New Regime's First Moves

[Chadwick]

I have never been a Derek Jeter fan. He was a great player and a key part of some wonderful championships teams. I understand the place he holds in Yankee lore. That said, I always viewed him as overrated, overprotected and thin-skinned.

My heart leaped for joy when I first heard that Loria was selling the Marlins. I was happy with any of the prospective ownership groups buying him out and ending that man's affiliation with baseball. Nothing against Jeter as a potential owner, but I have to wonder what kind of owner he (or any former player for that matter) will make. I would much rather the Marlins be purchased by a Stan Kasten, a John Henry, or a Jim Crane, but I've been taking the wait-and-see approach. That said (and this is an aside), it has been a little nauseating to hear the pundits laud what a "winner" Jeter is and how all his unique intangibles give them utter confidence in the very different skill-sets needed in running a MLB franchise. The love fest from the national baseball media rather than the prudent approach of "let's see what happens wouldn't have happened for another player. Nolan Ryan bought a team and there wasn't a comparable scrambling to fawn over how intelligent, smart or wise Ryan is. Makes me wanna puke.

That off my chest, I have to say I am very happy with the moves Jeter/Spencer are already making. These may seem like common sense to you or me, but there was no guarantee the new owners wouldn't retain at least some of the former brain trust. (I think I just swallowed something typing "brain trust" there.)

David Samson? Gone.
Jack McKeon? Gone.
Jeff Conine? Gone.
Andre Dawson? Gone.
Tony Perez? Gone.

It remains to be seen who their replacements are, but at least the people responsible for the club's direction over the past generation are being jettisoned promptly. This just keeps getting better and better.

[dominik]

I read they want to save some money. That would be ok if they do a full rebuild, sell everyone and get a top5 farm within 2 years but if they stay in between and save money at the same time that would be terrible.

[Chadwick]

Agreed. Every ownership group wants to bank more profit from his team, but using profit (and debt) to produce/sustain a quality product is a boon to consumers. If ownership is seeking to save money for its own sake, there's nothing wrong with that, but they should do it in a venue other than professional sports.

The Marlins problem under Loria/Samson wasn't a lack of revenue, but a lack of wise allocation of its resources. If Jeter & friends can get their Baseball Ops people right, then the rest will fall into place. Without the right people granted the necessary leeway to construct a sustainable player scouting, acquisition and development system, the revenues are moot.