Finalists For Roki Sasaki Are Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays; Sasaki will Decide Team Soon

[BB17]

1 minute ago, Jimcanuck said:

He was in the third grade during the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. The resulting tsunami swept away his house. His father and grandparents died, while Sasaki, his mother, and his two brothers had to live in a nursing home during the recovery.

Could this be it?

I'm sorry but this is ridiculous lol. No way he isn't choosing LA or San Diego because of a Tsunami 14 years ago. And if it somehow was a factor well he wouldn't have them in the top 3 to begin with lol.

[Jimcanuck]

3 minutes ago, BB17 said:

I'm sorry but this is ridiculous lol. No way he isn't choosing LA or San Diego because of a Tsunami 14 years ago. And if it somehow was a factor well he wouldn't have them in the top 3 to begin with lol.

Unless he wants to sign with a west coast team, but.....

We are all speculating (spitballing) on his possible motives for liking Toronto

It could be as simple as the convenience of the Skydome hotel and a short walk to the UP express to the airport.

[BB17]

2 minutes ago, Jimcanuck said:

Unless he wants to sign with a west coast team, but.....

We are all speculating (spitballing) on his possible motives for liking Toronto

It could be as simple as the convenience of the Skydome hotel and a short walk to the UP express to the airport.

No Jays player is taking the UP express to the airport lol like c'mon lets get real now.

I know we are all kind of blind with what his motives are but some of the stuff getting floated around is beyond ridiculous lol.

[Terminator]

It's probably a combination of:

1. Player friendly org. A lot of guys like Turner and Kikuchi have spoken about this. It seems like we really try and put the cherry on top by being extra friendly with team's families and things like that.

2. More tolerable fanbase and media market. This is kind of another check for being a more player friendly place to play. If the team sucks, LAD fans are probably calling in death threats. When we suck people just check out. We have milquetoast media too.

3. Keeping starting pitchers healthy. This only applies to our old MLB pitchers so hopefully he doesn't do any research beyond that though if he compares us to the Dodgers in this regard we win.

4. Best spring training facilities in the game. Pitchers spend over a month and a half at these facilities before the season starts. This kind of goes to staying healthy and being a player friendly org. 

I don't know that we necessarily offer up anything special with regard to endorsement opportunities or anything like that. Maybe there is some SportsNet loopholes that give us a leg up.

[Terminator]

Or maybe Jim is right and he has a childhood fear of earthquakes and tsunamis!

[Laika]

Uncle Tetsu c'mon guys have you even had the cheesecake 

[Terminator]

Maybe he likes the idea of having our back to back team Gold Gloves defense playing behind him!

He's probably never seen a Front Office so dedicated to acquiring so many elite slap-hitting defenders before. 

[Jimcanuck]

34 minutes ago, BB17 said:

No Jays player is taking the UP express to the airport lol like c'mon lets get real now.

I know we are all kind of blind with what his motives are but some of the stuff getting floated around is beyond ridiculous lol.

Many professional sports players take public transit.  Nylander for example regularly takes the subway.

[BB17]

6 minutes ago, Jimcanuck said:

Many professional sports players take public transit.  Nylander for example regularly takes the subway.

Jays players all get on a bus at Rogers Centre to go to the airport anyways as they travel after the games.

I forgot Nylander resigned in Toronto because of the TTC access. 

[Barrelsandbombs]

1 hour ago, Terminator said:

I doubt he comes here but usually we are a finalist because we are shoving a shitload of money at the player. We basically force our way into being a finalist.

In this instance, every team in the league can offer him about the same amount of money. We will probably be a bridesmaid again but there is something about the franchise that he is highly interested in and it's not money.

And because we stick out like a sore thumb compared to the two SoCal teams, whatever that thing is could be a strike against them and could push us over the top.

The 3 things I've seen speculated about the most by talking heads on the radio and such are:

• Pete Walker
• Dunedin complex
• Jays being industry leaders on the splitter (one of Sasaki's main pitches in his arsenal)

[Carlos Danger]

1 hour ago, Jimcanuck said:

He was in the third grade during the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. The resulting tsunami swept away his house. His father and grandparents died, while Sasaki, his mother, and his two brothers had to live in a nursing home during the recovery.

Could this be it?

Then he would have gone to the Rangers or Cubs.  

 

Our connection is that Scout/FO guy he has known for years, plus probably a combo of the Ohtani pitch/ facilities, the city/Country and Kikuchi/Munuri saying nice things.. 

[Jimcanuck]

6 minutes ago, Carlos Danger said:

Then he would have gone to the Rangers or Cubs.  

