<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Toronto &#187; mark shapiro</title>
	<atom:link href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/tag/mark-shapiro/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com</link>
	<description>Comprehensive coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 24 Mar 2026 03:35:47 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en-US</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1</generator>
	<item>
		<title>Digital Media and a Baseball Team: An Interview with Mark Shapiro</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/12/07/digital-media-and-a-baseball-team-an-interview-with-mark-shapiro/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/12/07/digital-media-and-a-baseball-team-an-interview-with-mark-shapiro/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Dec 2017 11:39:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gideon Turk]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=14503</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the Rogers era of the Toronto Blue Jays, we have witnessed many different relationship styles between the front offices and the media. J.P. Ricciardi didn&#8217;t hold back, said way too much, and ended up having to apologize when he stepped over the line. Alex Anthopoulos and Paul Beeston were the opposite, as they could [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In the Rogers era of the Toronto Blue Jays, we have witnessed many different relationship styles between the front offices and the media. J.P. Ricciardi didn&#8217;t hold back, said way too much, and ended up having to apologize when he stepped over the line. Alex Anthopoulos and Paul Beeston were the opposite, as they could speak for hours and say nothing of substance, just using corporate talk to stall until interviews were over. Now, we have Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, two leaders who strike a balance between the two extremes, and are doing a petty good job of it. On that note, I spoke with Shapiro, the Blue Jays President &amp; CEO, earlier this week about his relationship with the media.</p>
<p>So much goes on behind the scenes of a Front Office that we as fans are not privy to, but that raises the question as to why the team will tell the media some things, but keep other items behind closed doors. Shapiro said there is a balance to strike between the two because there are multiple factors at play:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;I think the balance when it comes to media always kind of lies in the reality that it is important to communicate because the media is a conduit to your fans. Not communicating is not an option. Where the challenge lies is that you&#8217;re talking about human beings. And so people&#8217;s lives, people&#8217;s careers, their well being, their potential earnings, their security, their families, their health&#8230;so, you oftentimes [have] reasons for decisions [that] can&#8217;t be articulated, because if you did, you would be saying something hurtful. While we may have good reasons for decisions, the nature of the decisions can&#8217;t always be fully explained publicly. I think that leads to frustrations from the media themselves, as well as fans, but it is one of the biggest challenges. That, and the reality of the news cycle, and the competitive nature that is has created.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>I was intrigued by his answer because only just recently, it was announced that Andrew Tinnish, one of the club&#8217;s Assistant General Managers, would be leaving the team to go work for Alex Anthopoulos in Atlanta (he has since backed out of that deal for personal reasons and will remain with the Blue Jays). At the time the move was reported, the Blue Jays were silent. This was something that seemed odd to me because Tinnish has been with the club in a variety of roles since the early 2000&#8217;s. I imagined that the club would have released a comment. Instead, they were silent, both when his exit was reported and the subsequent return. Shapiro said that there isn&#8217;t a &#8220;steadfast rule&#8221; when it comes to making comments, rather that the situation is fluid:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;In that circumstance, you&#8217;d have to ask Ross [Atkins] probably, but I think that is more about the Braves and Andrew, so it is up to them to comment, then it is about us. As far as how that would pertain to us, I guess it would be an overarching belief [that every employee has a] right to choose whether you stay or go. [That is] something we have always believed in, whether here or in Cleveland. We believe in unequivocally granting permission and letting each individual make the decision that the culture here is one they want to be a part of, or whether the opportunities elsewhere are compelling.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>That&#8217;s good to hear and was made even more clear just hours after the interview when it was announced that George Poulis would be leaving the club to go to Atlanta. The club shouldn&#8217;t force employees to work for them if they would rather be elsewhere.</p>
<p>I was still curious about the decision-making process of deciding when to comment and when not to, so I asked Shapiro about how he decides whether it is right to comment when false reports are put out there. His answer sheds light on what we already know: the club doesn&#8217;t comment on speculation very often:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;When it comes to speculation, if you start denying speculation, then the one time you don&#8217;t deny it, the media is going to know you&#8217;re not telling the truth. That creates a challenge of it probably [being] better not to comment, regardless of even if it is false, unless you&#8217;re going to comment every time &#8211; and nobody has time to comment every time.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>In addition, Shapiro said that when he talks with writers who don&#8217;t cover baseball exclusively, sometimes he must &#8220;remain patient&#8221;, which is &#8220;not always easy.&#8221; Those same writers in Toronto are also the ones who will from time to time create false narratives out of thin air to serve their agenda, rather than basing their stories out of fact. I don&#8217;t understand why the Blue Jays still give credentials to writers like that, but Shapiro said it is their duty:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;We don&#8217;t have the luxury of making decisions on who has access based on what they write, regardless of how much we disagree with it, or how sound we feel the process [was] &#8211; in writing the article, or in reporting the information, or publishing it on the internet. If you&#8217;re in this business, criticism &#8211; at times even unfair criticism &#8211; is just part of what you have to accept. I think you just want to be right in the end, not necessarily along the way.&#8221;</em></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000">That cleared things up in my mind because every time I see columns from certain writers I wonder how the club can still in good faith give them credentials when there are people in the city who add more to the discourse who can&#8217;t get access. T</span>hat led me to ask about what Shapiro views as the difference between the &#8220;old media&#8221; and the &#8220;new media&#8221; online:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;An analogy I always use is that the emerging digital media, be it from blogs or websites, provide a little bit of the freedom of expression that Netflix and HBO provide to programming, as opposed to network television or even traditional movies. It&#8217;s a longer format. It provides for more storytelling and probably more in depth analysis, without editors being restrictive in space, or even directive in commentary. So I think you&#8217;ll find a little more broad range of attentiveness, and sometimes more thoughtful analysis as well.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>I took that as very complimentary to the work being done here at BP Toronto and other sites like ours on the web, and Shapiro later added that &#8220;a lot, not all, of the analysis [on new media sites] is thoughtful.&#8221; However, he added that what he thinks &#8220;is not constructive, is anonymous internet social media exchange,&#8221; because &#8220;that is clearly more mean spirited and the level of anonymity provides people with the access and ability to  put out some pretty appalling commentary.&#8221;</p>
<p>Shapiro clearly had opinions on the type of content published online nowadays, so I took the opportunity to ask him something I was particularly curious about: whether he felt that media outlets, even ones like BP Toronto, have any duty to consider the impact of revealing certain leaked stories. I know that in my time reporting stories over the last little while this is something I had to take into consideration, so I wanted to know how he felt about it:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;I think that would assume that I am capable of doing someone else&#8217;s job better than them. I would always [consider the impact]. That is who I am. Considering the potential personal impact is something that should be factored in. I understand that someone who is more black and white, and [someone considering] what the responsibility of reporting is, might not factor that in, and I would never purport to know how to do their jobs. [But] for me, I would probably factor that in, in any consideration, in any business.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Lastly, I wanted to know why his regime has been so much more inclusive when it comes to the new media than Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos were in their time in charge. The &#8220;blogging&#8221; landscape has completely changed in Toronto since Shapiro took over, and I didn&#8217;t think this was an accident. He said that it wasn&#8217;t &#8220;a strategic thought&#8221; to be more inclusive, rather he just enjoys the &#8220;exchanges&#8221; with our ilk:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;Look, in Cleveland, we hired guys from media. You guys are passionate about the game of baseball. You&#8217;re thinking about it in an in-depth way. There&#8217;s potential to learn from talking to you, I think, as well as reading [the work of online media]. I&#8217;m less likely to learn something from a traditional media that has to report on something in a very limited amount of space, with a narrative. I am just as likely to learn something from talking to them off the record, because of the amount of baseball they see, and the games they cover, [but] it&#8217;s just less likely than through what they write.