Blue Jays Discussion: No More AA: Buckle Up, Folks... It's Going To Be A Wild Offseason

[Giuseppe Sallo]

I highly doubt we tear it down but I think a retool might be in order. I could see us trying to flip expiring deals of Bautista and Encarnacion for some more depth across the board. It's not always about star power.

Yup. More depth moves. One of the big three will get traded for young guns.

 

[Longshot]

Is there a link to the call? I thought it would be on sportsnet.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

AA got wind that the Rays will be moving to Montreal in a year so he's going to pre-emptively take the job there so he can be the hometown hero.

 

[Giuseppe Sallo]

Shapiro is probably thinking AA did those trades to save face, and it worked. But you still gotta build for the future. He might do a little trimming.

 

[Eyedea]

...

isn't that what goes in the NHL like... all the time? well for a good 1/3rd of the league anyway?

so like in Baseball there are no Presidents/GMs combos? we would have been the first?

There's been a new trend sweeping the league where organizations poach GMs and promote them as their President/CEO of baseball operations, while they then hire a budding GM to act as the role and essentially learn and operate underneath them. Friedman/Zaidi, Epstein/Hoyer, Dombrowski/Hazen, Hart/Coppolella, La Russa/Stewart .

 

[rojac]

I can only make an inference, but a move like hiring Shapiro and giving him player personnel decisions means you have no confidence in the guy you already have. Why should AA subject himself to that if he's just going to be a GM in title, while his responsibilities are given to Shapiro? It's like your boss giving you responsibilities, and then going behind your back to hire a new guy to give him the responsibilities you once had. No rational person is going to take that kind of demotion, it basically says that your boss has no confidence in you, so why work for them?

Except AA's boss wasn't Rogers, it was Beeston. My guess is that Beeston always had final say on player decisions, but he let AA have a certain amount of autonomy. With the change to Shapiro, AA likely wanted a guarantee of the same amount of autonomy or more explicitly spelled out in his contract.

The proper analogy in my mind, is your boss being replaced and the new boss decides to change your responsibilities. It happens all the time.

 

[Leaf_Crazy]

Is there a link to the call? I thought it would be on sportsnet.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/anthopoulos-leaving-1.3293773

 

[Eyedea]

AA got wind that the Rays will be moving to Montreal in a year so he's going to pre-emptively take the job there so he can be the hometown hero.

I don't think the Blue Jays organisation realised how great Anthopoulos was for the Jays popularity outside of Toronto.

The man got the people of Quebec (with some help from R.Martin) behind a team from Toronto !

He was regularly giving interviews in french. A lot of my friends who gave up on baseball after the Expos left were having conversation about whether we should start Stroman or Price.

It is interesting to note that MLB is in the process of expansion/relocation. If they do find Montreal as a serious candidate, AA could work with the league or an organization and oversee the move.

 

[rojac]

Is there a link to the call? I thought it would be on sportsnet.

It's likely just an opportunity for the press to get some quotes from Beeston, Rogers, and maybe Shapiro.

 

[Giuseppe Sallo]

Anyone but JP RICCIARDI! Haha

 

[Sokil]

AA: "Shapiro had every intention of keeping me here, Rogers had every intention of keeping me here, and I had every intention of staying....but..."

man the politicking of this call is horrible

 

[Jozay]

why this is being shunted on Shapiro (or Rogers) is beyond me.

Because its more than just giving someone a contract offer that makes them want to stay.

AA, IMO, has done a great job since taking over in 2009. A lot more good than bad, thats for sure. Its a shame to see him go, im more worried about the rest of the front office and if they'll be following him to where ever he goes or if they'll be staying.

 

[New Liskeard]

According to some here, Shapiro didn't like the amount of prospects traded? Last I checked, you have to pay for quality. The Jays made the playoffs for the first time in several years and just missed out on a World Series Birth. It is very short sighted to be pre occupied with what was traded as apposed to facing the reality of nearly making the world series. I guess its more important to have nice prospects than it is to be a world series champ. Can imagine many Torontonians wanting to experience that.

 

[Giuseppe Sallo]

Not surprised by this move. Shapiro wants to do his own thing.

 

[Sokil]

AA is *****footing around the obvious here

He says that in July he had every expectation that he'd stay here for years, but wont say at all what changed his mind.

 

[rojac]

It is interesting to note that MLB is in the process of expansion/relocation. If they do find Montreal as a serious candidate, AA could work with the league or an organization and oversee the move.

I expect AA will be ensconced in another organization long before anything happens on MLB returning to Montreal.

 

[TF97]

I'll make a new thread

 

[Eyedea]

I expect AA will be ensconced in another organization long before anything happens on MLB returning to Montreal.

And what organization do you expect him to join?

 

[Daisy Jane]

And what organization do you expect him to join?

the one that needs a GM?

oh, I just sly me