Category Archives: Baseball

10.14.11
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Wolff, SJ ready to roll on remaining Diridon land purchases

We’re almost exactly one month from what could be a very pivotal owners meetings in Milwaukee. And while Commissioner Bud Selig may not end up feting his colleagues over a Brewers’ World Series, it may be that Selig’s frat bro Lew Wolff will be the one celebrating. Merc scribe Tracy Seipel reports that the recently formed San Jose Diridon Development Authority (a.k.a. SJ City Council) will meet in closed session to arrange an option from which Wolff could buy the remaining ballpark site parcels.

As discussed previously, Wolff would in all likelihood have to pay for both land and moving costs for the affected landowners/business, since SJDDA/SJRA is tapped out now and for some time to come. One thing that may help is that Maritz Wolff, Wolff’s real estate investment firm, sold a series of hotels in August for $570 million. Some portion of that could easily offset the estimated $24+ million of the remaining land buys. Now that I think about it, I wonder if the timing is set up for a 1031 exchange, which would limit tax exposure for Wolff (in-depth knowledge on this subject is above my pay grade).

Seipel also reports that the purchase may be part of a final push to convince Selig and the other owners:

Mayor Chuck Reed explained it another way:

“It’s so that Lew can go to the commissioner of baseball and say, ‘I control the dirt.’ ”

Reed characterized the plan as taking away “one more little reason the commissioner can’t make up his mind.”

Because of the black cloud over redevelopment and the lawsuit against the state, it’s possible that much of the money may have to be reclaimed by SJRA for its extortion payment to the state, the big bond payment that’s due next month (which could cause a default), or other issues that the agency has to address. It’s not just a matter of SJRA being broke. They also can’t enter into any new agreements, which is probably what caused City to in a moment of prescience create SJDDA. It’ll be interesting to see how the option agreement is structured. The Airport West agreement went through some major changes before arriving in its current form.

Seipel ends the piece with a note from City Attorney John Doyle, who said that a referendum will be required for the ballpark/land transaction.

There are a number of follow-up questions that can only be answered by the actions of SJDDA and affected parties in the coming weeks:

  • What will be the final price for the transaction(s)?
  • Does this lead to Wolff buying all of the land, or giving the purchased part back to the City/SJDDA?
  • Unlike Airport West, the purchase of Diridon has a much earlier deadline. What is that deadline?
  • Is Wolff in effect bailing out SJRA by doing this?
  • While Reed openly cheers on the influence that this move may have, Doyle (as you would expect) tamps down expectations on MLB’s decision-making. What’s the story here?

The road ahead promises to be scenic, and a little bumpy.

10.13.11
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News for 10/14/11

It’s been a somewhat contentious week in the comments. Let’s cool it down a bit.

  • The City of Industry NFL stadium’s financing plan is a little too 90’s optimistic for this era. (ESPNLA/Arash Markazi) Choice quote:

    “You would probably be more likely to see Eric Dickerson suit back up for L.A. than see a stadium pay for itself solely with PSLs, naming rights and the NFL $150 million payment,” (sports economist Victor) Matheson said.

  • A little further towards downtown, Frank McCourt is up to his eyes in debt – $550-600 million, not including the Dodgers’ recently approved $150 emergency bridge loan. After the Dodgers are sold and McCourt’s divorce is final, he could be left with very little. (LA Times/Bill Shaikin)
  • Mark Davis, son of the late Al Davis, reportedly met with AEG about Farmers Field six months ago, but balked at selling a large percentage of the team in exchange for first dibs on the downtown LA stadium. (Yahoo! Sports/Mike Silver)
  • On the other hand, given the Davis family’s cash position and the potential for estate taxes, the least expensive and most feasible option may be to go to Santa Clara. (Yahoo! Sports/Jason Cole)
  • NBA commissioner David Stern is really putting the screws to the players, saying that if there isn’t a deal by Tuesday, games through this Christmas will be cancelled. I don’t understand the proportionality of these threats. That’s what makes him the Godfather. (NY Times/Ken Belson)
  • Apparently it’s not just California cities that are under the gun regarding redevelopment. Reno’s agency faces a default if it can’t make a $2.7 million bond payment next summer. Property tax receipts are in the gutter, so the agency is looking to Washoe County for help. (Reno Gazette Journal/Brian Duggan)
  • Peter Gammons tweeted on Wednesday that the Astros sale to Jim Crane will go through no later than the owners meetings, which are scheduled for November 15-16. Included in the ownership change would be the ‘Stros switch to the American League, which, given the release of the preliminary schedule, probably wouldn’t occur until the 2013 season (concurrent with a playoff format change if approved). Those owners meetings are shaping up to be a doozy, aren’t they?
  • Come on Cal, you can’t be 0-for-AT&T Park (Presbyterian doesn’t count, does it?).

I’m working on a post or two for the weekend, so watch this space.