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>That was pretty amazing to hear. I think all of us who write articles on the web are doing it for their own individual purpose, but to see that sometimes our subject actually takes notice of what we are publishing is good to hear. Some of the most intellectual baseball arguments and challenging of ideas that I have seen were published on sites like this one, so it&#8217;s excellent that Shapiro recognizes that he and his staff are able to learn from every possible opportunity.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/12/07/digital-media-and-a-baseball-team-an-interview-with-mark-shapiro/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 77: And Now our Watch is Ended</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/10/04/artificial-turf-wars-ep-77-and-now-our-watch-is-ended/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/10/04/artificial-turf-wars-ep-77-and-now-our-watch-is-ended/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Oct 2017 10:34:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Artifical Turf Wars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Podcast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Artificial Turf Wars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Gibbons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Bautista]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Josh Donaldson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Offseason]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ross atkins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TurfPod]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=13685</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Episode 77 Greg and Josh go over the final week of the season and the decisions and press conferences from the immediate aftermath. They discuss Jose Bautista&#8217;s final games and the declining of his option, Josh Donaldson&#8217;s desire to remain in Toronto, the early outlook for the upcoming offseason based on comments from Ross Atkins, [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/turfpod"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-9098" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/02/patreon_logo-300x94.png" alt="patreon_logo" width="252" height="79" /></a><br />
<strong><br />
Episode 77</strong></p>
<p>Greg and Josh go over the final week of the season and the decisions and press conferences from the immediate aftermath. They discuss Jose Bautista&#8217;s final games and the declining of his option, Josh Donaldson&#8217;s desire to remain in Toronto, the early outlook for the upcoming offseason based on comments from Ross Atkins, the murky future for Devon Travis, and the ballot goofiness from the Blue Jays team award voting. They also answer listener questions and give out two Do Overs, one to MLB and one the Giancarlo Stanton. </p>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong>: <a class="powerpress_link_pinw" title="Play in New Window" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/1/031/show_10311991_2017_10_04_03_35_15.mp3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Play in new window</a> | <a class="powerpress_link_d" title="Download" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/1/031/show_10311991_2017_10_04_03_35_15.mp3" rel="nofollow">Download</a></p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/blue-jays-plus-podcast/id705699884?mt=2"><img class="alignnone wp-image-63" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/itunes1.png" alt="itunes" width="168" height="62" /></a><a href="https://soundcloud.com/turfpod"><img class=" wp-image-9054 alignleft" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/02/soundcloud.jpg" alt="soundcloud" width="123" height="60" /></a></p>
<p>Follow the guys on twitter: <a title="@coolhead2010" href="https://twitter.com/coolhead2010" target="_blank">@coolhead2010</a> and <a title="@JoshuaHowsam" href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaHowsam" target="_blank">@JoshuaHowsam</a>.</p>
<p>Intro music is Slow Burn (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/" rel="cc:attributionURL">Kevin MacLeod</a>) under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="license">CC BY 3.0</a>.</p>
<div><strong>Podcast Email</strong>-<a href="mailto:artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com" target="_blank">artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com</a> Please drop us a line if there is a guest you&#8217;d particularly like us to interview, to submit a question to <strong>Stump the Josh</strong>, or to simply give us feedback on the podcast. We&#8217;d love to hear from you!</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/10/04/artificial-turf-wars-ep-77-and-now-our-watch-is-ended/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/1/031/show_10311991_2017_10_04_03_35_15.mp3" length="47185639" type="audio/mpeg" />
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How the Blue Jays View Shohei Otani</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/09/13/how-the-blue-jays-view-shohei-otani/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/09/13/how-the-blue-jays-view-shohei-otani/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Sep 2017 14:33:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gideon Turk]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ross atkins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shohei Otani]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=13414</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Japanese sensation Shohei Otani seems to have finalized his decision to come to North America this winter and make the transition from Japanese baseball to MLB according to reports in Japan. Otani is only 23-years-old and is famed for his ability to hit and pitch extremely well. The Blue Jays are definitely interested in Otani, as a source within [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Japanese sensation Shohei Otani seems to have finalized his decision to come to North America this winter and make the transition from Japanese baseball to MLB <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/09/reports-from-japan-suggest-shohei-otani-will-request-to-be-posted.html" target="_blank">according to reports</a> in Japan. Otani is only 23-years-old and is famed for his ability to hit and pitch extremely well. The Blue Jays are definitely interested in Otani, as a source within the club told me that eight to ten members of the Blue Jays Front Office and scouting staff have been to Japan to watch the young phenom. So, how do the Blue Jays view Otani, and is it possible that they could land him this winter?</p>
<p>The source made it clear that the Blue Jays are interested in him beyond due diligence, evidenced by the fact that &#8220;it is not cheap&#8221; to send 8-10 members of the organization over to Japan to scout somebody. The source continued by saying that the Blue Jays will be involved in contract talks with Otani, &#8220;unless the money gets really crazy&#8221;, adding that if allowed, he would &#8220;give [Otani] the Stanton contract for sure and sleep at night.&#8221; That&#8217;s very high praise.</p>
<p>Despite this not seeming like something that is Mark Shapiro&#8217;s style, &#8220;this guy is the one who is unique&#8221; said the source, continuing with &#8220;most of us have never seen anything like him at his age&#8221;.</p>
<p>One flaw in this might be that the Blue Jays have already used some of their bonus money, and thus won&#8217;t be able to offer Otani as much as other clubs. However, the source said that when it comes to Otani, he gets the feeling that it is &#8220;about fit and future money,&#8221; and speculates that any contract the star player signs in MLB will have a handshake agreement on a long term deal once he has played for some time in North America.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays&#8217; main point of contact in Japan is Dan Evans, who the source says &#8220;has an outstanding relationship he has cultivated with the GM and President of Nippon [Ham],&#8221; the team Otani plays for currently in the NPB. Evans &#8220;has a lot of weight [in Japan], and has been working on this for at least four years,&#8221; according to the source with the Blue Jays. &#8220;[Evans] wants him badly,&#8221; he continued.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays are also in the midst of expanding their presence in Asia under their new Front Office. They are &#8220;indentifying and developing relationships now with the Japanese clubs for the future,&#8221; creating much more of a &#8220;process in Asia&#8221; than what existed under Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos.</p>
<p>The source&#8217;s report also says that Otani&#8217;s tools are all &#8220;near the top of the scale, to go along with the maturity of a 35-year-old&#8221; despite being only 23 years of age. He was also said to have &#8220;the humility of the 25th man on the bench&#8221; and be &#8220;a manager&#8217;s dream.&#8221; The club believes he is a &#8220;likely Ace and an All-Star 30/30 RF type&#8221; who would likely DH in MLB, though the source believes Otani wants to go somewhere he can play in the outfield from time to time.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays will likely have a couple of openings in their outfield this winter, especially in right field, so that could come into play.</p>
<p>In my view, the Blue Jays landing Otani seems like a big reach, but it&#8217;s exciting nonetheless to see how involved they are in the process and the strides they are making in Asia as a whole for the future.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton &#8211; USA Today Sports</em></p>
<footer class="tweet-footer cf">
<footer class="tweet-footer cf"></footer>
