Now for a little “North of the Border” talk that has nothing to do about trolling the Blue Jays for giving up way too easily, too quickly, and way too little, on and for Yan Gomes.
It appears the Blue Jays are serious about this contention thing, with their lineup that makes me so insanely jealous. So much so, that they want a respected name in to lead them into the future. Current Indians president Mark Shapiro deserves a cushier job for a change, so he should find his passport and run. Enjoy the Swiss Chalet, Mark.
Ever since Mark Shapiro joined the Cleveland Indians organization, rival executives routinely touted Shapiro as a brilliant mind for what it takes to helm a baseball team. To Shapiro’s credit, he’s been tasked with the thankless and inglorious directive to all too often make chicken salad out of chicken you-know-what, in which he’s been able to mostly turn the Indians into a respectable on-field product more than not. While the pinnacle was never reached, the fact that a middling market team usually found themselves in shouting distance of contention when things have seemed bleaker than expected speaks to Shapiro’s acumen and quiet leadership.
Seeing what Braves’ current President of Baseball Operations John Hart once saw in his former protégé, the mighty Toronto Blue Jays are making a play for Shapiro for their team president position, who recently allowed longtime president Paul Beeston to walk away from the post. For Shapiro, he would be walking into a situation that he could’ve only dreamed of. Should Shapiro take the job as it seems increasingly likely that he will, he would a cable mogul in Ted Rogers who knows that the Blue Jays are on the cusp of becoming a feared entity throughout the American League, if not all of baseball for more than just the next two months. If nothing else, Shapiro would now be armed with more wiggle room to keep the Blue Jays a playoff threat for the foreseeable future; a luxury that Shapiro was never afforded under Larry and Paul Dolan, where the cost of winning seemed to be rooted in hope with no real edict to win or else.
(Just as luck would have it, or maybe by pure fate, the Tribe is in baseball-mad Toronto this week. To paint a picture of how overnight this thing has happened, the Maple Leafs are nowhere to be found in the news right now. Typically, if the Leafs are an afterthought for whatever reason, it’s because something awful has happened. This is a very rare occurrence where one of the city’s other pro franchises told the hockey team to go its room and don’t come out until they’re asked to. The monster trade with the Marlins of 2013 barely comes close to the excitement that is enrapturing the General Toronto Area right now. If Shapiro is to be feted and the Jays want to make it a really big deal, this would be the time to do it.)
Of course, it’s possible that Shapiro isn’t the true story at all, because Shapiro is more of an overall businessman now. Shapiro’s exit, however, leads to the elephant in the room of Terry Francona’s supposed opt-out clause in his contract that he can exercise should Shapiro and/or Chris Antonetti leave the organization. Francona did his best to squash any further speculation, coolly and adeptly saying all the right things yesterday, as he usually does. So who knows where this leads until October 5. For some, the Francona shine has worn off, especially after failing to lead the team to the lofty expectations set for the season. Should the break-up of the Shapiro/Antonetti/Francona bromance lead to another organizational facelift, not everyone would be upset about the reset.
There are more questions than answers right now as the Indians’ playoff hopes are barely flickering. While we hold to the hope that a five-game deficit, Mark Shapiro appears on his way for a step up in weight class. After toiling in throes of tight budgets and risk-taking, maybe Shapiro is ready for what feels like a sure thing.
I’ve been really surprised by this talk… it’s not as if Toronto has the money to compete in that division year after year. If Shapiro jumps ship, I wonder if he knows something about the Dolans we dont. Are they selling soon? I think most GMs, especially ones that have spent 25 years in the same city, would prefer to stick with the more stable situation. Shapiro and Antonetti are in a very safe situation here. They know their payroll expectations from year to year and they know the Dolans are willing to pour in at least a little extra cash in years when they feel they’re really close. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect any front office exec to last in Toronto given their unstable financial situation. They’ve been top-10 in payroll the past 3 seasons, but were in the bottom 10 the three seasons before that (and most years since 1993). They’re pouring money in to win now, but history tells us that it’s unsustainable in that market.
I think he feels that maybe it’s just time for a fresh start. New vision; new objectives; new…country. And while the Blue Jays may not be built for the long haul (no one really has a handle on whether or not they can keep Price), everybody knows that they have the kind of offense that can lessen the sting of a so-so rotation. At the risk of being one of the “sheep,” I wonder if he’s just tired of overseeing a team that is hamstrung. I doubt he’ll ever make his true feelings and intentions known.
Did I hear correctly yesterday on the radio that the Dolans are looking for a minority owner for upwards of 30% of the club?
And is it me or does it seem like the Indians have drafted and developed their young players much better after Shapiro moved out of the GM spot and was replaced by Antonetti – or am I drawing a poor conclusion?
I don’t know if there’s a direct correlation in the development of players, but things have gotten better in recent years.
I don’t know if there is direct correlation either. But, I do think that Antonetti is a better GM than Shapiro. Shapiro fleeced I don’t know how many teams on trades, but the drafting and player development was poor under his regime. The management team Antonetti has in place seems to be performing better than Shapiros. Again, I don’t know if it is coincidence or not, but…
I wish Mark the best, but I am not shedding any tears.
I’m disappointed that Shapiro is leaving…he did a very good job in his tenure with the Tribe. But assuming Antonetti and Francona stay, I’m alright with it. I still like Francona a lot (easily the best manager we’ve had since Hargrove) and Antonetti has made do with what resources he has available a GM. But if either or both follow Shapiro out the door, I’m going to start worrying.
Yes, the key is will the rest stay? Tito brings credibility as a manager and without him, the ability to bring free agents is that much harder. Will Antonetti get Shapiro’s job?
From everything we know right now, Paul Dolan will assume presidency until the season’s end. Francona and Antonetti will remain in position.
I would think that Antonetti would eventually assume the presidency…though I think he does a good job as GM and would hate to see someone less competent get that job. It looks like Francona is staying for now–hopefully that holds.