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Hammerin' Hank on WQAM said...


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Hank was, and perhaps still is Joe Arriola's main media mouthpiece.

 

It's not surprising this would come out today, especially not from Hank. Actually I think it's a silly notion, the litigation would go on for so many years Selig wouldn't live long enough to see a new owner. Besides nothing DuPuy or Selig have said indicates their displeasure here other than their frustration with corrupt banana republic politicos and the general comment that I think is shared by everyone, that the status quo is unacceptable.

 

The next CBA will address some of the issues with the game but as long as the Yankees can use $$$ that should be going to the best interests of baseball for their own purposes, this problem is miniscule in comparison.

 

 

Yeah, banana republic politicos like Foley and Winton and Art Teele, etc.

Actually I was thinking more of ex-City Manager Joe "Boy that fire fee fiasco was really something, huh" Arriola and Manny "A guy's got to make a living" Diaz and before them "Crazy" Joe Carollo who replaced "Mayor Loco" Xavier Saurez who was thrown out of office four months into his term after widespread voter fraud was discovered (note: neither "Crazy" nor "Mayor Loco" are of my invention). Certainly Art Teele and Johnny Winton, and let's not forget Miriam Alonso or Joe Gersten, get honorable mention but they play supporting roles to some of our more "unique" mayors and city managers.

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Hank was, and perhaps still is Joe Arriola's main media mouthpiece.

 

It's not surprising this would come out today, especially not from Hank. Actually I think it's a silly notion, the litigation would go on for so many years Selig wouldn't live long enough to see a new owner. Besides nothing DuPuy or Selig have said indicates their displeasure here other than their frustration with corrupt banana republic politicos and the general comment that I think is shared by everyone, that the status quo is unacceptable.

 

The next CBA will address some of the issues with the game but as long as the Yankees can use $$$ that should be going to the best interests of baseball for their own purposes, this problem is miniscule in comparison.

 

 

Yeah, banana republic politicos like Foley and Winton and Art Teele, etc.

Actually I was thinking more of ex-City Manager Joe "Boy that fire fee fiasco was really something, huh" Arriola and Manny "A guy's got to make a living" Diaz and before them "Crazy" Joe Carollo who replaced "Mayor Loco" Xavier Saurez who was thrown out of office four months into his term after widespread voter fraud was discovered (note: neither "Crazy" nor "Mayor Loco" are of my invention). Certainly Art Teele and Johnny Winton, and let's not forget Miriam Alonso or Joe Gersten, get honorable mention but they play supporting roles to some of our more "unique" mayors and city managers.

I'm no fan of any of your banana republic guys but in the corruption ladder these guys are a few notches below the Warshaws, Dawkins, Teeles and Gerstens who ended in jail, dead or in Australia after fleeing the country. I agree the banana republic guys have the wittier nicknames.

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I was wondering if anyone has heard anything else from Hank on this topic.

 

On another board someone posted Hank's take on Hialeah, Pompano, downtown and Loria getting pushed out. You can read it here:

 

http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/art...;channel=Sports

I think that this is just some conjecture/hope from fat Hank. But we can dream it's true(except for the 2 FO apologists, I guess it would be a nightmare for them). Wouldn't it be wonderful to be done with Loria and mini-me.....as long as we keep Beinfest.

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Hank has been crap whe "reporting" on the Marlins. Half the guys on this board are more in touch with the Marlins than him.

 

There's a distinction between Hank's reporting on the games and players and his reporting on the stadium. Hank doesn't follow the Marlins that closely so his reporting on the games and players is lacking but I think his contacts in the MLB front office give his reporting on the stadium some value.

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If you remember back to when McKeon was brought in, the media (the usual groups of suspects including Jesse Jackson) demanded to know why a black managerial candidate wasn't considered.

 

Hank was very vocal (to the point where QAM was using his quotes in radio commercials/teasers run throughout the day for weeks) saying his sources in MLB said Loria/franchise were going to be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars by the league - ultimately nothing came of it. As usual when it comes to the Marlins, Hank is either biased or wrong, and often both.

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If you remember back to when McKeon was brought in, the media (the usual groups of suspects including Jesse Jackson) demanded to know why a black managerial candidate wasn't considered.