</footer>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/09/13/how-the-blue-jays-view-shohei-otani/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>BP Toronto 2017 MLB Draft Central</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/13/bp-toronto-2017-mlb-draft-central/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/13/bp-toronto-2017-mlb-draft-central/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Jun 2017 03:58:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[BP Toronto Team]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Draft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MLB Draft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2017 MLB Draft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alex anthopoulos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Draft Picks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gord Ash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[J.P. Ricciardi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Logan Warmoth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nate Pearson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=11688</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Welcome to BP Toronto Draft Central. In this section you’ll find all of the great 2017 MLB Draft coverage provided by the BP Toronto team. As new content comes in, including reaction to the Blue Jays picks, it will filter into this spot, so make sure to check back regularly for updates! Blue Jays Draft Selections:  [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Welcome to BP Toronto Draft Central. In this section you’ll find all of the great 2017 MLB Draft coverage provided by the BP Toronto team. As new content comes in, including reaction to the Blue Jays picks, it will filter into this spot, so make sure to check back regularly for updates!</p>
<p><strong>Blue Jays Draft Selections: </strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Blue Jays select SS Logan Warmoth with the 22nd pick <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/12/mlb-draft-blue-jays-select-ss-logan-warmoth-with-pick-22/" target="_blank">(scouting reports and videos)</a></li>
<li>Blue Jays select RHP Nate Pearson with the 28th pick <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/12/mlb-draft-blue-jays-select-nate-pearson-with-28th-pick/" target="_blank">(scouting reports and videos)</a></li>
<li>Blue Jays select C Hagen Danner with the 61st Pick <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/12/mlb-draft-blue-jays-select-c-hagen-danner-with-pick-61/">(scouting reports and videos)</a></li>
<li>Blue Jays select C Riley Adams with the 99th Pick <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/13/mlb-draft-blue-jays-select-riley-adams-with-99th-pick/">(scouting reports and videos)</a></li>
<li>Blue Jays select SS Kevin Smith with the 129th Pick <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=11670">(scouting reports and videos)</a></li>
<li>Blue Jays select 2B Cullen Large with the 159th Pick <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/13/mlb-draft-blue-jays-select-cullen-large-with-159th-pick/">(scouting reports and videos)</a></li>
<li>The Blue Jays&#8217; picks from rounds 6-10 <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/13/mlb-draft-reports-and-videos-on-blue-jays-picks-in-rounds-6-10/">(scouting reports and videos)</a></li>
<li>The Blue Jays&#8217; picks from rounds 11-25 <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/14/mlb-draft-reports-and-videos-on-blue-jays-picks-in-rounds-11-25/">(scouting reports and videos for key players)</a></li>
<li>The Blue Jays&#8217; picks from rounds 26-40 <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/14/mlb-draft-reports-and-videos-on-blue-jays-picks-in-rounds-26-40/" target="_blank">(scouting reports and videos for key players)</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Previous Draft Class Results and Analysis<br />
</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a title="What Makes for a Good Blue Jays Draft?" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/11/what-makes-a-good-blue-jays-draft/" target="_blank">Gord Ash and J.P. Ricciardi Draft Histories and Results</a></li>
<li><a title="How Great Were Alex Anthopoulos’ Drafts?" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/12/how-good-were-anthopoulos-and-shapiroatkins-blue-jays-drafts/" target="_blank">Alex Anthopoulos Draft History and Results</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Additional Draft Articles</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a title="What Players are Thinking During the First Few Days After the MLB Draft" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/15/what-players-are-thinking-during-the-first-few-days-after-the-mlb-draft/" target="_blank">Former MiLB GM Bennett Brauer goes in depth on the post-selection routine for recent draftees</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Burke Granger of 2080 Baseball reviews the Blue Jays&#8217; early round picks and provides other insight into the draft process. <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=11778" target="_blank">Listen here.</a></li>
</ul>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/06/13/bp-toronto-2017-mlb-draft-central/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Half-Baked: Musings on a Frustrating Offseason for Jays Fans</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/24/half-baked-musings-on-a-frustrating-offseason-for-jays-fans/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/24/half-baked-musings-on-a-frustrating-offseason-for-jays-fans/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 2017 11:38:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Dave Church]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edwin Encarnacion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Bautista]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8692</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Even the most optimistic Blue Jays pundit would have a hard time appreciating what&#8217;s happened so far in the Blue Jays offseason. While the recent return of Jose Bautista was a public relations balm, it&#8217;s been a net negative for the boys in blue, with Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Saunders, and Brett Cecil having skipped town, leaving [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Even the <a href="https://twitter.com/FakeWilner1">most optimistic Blue Jays pundit</a> would have a hard time appreciating what&#8217;s happened so far in the Blue Jays offseason. While the <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/17/report-bautista-nearing-deal-with-blue-jays/">recent return of Jose Bautista</a> was a public relations balm, it&#8217;s been a net negative for the boys in blue, with Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Saunders, and Brett Cecil having skipped town, leaving holes in the lineup and the bullpen. While there&#8217;s still offseason left, the cupboard is getting bare, and the messages from the front office suggest that most of the big work is done.</p>
<p>A lot of what the Jays have done makes it seem like they&#8217;re hedging their bets for the 2017 season, trying to be just good enough to compete without making too much of a dent on their future financial ledger. This makes some sense, given the makeup of their team, and the results of the prior season: an old team lost the division when all was said and done, even if they made it to the ALCS for the second consecutive season. Boston went and added Chris Sale, fortifying a rotation that already has Rick Porcello and David Price. The Jays have countered with&#8230; Kendrys Morales and Steve Pearce. Fine players in their own right, but when you&#8217;re losing Edwin Encarnacion (and Michael Saunders), they don&#8217;t seem that palatable.</p>
<p>Again, one can see the reasoning behind the Jays being frugal without a lot of mental gymnastics. As mentioned previously, the Jays were old last season. They have Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin going headlong into their mid-3os with expensive contracts after down seasons offensively. Their lineup centerpiece, Josh Donaldson, is under their control for only two more years before he&#8217;ll want his own huge deal. So Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, two fan favourites who&#8217;d been instrumental in revitalizing a moribund franchise, were treated without much sentiment by the new(ish) front office, mostly because of their own advancing athletic age.</p>
<p>The advantage of being a veteran team is having that open playoff window, an opportunity for the team to capture the biggest prize. All those great players suggest a certain level of success, one Jays fans have relished of late. The magical playoff run of 2015 (and the sequel in 2016) revitalized a city that had been mostly indifferent towards baseball since the 90s, and got fans interested and invested again. Encarnacion and Bautista were big names, names that fans know and love, players that had been established as part of the team. They bring value and familiarity to the brand that doesn&#8217;t translate especially well to a quarterly statement.</p>
<p>Wondering whether EE could have come back on the deal he got from Cleveland is a sadly academic exercise now, and one that Shapiro and Atkins probably haven&#8217;t spent much time on. They had their plan, and stuck to it, for all the good and bad that entailed. After being frugal last offseason paid off, with J.A. Happ rather than David Price in the rotation, it&#8217;s easy to see why they might have gone down that path again, striking early on a mid-range target rather than commit more large money to a lineup that&#8217;s already pretty long in the tooth. The specter of recent Phillies teams probably loomed large for Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, as they wanted to avoid the contract and prospect wasteland that the Phillies are only now starting to dig themselves out of.</p>
<p>The Jays are (probably) still looking for ways to improve. But, again, the big work is done, and the opportunities have mostly passed. Coming in second or third on a free agent like Dexter Fowler isn&#8217;t terribly useful, and having traded almost enough (or almost too much) to pry Andrew McCutchen from Pittsburgh shouldn&#8217;t keep anyone up at night. That left field spot is likely to be a competition, which is unfortunate given the options that currently exist on the roster. A first base platoon isn&#8217;t terribly exciting, especially when Justin Smoak is featured prominently. The bullpen is still a little rickety, outside of Osuna, Biagini, and maybe Grilli. Gavin Floyd and Aaron Loup are familiar, if not terribly good returnees. And they still need a backup catcher.</p>
