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<img decoding="async" src="//thenationnetwork.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/images/a8/1f/article_a81ff51c-3885-4a38-9329-c9b9002dff1a.jpg" alt="Game Packs" style="width: 100%; height: auto;"><br />Image via BlueJays.com</p>
<p>Via a <a href="http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/201122506/blue-jays-introduce-all-new-game-packs-for-2017-season/">press release</a> the Blue Jays announced today that they&#8217;re doing away with their popular &#8220;Flex Pack&#8221; program, and replacing it with something they&#8217;re calling &#8220;Game Packs.&#8221;</p>
<p>Flex Packs, of course, had a whole lot of the &#8220;flex&#8221; taken out of them last winter, when fans were forced to choose games up front. However, while they used to be able to take two seats for certain games, four for others, etc., the new plan seems to be more rigid.</p>
<p>Such specifics aren&#8217;t terribly important unless you&#8217;re a Flex Pack holder &#8212; which I was this year, though like many others I&#8217;ve been pushed towards season tickets in 2017, as is entirely the Jays&#8217; aim, one assumes &#8212; or if you&#8217;re thinking of being a Game Pack or season ticket holder. (One difference is that, according to the club&#8217;s <a href="http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/ticketing/game_packs.jsp">ticket sales site</a>, only the first 8,000 purchasers of 20 game Game Packs will get access to 2018 playoff tickets, and they&#8217;ll only be able to buy a maximum of eight).</p>
<p>What seems far more interesting is what this means about money, and where things are going with this team and this franchise.</p>
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<p>And I&#8217;d like to write a bunch of words about that! I won&#8217;t, though, because it turns out that I already tweeted a bunch of words on it. And rather than direct you to my feed &#8212; because, oh lord, don&#8217;t waste your time reading my dumb feed! &#8212; or just leave all that stuff buried, here are some of the highlights from the back and forth I had on the subject earlier this afternoon (before my day got derailed by a particularly stubborn Shapiro/Payroll truther &#8212; i.e. one at least as particularly stubborn as me).</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> Just got email from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash">#BlueJays</a>. Flex Packs are no more &#8211; just &#8216;Game Packs&#8217; with lots more restrictions, ineligible seats&#8230;</p>
<p>— Terry Cain (@tcain47) <a href="https://twitter.com/tcain47/status/775753478891274240">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/tcain47">@tcain47</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> (cue the cynics saying this is how Rogers/Shapiro takes all our money before cutting payroll and rebuilding cheaply)</p>
<p>— Gabe Lerman (@gabelerman) <a href="https://twitter.com/gabelerman/status/775756785604894720">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/gabelerman">@gabelerman</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/tcain47">@tcain47</a> They&#8217;d be crazy to rebuild or do anything cheaply.</p>
<p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775756961249918977">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Smart business to harness the wealth of the market and an in-demand product. But could be devastating if on-field product took a step back.</p>
<p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775758609322012672">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">But not only is that an incentive to keep the on field product viable, so is the way the Jays subsidize other elements of the Rogers empire.</p>
<p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775758910137458688">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Which is to say: many reasons to think they&#8217;re smart enough to spend to keep the window open. But maybe that&#8217;s what they want you to think!</p>
<p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775759134578860032">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> That was my thinking. I&#8217;m hoping they know they need to keep water in the well. But then again, Toronto sports ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p>
<p>— Phil A. (@Arbucks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arbucks/status/775759346613518336">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> I know they don&#8217;t need MY $, but flexibility on dates and ticket #&#8217;s was key for me. Over two years they have eliminated both</p>
<p>— papalew (@jefflewis21) <a href="https://twitter.com/jefflewis21/status/775759429291638785">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">It was a luxury. I&#8217;ve gone from ballpark pass to splitting on proper season tickets, so&#8230; I very much get it. <a href="https://t.co/NdecdM83SK">https://t.co/NdecdM83SK</a></p>
<p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775759834067116032">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> What&#8217;s interesting is if this implies management still expects to be competitive enough next year to maintain demand.</p>
<p>— Jesse Toninger (@jtoninger) <a href="https://twitter.com/jtoninger/status/775763534214868992">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">At this point the net money earned by staying competitive &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; the money saved by retooling. Fairly clearly, no? <a href="https://t.co/mQVqk4uLNF">https://t.co/mQVqk4uLNF</a></p>
