Article: Twins Should Follow Blue Jays Bold Lead

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Originally Posted by robbie111

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The Jays television contract with Sportsnet (also owned by Rogers), essentially makes all of Canada the Jays region.As lucrative as that may sound, it's not, according to the Globe and Mail it netted them $36M last season.

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If another company owned the Blue Jays that figure would be substantially higher. The Jays are owned by a cable company which owns sports networks in Canada. The 36M is a figure they made up to pay themselves and doesn't reflect the reality of the situation.

This is from Forbes magazine.

But Toronto is owned by $14 billion-in-sales Rogers Communications, which also owns sports channels that pump through Blue Jays games as well as those of its other two teams, the NBA’s Raptors and NHL’s Maple Leafs. The company’s strategy of using sports programming to boost profits has been paying off and shares of Rogers have been outperforming the market recently. On top of the increase in carrier fees Rogers can command from its sports programming, last year Rogers Sportsnet paid the Blue Jays a rights fee of $36 million. So Rogers gets a doubleheader from its sports programming. The Blue Jays have a much larger cable television audience than the Marlins and thus star power on the diamond can translate into much more money from advertisers.

It does dwarf the twins revenue, the 36 million is a fee they basically pay to themselves and really doesn't represent anything. Rogers Tv network paid Rogers sports team. They could have made the figure higher for example 180 million if they were selling the team to show how much revenue it brings in. So where they make their money is in advertising, cable company carrier fees (from competing cable companies for example Shaw in canada) and shares in the Rogers company. It's a different model.

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You're just talking about Rogers, not the Blue Jays. The Pohlads also make a tonne more money from avenues other than the Twins, it doesn't all funnel back to the team, unless they want it to.

Rogers is a massive communications corporation, it's wireless communications division is the reason for it's increased share price, which brings in over 3 times the amount of it's cable operations. They are not the major shareholder in the MLSE, they own 37.5% of it, so does Bell Canada while Kilmer Sports own 25%, none of which has anything to do with the Blue Jays anyway, it's just one of their many assets.

Do they undervalue broadcast rights? Sure they do, so they can increase profit from ad revenue, again nothing to do with the Jays. In fact, part of this spending spree has more to do with the 25 million they are getting from MLB than anything. As opposed to the Twins, the Jays are blowing the wad on payroll, it's free money for them.

Sorry, if someone was to buy the Blue Jays and Rogers told them the broadcast rights were worth 180 million, I want to meet that guy, I have a Ford Focus he can buy for 3 million.

Finally and most importantly, Rogers is a publicly traded company, they can't simply put whatever they want into a baseball team just because they want to, not without their shareholders revolting on them anyway. They are committing more money to the team, I'll concede that but at great risk if it does not work out, if this team does not perform to expectation and bring in the expected increase in revenue through a more attractive product, there is going to be some pretty unhappy wireless investors.

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Originally Posted by LastOnePicked

Couldn't agree more. TR has proven that he's only capable of thinking small. For all of the praise he got for signing Willingham and Doumit, we need to keep in mind that the few moves he made last offseason netted the team exactly three wins over their dismal 2011 campaign. The current Twins simply cannot see the big picture, and seem completely adverse to any free-agent risk -- other than their death-by-a-thousand-cuts dabbles in the mlb dumpsters. I doubt TR was even in on any of the trade conversations with Miami. The fans will have to demand change soon.

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How is this Terry Ryan's fault? He is not a member of the Pohlad's family. All he can do is make small moves under budget constraints.

Also, I know this topic is more about the philosophy or making big splashes than the specific deal. However, anyone who thinks this would have been a good trade for us is just wrong. The Twins would still be terrible. The Jays had a really good squad to build off. It's going to take the Twins awhile to reach that level.

I'm not sure I agree with the spending for the sake of spending argument. As others pointed out, Toronto has a window of opportunity right now to take the east where it didn't look like it would exist a year or two ago, and even though they were in last, they'd have likely been a contender in the central. In their case, spending the money makes sense. If the Twins were a flawed but good team (like 2010), I'd tend to agree, but their needs are much greater. We desparately need starting pitching and production up the middle, and while it is possible to build a contending team via trades and FA signings to help those areas, there's going to be a lot of 1 year type make good/gambles to make it work along with some smart, targeted FA signings... and gambles are just that.

The Twins strategy should be as follow:
1) Make one or two longer contract good FA SP signings
2) Trade Span or Morneau for a AA type pitcher with a good ceiling
3) Sign 2 more SPs and at least one MI to a 1 year prove it deal.

Odds are good that not everyone in the 3rd bucket will work out, and even the FA signings aren't exactly a sure thing.

Terry Ryan has repeated, over and over, that he has never once been denied money when he asked for it, so yes, he is complicit in any decision not to spend to win, and to restrain the budget.

I also disagree 100% the Twins would still be terrible if Johnson, Buerhle, and Reyes were healthy all year. That's a lot more wins.