<p>So what are we to make of this Jays team, having had a mostly forgettable offseason? Well, they were a wildcard team last year, and can probably be in that mix again this year. A lot of big names still dot the roster: Donaldson, Tulo, Bats, Russ, Travis, they&#8217;re all still around, and still pretty good. Sanchez and Stroman still have growing to do. R.A. Dickey won&#8217;t be here, which is either a plus or a minus depending on how you feel about the old knuckler.</p>
<p>As a Blue Jays fan, It&#8217;s easy to be frustrated with a front office that seemed like they were sitting on their hands. With that frustration, one can still understand why they might have done that, with eyes faced forward on a team getting old quickly. Being prudent isn&#8217;t much fun, though, especially when they were so close (twice!) to reaching the World Series. It was a long unsuccessful stretch for Jays fans, so of course we&#8217;d want to see the most successful Jays team in recent history get built up rather than left to wilt, or torn down. And the front office wants to take advantage of that success, while not jeopardizing the future of a revitalized franchise. They probably haven&#8217;t done enough yet to make this 2017 team great, but there&#8217;s still time for that to change.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/24/half-baked-musings-on-a-frustrating-offseason-for-jays-fans/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Unfortunate Result of a Clash of Baseball Ideologies</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/16/the-unfortunate-result-of-a-clash-of-baseball-ideologies/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/16/the-unfortunate-result-of-a-clash-of-baseball-ideologies/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2017 13:20:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Gwin]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Justin Smoak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ross atkins]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8558</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s the middle of January and the Blue Jays have yet to make any big moves. Of course, there is technically still time. The free agent market is all but depleted of big names, but the team could still make a splash through trade. However, with each passing day, the possibility that a big trade [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It’s the middle of January and the Blue Jays have yet to make any big moves. Of course, there is technically still time. The free agent market is all but depleted of big names, but the team <i>could</i> still make a splash through trade. However, with each passing day, the possibility that a big trade happens before the season begins is becoming increasingly meager.</p>
<p>With that situation comes one major affirmation: the Blue Jays aren’t pushing to compete in 2017. This possibility had been suggested by some for a long time, but with no clear indication from management about their direction, and a Blue Jays team that probably <i>should </i>be pushing to compete, we had no confirmation as to whether or not it was true. However, with just 77 days left until Toronto’s first game of the 2017 season, a lackadaisical approach to 2017 is all but certain.</p>
<p>After two straight seasons of Blue Jays playoff games (and a helluva lot of excitement), fans are understandably uneasy about the shift in philosophy. Myself included.</p>
<p>The Jays didn’t get Dexter Fowler, nor did they sign Edwin Encarnacion. The coups—a term I use very lightly—of the offseason look like they’ll be Kendrys Morales and a <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/report-jose-bautista-active-contract-discussions-blue-jays/" target="_blank">36 year-old Jose Bautista</a> set for a full statuesque season in a corner outfield position. That’s bad.</p>
<p>Well, bad <em>IF</em> the aim is to seriously push to contend for a playoff spot. &#8216;Pushing&#8217; being, at the very least, filling out the roster holes with average players. But, as we determined above, that probably isn’t the case. If you get past the poor emotional optics of that idea, in the abstract, not mortgaging the future (prospect or payroll-wise) to contend in 2017 isn’t actually a crazy idea. The Blue Jays had the <a href="http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/rosters/_/sort/average_age/order/true" target="_blank">fourth oldest roster in the league</a> in 2016. With the departure of R.A. Dickey that average should come down slightly, but the roster still contains quite a few major pieces inching towards their mid 30s in Donaldson, Tulowitzki, Happ, Estrada, Morales, and Martin.</p>
<p>The problem, however, is that the 2016 offseason doesn’t happen in the abstract. Decisions made now must take in to account those made over the last few years, even prior to the Shapiro/Atkins regime. Specifically, in his last couple of seasons at the helm of the Blue Jays, Anthopoulos set the team on a trajectory: World Series contention.</p>
<p>It matters not that Mark Shapiro <a href="http://www.thescore.com/news/866843" target="_blank">didn’t want the Blue Jays to “[go] for broke,”</a> when he signed on with the team. By trading away Daniel Norris, Jeff Hoffman, and others, that’s the path that Anthopoulos and fans had rallied behind.</p>
<p>That presented an issue. Anthopoulos had <a href="http://m.mlb.com/news/article/40363638/" target="_blank">already used a glut of young players to acquire major league talent a few years sooner</a>, and the 2015 trades only further depleted the pipeline. It was for a good cause: a shot at a World Series victory. However, as you begin to trade away each new emerging talent, the major league club begins to lose its pipeline for depth. Now, in 2017, the Blue Jays <a href="https://www.thestar.com/sports/bluejays/2017/01/13/blue-jays-will-dig-deep-for-rotation-insurance-griffin.html" target="_blank">main rotational depth</a> comes in the form of <a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=102603" target="_blank">one starter who struggled in AA</a>, and another who has <a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=103743" target="_blank">yet to pitch above A-ball</a>. Elsewhere, there&#8217;s an <a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=67078" target="_blank">outfielder who the team refuses to acknowledge</a> and a <a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=58320" target="_blank">26 year-old &#8216;Catcher of the Future&#8217; who hasn&#8217;t yet had an MLB plate appearance</a>. That&#8217;s kind of it.</p>
<p>Of course, once a team has, &#8220;[gone] for broke,&#8221; with an aging roster there are ways to compensate for it. But, those ways include spending a lot of cash on a lot of players to fill a lot of positions. The Blue Jays could have done this&#8230;and I tend to think that Anthopoulos would have done this. He created a leviathan and he was going to keep feeding it until it went belly up. However, at the peak of the execution of Anthopoulos&#8217; vision, he was hung out to dry by a franchise in dire need of a modernized business direction. In came Mark Shapiro.</p>
<p>In Cleveland, Shapiro built a lot of wins on not a lot of cash. How? By creating and sustaining a pipeline of talent. A team can save a lot of money just by being able to fill out the edges of a roster with usable pre-arbitration players. In Toronto, the Blue Jays had high upside talent, but lack the talent at the upper minors. The pipeline was turned into a shot at the playoffs not once, but twice.</p>
<p>With an Anthopoulos-less Blue Jays team dropped in to his lap, Shapiro then had a new set of incentives and would have to create his own vision for the team. If his time in Cleveland is any indication, that vision is a sustainable winner. If he were to continue the trajectory that AA had set the team on then he&#8217;d be unlikely to reach that goal. The Blue Jays would have been much closer to a smart version of the 2012 Phillies than to the dynastically inclined Cardinals. In order to fix that the Jays don&#8217;t have to hit the brakes, but it does require easing off the gas a little bit. That means holding back on going for broke in 2017 in an attempt at future success. In doing so, Shapiro has to treat things like the David Price trade as a sunk cost. In economic terms, that makes perfect sense, but in emotional terms, it&#8217;s tough to accept.</p>
<p>People don&#8217;t like waiting, especially when the ultimate goal (a World Series victory) looks so incredibly attainable. Shapiro&#8217;s vision, if it is as I described, will likely result in more Septembers with meaningful baseball over the next five seasons. But, the further away from the present that you&#8217;re projecting, the more risky it is that anything you&#8217;re attempting to achieve comes true. As such, I&#8217;d love to see the team make a greater effort this season, but I can also see the strategy behind waiting. Further depleting the system and adding backloaded contracts will restrict the team of its resources in the years to come. However, so many resources have already been dedicated to this window: the Blue Jays aren&#8217;t far from serious contention in the AL East. In the end, there probably is no right answer from a strategic point-of-view, but it certainly doesn&#8217;t help your argument when you&#8217;re handing out <a href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=58692" target="_blank">multi-year extensions to below replacement level players</a>.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/16/the-unfortunate-result-of-a-clash-of-baseball-ideologies/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Give the Blue Jays Off-Season Some Time</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/11/15/give-the-blue-jays-off-season-some-time/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/11/15/give-the-blue-jays-off-season-some-time/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Nov 2016 11:18:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gideon Turk]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edwin Encarnacion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Bautista]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kendrys Morales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ross atkins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=7935</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins&#8217; second winter at the helm of the this club, and they are tasked with the daunting assignment of trying to appease a fanbase that is thirsty for a winner after back-to-back ALCS appearances and exits. Getting the team back to the post-season will be harder in 2017 than it [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins&#8217; second winter at the helm of the this club, and they are tasked with the daunting assignment of trying to appease a fanbase that is thirsty for a winner after back-to-back ALCS appearances and exits. Getting the team back to the post-season will be harder in 2017 than it was in previous years though, because Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista are free agents, officially rejecting their qualifying offers yesterday. There are going to be a lot of narratives that emerge when we look back at this Blue Jays&#8217; off-season, and most of them will likely tie back to those two players; franchise cornerstones who will have their names on the Level of Excellence  once they finish their respective careers in the next decade. But as Jenn Smith <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/11/14/this-week-in-blue-jays/" target="_blank">discussed ever so eloquently</a> in this same space yesterday, there are other ways for the Blue Jays to go. This winter isn&#8217;t just about Jose Bautista and Encarnacion. The front office has already done their best to show us that in the opening few weeks.</p>