 

Our connection is that Scout/FO guy he has known for years, plus probably a combo of the Ohtani pitch/ facilities, the city/Country and Kikuchi/Munuri saying nice things.. 

But the Rangers or Cubs don't have those connections.

Just like when any of us buy a home, Sasaki is considering many different factors.  If he has an earthquake phobia, that would be just one of them.

As Term notes, the money is essentially the same, so it comes down to various intangible factors.

[saskjayfan]

14 minutes ago, Barrelsandbombs said:

The 3 things I've seen speculated about the most by talking heads on the radio and such are:

• Pete Walker
• Dunedin complex
• Jays being industry leaders on the splitter (one of Sasaki's main pitches in his arsenal)

Frank Herrmann is the Jays scout that followed and had contact with Sasaki over the last couple years.  He was also his team mate  in Japan so that definitely didn't hurt.  Scott Mitchell also said that Yusei Kikuchi talked to Sasaki about Toronto.  He loved it in Toronto so we have those 2 things going for us too. 

[Carlos Danger]

13 minutes ago, Jimcanuck said:

But the Rangers or Cubs don't have those connections.

Just like when any of us buy a home, Sasaki is considering many different factors.  If he has an earthquake phobia, that would be just one of them.

As Term notes, the money is essentially the same, so it comes down to various intangible factors.

There is a connection or something with regard to the Rangers. A lot of industry insiders speculated the Rangers would be the third finalist vice the Jays.

The Rangers also apparently have top notch facilities and amenities that equal or surpass the Blue Jays. 

[Carlos Danger]

10 minutes ago, saskjayfan said:

Frank Herrmann is the Jays scout that followed and had contact with Sasaki over the last couple years.  He was also his team mate  in Japan so that definitely didn't hurt.  Scott Mitchell also said that Yusei Kikuchi talked to Sasaki about Toronto.  He loved it in Toronto so we have those 2 things going for us too. 

That’s the guy’s name I was referring to- Frank Hermann. He is our Silver Bullet if there is one.

[Terminator]

27 minutes ago, Barrelsandbombs said:

The 3 things I've seen speculated about the most by talking heads on the radio and such are:

• Pete Walker
• Dunedin complex
• Jays being industry leaders on the splitter (one of Sasaki's main pitches in his arsenal)

First time hearing about the splitter being a factor. We are pretty good with that pitch (Gausman, Francis, etc.).

And everyone else is going slider crazy which is leading to injuries.

[Brownie19]

1 hour ago, Jimcanuck said:

Many professional sports players take public transit.  Nylander for example regularly takes the subway.

The Red Rocket, Matt Bonner loved his public transit in TO.

The UP Express is a nice ride.  I now prefer it to the subway.

[Key22]

2 hours ago, jaysblue said:

When was the last time you were in Toronto? 

July 2019. The first time I went to Roger's Center - Jays won 2-1 - Smoak was the hero that day.

[Jimcanuck]

2 hours ago, BB17 said:

No Jays player is taking the UP express to the airport lol like c'mon lets get real now.

I know we are all kind of blind with what his motives are but some of the stuff getting floated around is beyond ridiculous lol.

I'm reading that the Jays take the UP Express.  Its faster and much more comfortable, so would make sense.  

[jaysblue]

2 hours ago, Jimcanuck said:

I'm reading that the Jays take the UP Express.  Its faster and much more comfortable, so would make sense.  

The Jays or any professional sports team flying in/out of Toronto usually catch their charter from North Lounge close to Derry Road. Not easily accessible from the UP station at YYZ. 

Sometimes, the Raps could board their charter from T3 since they use Delta. 

Jays usually travel right after the game, so they all take a bus from the Rogers Centre. I don't think all 26 players, coaching staff and employees take the UP Express after a game haha. 

[jaysblue]

2 hours ago, Key22 said:

July 2019. The first time I went to Roger's Center - Jays won 2-1 - Smoak was the hero that day.

Don't want to get off topic, but Toronto as a city has definitely changed a lot since, more for the worse. It was a different city pre-pandemic and even in the early part of the last decade. Post-pandemic, the city has pretty much become like Gotham City. A lot of residents have noticed as well, including foreigners who visit. 

Even the surrounding areas of the GTA have got worse. Still some better areas than others, but otherwise I wouldn't consider it one of the most desirable cities to live in anymore. 

For a big city in North America, Toronto is still better than most of its US counterparts. Though I wouldn't consider it one of the best cities. That's just me. 

 

[BB17]

A lot of downtowns are becoming over run with homeless people. Funny because all 3 of the finalists in Toronto, SD and LA have big homeless issues.
I think San Diego started a program where they basically ship them all to an open field somewhere outside of the city, basically like a camp. As bad as it sounds at the human level it’s not a bad solution. These crackheads are complete lunatics and danger civilians around them. 
 

