The Shapiro & Rogers Megathread

[ratul]

Wonder if ratool still sees Luhnow as the gold standard.

Definitely think shats are the brown standard

[phillipmike]

Wonder if ratool still sees Luhnow as the gold standard.

Definitely think shats are the brown standard

Game knows game.

[polo007]

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[Westside Gunn]

Speaking of renovations will they do anything about the Skydome? Park is getting old, has there been any discussions to build a more traditional baseball park? Ontario Place is perfect

[polo007]

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[metafisical]

Speaking of renovations will they do anything about the Skydome? Park is getting old, has there been any discussions to build a more traditional baseball park? Ontario Place is perfect

No, Ontario Place is not perfect. It is an artificial piece of land. Every year, it sinks into the lake by a few centimetres. The location is good but it is not meant for a baseball field as currently constructed.

If they build a new stadium, it may have to be outside the downtown core.

[fbalmeida]

Skydome is architecturally perfect for the city, but it has always been a cavernous and graceless place to play baseball in. Especially when closed. Tough to resolve. I say keep the outer dome and massively renovate the interior if possible.

[dagger]

Speaking of renovations will they do anything about the Skydome? Park is getting old, has there been any discussions to build a more traditional baseball park? Ontario Place is perfect

No, Ontario Place is not perfect. It is an artificial piece of land. Every year, it sinks into the lake by a few centimetres. The location is good but it is not meant for a baseball field as currently constructed.

If they build a new stadium, it may have to be outside the downtown core.

Also, until the so-called Ontario Line subway is built, the transit options anywhere at the CNE and Ontario Place are inferior to those of the Skydome.

[Westside Gunn]

Speaking of renovations will they do anything about the Skydome? Park is getting old, has there been any discussions to build a more traditional baseball park? Ontario Place is perfect

No, Ontario Place is not perfect. It is an artificial piece of land. Every year, it sinks into the lake by a few centimetres. The location is good but it is not meant for a baseball field as currently constructed.

If they build a new stadium, it may have to be outside the downtown core.

Also, until the so-called Ontario Line subway is built, the transit options anywhere at the CNE and Ontario Place are inferior to those of the Skydome.

Is a new stadium even a possibility?

I was thinking with the current situation in real estate, rogers can see plenty of money by selling that land to condo developers. They bought it for 20 million IIRC

Its almost 800k starting for brand new units.

[dagger]

No, Ontario Place is not perfect. It is an artificial piece of land. Every year, it sinks into the lake by a few centimetres. The location is good but it is not meant for a baseball field as currently constructed.

If they build a new stadium, it may have to be outside the downtown core.

Also, until the so-called Ontario Line subway is built, the transit options anywhere at the CNE and Ontario Place are inferior to those of the Skydome.

Is a new stadium even a possibility?

I was thinking with the current situation in real estate, rogers can see plenty of money by selling that land to condo developers. They bought it for 20 million IIRC

Its almost 800k starting for brand new units.

I'd be more interested in the demolition cost of the stadium and how that would affect a developer's purchase price of the land

[Ado05]

I dont think Rogers will move them Rogers Centre. Maybe they give it the MSG treatment?

Idk, but the stadium is one of the worst in the MLB. They should do something about it.

[BigLeagueChew]

They recently replaced the roof.

https://www.ellisdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/rogerscentre_roof_FINALWeb.pdf

Also supposed to be a big announcement coming that effects more than just Rogers centre:

“We continue to talk about some other larger-scale issues. We’re obviously doing the premium club as well. But the larger-scale project is mainly being run and taken over at an ownership level because it is large in scale. It does involve more than Rogers Centre. That’s really the extent that I can talk about it right now."

https://bluejaysnation.com/2019/03/27/latest-rogers-centre-renovation-update/

That was from last year.

[polo007]

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[polo007]

Q&A: Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro on the postponed season, pitching and more – The Athletic

Has your organization been able to stay in touch with your players to make sure they are staying in shape?

We are systematic with the players on our 40-man roster. We have an array of people that are contacting the players to ensure the mental and physical well-being of the players and their loved ones is the top priority. After that, we focus on the players’ ability to maintain conditioning both physically and baseball-wise. We have the rare opportunity to utilize advanced creative methods to help some players with different resources and processes than we normally would have the time to focus on.

What are your personal thoughts on starting spring training and the season in Arizona?

I will not comment on any one scenario. However, in general, we need to be very open-minded — particularly to make sure we put player and fan safety first for any consideration. If we want to push the pace, then we have to be open-minded to any option. My greatest hope in all this is that Major League Baseball and the Players Association emerge as partners and stakeholders in bringing the game back in a strong position.