<p>Last year, when David Price was departing the Blue Jays, the same fan hysteria was taking place that is occupying social media now with Bautista and Encarnacion. At that time, Shapiro showed that he is able to separate business and emotion, and he let Price walk. However, before doing that, he secured back up plans. Instead of trying to replace Price, he took a page out of the <em>Moneyball</em> playbook and recreated him in the aggregate, spending money on bringing back Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ to Toronto. Both of those moves occurred early on in the off-season, before December 1st. Shapiro showed a willingness not to wait around for any one player or one team to decide what the market would look like. He got his guys at a price he liked, and pounced.</p>
<p>This winter, Shapiro and Atkins have done the same thing. They made an offer to Edwin Encarnacion, but it had an expiry date. They made it clear that they weren&#8217;t going to wait around and then be in a position to miss out on all their other options because their number one target was taking too long to make a decision. So, when Encarnacion rejected the offer &#8211; which <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-transformation-underway-two-franchise-icons-depart/" target="_blank">Shi Davidi reports</a> was around the range of four years/$80 million &#8211; the Blue Jays moved on to Kendrys Morales. That deal materialized quickly, and by Friday, reports had surfaced that the club and Morales had agreed to a three year deal with an AAV of $11 million.</p>
<p>But Kendrys Morales isn&#8217;t going to replace Edwin Encarnacion. He isn&#8217;t good enough to do that. However, just like last year, when J.A. Happ and Marco Estrada were able to replace the production of David Price, Morales will be able to do the job if he is supplemented with additional talent around him. The Blue Jays have lots of holes to fill right now. First base is open. So is a corner outfield spot. The same can be said for the backup catcher position. Morales wasn&#8217;t brought in to be Encarnacion, he was brought in to build the base of the foundation that will fill the hole Encarnacion&#8217;s likely departure has left. Compliment him with any of the plethora of options on the free agent market (Dexter Fowler, Steve Pearce, Josh Reddick, and Matt Holliday are all solid options) and suddenly, losing Edwin and Bautista doesn&#8217;t hurt the club too much, if at all. Thus, it is important to keep in mind that it is only November 15th. How many times, in off-seasons of the past, has a team stayed silent at the start of free agency only to end up as one of the &#8220;winners&#8221; of the winter? How about the opposite, when a team makes a big splash right away but does nothing else until Spring Training arrives? The baseball season is 162 games, and we tell ourselves daily from April through October to take that into consideration before making conclusions about any one team&#8217;s play. So, shouldn&#8217;t we take the same approach to the off-season, a just-as-grueling part of the calendar that isn&#8217;t won on one or two days?</p>
<p>Yes, we should.</p>
<p>The winter meetings are still close to a month away. There, some big deals will happen. The Blue Jays may or may not be in on them. However, it doesn&#8217;t necessarily matter if they are or not. If Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista are leaving, good for them. They deserve to get paid, but this team doesn&#8217;t need to be the team to do that. This team needs to be the team that makes smart business decisions that allow for the roster to be just as good or better than it was in 2016, and still make financial sense. That has started with Kendrys Morales, and it will continue, be it with a big power bat or a guy who can get on base and lead off.</p>
<p>Perspectives change. Right now, it may seem like the Blue Jays are replacing Edwin Encarnacion with Kendrys Morales. But that clearly is not the case. Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins are smart people. Give them a chance to work their magic. There are plenty of different ways to skin a cat. Not every one involves the two franchise icons that are going to require the big contracts.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/11/15/give-the-blue-jays-off-season-some-time/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mark Shapiro, Alex Anthopoulos, and the Failures of Change</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/10/26/mark-shapiro-alex-anthopoulos-and-the-failures-of-change/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/10/26/mark-shapiro-alex-anthopoulos-and-the-failures-of-change/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Oct 2016 11:53:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Gwin]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Season That Was]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alex anthopoulos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blue jays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cleveland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dodgers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=7676</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[History as we know it is defined in eras. Sports history is no different. When we think back to dynasties in baseball’s past, they’re asssociated with something specific. First, it was managers as the face of teams; like the Connie Mack A’s or the John McGraw Giants. That eventually gave way to the player era: [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>History as we know it is defined in eras. Sports history is no different. When we think back to dynasties in baseball’s past, they’re asssociated with something specific. First, it was managers as the face of teams; like the Connie Mack A’s or the John McGraw Giants. That eventually gave way to the player era: the Babe Ruth Yankees, the Stan Musial Cardinals, and the George Brett Royals.</p>
<p>In each of those cases, the team was defined by the most influential guy in the clubhouse. He was the one that fans saw driving the success of their beloved franchise, and therefore the one that they admired. However, we have now moved into the third age, where the clubhouse is no longer where baseball fans look to evaluate team success.  Franchises are now defined by the executives that built the team. One need look no further than one half of the current World Series matchup. It&#8217;s not Arrieta&#8217;s Cubs or Rizzo&#8217;s Cubs; it&#8217;s the Team that Theo Built. For the Blue Jays, the same was true of Alex Anthopoulos. Josh Donaldson was the Blue Jays&#8217; star talent and Jose Bautista was the soul, but it was Anthopoulos&#8217; team.</p>
<p>Our perception of Alex changed over time, and it followed along with changes in his demeanour. He came to us young, baby-faced, and as a memory of the previous generation. But he left us <a href="//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg9fdxQUcjc&amp;ab_channel=xaveruth”">older, bearded, and as the man who brought playoff baseball back to Toronto</a>. Things <a href="//www.bluejaysplus.com/the-season-that-will-be-its-judgement-year-for-alex-anthopoulos/“">weren’t always as rosy as the reaction to Anthopoulos’ exit seemed</a>, but he will be remembered for how he finished: (nearly) on top.</p>
<p>As the new Blue Jays decision makers, Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins have made additions to this team, but the core of the roster is entirely Alex Anthopoulos&#8217;. As such, that creates an attachment between the Jays and the Anthopoulos&#8217; era that isn&#8217;t easy to break. Shapiro has learned that the hard way while the fanbase has gone thought the Kübler-Ross model’s five stages of grief.</p>
<p>The first four stages came in fairly quick succession. Fans <a href="//twitter.com/Correia47/status/659727500407238657”">denied the possibility that AA could truly be gone</a>. Then they <a href="//twitter.com/n_thurm/status/677584561841176576”">angrily criticized the replacement</a>, Mark Shapiro. But Shapiro didn’t care, he knew what was really at stake.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mark Shapiro is more concerned with winning than being well-liked, writes John Lott. <a href="https://t.co/OmWv4ODIUG">https://t.co/OmWv4ODIUG</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/Buster_ESPN/status/682160481101045761">December 30, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>When you think about it, it’s actually kind of remarkable how well Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins transitioned in to the helm of the Blue Jays. Regardless of how hard they tried, the fanbase as a whole was still opposed. There were instances in which <a href="//twitter.com/BFinleyy/status/685668661265313793”">they got some credit</a>, as Jays fans bargained with themselves on whether or not to believe. But, there were always others trying to find <a href="//twitter.com/KyleMeloTSN/status/714962254521896961”">something to protest</a>. We were sad.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Anthopoulos leaving the Jays.  <a href="https://t.co/dKLcO8d6At">https://t.co/dKLcO8d6At</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Gruber&#39;s Mullet (@GrubersMullet) <a href="https://twitter.com/GrubersMullet/status/695334802627497987">February 4, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>In general, each of the five stages in the Kübler-Ross model comes one after another, but a particular time period is not stipulated for each. Above, we’ve run through the first four, but that leaves the last stage: acceptance.</p>