 

Hank was very vocal (to the point where QAM was using his quotes in radio commercials/teasers run throughout the day for weeks) saying his sources in MLB said Loria/franchise were going to be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars by the league - ultimately nothing came of it. As usual when it comes to the Marlins, Hank is either biased or wrong, and often both.

 

As I recall that was reported by others as well and MLB did look into that before eventually determining a fine was not warranted. There's no doubt that Hank has been wrong on various issues (Mike Lowell was one of them). However, he does have sources and sometimes he knows exactly what he's talking about. I usually take it with a grain of salt and wait to see what happens.

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I remember MLB investigated but wasn't sure what came of it so I looked it up. According to Hal Bodley the Marlins were fined.

 

==============

 

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:pfSP6...t=clnk&cd=3

Dombrowski deserves credit for Marlins' run

If it weren't for Dave Dombrowski chances are Jeffrey Loria wouldn't be sitting in Wrigley Field tonight watching his amazing Florida Marlins tangle with the Chicago Cubs.

Throw Bud Selig and Major League Baseball in the mix, too.

 

As a fitting gesture, Loria should invite Dombrowski to the National League Championship Series. Why not when the series returns to Florida this weekend?

 

Take a bow, Dave Dombrowski. Throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

 

In many ways, he was the original architect of this team. It was his shrewd wheeling and dealing in one of his darkest hours that helped form the nucleus of what has become the most surprising juggernaut in the postseason.

 

And if Selig hadn't allowed Loria and Boston Red Sox owner John Henry to play baseball's most celebrated game of musical chairs two years ago, it's doubtful this postseason scenario would be unfolding.

 

Had Henry not been able to sell the Marlins to Loria, who sold his Montreal Expos to Major League Baseball, who knows what would have happened.

 

Start with Dombrowski. He was the young, energetic general manager whose 1997 Marlins shocked Cleveland to win the World Series.

 

Don't forget Loria, team President Dave Samson and general manger Admin Beinfest. They made outstanding moves such as signing catcher Ivan Rodriguez, trading for original Marlin Jeff Conine and reliever Ugueth Urbina. Replacing Jeff Torborg as manager on May 11 with Jack McKeon was a stroke of genius, even though it cost the franchise a hefty fine because minority candidates weren't considered.

 

To Loria, that slap on the wrist was worth it.

 

But without Dombrowski's groundwork I'm certain the Marlins wouldn't have matured so rapidly the second half when they left contenders, including Philadelphia, in their wake.

 

And then they played David against the Goliath-like San Francisco Giants in the Division Series.

 

Dombrowksi left the Marlins in November 2001, accepting a lucrative deal from the Detroit Tigers to be their president and chief executive officer.

 

"I can't help but have a lot of memories, based on what's taking place there," says Dombrowski, trying to recover from the Tigers' 119-loss season. "I watched their games against the Giants. That brought back memories of what took place in 1997 and also fond memories of the players who are there now."

 

After the Marlins won the '97 Series then-owner Wayne Huizenga ordered the team dismantled, the payroll slashed. Dombrowski was the hatchet man.

 

"There was no choice," he says. "After I went through all the emotions attached to the decision, from anger to self-pity to why is this happening, I decided I could tackle it one of two ways ? as a professional and try to do the best job I could to rebuild the organization as quickly as I possibly could ? or quit."

 

Dombrowski dug in, made solid deals for the high-priced Marlins he was ordered to cut and many of the results show with this team.

 

He rattled off a list of players who came either via the draft or in deals under his watch, including Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, Derrek Lee and Luis Castillo.

 

"The current organization has made some excellent deals, too," says Dombrowski. "Hiring McKeon to manage was outstanding. He's been fantastic. His leadership has been tremendous."

 

Dombrowski remains convinced "the market in Florida has the potential to be very good. Look at what's taking place now. People forget when we started in 1993 we drew over 3 million fans. But there was the labor shutdown in 1994 and there's no question if we had kept that '97 club together, we'd have been back at 3 million.

 

"The problem is the fans there have had their hearts broken so many times. Now, they're in a position where they can see they're being romanced again. It's a very good club. They've accomplished a lot and the community is responding."

 

Two winters ago Loria owned the Expos, who along with the Minnesota Twins, were on baseball's death row. The teams were destined for elimination.

 

Loria agreed baseball was a lost cause in Montreal but wanted to remain in the game.

