Mark Shapiro Tasked with Winning over Wary Blue Jays Fans

Many Blue Jays fans are still trying to figure out how they should feel about this year's team. The 2015 Jays took them on an exhilarating ride for two-and-a-half magical months. It was so new, and so much fun, that they ached to keep the magic alive in the offseason.

David Price is gone? So sign Zack Greinke or Johnny Cueto. Need bullpen help? Go grab Joakim Soria. Damn the expense. The Jays came so close last year. Let's keep this thing going.

That sentiment may be rooted more in emotion than prudence, but it's understandable. So is the rationale of season-ticket holders, who say to owner Rogers Communications: We've invested big-time in your team, and you should step up, too.

Along with a division championship, the Blue Jays' dreamlike run triggered an unprecedented run on the box office that continues today. The club has sold upwards of 14,000 season tickets, roughly double last year's total. And on Thursday night, close to 2,200 fans—more than double last year's turnout—showed up when the Jays held their annual soiree for season-ticket holders at the Rogers Centre.

It was a passionate pep rally, featuring made-for-TV production values and a slick, tightly scripted agenda starring the biggest cast in the event's 14-year history. Before the main event unfolded on the stadium floor, fans gathered on the 100-level concourse for free food and drink. There, the conversation about the team was not entirely buoyant, as I learned when I conducted a random and entirely unscientific sampling of their views on the Jays' winter accomplishments.

"I thought we had a lot of momentum coming into the offseason," said Quinton Adams, who has bought season tickets for seven years. "There was a lot of team chemistry. The city was rallying like crazy. It seems that it's slowing down or coming to a halt. I was hoping they'd keep it going. Maybe another big splash to replace Price. I was hoping they'd keep climbing."

Others I spoke with echoed that view, if not always in such unambiguous terms. They shared an unsettled feeling. Their team had made a big splash in 2015; they worry that only ripples remain.

While acknowledging that the 2016 Blue Jays should be very good, they hold nagging doubts about the team's ability to step up to a World Series title. Of course, doubts of this sort are new for Jays fans. For a generation, the best they could hope for was a contender, and those hopes always faded fast. Last year's banquet made them hungrier.

When the annual winter gathering of season-ticket holders began in a downtown restaurant 14 years ago, it attracted several hundred fans who got the opportunity to fire questions and complaints directly at the top brass. They'd ask about the roster, and complain about Rogers' penny-pinching payroll, and moan about the warm beer and the cold water in the stadium washrooms. Some of the questions were smart and some were raw, rambling, uninformed and uncomfortable.

In time, as the crowds grew larger and the event moved to a hotel ballroom and then to the Rogers Centre, that spontaneity gave way to a script. Club officials solicited questions by email and picked what they claimed was a representative sample. Then, with the president, general manager and manager sitting in plush leather chairs on the dugout roof and the fans settled in the third-base stands, emcee Buck Martinez recited the questions to the brass. The mood was generally sedate.

With a new front-office leadership in place this year, the club renamed the event. Previously labeled The State of the Franchise, it's now dubbed The Leadoff. The lavish concert-like setting—with the audience seated in darkness at field level and the stars on a stage with big TV screens looming above—was partly coincidental. The setup had been arranged for a huge gathering of Rogers employees the next day, with CEO Guy Laurence set to speak on the state of his franchise, so it made sense to use it for The Leadoff.

Martinez kicked it off with a rah-rah review of the season just past, and everyone cheered. Martinez and new-old broadcast buddy Dan Shulman tossed softball questions to new president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins, both warmly welcomed this night after a rocky reception when they first came to town, and to manager John Gibbons, who received a standing ovation as he sauntered onto the stage in a brown leather sport jacket, jeans and cowboy boots. Well into last season, many fans muttered that Gibbons had to go. "What a difference a year makes," he cracked as he slouched contentedly into his chair and flashed his familiar grin.