<p>As you might imagine, Jays fans have been reluctant to accept the Shapiro-Atkins (or Shapatkins) duo, and there are a few different reasons behind this. For starters, the transition could not have come at a worse time. When he left, Alex Anthopoulos was at the peak of his popularity. Not only had he taken the team to the playoffs for the first time in two decades, but, more importantly, he finally made Toronto feel like a big market team. In David Price and Troy Tulowitzki, the Blue Jays had acquired the two biggest pieces on the midseason trade market. If Canadians like anything, it’s feeling important. Alex made that happen.</p>
<p>Mark Shapiro on the other hand is the American whose first major Blue Jays headline was a report that he <a href="//www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/toronto-blue-jays-alex-anthopoulos-leaving-team-denied-extension-mark-shapiro-102915”">staunchly opposed those very same trades that reinvigorated the fan base</a>. He may end up being right, that the Jays’ 2015 deadline trades won’t end up being worth the prospects they cost, but being right isn’t the only thing that matters. Public perception is important too, and Shapiro&#8217;s lack of public relations perceptiveness has only made the transition of leadership worse.</p>
<p>Things started with the opposition to the trades–a report that <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/11/shapiro-president-blue-jays-retain-john-gibbons.html" target="_blank">Shapiro has since denied</a>– and further continued throughout his first year as President and CEO. In the first month of the offseason, with David Price, the symbol of the Blue Jays&#8217; big-marketedness, set to sign, Shapiro kept the team <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/shapiro-blue-jays-didnt-aggressively-pursue-price/" target="_blank">firmly out of strong negotiations</a>. In a vacuum, that&#8217;s a pragmatic decision. David Price is unlikely to be worth the $217 million that he&#8217;ll be paid over seven years, and with three big sluggers set to hit free agency over the following three years, the Jays could use the financial flexibility. However, Price wasn&#8217;t just any other pitcher to Toronto. Not only was he the crown jewel of the trade deadline, but he <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/09/05/baseball-contenders-strengths-could-also-weaknesses/OWkq0Yt8QCMWRikkgvwkFL/story.html" target="_blank">repeatedly iterated how much he loved the team and the city</a>. For a Toronto sports market that has historically been told that American sports stars aren&#8217;t jumping to sign north of the border, Price was the messiah. If it doesn&#8217;t make good baseball sense, you don&#8217;t sign David Price. But, you can at least make it look like you tried.</p>
<p>The issues continued through the end of the offseason, as Shapiro once again rejected something that fans held dear: <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/mlb/toronto-blue-jays-mark-shapiro-says-grass-at-rogers-centre-is-not-a-top-priority" target="_blank">real grass at the Rogers Centre</a>. He didn&#8217;t say that it wouldn&#8217;t happen, just that it wasn&#8217;t one of his priorities. However, he didn&#8217;t <em>need</em> to say anything at all.</p>
<p>Later yet, a similar situation occurred in-season, this time from the mouth of his right hand man Ross Atkins. For what seemed like months, the Blue Jays pondered whether or not to place Aaron Sanchez in the bullpen. Again, pondering is good. It&#8217;s an important decision that the team needs to consider as there are implications for both the present and the future. That discussion didn&#8217;t need to happen in public, however. The result was a flip-flopping front office that ultimately handled Sanchez well, but made no friends along the way.</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t to say that Mark Shapiro&#8217;s first year has been a disaster, in fact it&#8217;s been anything but. Here are all of his major transactions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Signed <strong>Marco Estrada</strong> for two years, $26 million</li>
<li>Traded Liam Hendriks to Oakland for <strong>Jesse Chavez</strong></li>
<li>Signed <strong>J.A. Happ</strong> for three years, $36 million</li>
<li>Drafted <strong>Joe Biagini</strong> from San Francisco in the Rule V Draft</li>
<li>Traded Ben Revere to Washington for <strong>Drew Storen</strong></li>
<li>Traded Sean Ratcliffe to Atlanta for <strong>Jason Grilli</strong></li>
<li>Extended <strong>Justin Smoak</strong> for two years, $8.25 million</li>
<li>Traded Drew Storen to Seattle for <strong>Joaquin Benoit</strong></li>
<li>Traded Hansel Rodriguez to San Diego for <strong>Melvin Upton Jr.</strong> and cash considerations</li>
<li>Traded Jesse Chavez to the Dodgers for <strong>Mike Bolsinger</strong></li>
<li>Traded Lupe Chavez to Houston for <strong>Scott Feldman</strong></li>
<li>Traded Drew Hutchison to Pittsburgh for <strong>Francisco Liriano</strong>, <strong>Reese McGuire</strong>, and <strong>Harold Ramirez</strong></li>
<li>Traded Colton Turner to the White Sox for <strong>Dioner Navarro</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>That&#8217;s thirteen relatively significant transactions. If you evaluate them to this point, you could argue there&#8217;s only one bad one in the bunch: the Justin Smoak extension. There would be those who&#8217;d argue against the Revere, Upton, Feldman, and Hendriks trades, but each of the four have mitigating circumstances of their own. Drew Storen, while very bad, actually finished with a higher WARP than Ben Revere. Melvin Upton and Scott Feldman had troubles of their own, but each cost very little to acquire, and one could therefore argue that their upside was worth it. The Liam Hendriks trade is the next closest to being given a thumbs down, but the Jays&#8217; turned Jesse Chavez into Mike Bolsinger, who at least has a shot at being the best value of the three.</p>
<p>If we were partying like it was 1999 and executives weren&#8217;t in the media spotlight, we&#8217;d probably have evaluated 2016 as a good first year for the new Blue Jays&#8217; front office. Unfortunately for Mark and the gang, that isn&#8217;t the case. It&#8217;s the Executive Era and a passionate Jays fanbase that has a thirst for knowledge is something that they&#8217;ll have to learn to adjust to. The fanbase seems to have accepted the fact that Shapiro and Atkins are the new normal, but doesn&#8217;t yet approve of all their methods. Is that fair? Empirically, probably not. This doesn&#8217;t mean that we should let the new front office off the hook, but they deserve time to do their work. After two full seasons, they will have made their impression on the team, and it&#8217;s direction. They&#8217;ve made the task of wooing the fanbase as hard for themselves as possible, but that&#8217;s nothing that a successful 2017 season can&#8217;t fix.</p>
<p><em>Over the next week or so, other writers at BP Toronto will be sharing their thoughts on the 2016 season in our series &#8220;The Season that Was.&#8221; <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/category/the-season-that-was/" target="_blank">You can read them all here</a>. Look for a new one every day.</em></p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/10/26/mark-shapiro-alex-anthopoulos-and-the-failures-of-change/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mistakes We Make When We Talk About Baseball</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/20/logic-in-blue-jay-land-mistakes-we-make-when-we-talk-baseball/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/20/logic-in-blue-jay-land-mistakes-we-make-when-we-talk-baseball/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Jul 2016 16:48:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Dika]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Bautista]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[logical fallacies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=4708</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Part of the fun of following the Blue Jays is all of the spirited debate, and (hopefully) friendly arguments born out of discussions about our favorite team. With the rise of blogging, Twitter, and the continued prominence of things like talk radio, we are able to have these debates whenever we want, with virtually whomever [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Part of the fun of following the Blue Jays is all of the spirited debate, and (hopefully) friendly arguments born out of discussions about our favorite team. With the rise of blogging, Twitter, and the continued prominence of things like talk radio, we are able to have these debates whenever we want, with virtually whomever we want.</p>
<p>Whether you’re discussing the merits of signing Jose Bautista or moving Aaron Sanchez to the bullpen, there are a set of missteps that every good debater should try and avoid: fallacies. Fallacies are different errors in logic we make when forming arguments. Many of the baseball discussions we read online and listen to on the radio are filled with these illogical arguments. In an attempt to have some nerdy fun, here is a look at some of the most common fallacies we hear in baseball discussions about the Toronto Blue Jays these days.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><strong>False Cause</strong></h3>
<p><em>“The Jays are playing better without Jose Bautista in the lineup, so if they want to keep winning, they should continue to start Ezequiel Carrera when Bautista returns from the DL.” </em></p>
<p>A false cause (also known as Questionable Cause) is a flaw in reasoning where someone assumes that when two things happen, the first one is causing the second.</p>
<p>We tend to hear this type of reasoning in baseball whenever an injured player is close to returning from the DL. In this example, the argument assumes that the Jays are winning more games because Bautista is out and Carrera is replacing him.</p>
