Given everything that's going on around the Blue Jays right now, this story is going to blow up pretty big.Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed (above) and Tony Viner, president of Rogers Media spoke about the Blue Jays on a regular quarterly earnings conference call. They noted (sit down or brace yourself) that the team needed to (remain calm) "bring costs reasonably under control and more in line with revenues."
No really. Stop freaking. (This includes you, Bob McCown.)
We know that doesn't sound good or sit well in the minds of Blue Jays fans, who already think that Rogers is taking the cheap way out by not increasing payroll sufficiently to compete in the AL East. But recognize that the quarterly earnings call is an avenue through which the company assures investors and stockholders that their money would or is being handled in a reasonable and prudent fashion. Frankly, it's almost impossible to conceive of a scenario where the executives would have indicated otherwise, especially given the $15 million golden parachute that was just handed to B.J. Ryan.
And don't forget to notice the part of the quote where Viner indicates that the baseball business is "the one division of the media company this year (where) year over year performance is better than it was."
What Viner's statements about "improving" the team's financial performance probably mean, though, is that the notion floated by Smilin' Paul Beeston that the Jays could spend upwards of $120 million on payroll is dead in the water. The Jays are going to have to make due on $80 to $90 million payrolls, and given the Vernon Wells deal, they'll have to work as hard as teams with $60 million payrolls to maximize their player personnel investments.
That is, unless there is a potential cash cow out there that could be tied to the Blue Jays (like, say, the baseball channel for which Rogers already has a license). Just sayin'.
(H/T to Out of Left Field's Neate Sager and his Twitter feed for the story.)
Jim Balls-are-not-silly, where are you?
ReplyDeleteIs this the nadir of our hopes for the future of the Jays?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, it was an investor conference call, it's financing suicide to say anything other than they intend on running the team like a business. Believe me, I've been on the other end of these....you gotta know your audience. They weren't speaking to Blue Jay fans there.
ReplyDeleteNot to threadjack (but I am)......but if I'm Ricciardi, I'm biting my lip real hard if the rumored Sox offer is legit. Buchholz/Bowden/Westmoreland? Beat that, Philly. If Boston ups that offer even a hair, I can't see how Philly can match it. And you know what? I'll be pissed if the Jays settle on the lesser offer.
I don't know man...the future values of BoSox and Yankee prospects are always overstated. I worry about Buchholz, and I don't see anything particularly stunning about the other two.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your interpretation of the context of the comments. I wonder if Rogers has run any numbers on what their Blue Jay revenues could be if the team was doing better in the standings. I can only assume they have, but it would be cool to get a look at those projections.
ReplyDeleteNot that payroll guarantees success.
The offer likely needs one more name for Ricciardi to seriously consider. I'm not worried about Buchholz.....I think he could be a front of the rotation guy. Bowden has taken a bit of a step back this year, but he was always viewed as a future stud also. Don't know much about Westmoreland, other than he's young ans a ways away (but so is Brown....not sure why the Jays don't covet Taylor more there).
ReplyDeleteBut then again, I've never been accused of being a scout or anything.
So what the fuck do I know.
"We've spent the past few weeks going over the numbers carefully, and we've come to the conclusion: fuck the investors . . . PLAYOFFS !"
ReplyDeletere: Blair's latest "Unwritten Rules"....even if the club is for sale, or will be for sale.....I can't see any way MLB ever lets the club leave Toronto. No way.
ReplyDeleteHopefully MLSE buys the Jays. They could use the fucking bottomless pockets.
ReplyDeleteIf Boston throws in a top propsect 3B or SS, how does J.P. not make that deal?
I'M SCARED.
Also: is this the first time Gay Jays Fan didn't shut down the thread with his over-the-top homosexuality? (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
ReplyDeleteIf they were going to sell, I don't see how the product gets more valuable without Doc.
ReplyDeleteAs to Viner's idea of reconciling costs with revenue, here's an idea - promote the f'n team properly fercryinoutloud!
Upping revenues is just as possible - maybe moreso - than cutting costs if done properly.
Also, though I can't prove it, I'm convinced that with non-cooked books, the team - and many others - would show a lot better bottom line than they do.
I don't think Nadir is fabulous...in fact I think he is a bad dresser and not good lokking either! I noticed that he doesn't wear a ring....hurrah for our side! Yea, he might bat for our team after all. I still wouldn't shag him with JP's dick and blame it on Adam Dunn! Anyway, the Rogers are so unfashinable and Nadir is a queen...I knew it!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I really hope they sell the team. With all the money coming off the books in 2011 and their current lie to stockholders about keeping the payroll the same (they won't), they can afford to re-sign Roy and make it worth his while to not bother with free agency.
ReplyDeleteAnd now we've got Ricciardi thinking about dealing the best pitcher in baseball inside his own division, for prospects in an overhyped farm system while playing an unbalanced schedule.
Great work, J.P. Maybe you can put a clause into a Halladay for the Sox's Garbage deal that only lets us field six guys in Fenway. I don't honestly believe he's stupid enough to trade Doc to Boston, but I do think he's stupid enough to use this as pretend leverage to get the worthless players the Phillies are offering.
GMs in football try to trade their best players outside the conference, but here's J.P., bucking the system, smartest guy in the room. It's not a complete miscarriage of competence if they know the truth!!!
if they trade Doc, they aren't winning next year, so what does it matter if it is within the division? and then when he becomes a free agent, he is gonna go wherever he wants, just like he would do if he plays out his contract in toronto. JP needs to get the best prospects in this deal, and ask anyone, that is Boston, not Philly
ReplyDeleteTop 10 in many offensive categories = Jays
ReplyDeleteFewest SVO and SV....Da Jays.
This pen is really not helping us in any way.