Funny no one mention Bonifacio one of the best ut and fastest players in mlb.

John Buck is also a great right hand power hitting catcher who hit 20 hrs and a .281 ba in 2010 for the Jays, a very good replacement for Butera.

1 reason they wont is that david st pete and terry ryan would have to give up there bonuses for slashing payroll...how much did they pocket after cutting 18.4 million last year?

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Originally Posted by h2oface

i think the most intriguing thing about this trade might be that new marlins manager, mike redmond, had been managing in toronto's system and might have been personally responsible for many of the prospects miami will receive, both as pieces of the trade and as a minor league manager. i think redmond managed marisnick this season in class A at dunedin of the florida state league. redmond may be sly like columbo, and the owner of the marlins may have just cleaned the canvas for more painting, and not be done...... but jeff loria has done some kinda shady/slanted (expos to mlb/then buying marlins with a loan for the difference from mlb in 2002) dealings in the past. oh, as an aside......... i think it should just be world series championship - not .....ships - , as the first marlin's championship loria was not a part of as owner.

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in fact the ownership group from baaaston , loria and the commish PUD selig were all charged with the rico act in 2002
but once again the good ole boy network slipped off thr hook , now pud is looking imnto the trade?? hahaha what a joke selig is just sticking his hand out for a little taste from loria , if you look at the contracts that all 3 signed they are backloaded , as loria intended to trade them all any way ..time for pud selig loria and the wilpons to be removed from baseball to keep the games intergraty

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Originally Posted by johnnydakota

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Originally Posted by h2oface

i think the most intriguing thing about this trade might be that new marlins manager, mike redmond, had been managing in toronto's system and might have been personally responsible for many of the prospects miami will receive, both as pieces of the trade and as a minor league manager. i think redmond managed marisnick this season in class A at dunedin of the florida state league. redmond may be sly like columbo, and the owner of the marlins may have just cleaned the canvas for more painting, and not be done...... but jeff loria has done some kinda shady/slanted (expos to mlb/then buying marlins with a loan for the difference from mlb in 2002) dealings in the past. oh, as an aside......... i think it should just be world series championship - not .....ships - , as the first marlin's championship loria was not a part of as owner.

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in fact the ownership group from baaaston , loria and the commish PUD selig were all charged with the rico act in 2002
but once again the good ole boy network slipped off thr hook , now pud is looking imnto the trade?? hahaha what a joke selig is just sticking his hand out for a little taste from loria , if you look at the contracts that all 3 signed they are backloaded , as loria intended to trade them all any way ..time for pud selig loria and the wilpons to be removed from baseball to keep the games intergraty

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johnnydakota>English language

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/violent/sterb035.gif

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Originally Posted by ssmart

Agree 100% with J.C.
Let's give Terry Ryan a little time here. Pitchers and Catchers don't report for 3 months yet.
Trades are always great fodder for the Hot Stove League. Connie Mack dismantled 2 World Champion teams, in the teens; Frank 'Home Run' Baker, Eddie Collins et al. Then again in the 30's with Jimmy Foxx, 'Lefty' Grove, Al Simmons and others.
I remember growing up ... Harvey Kuenn for Rocky Colovito ... man I was knocked back on my 10yr. old butt by that one!
Let's wait a bit to see what TR does.

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so 18 years isint enough time?
the kids born after our last worldseries victory are now bar hopping ....what have you done for us terry? nothin ...hope you choke on your payroll cutting bonus

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Originally Posted by Jim Crikket

The point is that the Twins could do the same thing... they could add players that would generate greater enthusiasm by the fan base and thus with advertisers. But nibbling around the edges of the talent pool won't bring an extra nickel of revenue in. To sell more tickets and advertising, they would need to be bold enough to convince people they're serious about getting back in the hunt this year. That's what the Jays have done and there's no reason the Twins couldn't do the same thing.

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amen look at ticket sales after fielder and albert were signed?

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Originally Posted by Top Gun

Funny no one mention Bonifacio one of the best ut and fastest players in mlb.

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we got mastroanni

wow another english police , this time from north of the border ,thats cool , here is what you do ..
when you see johnnydakota , ignore it ok hope you have a nice thanksgiving

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Originally Posted by mike wants wins

Terry Ryan has repeated, over and over, that he has never once been denied money when he asked for it, so yes, he is complicit in any decision not to spend to win, and to restrain the budget.

I also disagree 100% the Twins would still be terrible if Johnson, Buerhle, and Reyes were healthy all year. That's a lot more wins.

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Have you ever considered the fact that the reason he gets the money is that he doesn't ask that often?

Yes,but I am hard pressed to think of when he got it....what player has he signed to get the team over the hump?

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Originally Posted by diehardtwinsfan

Have you ever considered the fact that the reason he gets the money is that he doesn't ask that often?

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I think your post would more properly be described as an opinion, rather than a fact.