<p>However, correlation does not equal causation. In this example, the Blue Jays&#8217; winning ways have more to do with improved performances from their bullpen, and their middle of the order hitters – Edwin Encarnacion’s torrid June and the return of Troy Tulowitzki; not Bautista’s absence.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><strong>False Dichotomy</strong></h3>
<p><em>“If the Jays lose David Price, they won’t have an ace and their pitching will be terrible.”</em></p>
<p>Also known as the excluded middle, a false dichotomy is when someone assumes two different options when there are in reality, far more.</p>
<p>David Price is a great pitcher, and he would make any team he plays on better (except the 2016 Red Sox apparently…), but losing David Price doesn’t mean that the Blue Jays will not have good starting pitching. It is not a case of one or the other &#8211; the Jays’ could have excellent pitching without Price, they could have average pitching, slightly below average pitching, etc. The argument is fallacious because the range of outcomes is far greater than the two presented. The Jays’ 2016 rotation results are a perfect example of why this kind of argument presents a false dichotomy.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3><strong>Appeal to Tradition</strong></h3>
<p><em>“Umpires and the league shouldn’t get involved when Josh Donaldson or other players get beaned. Players have always policed the game themselves and things have worked out fine.”</em></p>
<p>An appeal to tradition is when you assume that a position, idea or argument is correct solely based on it its longstanding acceptance.</p>
<p>This is one of the most commonly used fallacies in daily life. Because something has been done a certain way in the past is not sound reasoning for why it should continue to be done this way in the future.</p>
<p>Major League Baseball has historically chosen not to discipline (read: barely discipline) pitchers for hitting batters intentionally. It does not logically follow that the league should continue to ignore the practice moving forward. The most vivid example of the appeal to tradition is slavery – just because slavery was acceptable in the past, doesn’t mean that it is acceptable now.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><strong>Bald Man / Continuum Fallacy</strong></h3>
<p><em>“There has been no strong evidence that suggests the Verducci Effect and innings increases for young pitchers are related to increased injury risk, so we shouldn’t be worried about workloads for young starters like Aaron Sanchez.”</em></p>
<p>This logical failure occurs when someone rejects a claim because it is not precise &#8211; just because something is vague does not necessarily mean that it is untrue.</p>
<p>While the first part of this statement is no doubt accurate (there isn’t compelling evidence for strict innings limits), it is also inexact. Just because we haven’t determined the particular parameters of how or why young pitchers get injured, it does not mean that there are no risk factors related to workload. While those risk factors may not be completely understood yet, they are still likely present.</p>
<p>Just like we can’t say the exact number of hairs on a person’s head that makes them either bald or not bald, we do acknowledge that point does in fact exist.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><strong>Appeal to Authority</strong></h3>
<p><em>“Mark Shapiro obviously knew what he was doing when he hired Ross Atkins from Cleveland because he had been a successful front office executive for a long time.”</em></p>
<p>Appeal to authority is where you assume that because someone is an expert, they are able to make the right decision without an explicit reasoning behind it. This is always a failure of deductive reasoning – if an expert always made the right decision, they would never be wrong, which is obviously not the case – look at the record of even the best GMs. While authority or expertise does come with an increased likelihood that someone is correct, it certainly doesn’t prove it.</p>
<p>Admittedly, Shapiro likely has many strong reasons for hiring Atkins (Atkins&#8217; pedigree as an executive, their strong working relationship etc.) but Shapiro’s tenure as a General Manager and team President in and of itself is not one of them.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3><strong>Begging the Question</strong></h3>
<p><em>“The Blue Jays don’t hit well in pressure situations because they just don’t know how to come through with the game on the line.”</em></p>
<p>Begging the question is when the premise in the first part of your argument asserts the conclusion without providing any evidence that it is true. It&#8217;s also known as circular reasoning.</p>
<p>Said another way, this argument contends the same thing as both its premise and conclusion. Saying the Blue Jays don’t know how to come through with the game on the line is just another way of saying they don’t hit under pressure. The arguer has offered no information in their argument as to <em>why</em> the Jays won’t hit under pressure, they simply assert the same statement twice, in two different ways.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3><strong>Straw Man</strong></h3>
<p><em>“Mark Shapiro acknowledges he might not re-sign Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion this off season. It sucks that is he looking to rebuild a team that was so good.”</em></p>
<p>Now, if you’re a fan of Keith Law or many other great baseball writers, you’ve probably heard of the straw man fallacy. However, many cited instances of straw man are actually different causal fallacies. A straw man fallacy is when someone takes a weak or exaggerated version of an argument and proves/disproves the embellished version, instead of addressing the more realistic and viable argument or statement their opponent is making.</p>
<p>In this case, while it is true that Shapiro acknowledged that it may be difficult to keep their free agent sluggers, it does not mean that he thinks the Blue Jays will not contend in 2017. Instead, he believes the best path to contention may not include signing two more older players to long term contracts. To suggest he is looking to rebuild because he may not sign two specific players inaccurately exaggerates what he is  saying when he talks about Joey Bats and EE.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>There you have it. Your unofficial, but by no means exhaustive, list of fallacious arguments related to the Blue Jays. Next time you find yourself trying to convince someone to pump the breaks on their off season assumptions, or why they need to cut bait on R.A. Dickey after a few bad weeks, hopefully some of the above mentioned failures in reasoning will help explain to your co-worker/drunk uncle/twitter friend why they should rethink their position.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Major thanks to Dr. Mat Savelli and Dr. Mike Sonne who helped vet the vague pieces of logic theory I may or may not have absorbed correctly in between intramural sports and binge watching the Wire 10 years ago at McMaster. If logic and baseball is your jam, USS Mariner provided a <a href="http://www.ussmariner.com/2005/10/13/rhetoric-logical-fallacies-and-baseball/">breakdown</a> you might like to check out too.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/20/logic-in-blue-jay-land-mistakes-we-make-when-we-talk-baseball/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>This Week in Blue Jays: The Good, The Bad, and the Better</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/05/08/this-week-in-blue-jays-it-was/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/05/08/this-week-in-blue-jays-it-was/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 May 2016 10:49:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jenn Smith]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[This Week in Blue Jays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chris Colabello]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kevin Pillar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ross atkins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Russell Martin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=2420</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s been a good week for the Toronto Blue Jays. After ending the month of April three games below .500 with a 11-14 record – a month in which both the offense and bullpen struggled mightily – the Jays welcomed May with open arms and have begun the month 5-2 and are now an even [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It’s been a good week for the Toronto Blue Jays.</p>
<p>After ending the month of April three games below .500 with a 11-14 record – a month in which both the offense and bullpen struggled mightily – the Jays welcomed May with open arms and have begun the month 5-2 and are now an even 16-16 in 2016, which is exactly where they were after the first 32 games of their historic 2015 season. What is more important than their recent four-game win streak, perhaps, is the fact that there are signs of improvement in some of the more troubling areas of concern.</p>
<p>While it&#8217;s still early (notice how that line is never used when a team gets off to a good start?), there are two critical reasons why it&#8217;s vital that the Jays step up their game. First, despite their slow start, the Jays sit just 2.5 games back of the Baltimore Orioles for first in the A.L. East, and although anything can happen over the course of a 162-game season, it would be nice to take advantage of the (currently) weak division. Second, <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-shapiro-nobody-satisfied/" target="_blank">Mark Shapiro stated</a> towards the end of April that he works hard &#8220;not to draw any conclusions until 40 games in&#8221;, a threshold upon which the Jays are quickly closing in. <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/blue-jays-put-on-slugfest-win-third-straight-against-rangers/article29909699/" target="_blank">Ross Atkins has also said</a> that the &#8220;it&#8217;s early&#8221; excuse has just about run its course, and that after thirty games one has enough information to start evaluating trends. It is entirely possible based on these comments that if these two decision-makers are unsatisfied with what they&#8217;ve seen from this team, they may make some changes before the month of May has concluded.</p>