 

Henry owned the Marlins. They were struggling in South Florida and attempts for a new stadium had failed. He wanted out, but like Loria, didn't want to leave the game. He asked about the Anaheim Angels, before pursuing the Boston Red Sox.

 

"Baseball is an affair of the heart," he says.

 

But to complete at a $660 million love affair, Henry had to find a buyer for the Marlins.

 

Enter Loria.

 

But before Loria could buy the Marlins for $158.5 million, he had to dispose of the Expos.

 

Enter MLB.

 

The other 29 teams, including the Red Sox and Marlins, agreed to give Loria $120 million for the Expos. To complete the deal, the commissioner's office arranged a $38.5 million loan.

 

Two days before spring training opened in 2002 Henry and Loria took over their new teams.

 

Dombrowski was long gone, but he made it easier for the new owner.

 

A little tweaking here and there, not to mention the hiring of McKeon, made it happen.

 

A friend called the other day, asking Dombrowski if he's surprised the Marlins won the Division Series.

 

"I wasn't surprised," he says. "To me the biggest surprise is that when you're 10 games under .500 like they were that they could come back and have the year they're having."

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You never know...

 

Club fined for not following minority-hiring guidelines

ESPN.com news services

 

The Florida Marlins were fined a "substantial" amount by Major League Baseball for failing to follow minority-hiring guidelines when they replaced manager Jeff Torborg with Jack McKeon, ESPN.com has learned.

 

The Miami Herald reported Friday that the Marlins will not be required to pay the fine. Marlins sources told the Herald that commissioner Bud Selig indicated privately a $100,000 fine will not be imposed because Florida has a strong record of minority hiring and he does not believe the team intentionally violated baseball's minority-hiring initiative.

 

ESPN.com stands by its story, which was reported May 29. Major League Baseball would not confirm the fine, but a MLB spokesman told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that "the matter's been handled."

 

Commissioner Bud Selig has the power to fine teams up to $2 million.

 

Selig would not discuss the subject, telling ESPN.com, "I never comment on club matters."

 

"The matter has been resolved between the Marlins and the commissioner's office," DuPuy said Thursday.

 

In 1999, Selig sent a letter to teams requiring them to notify him about certain job vacancies, including manager. Teams are to provide a list of minority candidates, and the commissioner's office reviews the names before anyone is hired.

 

Marlins president David Samson said earlier this month he was not concerned about the investigation because the team takes into account "all candidates for all positions."

 

The Detroit Tigers failed to consider minority candidates before hiring manager Phil Garner in 2000. But the team escaped punishment by creating a five-member community advisory board to work on minority employment and contracting issues, as well as on public relations.

 

The 72-year-old McKeon, who replaced Torborg on May 10, is the oldest manager in the major leagues and third-oldest in history. He has managed four other major league teams, most recently Cincinnati from 1997 to 2000.

 

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2003/0529/1560686.html

 

The Herald article is archived unfortunately.

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I could be wrong because time has passed and my memory isn't perfect, but the reason I brought the incident up as an example was (and again, I believe the final story was the Marlins weren't fined) WQAM kept playing that teaser well after a final decision was made by MLB and the story resolved. That's why it stuck in my head, remembering back to driving somewhere weeks or months after resolution and there it was again and again.

 

Could it have been someone dropping in the wrong cart, maybe, but seems to me it was played ad nauseum the better part of the summer.

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Ownership change aside, as it won't effect much of anything, this is an interesting development. Will MLB and the county and city work together better? Will MLB be more relenting or more demanding than Loria? Surely the promise of local ownership, however unnecessary with a long lease in a revenue-producing stadium, could help grab the attention of some local politicians,

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Ownership change aside, as it won't effect much of anything, this is an interesting development. Will MLB and the county and city work together better? Will MLB be more relenting or more demanding than Loria? Surely the promise of local ownership, however unnecessary with a long lease in a revenue-producing stadium, could help grab the attention of some local politicians,

 

A local owner with deep pockets would obviously help the stadium situation. Such an owner would be more likely to get the business community and other movers and shakers behind the stadium and these are the people who run local politics. I'll bet you we have a lot more baseball fan than opera fans but did we get a baseball stadium or a performing arts center? An owner with deep pockets is also more likely to fill the funding gap. Loria and Samson don't have the money and Samson going to Chamber of Commerce meetings to insult the local community doesn't help.

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Your ethnic biases are showing. Neither Diaz, Arriola, Suarez or Carrolo have ever being charged or found to be invloved in unethical activities. Those instances you mention were indirectly related, or not at all, to the individuals. You said "corrupt banana republic politicos". What are you talking about? Maybe we have greedy baseball team owners and the local politicos are not letting them get away with crap.

 

 

See Joe Arriola/Manny Diaz Fire Fee fiasco. See Joe Arriola/Manny Diaz/Johnny Winton secret real estate dealings. See Xavier Suarez, thrown out of office four months after being elected for what was described as "wide-scale vote tampering". Gee, I guess for some that isn't considered unethical.

 

And you suggest my ethnic biases are showing????

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Ownership change aside, as it won't effect much of anything, this is an interesting development. Will MLB and the county and city work together better? Will MLB be more relenting or more demanding than Loria? Surely the promise of local ownership, however unnecessary with a long lease in a revenue-producing stadium, could help grab the attention of some local politicians,

 

A local owner with deep pockets would obviously help the stadium situation. Such an owner would be more likely to get the business community and other movers and shakers behind the stadium and these are the people who run local politics. I'll bet you we have a lot more baseball fan than opera fans but did we get a baseball stadium or a performing arts center? An owner with deep pockets is also more likely to fill the funding gap. Loria and Samson don't have the money and Samson going to Chamber of Commerce meetings to insult the local community doesn't help.

As for political support, I agree (see my final sentence), however note that political power is not necessarily related to personal wealth.

For the role of an owner's wealth in building a new stadium, all proposals so far and none that should expected to be brokered by MLB feature financing on part of the Marlins' owner therefore wealth is not a factor. And if recent history tells us anything, the likelihood any owner dipping into his own wallet is unlikely let alone when there's a significant amount of revenues available from the new stadium. What we'll likely see whether this team is owned by Loria or Codina or anyone else is that stadium revenues and only team revenue will go towards stadium, payroll and the many other expenses a MLB must pay.

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As for political support, I agree (see my final sentence), however note that political power is not necessarily related to personal wealth.

For the role of an owner's wealth in building a new stadium, all proposals so far and none that should expected to be brokered by MLB feature financing on part of the Marlins' owner therefore wealth is not a factor. And if recent history tells us anything, the likelihood any owner dipping into his own wallet is unlikely let alone when there's a significant amount of revenues available from the new stadium. What we'll likely see whether this team is owned by Loria or Codina or anyone else is that stadium revenues and only team revenue will go towards stadium, payroll and the many other expenses a MLB must pay.

 

The incremental revenues in a new stadium would be more than sufficient to pay for a $500 million stadium so Loria could, if he wanted to, buy his own stadium.

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As for political support, I agree (see my final sentence), however note that political power is not necessarily related to personal wealth.

For the role of an owner's wealth in building a new stadium, all proposals so far and none that should expected to be brokered by MLB feature financing on part of the Marlins' owner therefore wealth is not a factor. And if recent history tells us anything, the likelihood any owner dipping into his own wallet is unlikely let alone when there's a significant amount of revenues available from the new stadium. What we'll likely see whether this team is owned by Loria or Codina or anyone else is that stadium revenues and only team revenue will go towards stadium, payroll and the many other expenses a MLB must pay.

 

The incremental revenues in a new stadium would be more than sufficient to pay for a $500 million stadium so Loria could, if he wanted to, buy his own stadium.

I don't have the projected financials but I don't believe that Loria building his own stadium would work out for the Marlins. Just paying off the $500 Million construction loan would cost him about 40 Million a year for 20-30 years. As opposed to the rent payments, which would cost him roughly 10 Million a year. That's 30 Million a year that's not available for team expenses. The incremental revenue you mention Loria gets either way. I do think though that we can't assume that MLB will be able to get another 100% publically financed stadium as they have in the past. An ownership group that's willing to put up say $50-100 Million of the cost(plus the rent payments), in return for a piece of the stadium, seems like the way things may go in the future.

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If you take $22 million a year and increase it by 3% each year over the next 40 years and discount it at 6% the present value is $501 million. I think the incremental revenues in a new stadium would be close to $50 million in the initial year so he could buy his own stadium and have millions left over for the other stuff. If you discount over 30 years rather than 40 years you get $423 million.

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