The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / Rogers and baseball like oil and water.

**Posted by laffin** October 2, 2024 7:07 pm

It’s the same, old same old. The end-of-season Blue Jay Sermon on the Mound by Shapiro and Atkins just repeated what we’ve heard for the past nine years, “We’ve got to do better.” They both talked a lot but said nothing about how they are going to improve the team. It is unfortunate that Edward Rogers, the owner of the team, is not baseball savvy and is only concerned about his bottom line. If that is the case, if attendance and the sale of the high-priced beer and food hits the basement he may wake up and make the necessary changes to bring back this team as a winner. Shapiro and Atkins spent 15 years in Cleveland at the helm and did nothing and yet Edward Rogers hires them, I rest my case.

**Posted by cash** October 2, 2024 7:44 pm

both the tigers and royals pulled off upsets. just make the playoffs jays

**Posted by Shorty Wave** October 3, 2024 7:24 am

It was a sad sack season, and it was supposed to be their year, right. And Rogers doesn’t care as long as they’re making money, but that could soon change.

Last edited by Shorty Wave (October 4, 2024 8:46 am)

**Posted by mace** October 3, 2024 8:30 am

Since their last World Series Championship in 1993, the Jays record is 15-13. A winning season is considered finishing at .500 or better. I have excluded Covid and strike shortened seasons. Now compare that to St. Louis where baseball is a religion. The Cardinals in that same time period are 24-4. Clearly team management know how to build a consistently competitive baseball team.

**Posted by tvguy** October 3, 2024 8:52 am

I have no statistical basis for my hypothesis, but the baseball teams owned by a single family or a consortium of individuals - rather than large corporations - seem to advance to meaningful playoffs more often. Yankees - Steinbrenner, Red Sox - was the Yaghe (mis-spelled) family (till recently), Dodgers - a consortium of owners called Guggenheim Baseball Management 0 including Movie Producer Peter Gruber, Majic Johnson, Billie Jean King, and a few other investors. Blue Jays steep decline began in my view when the Belgian Brewing company bought Labbatts - and Rogers Baseball Partnership has not done much better. I doubt that Edward Rogers Jr. is particularly engaged in baseball. Is there. a baseball loving billionaire out there who could take majority ownership of this sinking ship and turn it around?

**Posted by Dial Twister** October 3, 2024 2:15 pm

I freely admit to not being a sports fan.

The millionaire players and the billionaire owners aren't in real competition with other teams. Let's face it, the real game is in separating fans from their money. And the owners have devised so many ways of doing so.

Team loyalty, by players, vanished decades ago. The only player loyalty now is to the largest contract.

Loyalty to a team? Loyalty to a city? Loyalty to the fans? How quaint. 🤣

Okay, now back to the annual wailing and gnashing of teeth after yet another losing season. Not for the owners. Not for the players. Nay, nay, nay. It's, as always, the fans who are losing. 😉

Okay, I'll shut up now.

**Posted by tvguy** October 3, 2024 2:23 pm

Well stated. I was taken aback when I read Doug Smith's article in the Star this week, about Chris Boucher, a Canadian-born Toronto Raptor. Boucher will earn $11M this season, despite the fact that in an average week, he only plays a few minutes - and that's in a good week. The rest of the time he sits on the bench. Contrast his salary with many of the Blue Jays - who play 162 games - or a good portion of those games. I believe that Kevin Keiermeir was pad around $11m - and he played outfield virtually every day until he was traded - because he failed to hit adequately.

I get it, a professional sports career for those who make it to the big leagues is relatively short. But as a fan, it's tiresome...and my monthly satellite bill for sports is $25 plus tax...and I endure those endless Bet365 ads to boot.