The mood was generally jovial. In response to the offseason anxiety of the fan base, the scriptwriters made sure to keep the proceedings bouncy and bright. For the first time, a player was added to the cast: Kevin Pillar, accompanied by a video collage of his airborne outfield grabs, said yes, he could be a fine leadoff hitter. And yes, there's no reason why the Blue Jays can't win the World Series. Everybody cheered.

Before all of the fanfare, the concourse conversations I shared were a tad more subdued. Ron Tauer, a season-ticket holder since 1989, predicted the Jays would trade Edwin Encarnacion because they can't afford to keep both Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. "They'd be crazy if they get rid of Jose instead of Edwin," Tauer said. He's worried about the pitching. "I'm too much of a pessimist, living in Toronto. It's hard to be optimistic."

Until this year, Sharon Rose and her husband had not bought season tickets since the glory years of 1992-93. But after last season, they're back on board. She asked me what's happening with Josh Donaldson's contract. I told her what Shapiro told me before the event: The Jays are trying to negotiate a multi-year deal with the MVP before he goes to an arbitration hearing. She liked that.

Rose was not entirely bullish on the 2016 Blue Jays, but she brought an even-handed perspective to the disquieting developments that saw Alex Anthopoulos leave and Shapiro hire Cleveland crony Atkins as the new GM. She even had a touch of sympathy for Rogers, which seldom gets much of that from baseball fans.

"It's this new guy's first year," she said. "You've got to give him a chance. Alex did so much at the end, but he didn't know if he was staying anyway, and the other guy was hired before all this happened. You can't really fault Rogers, right?"

Chris Loy just bought season tickets for the first time. He too has concerns about the pitching, but predicts help will arrive from within. "I have faith in Drew Hutchison coming back," he said. "I think he had a one-year blip."

When I asked Lisa Madokoro, a season-ticket holder for seven years, how she felt about the off-season, she launched into an energetic analysis.

"It's a bit underwhelming," she said, "but then I look at what the Royals did last year when everyone gave them a low grade. I think that we filled the areas that we need. I'm still a bit concerned about pitching. I think it's hard to compete with what Alex did at the trade deadline in terms of excitement, but overall, I feel OK about it."

She also likes the trade that brought Drew Storen to the Jays and what it might mean for Aaron Sanchez.

"It does some interesting things for the bullpen," she said. "It opens up Sanchez to possibly be a starter. I think that's really a good thing. That Storen piece is what made me start to feel confident about this offseason. And I know [J.A.] Happ and Marco Estrada aren't the flashiest of pitchers, but I think they'll be solid in the middle and back of the rotation."

Speaking of the bullpen, I asked Gibbons earlier about his closer: Storen or the incumbent, Roberto Osuna? The skipper said they'll decide in spring training. Fuzzy questions filled his answer.

"We're not going to say, who pitched better in spring training?" he said. "As time develops, we'll look at it and say, how does it shape up best for us? Is it better going with Storen closing for one inning and then use Osuna for an inning-plus?"

I said that might set the stage for Osuna moving to the rotation down the road. Does that make sense?

"It could," Gibbons said. "It could help, you know. We'll see."

During a media session before the main event, Shapiro said he will begin earnest negotiations on contract extensions for Bautista and Encarnacion in spring training. Their contracts expire after the coming season. Logic and ownership's history suggest he won't sign both. He'll be fortunate to sign one. We may not have answers until a year from now.

After fielding reporters' questions, Shapiro mingled with fans on the concourse, moving quickly from one cluster to the next, listening, smiling, posing for photos. On stage at the end, he thanked the fans and said he'd never felt such a vibe during similar events over his 24 years in Cleveland. "You are the best fans in baseball," he said.

Now it's back to reality. This is a good team, but gnawing doubts remain among those disappointed that the Jays did not sign a big-time pitcher. On Thursday night, some in attendance were already thinking ahead to the end of July. Said Mhet Grainger, a longtime fan: "I hope we're saving our pennies for the trade deadline."