There isn’t much Mark Shapiro can say in the early days of his tenure as Toronto Blue Jays president and chief executive officer to mollify the masses.

The most he and ownership can hope for, to be honest, is that, say, 25 per cent of the fan base is open-minded. The media … that’s mostly a lost battle, unless Shapiro can produce another playoff berth.

Programming Alert: Blue Jays president & CEO Mark Shapiro will address the media at 2:00 p.m. ET. Catch it live on all four regional channels, sportsnet.ca and Sportsnet 590 The Fan.

No, the majority narrative has been written: Shapiro will arrive in town the villain, the man who chased away Canadian-born general manager Alex Anthopoulos just days after the Blue Jays came within one or two hits with runners in scoring position of possibly being in the World Series. It will matter not that he brings with him from the Cleveland Indians a reputation as a man of loyalty; that it was his organization that welcomed Terry Francona as manager after Francona was shamefully scapegoated and railroaded out of Boston by Red Sox ownership and their media allies. Francona, a man with two World Series rings, clearly didn’t see Shapiro as the devil incarnate.

Look, I’m going to miss Anthopoulos more than 99 per cent of you because I’ve spent years cultivating a business relationship with the guy. I trust him implicitly; he trusted me about as well as any GM could trust a journalist. But I have to move on, and the best advice I can give you is to read this column penned by the terrific Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer after Shapiro took the Toronto job. Or better yet, find a copy of the book ‘Dealing’, also written by Pluto that describes in detail the Indians-Montreal Expos trade in 2002 that brought Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore to the Indians. That was Shapiro’s trade. A guy named Tony LaCava, who has one year remaining on his contract as a senior advisor to the GM with the Blue Jays, also advised on that deal, having worked for the Expos the year before it was made.

Do I have questions for the new guy? Do I? I have more than you do. There’s a great deal I’d like answered by Shapiro, such as:

What exactly is your job – more importantly, how do you view it? This is really where it all starts, isn’t it? A chance to lay to rest all those whispers that at 48 years of age, Shapiro is too young to be dealing with boring matters such as overall budgetary guidelines and stadium issues and that he wanted a job with an increased say in nuts and bolts baseball decisions. Shapiro, baseball insiders say, prefers a “collaborative” approach to decision-making. Here’s an early hint of how he pictures himself: major-league GMs begin meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., next weekend where the groundwork is laid for off-season trades and free-agent signings. Will Shapiro attend? Or will he send Anthopoulos’s lieutenants – LaCava, Dana Brown, Andrew Tinnish – all of whom were given extensions through 2016 by Anthopoulos. If Shapiro really wants to show his hand, he’d just come out and name LaCava GM. If he doesn’t do that, more questions will be raised because you know what everybody says: new guy wants to bring in his own people, etc.

Where did it go wrong with Anthopoulos? I said these are questions I’d like answered, not ones I expect answered by Shapiro. Anthopoulos said publicly that a position he once considered his dream job had no longer become “the right fit.” That led to speculation his job description and responsibilities changed. Yet, Blue Jays chairman Edward Rogers told our Shi Davidi on Friday that the “breadth and scope” of Anthopoulos’s job would not have changed — just his immediate superior. Given Anthopoulos’s frequent comments in recent days that he is a believer in “the chain of command,” it points to an unmistakable conclusion: Anthopoulos simply wasn’t personally or, more likely, philosophically comfortable with Shapiro. Now, does that mean the two men exchanged words over some of Anthopoulos’s moves? Does it mean that Shapiro, who has been criticized in some circles as being too loyal when it comes to prospects, did not agree with the number of prospects moved out this season? Or does it mean Anthopoulos anticipated a reduction in payroll and a scaling down of expectations – or, that he simple doesn’t want to be a GM any more.

Payroll: I’m not interested in hearing whether the team can or will attempt to sign David Price. Fact is, I don’t believe they have a chance and I wouldn’t give out a seven-year, $200-million deal to Price based on what I saw in the post-season, anyhow. But having said that, the easiest way Shapiro can settle some of the nerves of this fan base is to say clearly and unequivocally that payroll will not be reduced, especially given growing concern about the Canadian dollar. That’s a start. Publicly disavowing himself of his predecessor, Paul Beeston’s, five-year limit for free agents is a slam-dunk way to score brownie points. So would signing Josh Donaldson to a long-term deal and attempting to extend one of Edwin Encarnacion or Jose Bautista past next season, although in pure baseball economic terms that last action doesn’t make much sense right now.

John Gibbons’ future: Again, even if Shapiro says that the manager is returning for 2016 and has his full support, great wide swaths of the fan base and media won’t believe him. Unless they were all fibbing, Blue Jays players were unanimous in praising the atmosphere of their clubhouse and the way new teammates were seamlessly welcomed into the day-to-day life of the team. Whatever personal feelings they have for Anthopoulos – and they seemed to have little difficulty with him leading the champagne charge in the visitors clubhouse in Baltimore after they’d clinched the American League East – the guess here is they realize it is the manager who helps set the tone more than the GM; he is the point man on lineup and bullpen decisions, the man who controls playing time which in turn controls a player’s earning potential. This is not the place for a debate on Gibbons the manager. Let me just reiterate that the Blue Jays went to the AL Championship Series with a rookie closer, a fading 38-year-old starter, a knuckleballer, Drew Hutchison – oh yeah, and despite losing their opening day starter for five months in spring training. Plus … Jose Reyes, ladies and gentlemen! Gibbons, who has an option for 2017 that kicks in on New Year’s Day, deserves to be back.

The Rogers Centre: I’ve said all along that I’ll believe natural grass is coming to Rogers Centre when I can feel it growing with my own hands. At best, my guess is we’ll see a dirt infield in place for 2016, as is the case at Tropicana Field. I’ve been clear that my biggest concern with Shapiro coming in as president is I think you need somebody with better local knowledge – politically and economically – to do the things that need doing with this building. But again, that’s personal opinion.

Spring training: Don’t panic, but Shapiro is the guy who oversaw the move of the Indians’ spring training site from Florida to Arizona, and the Blue Jays need a drastic overhaul of their spring training sites ASAP. The importance of spring training as a revenue generator exceeded years ago its importance as a preparatory stage for the regular season. Beeston hasn’t been able to finish off an agreement with Dunedin on a new stadium, and there are said to be other teams willing to join with the Blue Jays in a facility in other parts of the state. My guess is with Shapiro replacing Beeston, more options just fell on to the table.

THE ENDGAME

Thank goodness the Toronto Maple Leafs decided not to honour Phil Kessel with one of those lame video-board tributes on Saturday night. One of the worst transgressions of the previous administration was those insipid tributes to largely forgettable performers from forgettable teams. Culture change means realizing when there is nothing to celebrate – or, at least, realizing when your fans feel that way.