VERITAS TD&F: TOUCHDOWN- ROGERS COMES CLEAN ON JAYS

After issuing a Fumble last week to the Toronto Blue Jays' GM for his handling of the issue of trading ace pitcher Roy Halladay, it’s only fitting to issue a Touchdown for the transparency of the comments made this week about the team’s costs on a Rogers quarterly earnings conference call with media. “We believe that the financial performance of the Blue Jays can improve,” said Tony Viner, president of Rogers Media, the corporate arm responsible for the team, stadium and broadcasting. “In fact, it’s the one division of the media company this year which, on a year over year basis, is performing better than it was. We think that we can bring costs reasonably under control and more in line with revenues.” It was a full and frank admission that the parent company needs to control costs and that this probably means rebuilding and dealing star players for younger, developing players who come with more manageable salaries. You can build a World Series champion that way, as the Jays have twice proven. It might come as bad news to some fans who thought the Jays were a few key trades away from being a playoff contender. But at least it makes clear to the Blue Jays faithful where this franchise is headed in the near term. In addition, Viner balanced his comments nicely with positive messages. As a communications play, that kind of honesty is Touchdown-worthy.