, B.J. Ryan, and Lyle Overbay helped the team push past the slumping Red Sox to a second-place finish in the AL East, giving Ontarians plenty of Hope and Faith that a return to the playoffs could be in the offing for 2007.

This enhanced capacity to generate a more long-term view of the data was never more helpful than in choosing the 2006 winner. The winning franchise took home the prize this year after displaying a remarkable three-year consistency in keeping players healthy and off the DL, averaging only 355 Days Lost to the DL per season since 2004. We don't want you to see this as a "lifetime achievement" award either; on the contrary, this year's winner's medical staff did an outstanding job during 2006. They had only four players on the DL all season, and only two of those player injuries were truly unexpected. Our winners also finished second in player days lost to the DL, and third in the percentage of payroll lost to the DL.

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