The Shapiro & Rogers Megathread

[C Court]

This article talks about how while McCown still dominates radio, his TV viewership numbers are 13,000 vs 100,000 for Tim & Sid who are on the main Sportsnet networks instead of PTS.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/prime-times-mccown-declining-in-value-as-rogers-shifts-focus-to-tv/article26490054/

This article details McCown's hissy fit which led to the departure of Brunt.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/bob-mccown-looking-for-new-prime-time-co-host/article26376042/

[Santoki]

This article talks about how while McCown still dominates radio, his TV viewership numbers are 13,000 vs 100,000 for Tim & Sid who are on the main Sportsnet networks instead of PTS.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/prime-times-mccown-declining-in-value-as-rogers-shifts-focus-to-tv/article26490054/

This article details McCown's hissy fit which led to the departure of Brunt.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/bob-mccown-looking-for-new-prime-time-co-host/article26376042/

I never realized he left mainly because I stopped listening to the Fan and especially Bob's show. It used to be must-listen for me on the drive home, but over the years the show has become awful. It's painfully obvious that Bob doesn't actually watch sports anymore and the level of insight and analysis is frankly embarrassing at times especially when he's flanked by any combination of Shannon, Cox or Ken Reid.

Brunt was the only reason the show was worth listening to because he was clearly a level above everyone else on the panel. He can legitimately speak knowledgeably about every sport including ones Bob loves to dismiss like soccer. The Fan is an absolute mess right now and there really isn't any show that's worth tuning into. It's a shame really because I bet there are a lot of talented people in the city and around the country but Sportsnet's collection of employees is embarrassingly inept led by the worst faction of hockey panelists in the past 30 years.

[C Court]

This article talks about how while McCown still dominates radio, his TV viewership numbers are 13,000 vs 100,000 for Tim & Sid who are on the main Sportsnet networks instead of PTS.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/prime-times-mccown-declining-in-value-as-rogers-shifts-focus-to-tv/article26490054/

This article details McCown's hissy fit which led to the departure of Brunt.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/bob-mccown-looking-for-new-prime-time-co-host/article26376042/

I never realized he left mainly because I stopped listening to the Fan and especially Bob's show. It used to be must-listen for me on the drive home, but over the years the show has become awful. It's painfully obvious that Bob doesn't actually watch sports anymore and the level of insight and analysis is frankly embarrassing at times especially when he's flanked by any combination of Shannon, Cox or Ken Reid.

Brunt was the only reason the show was worth listening to because he was clearly a level above everyone else on the panel. He can legitimately speak knowledgeably about every sport including ones Bob loves to dismiss like soccer. The Fan is an absolute mess right now and there really isn't any show that's worth tuning into. It's a shame really because I bet there are a lot of talented people in the city and around the country but Sportsnet's collection of employees is embarrassingly inept led by the worst faction of hockey panelists in the past 30 years.

Agreed. I find it very difficult to listen to PTS. McCown's sports knowledge is non-existent which is why he focuses on old stories like Pete Rose and other trips down memory lane. It seems like McCown doesn't even follow current sports, other than as a casual observer.

His guests and co-hosts are not much better. John Shannon is awful. And the weekly conversation with Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe is simply boring. That's why I find myself switching elsewhere after a few minutes of PTS.

[OakleyDokely]

Rogers is the best. They buy a stadium for almost nothing, invest very little to improve it over the 10 years they've owned it, pocket the big profits made off it, and then tell fans that being one of only two teams in MLB without grass is just fine.

[Santoki]

This article talks about how while McCown still dominates radio, his TV viewership numbers are 13,000 vs 100,000 for Tim & Sid who are on the main Sportsnet networks instead of PTS.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/prime-times-mccown-declining-in-value-as-rogers-shifts-focus-to-tv/article26490054/

This article details McCown's hissy fit which led to the departure of Brunt.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/bob-mccown-looking-for-new-prime-time-co-host/article26376042/

I never realized he left mainly because I stopped listening to the Fan and especially Bob's show. It used to be must-listen for me on the drive home, but over the years the show has become awful. It's painfully obvious that Bob doesn't actually watch sports anymore and the level of insight and analysis is frankly embarrassing at times especially when he's flanked by any combination of Shannon, Cox or Ken Reid.

Brunt was the only reason the show was worth listening to because he was clearly a level above everyone else on the panel. He can legitimately speak knowledgeably about every sport including ones Bob loves to dismiss like soccer. The Fan is an absolute mess right now and there really isn't any show that's worth tuning into. It's a shame really because I bet there are a lot of talented people in the city and around the country but Sportsnet's collection of employees is embarrassingly inept led by the worst faction of hockey panelists in the past 30 years.

