Rumour: Eric Wedge to join Jays' front office.

[YogiStewart]

@Ken_Rosenthal 25m25 minutes ago
Sources: Eric Wedge a candidate to become part of #BlueJays’ front office after team names new GM. Managed under Shapiro with #Indians.

@Ken_Rosenthal 19m19 minutes ago
Clarification on Wedge: Role with #BlueJays, if hired, would not necessarily be in front office. Would be in organization in some capacity.

and somewhere in the deep south, John Gibbons feels a cold trickle of sweat shimmy down his scrote.

[rarefind]

You can almost say, Shapiro won't be content until he 'Wedges' Gibbons out of town.

[protothe]

This is ridiculous.
Why is he trying to recreate the Indians organization up here?

You can't play the same ball up here. We actually have a payroll. The same strategies will not apply, nor work, in the AL East.
Shapiro is going to drag this team downwards.

[Randle McMurphy]

This is ridiculous.
Why is he trying to recreate the Indians organization up here?

You can't play the same ball up here. We actually have a payroll. The same strategies will not apply, nor work, in the AL East.
Shapiro is going to drag this team downwards.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjVtUXCCnkU[/youtube]

[EH15]

This is ridiculous.
Why is he trying to recreate the Indians organization up here?

You can't play the same ball up here. We actually have a payroll. The same strategies will not apply, nor work, in the AL East.
Shapiro is going to drag this team downwards.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjVtUXCCnkU[/youtube]

I envision this is how we turned down Price. Replace Brad Pitt with David Price's agent and "Cleveland" with Toronto.

[Santoki]

This is ridiculous.
Why is he trying to recreate the Indians organization up here?

You can't play the same ball up here. We actually have a payroll. The same strategies will not apply, nor work, in the AL East.
Shapiro is going to drag this team downwards.

This is quite the overreaction.

[Gibby]

Dear lord just rename us the cleveland bluejays

[protothe]

This is ridiculous.
Why is he trying to recreate the Indians organization up here?

You can't play the same ball up here. We actually have a payroll. The same strategies will not apply, nor work, in the AL East.
Shapiro is going to drag this team downwards.

This is quite the overreaction.

Not if Ross Atkins joins the fold too.

[ldnk]

Wedge was a mess in Seattle. I don't want this to become a "bring in the old Cleveland guys" parade. I'm not a fan of Wedge and I don't like the idea that he's set up to be the next manager for the team. I'm jumping the gun so everything is just an IMO and not any basis on fact (before I get posts commenting on it) but I feel like this might be a bit of that push back that had AA not wanting anything to do with working under Shapiro.

[North_of_Border]

if your gonna bring over the whole Cleveland regime, youd aleast wanna start off with the Franconna guy

[The_Hater]

This is ridiculous.
Why is he trying to recreate the Indians organization up here?

You can't play the same ball up here. We actually have a payroll. The same strategies will not apply, nor work, in the AL East.
Shapiro is going to drag this team downwards.

It's fairly common in the business world for executives to surround themselves with past associates they like and trust and work well with. This isn't a Mark Shapiro thing. This isn't a trying to recreate the Cleveland Indians thing.

As for the rest of your post, that just seems like an anti-Shapiro rant based on nothing substantial. Because, you know, the AL east is so superior to the AL Central how could he possibly make the transition? He would have been easier for him to run an NHL team I'm sure.

[Indiana Jones]

if your gonna bring over the whole Cleveland regime, youd aleast wanna start off with the Franconna guy

Or maybe one of their good players.

[protothe]

This is ridiculous.
Why is he trying to recreate the Indians organization up here?

You can't play the same ball up here. We actually have a payroll. The same strategies will not apply, nor work, in the AL East.
Shapiro is going to drag this team downwards.

It's fairly common in the business world for executives to surround themselves with past associates they like and trust and work well with. This isn't a Mark Shapiro thing. This isn't a trying to recreate the Cleveland Indians thing.

As for the rest of your post, that just seems like an anti-Shapiro rant based on nothing substantial. Because, you know, the AL east is so superior to the AL Central how could he possibly make the transition? He would have been easier for him to run an NHL team I'm sure.