<p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775764327349583876">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Of course, that sort of thing has been argued for years and didn&#8217;t seem to resonate at Rogers. Maybe now that it doesn&#8217;t need a kick start?</p>
<p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775764611278790657">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> Would Shapiro have left Cleveland (clearly on the upswing) for a team he&#8217;d have to strip down 18 months later?</p>
<p>— Craig Needles (@NeedlesOnNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NeedlesOnNews/status/775764887477682176">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I certainly don&#8217;t think so, but that&#8217;s  been the fear/silly narrative among certain media elements. <a href="https://t.co/o9OcWDRXiR">https://t.co/o9OcWDRXiR</a></p>
<p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775765182941392896">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> I think he must have some sort of promise re: reasonable budget.</p>
<p>— Craig Needles (@NeedlesOnNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NeedlesOnNews/status/775764993237094400">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I&#8217;d agree, but let&#8217;s not forget when he came aboard &#8212; it wasn&#8217;t quite the same situation. <a href="https://t.co/nqqoVDbVyE">https://t.co/nqqoVDbVyE</a></p>
<p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775765401825341440">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> I thought the opposite when he signed on. He may have even suggested reducing payroll. Like you said, it was different then.</p>
<p>— Creo Media (@creosports) <a href="https://twitter.com/creosports/status/775765866579386368">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> Last July it actually looked like a pretty good team for a quick teardown. Lots of prospects and veterans who could net more</p>
<p>— papalew (@jefflewis21) <a href="https://twitter.com/jefflewis21/status/775765849139470337">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/creosports">@creosports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jefflewis21">@jefflewis21</a> For sure. And I think a lot of people assumed &#8212; and were encouraged to assume &#8212; that was an unbending plan.</p>
<p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775766433284386816">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jefflewis21">@jefflewis21</a> I think Roger&#8217;s finally gets it. At least I hope. Taking on Liriano, $ at the trade deadline gives me hope.</p>
<p>— Creo Media (@creosports) <a href="https://twitter.com/creosports/status/775767494124531712">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p>And so we are&#8230; pretty much where we always are: wary of what Rogers is asking of fans and hopeful, but unsure, of what sort of payroll parameters the club will be operating under going forward. But with a few key differences.</p>
<p>For one, the writing is on the wall with respect to the way the franchise sees the market and thinks it can take advantage of it. They have an in-demand product and they&#8217;re charging like they expect it to stay that way. That doesn&#8217;t mean like they&#8217;re going to spend to keep it that way, but &#8212; and this is a total guess &#8212; I think that if they have one more strong year on the field and at the gate, maybe then they can get away with a retooling year. Especially if they look to come back strong and spending big the year after.</p>
<p>Which isn&#8217;t to say it will have to come to that, but for the long-term ability to keep the cash flowing, I feel 2017 is a whole lot more crucial than 2018 &#8212; though that&#8217;s easy to say right now, and especially easy to say as a fan.</p>
<p>But there was something else that came up in my later conversations that I hadn&#8217;t really thought of before that maybe changes everything significantly. We all think about how much money the Jays will need to spend to replace some of the players they&#8217;re set to lose as free agents. That has been central to the worry about what the front office is going to do with this team and how realistic it is to expect them to be competitive going forward. Jose Bautista wants a shitload of money, and Michael Saunders was so valuable in the first half and is looking at a big payday of his own. But Saunders has slowed in the second half (and produced a tonne of his value in low leverage situations, it turns out), and Bautista has yet to get his season off the ground. The Blue Jays have had a very good season so far, and they&#8217;ve done it with two of their three major impending free agents contributing less than 3.0 WAR combined, according to FanGraphs, and 2.2 WAR combined according to Baseball Reference.</p>
<p>Which is to say: it&#8217;s maybe not even going to be all that difficult to replace their production. Replacing Edwin is a different story, but finding a way to do so &#8212; or the money to keep him &#8212; becomes a whole lot easier once you realize that the Jays have already essentially lost Jose&#8217;s bat and were fine for it. And while it&#8217;s not quite so simple as that &#8212; were he to stay we could expect Jose to be better next year, and to offset some of the regressions of his teammates &#8212; thinking about it this way makes me even less worried about some kind of bait and switch going on here. How much will the budget even have to be increased, really?</p>