Agreed. I find it very difficult to listen to PTS. McCown's sports knowledge is non-existent which is why he focuses on old stories like Pete Rose and other trips down memory lane. It seems like McCown doesn't even follow current sports, other than as a casual observer.

His guests and co-hosts are not much better. John Shannon is awful. And the weekly conversation with Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe is simply boring. That's why I find myself switching elsewhere after a few minutes of PTS.

And when they need to fill in about 10 minutes waiting for a guest him and Shannon will go on and on about the most nonsensical topics. Man, if you're out of ideas of what to talk about, just pick any sport and any topic and go with it. Instead they'll drone on about the time he worked with someone no one has ever heard of 30 years ago in Vegas.

[The Duke]

-If they go the dirt route, hopefully they get the dirt from Muskoka, cuz they actually have the best dirt (and can "produce" better dirt with certain properties based on the sport, and is used around the world in beach vollyball (olympics etc) and golf to name a few.

-Honestly if Beeston was not leaving, I don't think AA gets approval to make those trades. I think AA knew he was not coming back, once the search starting and gaining steam, he was going to be the lame duck whomever came in (his opinion mid season), and so proposed "selling the farm" deals, so that he could put a better team on the field (likely he would look better for his future employer). Frankly, I'm suprised they allowed the trades. Price was never going to be retained with whichever GM we had/have.

-Its not about $30-40M of this offseason spending (impacting this year), its that Rogers don't want to committ to $300M of future spending. Thats the reason, we we're able to really get better Starting Pitching options. We we handcuff to very short deals. With short deals, come "risk" of said player being good because the skill level is not going to be hugely high. It comes with the terriority. I don't think having AA would have changed anything, especially with the CDN dollar where it is now.

-This is the pradictable contraints that Rogers is going to live within. Sure its sucks, but I'm not losing sleep over it. If you have a serious problem with it, then its likely better to find another team.

[The Duke]

Also - if our offense/defense comes to play, and Stroman beasts, and we can get decent play from Dickey/Estrada and just merely average play from the rest of the starters and (as expected) from the pen.... you got to think that we'll be in the thick of things come July again.

And guess what, everyone will wake up and remember that omg 2016 our window is closing!!

So expect Shapiro to get approval to swing a deadline deal for a SP rental giving up more prospects, and we try to do something. Fans will flock back, ad-revenue will go up, and viewership will return, and we'll have a decent team down the stretch. Will it be enough to make the playoffs? who knows, but we'll see.... They'll try and generate similar to last year getting a wildcard, and they would have done it all without having to give up $300M in long term contracts (when everyone is acknowledging that our window ends this year).

..... when it happens, lets just remember that a spade is a spade and rental is a rental, and not get our panties in a knot, when we don't retain the rental.

[C Court]

I couldn't take more than five minutes of PTS with McCown and Perkins talking about how they believe that Shapiro will be fired within two years. They believe he inherited an odds-on favorite to win the World Series and he has turned them into a middle of the pack team in just two months.

Of course, they are getting all tingly in their pants because at 6:00 their buddy, Paul Beeston will be in studio. I won't be listening.

[OakleyDokely]

I couldn't take more than five minutes of PTS with McCown and Perkins talking about how they believe that Shapiro will be fired within two years. They believe he inherited an odds-on favorite to win the World Series and he has turned them into a middle of the pack team in just two months.

Of course, they are getting all tingly in their pants because at 6:00 their buddy, Paul Beeston will be in studio. I won't be listening.

If they don't make the playoffs over the next two years, you don't think there will be a lot of pressure on Rogers from media/public to make a change?

If Happ and Chavez bomb in the AL East and the Jays struggle, people will be calling for his head by the summer. There's a lot of pressure on him, rightly or wrongly.

[C Court]

I couldn't take more than five minutes of PTS with McCown and Perkins talking about how they believe that Shapiro will be fired within two years. They believe he inherited an odds-on favorite to win the World Series and he has turned them into a middle of the pack team in just two months.

Of course, they are getting all tingly in their pants because at 6:00 their buddy, Paul Beeston will be in studio. I won't be listening.

If they don't make the playoffs over the next two years, you don't think there will be a lot of pressure from media/public to make a change?

Of course the media and some fans will be upset. But Rogers brought in Shapiro to (1) build a 'sustainable' winner and (2) implement a real business system in the front office where there is a clear reporting structure and senior executives actually use tools like email.