I think I'm fairly justified. I am hoping he is not done with his moves, but nothing he has done so far inspires any confidence (besides re-upping Estrada)
There have been enough moves made since he has come in that don't appear like good moves.
Banking on Happ doesn't sound like a good plan.

[The_Hater]

This is ridiculous.
Why is he trying to recreate the Indians organization up here?

You can't play the same ball up here. We actually have a payroll. The same strategies will not apply, nor work, in the AL East.
Shapiro is going to drag this team downwards.

It's fairly common in the business world for executives to surround themselves with past associates they like and trust and work well with. This isn't a Mark Shapiro thing. This isn't a trying to recreate the Cleveland Indians thing.

As for the rest of your post, that just seems like an anti-Shapiro rant based on nothing substantial. Because, you know, the AL east is so superior to the AL Central how could he possibly make the transition? He would have been easier for him to run an NHL team I'm sure.

I think I'm fairly justified. I am hoping he is not done with his moves, but nothing he has done so far inspires any confidence (besides re-upping Estrada)
There have been enough moves made since he has come in that don't appear like good moves.
Banking on Happ doesn't sound like a good plan.

You do realize that Shapiro is not the GM, right? And you're justifying your opinion based on exactly 3 off season moves, one of which you just stated that you like, and before they actually play any games on the field to really judge how these moves work out. Do you really think that's a fair sample of data to use? Youre not even letting the off season finish.

I think you've already made your mind up about Shapiro and you're obviously pro AA but he made a laundry list of bad decisions too, and that's based on a lot more evidence than just sticking 3 off season moves into a pro/con ledger. AA would have been working with the same budget and would have had to make the same difficult decisions regarding Price and whatever C level starters he could actually afford to bring in here but I guess he scores points just by being absent.

[Santoki]

It's fairly common in the business world for executives to surround themselves with past associates they like and trust and work well with. This isn't a Mark Shapiro thing. This isn't a trying to recreate the Cleveland Indians thing.

As for the rest of your post, that just seems like an anti-Shapiro rant based on nothing substantial. Because, you know, the AL east is so superior to the AL Central how could he possibly make the transition? He would have been easier for him to run an NHL team I'm sure.

I think I'm fairly justified. I am hoping he is not done with his moves, but nothing he has done so far inspires any confidence (besides re-upping Estrada)
There have been enough moves made since he has come in that don't appear like good moves.
Banking on Happ doesn't sound like a good plan.

You do realize that Shapiro is not the GM, right? And you're justifying your opinion based on exactly 3 off season moves, one of which you just stated that you like, and before they actually play any games on the field to really judge how these moves work out. Do you really think that's a fair sample of data to use? Youre not even letting the off season finish.

I think you've already made your mind up about Shapiro and you're obviously pro AA but he made a laundry list of bad decisions too, and that's based on a lot more evidence than just sticking 3 off season moves into a pro/con ledger. AA would have been working with the same budget and would have had to make the same difficult decisions regarding Price and whatever C level starters he could actually afford to bring in here but I guess he scores points just by being absent.

No, man, AA/Beeston had a great track record of signing top free agents on the market. If it wasn't for Shapiro convincing the board to be cheap, we would have had David Price. He's the real enemy here.

Long live AA/Beeston and their willingness to win! They even changed the culture so much that players were willing to defer their salary to sign guys. Now that's a winning culture!

[The_Hater]

I think I'm fairly justified. I am hoping he is not done with his moves, but nothing he has done so far inspires any confidence (besides re-upping Estrada)
There have been enough moves made since he has come in that don't appear like good moves.
Banking on Happ doesn't sound like a good plan.

You do realize that Shapiro is not the GM, right? And you're justifying your opinion based on exactly 3 off season moves, one of which you just stated that you like, and before they actually play any games on the field to really judge how these moves work out. Do you really think that's a fair sample of data to use? Youre not even letting the off season finish.

