In the case of the Nationals, the problems appear to run far deeper, as the once-vaunted "Plan" hailed by team president Stan Kasten has been taken over by team owner Ted Lerner and his family, who wield an unusual level of day-to-day control over every team decision ranging from scouting to marketing.Unfortunately, I don't really have the time to post much of an opinion on this (as I have to leave for work momentarily), but this doesn't look good. I think it goes to show us that successful businessmen cannot run successful sports teams, though."Clearly, every decision of any significance is made ultimately by Ted," a city official familiar with the Lerners' baseball operation said. "The decision-making and the whole approach starts at the top and remains at the top. And I don't think anything is going to change significantly as long as Ted is running the team."
Workers describe a challenging, often tedious environment in which every decision and every dollar spent is scrutinized by Ted Lerner; his son, Mark; or sons-in-law, Ed Cohen and Bob Tanenbaum.
Lengthy purchase orders are needed for basic office supplies, for instance, and the use of courier services is discouraged. Pay raises and expense reimbursements are delayed for months. Employees of the Nationals and Major League Baseball alike were astonished when the club did not send anyone to either the sport's scouting school or industry meetings - events attended by every other franchise.
Or as one disgruntled team employee put it: "Everyone wants out, and it's entirely because of the Lerners."
In addition to discontent among the Nationals' rank-and-file employees, there is tension at the very top. Sources both inside and outside the organization said Kasten has not been provided the level of organizational control he desires or was promised when he joined the Lerner family's bid for the team.
"Stan hasn't been able to do the things he wants to do," a source close to the team said. "They're not letting him do the things he was brought here to do."
Sources said Kasten has become increasingly frustrated, and some suggested he could step down as president, though most said his departure was unlikely.
Nationals president Stan Kasten acknowledged on Tuesday that the team most likely will not sign all of its top picks. Kasten declined to say which players he felt were unsignable. However, late last week, general manager Jim Bowden said negotiations with Crow, the Nats' top pick, weren't going well. Crow is represented by advisor J.D. Smart, who works for the Hendricks brothers. Smart was not available for comment.After finally taking a step forward with the draft last year, here are two steps back. There is no point to The Plan if you can't sign your draft picks. None. This is absolutely inexcusable and the entire front office should be fired if 4 of the top 5 picks aren't signed. Or 3. Or even 2. If you are drafting guys who figure to be asking more than the slot amount, you better be freakin' prepared to open up your wallets. Or only draft 1 guy who might not sign. Don't draft 5 in the first 5 rounds! This is ridiculously pathetic and the Lerner Family, Jim Bowden and Stan Kasten should all be ashamed of themselves for continuing the losing tradition as well as the poor products both on the field and in the minors. Fire Bowden. Fire Kasten. Force out the Lerners (By boycotting games, Bud Selig, whatever. Just do it). We want a real owner and real guys in the front office and a real team. Get rid of the dirtbags who are standing in our way of a respectable team, something these nitwits aren't capable of even coming close to. This cheapness has got to stop here and now, forever."I'm sure we'll sign some more of our picks, but I don't think we will sign all of them, but we will try," Kasten said. "We studied this pretty carefully. We decide the value that we place on prospects. That's the No. 1 consideration. Sometimes it's more than Major League Baseball's recommendations, sometimes it's less than the recommendations.
If the Nationals are unable to sign their top Draft picks, the money slotted for them would most likely go toward signing young players outside the United States. (My note...yeah and O.J. is innocent and 9/11 was actually a vast right-wing conspiracy).
In fact, Kasten told the Nationals' board of directors right after the Draft that the team would most likely not sign most of its picks like it did last year. He told them it would be similar to the 2006 Draft, when the team didn't sign four of its first 12 picks, including left-hander Sean Black, its second-round pick. (My note...great....the memorable 2006 draft...and Sean Black is right-handed).
This year's Draft is in sharp contrast to last year's for the Nationals. In 2007, the Nationals signed their first 20 picks. They even went over the slotting system to sign pitcher Jack McGeary, a sixth-round pick who signed first-round money.
"[The 2008] Draft felt like one of those years where we wouldn't sign all of our top picks, which is like a normal year. Last year was an aberration," Kasten said. "This Draft has felt [different] to me, because of the kind of guys we drafted and some of their circumstances, and I think that's how it's playing out. (My note...why does last year have to be an aberration? If we want success, we need to sign all of our top 10 draft picks. Always. Always always always. No excuses).
"Last year, we were among the leaders in amateur signing bonuses. We are prepared to do that this year, but we are not going to do unreasonable contracts."
DC Sports Plus by Sean Hogan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