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<p>The more I think about it, the more I think there truly is no reason to believe the 2017 Blue Jays are going to take a step backwards. And shit, with the prices they&#8217;re charging, and the dynamic pricing, and the elimination of flex packs, and all that other stuff, they sure as hell had better not!</p>

<p align="center" style="font-size: 10px">
<img src="//thenationnetwork.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/images/a8/1f/article_a81ff51c-3885-4a38-9329-c9b9002dff1a.jpg" alt="Game Packs" style="width: 100%; height: auto;"><br>Image via BlueJays.com</p><p>Via a <a href="http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/201122506/blue-jays-introduce-all-new-game-packs-for-2017-season/">press release</a> the Blue Jays announced today that they're doing away with their popular "Flex Pack" program, and replacing it with something they're calling "Game Packs."</p><p>Flex Packs, of course, had a whole lot of the "flex" taken out of them last winter, when fans were forced to choose games up front. However, while they used to be able to take two seats for certain games, four for others, etc., the new plan seems to be more rigid.</p><p>Such specifics aren't terribly important unless you're a Flex Pack holder -- which I was this year, though like many others I've been pushed towards season tickets in 2017, as is entirely the Jays' aim, one assumes -- or if you're thinking of being a Game Pack or season ticket holder. (One difference is that, according to the club's <a href="http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/ticketing/game_packs.jsp">ticket sales site</a>, only the first 8,000 purchasers of 20 game Game Packs will get access to 2018 playoff tickets, and they'll only be able to buy a maximum of eight).</p><p>What seems far more interesting is what this means about money, and where things are going with this team and this franchise.</p><p>And I'd like to write a bunch of words about that! I won't, though, because it turns out that I already tweeted a bunch of words on it. And rather than direct you to my feed -- because, oh lord, don't waste your time reading my dumb feed! -- or just leave all that stuff buried, here are some of the highlights from the back and forth I had on the subject earlier this afternoon (before my day got derailed by a particularly stubborn Shapiro/Payroll truther -- i.e. one at least as particularly stubborn as me).</p><p></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> Just got email from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash">#BlueJays</a>. Flex Packs are no more - just 'Game Packs' with lots more restrictions, ineligible seats...</p>— Terry Cain (@tcain47) <a href="https://twitter.com/tcain47/status/775753478891274240">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/tcain47">@tcain47</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> (cue the cynics saying this is how Rogers/Shapiro takes all our money before cutting payroll and rebuilding cheaply)</p>— Gabe Lerman (@gabelerman) <a href="https://twitter.com/gabelerman/status/775756785604894720">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/gabelerman">@gabelerman</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/tcain47">@tcain47</a> They'd be crazy to rebuild or do anything cheaply.</p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775756961249918977">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Smart business to harness the wealth of the market and an in-demand product. But could be devastating if on-field product took a step back.</p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775758609322012672">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">But not only is that an incentive to keep the on field product viable, so is the way the Jays subsidize other elements of the Rogers empire.</p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775758910137458688">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Which is to say: many reasons to think they're smart enough to spend to keep the window open. But maybe that's what they want you to think!</p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775759134578860032">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> That was my thinking. I'm hoping they know they need to keep water in the well. But then again, Toronto sports ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p>— Phil A. (@Arbucks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arbucks/status/775759346613518336">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> I know they don't need MY $, but flexibility on dates and ticket #'s was key for me. Over two years they have eliminated both</p>— papalew (@jefflewis21) <a href="https://twitter.com/jefflewis21/status/775759429291638785">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">It was a luxury. I've gone from ballpark pass to splitting on proper season tickets, so... I very much get it. <a href="https://t.co/NdecdM83SK">https://t.co/NdecdM83SK</a></p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775759834067116032">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> What's interesting is if this implies management still expects to be competitive enough next year to maintain demand.</p>— Jesse Toninger (@jtoninger) <a href="https://twitter.com/jtoninger/status/775763534214868992">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">At this point the net money earned by staying competitive &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; the money saved by retooling. Fairly clearly, no? <a href="https://t.co/mQVqk4uLNF">https://t.co/mQVqk4uLNF</a></p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775764327349583876">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Of course, that sort of thing has been argued for years and didn't seem to resonate at Rogers. Maybe now that it doesn't need a kick start?