How excited are you about your young nucleus of players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Nate Pearson and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.?

Yes, that’s the most challenging part of what we are going through now, which was emotionally leaving spring training and being around this team. There is a belief in this team by the players which was palpable. The players don’t think about the time frames others have stamped us with. One part of our job is to weigh the objective context regarding our individual players and team projection. However, there are other factors that can lead to players and the team exceeding our expectations. The group we have believe they will do the latter and have a chance to do special things sooner than most people think. That is based mostly on belief in themselves and each other as teammates.

Was the signing of free-agent left-handed starter Hyun-Jin Ryu a sign that you believe your team is ready to contend this year?

I think that was a signing based on listening to our players’ perception of our present situation and our current organizational dynamic. We have more position players than pitchers that are major-league ready to impact and we needed more balance. We never go into the free-agent pitching market lightly. However, it’s tough to get a top-of-rotation type pitcher that can deliver in big games. Sometimes as a leader, you have to go outside your comfort zone and in this case, that was somewhat based upon our players’ belief that they are closer to winning than people think. This is and was the biggest need of our team and we’re glad we were able to find a good fit with Ryu and work towards an agreement with him.

If baseball does return, how long do you think the second spring training needs to be?

That’s too difficult to answer because it’s dependent on a lot of variables. All the different rules, roster composition, length of games (7 innings compared to 9) could speed it up dramatically … we need to find out what shape all the players are in, and so on. We could do it faster than three to four weeks like we did in 1995, but we would need significant changes that consider what shape our players are in and what roster and game rules are in place that help protect our players’ health, the pitchers in particular.

What do you think about the idea of having the playoffs and World Series in neutral sites or domed stadiums this year?

I think this year we need to be very open-minded to whatever provides our greatest opportunity to play games and reignite interest with our fans.

Will the new roster limits — in particular from Sept. 1 on — mean that we will see fewer top prospects in the final months of a season?

I think it’s a good rule because it puts all teams on an even playing field for some of the most important games played. Accordingly, I think roster composition needs to be even at that time especially. The desire to have the best players on the field — young or veteran — should result in still seeing some of the best of the game’s prospects in September.

What is your team’s biggest need right now?

Pitching, pitching and more pitching. Also, probably more of a traditional center fielder, but we have lots of outfielders and we would like to give them an opportunity before adding to that mix.

Who is the best prospect in your farm system that no one is talking about?

Alejandro Kirk, a 21-year-old catching prospect from Tijuana, Mexico. He impressed all of us in spring training. He is an unconventional prospect. He has a 5-foot-9, 200-pound frame and rare body shape. He has a very, very rare hit tool. He has great plate discipline and tremendous quality at-bats. He also has improved as a receiver and is much better back there than most people think.

[polo007]

Mark Shapiro hopes to find the best case scenario on where the Blue Jays will play

June 26 2020

President and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays Mark Shapiro discussed the process of finding a location to play their regular season focusing on two options in Toronto or Dunedin, choosing the best case scenario for the team, how could Buffalo play a role for the Jays, what it will mean when the sport of baseball resumes, testing process for staff members and players, if Nate Pearson has a chance to be a part of the team when the season gets going and the signing process for Austin Martin.

[polo007]

Mark Shapiro on Vlad Jr., Nate Pearson, and getting set-up in Buffalo

August 13, 2020

The Blue Jays President and CEO discusses the weeks leading up to getting Buffalo ready for the club, how prospects are staying ready, developing, the organization's plan if a COVID-19 outbreak was to affect the team, Vlad Guerrero Jr.'s development, expectations for Nate Pearson, and what the trade deadline may look like.

[polo007]

Mets, Phillies comprehensive list of front office candidates – The Athletic

Mark Shapiro, president/CEO, Blue Jays

One rival exec views Shapiro as precisely the type of process-oriented leader who might appeal to the Mets, but don’t count on such a move happening. Working under Alderson would be a step down for Shapiro, who enjoys rare autonomy under the Rogers Communication ownership, and even represents the team at owners’ meetings.

Shapiro, 53, relishes his opportunity to impact the game from a global perspective, an opportunity virtually no other team can offer. His original five-year contract expired at the end of the 2020 season, but evidently he agreed to an extension of unknown length. The Jays are on the rise, and Shapiro wants to see the job through.

[ratul]

Theo Epstein is available Rogers. Theo Epstein. Show him the cash and make it happen!

[Steelo Green]

They Jays are going to have developed 3-5+ positional players which they couldn’t do for literally two decades.

Anyone who dislikes Shatkins is just needlessly complaining.

They built the right way through the draft and have more players in the minors who could be stars.