<p>It was a turn-around week for Justin Smoak, who has been thrust into the every day first baseman role due to Chris Colabello&#8217;s 80-game drug suspension. Smoak, who had been effectively replaced by Colabello during the playoffs, hit just .189/.375/.216 during March/April. This month, he is .389/.500/.722 with two home runs &#8211; one to tie Tuesday&#8217;s game in the bottom of the ninth against the Texas Rangers, and one to win the game in the bottom of the tenth. Not only did this kick off the four-game win streak, but his first home run also ended a <a href="http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/justin-smoak-homers-in-9th-to-tie-it-again-in-10th-to-win-it-050316" target="_blank">14-inning scoreless drought</a>. Given that he no longer has his platoon mate, it is imperative that Smoak be able to contribute offensively.</p>
<p>One of the most &#8220;concerning&#8221; players thus far, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/2016/04/30/blue-jays-slow-start-in-april-no-cause-for-concern-griffin.html" target="_blank">Richard Griffin of The Star suggests</a>, is Russell Martin. As Griffin points out,  &#8220;The Canadian catcher has had slow starts in the past, but when his batting average has been low he would draw walks and keep his OPS reasonable. He reported to camp in better shape, lighter than he had ever been, but his bat has been AWOL.&#8221; With the hopes of turning his season around, Martin shaved his famous beard when the calendar turned to May, sporting just a mustache that has been affectionately referred to on Twitter as the &#8220;Russtache&#8221;.</p>
<p>Sans facial hair, Russell Martin has been &#8220;<a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/rejuvenated-russell-martin-playing-like-man-possessed-blue-jays/" target="_blank">playing like a man possessed</a>&#8220;, writes Sportsnet&#8217;s Shi Davidi after Martin hit a bases-loaded game-winning single on Wednesday night to give the Jays their second walk-off win in a row. And, though it&#8217;s a small sample size, Martin I hitting .263/.300/.263 thus far in May, compared to .150/.224/.167 in March/April. Said Martin: &#8220;Sometimes you&#8217;ve just got to keep things simple and one of the best parts of my game is just what I put into it&#8230;When you get your mind right, you don&#8217;t take anything for granted. Keep it as simple as possible, tomorrow is never guaranteed. My goal is to try and play today&#8217;s game like tomorrow is not guaranteed&#8230;that&#8217;s how I&#8217;m going to go about it&#8230;I&#8217;m going to go hard.&#8221; Whether his slow start was due to injury (he had been suffering from neck spasms) or some other factor, his bat is just one that must heat up if last season&#8217;s best offense in baseball is going to defend their championship this season.</p>
<p>Thursday&#8217;s game against the Rangers was a laugher, as the struggling Edwin Encarnacion <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/encarnacion-drives-in-6-runs-as-blue-jays-crush-rangers-12-2-1.2890322" target="_blank">drove in six runs </a>(in the first two innings!) to help crush the Rangers 12-2. It was the first time this season that the Jays scored double-digit runs (something they had accomplished six times in the first thirty games last year) and was the first true glimpse of the dominant offense seen in 2015. It felt as though such a catharsis was needed by the team and fan base alike, if for no other reason than to be reminded of just how much <em>fun</em> baseball is.</p>
<p>On Friday night against the Dodgers, it was Kevin Pillar&#8217;s turn to play hero, jacking a three-runner home run in the bottom of the eighth to break a 2-2 tie and give the Jays their fourth consecutive win. No one was more surprised than Pillar, who has been shuffled between the lead-off spot and batting eighth in the order due to his early-season slump, that he was able to put one over the fence. When asked if he knew he had hit it out of the yard, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/mlb/jays-dodgers-pillar-1.3571589" target="_blank">Pillar responded</a> &#8220;Oh, I don&#8217;t hit enough of them to know that they&#8217;re going to be homers.&#8221; The beauty of it, aside from the fact that the offensive production came from an unexpected source, is that Smoak had been intentionally walked ahead of Pillar despite only one out in the inning. Again, it&#8217;s a small sample size, but Pillar is batting .391/.440/.696 this month, while continuing to provide the <a href="http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/176770040/kevin-pillar-makes-another-great-catch" target="_blank">Superman-esque defense</a> for which he&#8217;s become known.</p>
<p>A hot Kevin Pillar means that pitchers can no longer bat around the big boppers to get to an easier match-up; it may also mean that Pillar will see more time at lead-off, which seems to be John Gibbons&#8217; preferred spot for him in the lineup. Regardless of batting order, a hot bat in Pillar&#8217;s hand ought to bolster the offense, at least until some of the other bats fully wake up.</p>
<p>What exactly does all of this mean? I&#8217;m not yet prepared to shout from the rooftops that the Jays&#8217; offense has finally figured it out, the results this week have been promising. If it&#8217;s too early in the season to say that the Jays are terrible, then it is also too early to say that what we&#8217;ve seen this week is what we can expect the rest of the season. However, I do believe they&#8217;ve turned a corner and that fans should be optimistic. In a radio hit with Mike Richards on TSN 1050, Blue Jays analysis Dirk Hayhurst <a href="http://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-1050/hayhurst-blue-jays-finally-starting-to-show-their-potential-1.485059" target="_blank">provided a voice of reason </a>when he said the Jays, &#8220;showed better baseball poise,&#8221; during the close games than when they&#8217;re able to beat up on a pitcher, and that there is some &#8220;psychological roll-over&#8221; when a player has a good game. Combine that with the fact that the starting pitching has thus far been exceptional and the bullpen is beginning to get it together, the Jays as a whole may not quite yet have it all figured out, but they are finally demonstrating their potential.</p>
<p>Quick Hits:</p>
<ul>
<li> Brett Cecil, who has struggled out of the bullpen this season, <a href="http://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/1000933%20" target="_blank">responded to fans </a>who have taken to booing him recently. “One thing I will say If you’re going to boo me, don’t cheer for me when I’m pitching good.” Jays fans are not wrong about Cecil&#8217;s performance to date this season &#8211; he is the first reliever to post a 0-5 record in the month of April since 1913, which is when Major League Baseball began keeping records. Some fans seems to forget, however, that beginning June 24 last season, Cecil had a 37-game streak in which he did not surrender a single earned run. Fans &#8211; if you purchase a ticket to a game, you most certainly have the right to boo a player. Conversely, I (and others who share my mindset) have the right to judge you as a lousy fan. Remember that these players are human beings who go through ups and downs in life and in their careers just like the rest of us, and that booing members of your own team when the are struggling says more about you than it does about them.</li>
<li>The series against the L.A. Dodgers meant a return to Toronto for former general manager Alex Anthopoulos. In a press conference with Toronto media, he <a href="https://www.thestar.com/sports/bluejays/2016/05/06/alex-anthopoulos-still-a-jays-fan-after-all-these-months-griffin.html%20" target="_blank">reminisced about what could have been</a> had the Jays traded for Ben Zobrist, and discussed his relationship with Jays’ ownership. He said his dream is for the Blue Jays to play the Dodgers in the World Series &#8211; which, quite frankly, is a dream of mine. (As a follow-up, Ian Hunter posed <a href="http://bluejayhunter.com/2016/05/5-unanswered-questions-alex-anthopoulos-era.html" target="_blank">five lingering questions</a> about the Alex Anthopoulos era that he, and others, would love to have answered.)</li>
<li>Free agent and two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum threw 41 pitches in a showcase for interested scouts. The former Giants pitcher is hoping to make a return to the big leagues after undergoing hip surgery, and the <a href="https://twitter.com/LottOnBaseball/status/727580223022223361%20" target="_blank">Jays were amongst the teams</a> who took a look at what he had to offer. Make of that what you will.</li>
<li>And, finally. After recording his first big-league win on Tuesday, Joe Biagini gave a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBT5HNTf2iM&amp;feature=share%20" target="_blank">post-game interview </a>that was, well, a tad unconventional. I’m just going to let the video speak for itself.</li>
</ul>
<p>One final thing: you have no doubt seen the devastating images out of Fort MacMurray of the wildfire that has left tens of thousands of people homeless while running for their lives. The Blue Jays have created an <a href="http://auctions.mlb.com/iSynApp/allAuction.action?sid=1101001&amp;selectedCatId=13000&amp;query=&amp;sort=timeleft_asc&amp;qMode=open&amp;rc=25&amp;layout=grid&amp;pgmode1=teamsite&amp;pgmode2=&amp;pgmode3=&amp;pgcust1=jays&amp;pgcust2=&amp;pgcust3=&amp;&amp;qt[0].type=openbrac&amp;qt[1].type=openbrac&amp;qt[2].type=fieldmatch&amp;qt[2].name=panname_partnername_s&amp;qt[2].value1=mlb&amp;qt[3].type=operor&amp;qt[4].type=fieldmatch&amp;qt[4].name=panname_partnername_s&amp;qt[4].value1=team&amp;qt[5].type=closebrac&amp;qt[6].type=operand&amp;qt[7].type=fieldmatch&amp;qt[7].name=panname_teamname_s&amp;qt[7].value1=jays&amp;qt[8].type=closebrac&amp;rs=25&amp;partnerId=ed-10295381-894244913" target="_blank">auction to help raise money for the Red Cross</a> to assist in the aid relief. You can also text FIRES to 45678 to make a $10 donation. As of Friday, fans making a purchase in the Jays Shop could add a donation to their purchase. The Canadian government has pledged to match all public donations, so please &#8211; give generously.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/05/08/this-week-in-blue-jays-it-was/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