I think you've already made your mind up about Shapiro and you're obviously pro AA but he made a laundry list of bad decisions too, and that's based on a lot more evidence than just sticking 3 off season moves into a pro/con ledger. AA would have been working with the same budget and would have had to make the same difficult decisions regarding Price and whatever C level starters he could actually afford to bring in here but I guess he scores points just by being absent.

No, man, AA/Beeston had a great track record of signing top free agents on the market. If it wasn't for Shapiro convincing the board to be cheap, we would have had David Price. He's the real enemy here.

Long live AA/Beeston and their willingness to win! They even changed the culture so much that players were willing to defer their salary to sign guys. Now that's a winning culture!

One would think that the Jays made the playoffs more than just the once wouldn't they? Only in the Toronto sports market is just making the playoffs a huge accomplishment. That's how bad the past 20 years have been.

[protothe]

You do realize that Shapiro is not the GM, right? And you're justifying your opinion based on exactly 3 off season moves, one of which you just stated that you like, and before they actually play any games on the field to really judge how these moves work out. Do you really think that's a fair sample of data to use? Youre not even letting the off season finish.

I think you've already made your mind up about Shapiro and you're obviously pro AA but he made a laundry list of bad decisions too, and that's based on a lot more evidence than just sticking 3 off season moves into a pro/con ledger. AA would have been working with the same budget and would have had to make the same difficult decisions regarding Price and whatever C level starters he could actually afford to bring in here but I guess he scores points just by being absent.

No, man, AA/Beeston had a great track record of signing top free agents on the market. If it wasn't for Shapiro convincing the board to be cheap, we would have had David Price. He's the real enemy here.

Long live AA/Beeston and their willingness to win! They even changed the culture so much that players were willing to defer their salary to sign guys. Now that's a winning culture!

One would think that the Jays made the playoffs more than just the once wouldn't they? Only in the Toronto sports market is just making the playoffs a huge accomplishment. That's how bad the past 20 years have been.

AA's track record is also very spotty. There have been a multitude of failed trades and experiments, but he does do one thing, and that's take risks, and lots of them. He stopped playing it safe ages ago, and that's something I can respect and get behind. It's go big or go home.

We can all act like LaCava is responsible for these moves, but we sure damn know Shapiro had influence on them.
The blame isn't on Shapiro as much as it is on Rogers for payroll restrictions. It seems like they are okay with the Blue Jays plateauing and treading water, even though they were in a prime position to keep pushing forward.

You can say all you want about letting these moves play out, but you cannot honestly tell me that, as of right now, this lineup is better than the one that we had at the end of the season.

[Santoki]

No, man, AA/Beeston had a great track record of signing top free agents on the market. If it wasn't for Shapiro convincing the board to be cheap, we would have had David Price. He's the real enemy here.

Long live AA/Beeston and their willingness to win! They even changed the culture so much that players were willing to defer their salary to sign guys. Now that's a winning culture!

One would think that the Jays made the playoffs more than just the once wouldn't they? Only in the Toronto sports market is just making the playoffs a huge accomplishment. That's how bad the past 20 years have been.

AA's track record is also very spotty. There have been a multitude of failed trades and experiments, but he does do one thing, and that's take risks, and lots of them. He stopped playing it safe ages ago, and that's something I can respect and get behind. It's go big or go home.

We can all act like LaCava is responsible for these moves, but we sure damn know Shapiro had influence on them.
The blame isn't on Shapiro as much as it is on Rogers for payroll restrictions. It seems like they are okay with the Blue Jays plateauing and treading water, even though they were in a prime position to keep pushing forward.

You can say all you want about letting these moves play out, but you cannot honestly tell me that, as of right now, this lineup is better than the one that we had at the end of the season.

Obviously not but it doesn't need to be as good on paper as the end of the last season on December 2nd. Why are we judging AA on his last two months of 6 years here but giving Lecava/Shapiro only two months and 3 moves similar to what AA would have been able to do?

AA/Beeston were not going to convince Rogers to sign David Price to 7/217. Beeston had his famous 5 year policy. So what exactly do you want from Shapiro/Lecava at this moment? I'm truly trying to understand that from some people here. Aa was the guy that went all of last offseason without signing a single pitcher when the team needed a rotation. And now somehow AA would have fared better putting this rotation together over this offseason. People have selective and short memories. Going into this past season the rotation was atrocious. Why don't people remember that? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills sometimes.

