The Toronto Blue Jays fired general manager J.P. Ricciardi Saturday after eight unsuccessful years on the job, that saw Canada's only major league baseball team continually shut out of the playoffs.

"This was a tough decision and a difficult one for me personally as I have enjoyed J.P.'s friendship and his perspective on the game," acting president and CEO Paul Beeston said in a statement.

"J.P. has put an incredible amount of effort into improving the team and he has brought along a number of great young players. However, I feel that it is time for a change and accordingly we have decided to move on."

Ricciardi had one year left on his contract. Montreal native Alexander Anthopoulos, who was serving as the team's assistant general manager and vice president of baseball operations, will take over the GM job.

The team made the announcement ahead of its second-last game of the season against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Jays, with a 75-85 record, are finishing a season where they performed well below expectations.

There are also reports that a number of players are unhappy with manger Cito Gaston, which explains the team's mid-season collapse after a strong start.

Those issues are expected to be addressed at a meeting between the players and Beeston this weekend.

Ricciardi joined the team in 2001, but failed to return it to the glory days of 1992 and 1993, when the Jays won back-to-back World Series titles.

The best record a Jays team managed to post under Ricciardi's stewardship was 87-75 in 2006, finishing second in the American League East. However, they never it made it to the post-season while he was on the job.

In addition to losing teams, allegations of mismanagement also plagued Ricciardi. When he let it be known earlier this year that he was open to trading pitching ace Roy Halladay, his overtures to other teams made him appear disloyal to one of his star players.

In recent years, he has also taken heat for questioning whether former pitcher A.J. Burnett was as injured as he claimed, and for high-priced deals for players, such as Frank Thomas and B.J. Ryan, that went on to under-perform.

His blunt speaking style also alienated fans and foes alike.

He criticized pitcher Gil Meche for signing with Kansas City instead of Toronto

"When a guy talks about coming to our place where he has a chance to win and compete against the Yankees and the Red Sox, and then he goes to a place like Kansas City, that's an eye-opener," Ricciardi said of pitcher Gil Meche when he chose to sign with Kansas City instead of Toronto in the winter of 2006.

In response to the comments, Royals manager Buddy Bell called Ricciardi, "a little guy with a big mouth and all he does is whine. ... Every time I hear this guy talk, all he's doing is whining."

Meanwhile, in addition to sorting out the players' problems with their manager, the team is also still hunting for a permanent president who must establish a vision for the team's future.

With files from The Canadian Press