</p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775764611278790657">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> Would Shapiro have left Cleveland (clearly on the upswing) for a team he'd have to strip down 18 months later?</p>— Craig Needles (@NeedlesOnNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NeedlesOnNews/status/775764887477682176">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I certainly don't think so, but that's  been the fear/silly narrative among certain media elements. <a href="https://t.co/o9OcWDRXiR">https://t.co/o9OcWDRXiR</a></p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775765182941392896">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> I think he must have some sort of promise re: reasonable budget.</p>— Craig Needles (@NeedlesOnNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NeedlesOnNews/status/775764993237094400">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I'd agree, but let's not forget when he came aboard -- it wasn't quite the same situation. <a href="https://t.co/nqqoVDbVyE">https://t.co/nqqoVDbVyE</a></p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775765401825341440">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> I thought the opposite when he signed on. He may have even suggested reducing payroll. Like you said, it was different then.</p>— Creo Media (@creosports) <a href="https://twitter.com/creosports/status/775765866579386368">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> Last July it actually looked like a pretty good team for a quick teardown. Lots of prospects and veterans who could net more</p>— papalew (@jefflewis21) <a href="https://twitter.com/jefflewis21/status/775765849139470337">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/creosports">@creosports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jefflewis21">@jefflewis21</a> For sure. And I think a lot of people assumed -- and were encouraged to assume -- that was an unbending plan.</p>— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten/status/775766433284386816">September 13, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStoeten">@AndrewStoeten</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jefflewis21">@jefflewis21</a> I think Roger's finally gets it. At least I hope. Taking on Liriano, $ at the trade deadline gives me hope.</p>— Creo Media (@creosports) <a href="https://twitter.com/creosports/status/775767494124531712">September 13, 2016</a>
</blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p></p><p>And so we are... pretty much where we always are: wary of what Rogers is asking of fans and hopeful, but unsure, of what sort of payroll parameters the club will be operating under going forward. But with a few key differences.</p><p>For one, the writing is on the wall with respect to the way the franchise sees the market and thinks it can take advantage of it. They have an in-demand product and they're charging like they expect it to stay that way. That doesn't mean like they're going to spend to keep it that way, but -- and this is a total guess -- I think that if they have one more strong year on the field and at the gate, maybe then they can get away with a retooling year. Especially if they look to come back strong and spending big the year after.</p><p>Which isn't to say it will have to come to that, but for the long-term ability to keep the cash flowing, I feel 2017 is a whole lot more crucial than 2018 -- though that's easy to say right now, and especially easy to say as a fan.</p><p>But there was something else that came up in my later conversations that I hadn't really thought of before that maybe changes everything significantly. We all think about how much money the Jays will need to spend to replace some of the players they're set to lose as free agents. That has been central to the worry about what the front office is going to do with this team and how realistic it is to expect them to be competitive going forward. Jose Bautista wants a shitload of money, and Michael Saunders was so valuable in the first half and is looking at a big payday of his own. But Saunders has slowed in the second half (and produced a tonne of his value in low leverage situations, it turns out), and Bautista has yet to get his season off the ground. The Blue Jays have had a very good season so far, and they've done it with two of their three major impending free agents contributing less than 3.0 WAR combined, according to FanGraphs, and 2.2 WAR combined according to Baseball Reference.</p><p>Which is to say: it's maybe not even going to be all that difficult to replace their production. Replacing Edwin is a different story, but finding a way to do so -- or the money to keep him -- becomes a whole lot easier once you realize that the Jays have already essentially lost Jose's bat and were fine for it. And while it's not quite so simple as that -- were he to stay we could expect Jose to be better next year, and to offset some of the regressions of his teammates -- thinking about it this way makes me even less worried about some kind of bait and switch going on here. How much will the budget even have to be increased, really?</p><p></p><p>The more I think about it, the more I think there truly is no reason to believe the 2017 Blue Jays are going to take a step backwards. And shit, with the prices they're charging, and the dynamic pricing, and the elimination of flex packs, and all that other stuff, they sure as hell had better not!</p>

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