As long as he can sell Rogers on the longer term, he will definitely be here more than two years.

[Schad]

Of course the media and some fans will be upset. But Rogers brought in Shapiro to (1) build a 'sustainable' winner and (2) implement a real business system in the front office where there is a clear reporting structure and senior executives actually use tools like email.

As long as he can sell Rogers on the longer term, he will definitely be here more than two years.

Further, you'd have to look far and wide for execs who were fired in less than two years for anything less than scandalous behaviour. And for good reason...give an executive a very short period in which to achieve some result, and you are all but guaranteeing that they'll abandon all attention paid to long-term stability.

[Randle McMurphy]

Ricciardi was here for 8 years and he called out the fans, the players, and even the ownership through the media. Yeah, I think Shapiro can manage to make it past year 2.

[Santoki]

Of course the media and some fans will be upset. But Rogers brought in Shapiro to (1) build a 'sustainable' winner and (2) implement a real business system in the front office where there is a clear reporting structure and senior executives actually use tools like email.

As long as he can sell Rogers on the longer term, he will definitely be here more than two years.

Further, you'd have to look far and wide for execs who were fired in less than two years for anything less than scandalous behaviour. And for good reason...give an executive a very short period in which to achieve some result, and you are all but guaranteeing that they'll abandon all attention paid to long-term stability.

AA was given 6 years, so I can't see how Shapiro would be given less than two years considering all of the things above. There were plenty of people (including many in the media) who thought AA should be fired and Rogers were the ones that showed faith in him.

[C Court]

Of course the media and some fans will be upset. But Rogers brought in Shapiro to (1) build a 'sustainable' winner and (2) implement a real business system in the front office where there is a clear reporting structure and senior executives actually use tools like email.

As long as he can sell Rogers on the longer term, he will definitely be here more than two years.

Further, you'd have to look far and wide for execs who were fired in less than two years for anything less than scandalous behaviour. And for good reason...give an executive a very short period in which to achieve some result, and you are all but guaranteeing that they'll abandon all attention paid to long-term stability.

I think that Rogers understands that this off-season would not have been markedly different if Alex or Shapiro were making the decisions. Both are/were faced with the same constraints and limitations regarding budget dollars and a smaller pool of prospects available for trade.

Also, let's not forget that Rogers loathed Paul Beeston. So they will be much more patient with a guy who they presumably prefer.

If it all goes badly very quickly, Atkins and Gibbons will be the sacrificial lambs before Shapiro.

[OakleyDokely]

Of course the media and some fans will be upset. But Rogers brought in Shapiro to (1) build a 'sustainable' winner and (2) implement a real business system in the front office where there is a clear reporting structure and senior executives actually use tools like email.

As long as he can sell Rogers on the longer term, he will definitely be here more than two years.

Further, you'd have to look far and wide for execs who were fired in less than two years for anything less than scandalous behaviour. And for good reason...give an executive a very short period in which to achieve some result, and you are all but guaranteeing that they'll abandon all attention paid to long-term stability.

I think that Rogers understands that this off-season would not have been markedly different if Alex or Shapiro were making the decisions. Both are/were faced with the same constraints and limitations regarding budget dollars and a smaller pool of prospects available for trade.

Also, let's not forget that Rogers loathed Paul Beeston. So they will be much more patient with a guy who they presumably prefer.

If it all goes badly very quickly, Atkins and Gibbons will be the sacrificial lambs before Shapiro.

That's a good point. Atkins and Gibbs buys him a few years. He should be able to replace both before Rogers starts to look at him.

[The Duke]

I think Shaprio can fullfill his internal mandate, even without playoffs in first 2 seasons.

[C Court]

Caught a few minutes of the Beeston interview. McCown is so outwardly cheering against Shapiro.

Beeston, on the other hand was very fair. He said he gets a call about once a week from Shapiro to ask a question or two.

[Radojevic]

Im quite disappointed they didnt even make an offer to Price. Rogers said when the fans come out theyd increase salary. Fans came in droves, but they didnt even make Price an offer and payroll is the same.

Now theyre going to lose Jose/EE in 12 months and wont pre-emptively trade them.

Its quite frustrating.

I actually like Shapiro's long-term plan and was not a fan of AA, but Rogers gonna Rogers.

[Santoki]

Not that this needed clarification but from the man himself...

http://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/918384

[C Court]

Like I've said before, Beeston's five year contract limit is a solid and sensible policy.