Now I'm not sure, but I imagine that we are going to get a news conference on Monday with Shapiro and to be honest I unfortunately think that because of the nature of what happened with AA in the last week we aren't going to get as much of an outline of where this club may be heading simply due to the media choosing to shift questions towards the AA situation rather than where the club is going!
Here are 5 things I actually hope we cover in some way in this possible news conference!
1. Draft & Player Development! - I am a firm believer that teams that build through the draft and are able to cultivate their own players are organizations that are successful. DUH. The Blue Jays started out as an organization that did this and was successful through player development, but there were a number of dark times (COUGH JP RICCARDI ERA) that things looked bleak. When Paul Beeston took over and AA was brought onto be the GM the team refocused on building up the farm and really put this team in a place that not only would they have home grown players on their major league roster, but still have enough prospect currency to make moves when it counted to bring in established veterans to compliment cheaper home grown players. Not only did they do this through the MLB player draft, but they also had a huge focus in Latin America. I hope that we will see Shapiro keep a player development focus and continue to have the Blue Jays organization as one of the organizations with the most Scouts in the Majors and continue to ensure that they bring in Coaches to their farm systems that can help develop players.
2. The organization has made huge strides during the latest Beeston era in expanding the Blue Jays brand in Canada but also in places like Buffalo! The relationship in Buffalo may seem like an obvious partner, but it takes a smart leader to understand the tangible benefits of having your AAA club so close to it's Major League Ball club and how you can expand the growth opportunity by utilizing a fairly large market to it's advantage. I still think the push to get the Vancouver Canadians as a Jays affiliate was very underrated move on the Org's part. I hope Shapiro is smart enough to make mention of these ventures and ensuring that they are going to be expanded on going forward.
3. I think the 1st thing most fans who read up on the Shapiro hire found out that he has overseen Stadium renovations in Cleveland and we all should know that the Roger's Centre is in need of a bunch of reno's to bring it up speed with the rest of the facilities in the MLB. I imagine things like Natural Grass and new seats may be covered, but I am hoping we get some real details on what plans are coming for the concrete jungle!
4. If you've ever been to the Blue Jays spring training facility you know why there is need for an upgrade....holed up..upgrade is too mild.....The Blue Jays facility in Dunedin needs a complete overhaul! There are many reasons why Beeston was trying to get a new deal with the Town of Dunedin before he left office. Whatever the plans for the Spring Training facility are i hope we are able to get an idea of where they may be heading with it.
5. This is a given and is only really a discussion point since last Thursday Alex Anthopoulos decided that he didn't want to be the Blue Jays GM any longer, but I hope we get some direction on who will be the acting General Manager of the Blue Jays (Tony Lacava) and whether or not Mr. John Gibbons will be back at the helm of the Blue Jays next year (who knows with the way Gibbons contract is structured).
Sure Mark Shapiro's 1st press conference is going to be interesting, but i'm hoping that there will actually be some time to figure out the plans for the organization going forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment