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Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Braves’ new owner should not mess with success
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Professional sports teams should be owned by people instead of things.
Where have you gone, Ted Turner? The choppers and the chanters turn their lonely eyes to you.
Anyway, Ted and Jane left the Braves to a thing called Time Warner nearly a decade ago after they sprinted away from the admiring glances of baseball folks toward more worldly causes. Now Time Warner is preparing to sell the Braves to another thing called Liberty Media after both sides agreed this week on terms.
This is mixed news (see what we just said about “things” in this situation). As for the good news, which overrides the rest, current team president Terry McGuirk will be retained. The same goes for John Schuerholz, the general manager during the Braves’ run to 14 division titles, five pennants and a world championship since 1991. Bobby Cox also will stay, and he only is the best manager in history.
As for everything else regarding the Braves’ move from thing to thing, pending approval by 75 percent of the baseball owners, you may yawn now. You may do so, not like the exhausted Ted and Jane used to do during all of those Braves playoff games. You may do so to match the upcoming yawns of those involved with Liberty Media. Those upcoming yawns also represent good news. If you believe McGuirk, always trustworthy through the years, those involved with Liberty Media will yawn out of indifference regarding the operation of the Braves.
It makes sense. Those involved with Liberty Media admitted from the start of their courtship of the Braves nearly a year ago that their thing only wished to buy the most prominent team in the National League since the Big Red Machine as a high-powered tax writeoff.
That’s not necessarily bad news. It means those involved with Liberty Media will stay out of the way of McGuirk, Schuerholz and Cox. Just like everybody with that other thing. The Time Warner people were so preoccupied with stocks and bonds that they couldn’t care less about balls and strikes. Consider, too, that it doesn’t have to be this way when it comes to things owning professional teams.
For instance: Soon after that thing called News Corporation bought the Los Angeles Dodgers during the late 1990s, that thing worked a trade to send Mike Piazza to the Florida Marlins. The problem? Piazza was highly popular in southern California, and that thing didn’t bother to tell Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ highly respected general manager, what was going on.
Not only that, since a thing can’t feel, touch, see or smell, News Corporation lacked the senses to know that the Dodgers are the Yankees of the NL when it comes to tradition. That’s why News Corporation tinkered with the Dodgers’ classic uniforms, and the results were as disastrous as News Corporation paying ridiculous money for perennially injured pitchers Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort.
At least News Corporation spent money, which is why you have to combine the yawning over the Braves’ move from thing to thing with shrugging. We’re talking shrugging as in, nobody really knows if those involved with Liberty Media will give McGuirk, Schuerholz and Cox enough pennies to keep the incomparable Andruw Jones around, along with John Smoltz, who already has his toes in Cooperstown.
This is what we do know: In recent years, despite flashing no signs of going bankrupt anytime soon, the Braves have kept their budget around $80 million. They also have refused to join others this winter during what has been one of baseball’s golden ages of spending. Even commissioner Bud Selig likes to boast that the game had record revenues of more than $5.2 billion.
Will Liberty Media allow McGuirk, Schuerholz and Cox to spend as freely as its folks who run, oh, say, the home-shopping network QVC?
Can’t tell. That’s the worst part of the news.
Permalink | Comments (33) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Terence Moore
Trading Spaces: Meyer vs. Zook
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
What if …
Urban Meyer were Ron Zook, and Ron Zook were Urban Meyer?
I’m talking about timing. History has shown that it nearly is impossible to replace a legend such as, oh, say, former Florida football coach Steve Spurrier.
So Zook never had a chance with the Gators. He was fired after just shy of three seasons. Then along came Meyer to win a national championship with 22 of Florida’s 24 starters recruited by Zook.
What if Meyer had followed Spurrier? Maybe Meyer takes all of those post-Spurrier lumps.
Then, if Zook had replaced Meyer after that, maybe Zook …
I know. Meyer just finished with the nation’s best recruiting class, but the foundation for such a thing at Florida was set by Zook - first as an assistant under Spurrier and then as head coach.
More impressive, traditionally awful Illinois just had the best recruiting class in the Big Ten.
The Illini coach is Zook.
Permalink | Comments (60) | Categories: Quick Hit, Terence Moore