[The_Hater]

No, man, AA/Beeston had a great track record of signing top free agents on the market. If it wasn't for Shapiro convincing the board to be cheap, we would have had David Price. He's the real enemy here.

Long live AA/Beeston and their willingness to win! They even changed the culture so much that players were willing to defer their salary to sign guys. Now that's a winning culture!

One would think that the Jays made the playoffs more than just the once wouldn't they? Only in the Toronto sports market is just making the playoffs a huge accomplishment. That's how bad the past 20 years have been.

AA's track record is also very spotty. There have been a multitude of failed trades and experiments, but he does do one thing, and that's take risks, and lots of them. He stopped playing it safe ages ago, and that's something I can respect and get behind. It's go big or go home.

We can all act like LaCava is responsible for these moves, but we sure damn know Shapiro had influence on them.
The blame isn't on Shapiro as much as it is on Rogers for payroll restrictions. It seems like they are okay with the Blue Jays plateauing and treading water, even though they were in a prime position to keep pushing forward.

You can say all you want about letting these moves play out, but you cannot honestly tell me that, as of right now, this lineup is better than the one that we had at the end of the season.

Don't get me wrong, I was always in AA's corner and the job he did his final 12 months in charge was truly spectacular. I was sad to see him go.

But writing off Shapiro and LaCava based on their first 3 off season moves is truly ridiculous. I can only guess that anyone jumping on them so quickly had already written them off before they got started. There are hundreds more moves coming and hundreds apon hundreds of games to be played before the job they did can truly be judged. Heck we'd have to judge AA on his 6th and final season if we want to give him a high grade right? There wasn't much to look at prior to 2015 and I don't think people would have been crying about this move had it been made 12 months ago. Plus we also need to keep in mind that Rogers does have a budget in place which keeps the new group from making the spectacular type moves AA made this past summer when Rogers allowed him to add millions to the payroll.

And of course the current lineup isn't better than the one that finished the season, we just lost David Price. The only way that was going to happen was if Rogers added another $40-50 million to the payroll which didn't happen. Do you honestly think the current roster would look that much stronger right now with AA in charge? Because it wouldn't.

[protothe]

One would think that the Jays made the playoffs more than just the once wouldn't they? Only in the Toronto sports market is just making the playoffs a huge accomplishment. That's how bad the past 20 years have been.

AA's track record is also very spotty. There have been a multitude of failed trades and experiments, but he does do one thing, and that's take risks, and lots of them. He stopped playing it safe ages ago, and that's something I can respect and get behind. It's go big or go home.

We can all act like LaCava is responsible for these moves, but we sure damn know Shapiro had influence on them.
The blame isn't on Shapiro as much as it is on Rogers for payroll restrictions. It seems like they are okay with the Blue Jays plateauing and treading water, even though they were in a prime position to keep pushing forward.

You can say all you want about letting these moves play out, but you cannot honestly tell me that, as of right now, this lineup is better than the one that we had at the end of the season.

Obviously not but it doesn't need to be as good on paper as the end of the last season on December 2nd. Why are we judging AA on his last two months of 6 years here but giving Lecava/Shapiro only two months and 3 moves similar to what AA would have been able to do?

AA/Beeston were not going to convince Rogers to sign David Price to 7/217. Beeston had his famous 5 year policy. So what exactly do you want from Shapiro/Lecava at this moment? I'm truly trying to understand that from some people here. Aa was the guy that went all of last offseason without signing a single pitcher when the team needed a rotation. And now somehow AA would have fared better putting this rotation together over this offseason. People have selective and short memories. Going into this past season the rotation was atrocious. Why don't people remember that? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills sometimes.

Honestly, I would've rather them not sign anyone besides Marco than pay $11/year for Happ. I'd rather have Hendricks than Chavez.

Sorry, I think I'm still reminiscing of Happ's 4.5ERA over the course of 3 years here to think our rotation can sustain anything.