I find in the US a lot of downtowns are more of the least desirable areas in the city. Downtown LA is a shithole and no one from LA would ever live there. San Fran is the same, in SD Carlsbad or Oceanside are way nicer than downtown.

Nashville and Austin have pretty nice downtowns of cities I’ve been to so maybe it’s a California thing lol.

[BB17]

4 hours ago, Jimcanuck said:

I'm reading that the Jays take the UP Express.  Its faster and much more comfortable, so would make sense.  

I live right beside RC and it’s not faster than driving unless it’s 3-5pm. Don’t get me wrong the UP is a great service and I use it often but the Jays would be the laughing stock of the league if they took public transportation to the airport lol.

They all take 2 buses from the loading dock to the special charter area at Pearson.

[Jimcanuck]

3 hours ago, BB17 said:

I live right beside RC and it’s not faster than driving unless it’s 3-5pm. Don’t get me wrong the UP is a great service and I use it often but the Jays would be the laughing stock of the league if they took public transportation to the airport lol.

They all take 2 buses from the loading dock to the special charter area at Pearson.

Why would they be laughing stock?

[Spanky99]

TMZ Blue Jays Message Board... 😅

[Spanky99]

8 hours ago, Terminator said:

First time hearing about the splitter being a factor. We are pretty good with that pitch (Gausman, Francis, etc.).

And everyone else is going slider crazy which is leading to injuries.

 

[jaysblue]

5 hours ago, BB17 said:

I live right beside RC and it’s not faster than driving unless it’s 3-5pm. Don’t get me wrong the UP is a great service and I use it often but the Jays would be the laughing stock of the league if they took public transportation to the airport lol.

They all take 2 buses from the loading dock to the special charter area at Pearson.

Yeah most of the Jays getaway games are either after a Sunday afternoon game or weeknight game, where traffic on the Gardiner leaving the city wouldn't be that bad at all. Could really only see a weekday afternoon game being an issue, but still they're likely out of the downtown area before 4PM if it's a 12:35 start. 

Baseball teams also travel heavy as well. Equipment, 26-man rosters, coaching staff and sometimes some front office members or family. They're taking chartered buses to the airport, not the UP haha. 

I love taking the UP as well. If I'm close to an UP station, will pay the extra $ to take that over the TTC if I need to get downtown to Union Station. 

[jaysblue]

5 hours ago, BB17 said:

A lot of downtowns are becoming over run with homeless people. Funny because all 3 of the finalists in Toronto, SD and LA have big homeless issues.
I think San Diego started a program where they basically ship them all to an open field somewhere outside of the city, basically like a camp. As bad as it sounds at the human level it’s not a bad solution. These crackheads are complete lunatics and danger civilians around them. 
 

I find in the US a lot of downtowns are more of the least desirable areas in the city. Downtown LA is a shithole and no one from LA would ever live there. San Fran is the same, in SD Carlsbad or Oceanside are way nicer than downtown.

Nashville and Austin have pretty nice downtowns of cities I’ve been to so maybe it’s a California thing lol.

Downtown Toronto has become really bad for this especially post-pandemic. They're using the TTC as areas of shelter, so you see them even on the subway or lying down outside a subway station underground shooting up. The PATH has become bad now as well. Not the most pleasant city to walk around these days, especially at night. It's become a depressing city sadly. 

The suburbs unfortunately have changed a lot as well. Crime and gun violence is way up. Home invasions happen frequently in the surrounding areas of the GTA as well. Car thefts or car jackings are common now here. Videos pop up of people getting car jacked in a busy suburban plaza during the middle of the day. Heck even two years ago I believe, Mitch Marner got car jacked in the parking lot at the Queensway Cineplex in Etobicoke. 

Rogers Centre is located right downtown, so players most likely live at the condos close by either on Bremner or close to the Harbourfront. My friends dad used to rent out his condo to Brett Cecil haha. I doubt they have time to go out and explore unless it's an off-day haha, but they probably stay close by the Rogers Centre for everything. If they're young and single players, they likely walk up to some bars in the entertainment district after night games or weekend games. I've seen guys like Colby Rasmus, Ryan Goins, Jesse Carlson, and Josh Towers at bars in the Entertainment District years ago haha. 

 

[The Cats Ass]

LA and SD are both scrambling to trade for more international bonus money. I think he’s picking the Jays, and they both know it. They’re making one last ditch effort to buy him, but he can’t be bought. 
 

Or they’re going to try and sign the players the Jays had verbal agreements with. Either way, I think we got him. I’m ordering my Sasaki jersey today to beat the rush. 

[Pendleton]