10.12.11
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Population talk

At The Biz of Baseball, Maury Brown and Thomas Kelsey did a study of population per MLB market (existing and prospective) based on commute times to the home ballpark or site. Read the post and take a look at the table. While it’s a subject we’ve covered here at the local level, this comparison also includes potential relocation candidate markets. The census data used is from 2000, so it isn’t exactly up-to-date, yet it provides a reasonably good picture of what the markets look like.

Population in millions. Data from 2000 Census, compiled by Thomas Kelsey for The Biz of Baseball

Presented in this fashion, it’s interesting that Oakland appears most populous due to its central location relative to the rest of the Bay Area. As one might expect, there’s less population within an hour when the A’s are moved from the Coliseum to Victory Court. Based on population alone, San Jose falls into a mid-market range filled out by the Rockies, Indians, Twins, and Mariners. It’s also far superior to any potential relocation market except for perhaps a mythical northern New Jersey opening. It goes to show why, for various reasons, the A’s are not fully exploiting the Bay Area as they should. Oakland partisans will argue that the central location is best, whereas San Jose partisans will argue that the South Bay is the part of the market not getting exploited. All other factors (economic, demographic) aside, the A’s should be able to thrive in the Bay Area once they get a proper ballpark in which they can compete with the Giants.

10.07.11
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News for 10/7/11

If you haven’t seen it yet, you might want to wear shades before viewing the redesigned Miami Marlins logo:

Not enough warning? My bad.

Don’t think that’s crazy enough? Then try on this animatronic sculpture that will go a*****t when a Marlin hits a home run. (Miami New Times/SB Nation)

Did we enter a ballpark or a casino? Or the inside of a pinball machine? (Image from SB Nation)

Bad news for Mariners fans: the team’s general suckitude may continue well into the future, as long as minority owner Chris Larson’s divorce puts a freeze on spending. (Seattle Times)

San Antonio is looking to build a downtown ballpark after all. Too bad it’s only for the college team (UT-San Antonio) and the AA Missions. (SA Business Journal)

Business owners near NBA arenas are frightened about the impact of an extended lockout. (USA Today)

The NBPA rejected an owners’ offer of a 50/50 split of revenue (after expenses). The players wanted 51%. Bad move, players. That was the best offer you’ll get. You could’ve made it up with more guaranteed years or other concessions. (CBS Sports)

After getting slapped down by the Tigers Mets in their request to have their AAA affiliate play in Newark for a year, the junior team will play a barnstorming season in six different cities all of New York state. Nearly half of the schedule (37 games) will be played in Rochester. (NY Times)

Detroit citizens continue the good fight to save what’s left of Tiger Stadium. (ESPN)

Fitch withdrew its BBB- rating of San Jose Redevelopment Agency’s tax allocation bonds series 2006E and 2006F because the bonds weren’t actually sold. Fitch also put a Negative Watch on the NBA’s $1 Billion revolving credit facility, rating it a BBB+ in the process. (Marketwatch/Reuters)

Youth ballfields near the new Yankee Stadium won’t permanently open until 2012, a full three years after the big stadium opened.

September radio ratings are out. Looks like things are stabilizing a bit.

Dan Hennessey is stepping down from doing delay recaps at the Baseballin’ on a Budget blog (ESPN SweetSpot network). He did a pretty good job. If anyone’s interested, apply within.

BREAKING (2:30 PM): Union Pacific has decided to sell 167 acres of land near NUMMI. The land was supposed to be developed as a new railyard. BANG’s Matt Artz also got from the news that the northern parcels, 94 acres in all, would be available for only 12-15 months. The southern 53 acres (near the 880-Mission interchange) apparently would not be subject to such a deadline. San Jose mega-developer Barry Swenson has expressed interest. 

09.26.11
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News for 9/26/11

Haven’t done one of these for a while. Good links in here.

  • Governor Jerry Brown will, in fact, sign that LA football stadium bill. Guess he’s not such a sports hater after all. /s
  • The Merc’s Mike Rosenberg profiles Jack Hill, the Texas guy who gets things built. What things? Cowboys Stadium and American Airlines Center to name two.
  • At Grantland, Malcolm Gladwell juxtaposes the NBA’s talk of financial ruin with the Nets/Atlantic Yards deal.
  • According to Biz of Baseball’s Rob Smith, Rays owner Stuart Sternberg needs a stalking horse to get the ball rolling on a new ballpark in Tampa-St. Pete.
  • Bleacher Report’s Brandon McClintock has his own debate about what the Willingham situation means for the A’s.
  • The NY Times reports that there are red flags over Cal’s ability to pay for the Memorial Stadium makeover.
  • As the season ends, Bryan Stow is getting better.
  • Oakland Unified School District plans to close as many as 13 schools by the end of the school year, and up to 30 more over the next two years.
  • Yesterday’s sellout crowd of 61,546 at the Coliseum was the largest for a Raiders home game in two years (via CSN’s Paul Gutierrez).
  • Also in the NY Times is an article that asks if we are in a new dead ball era.
  • Rangers Ballpark finished the season with 228 home runs hit there, leading baseball. The Coliseum had 109.
  • San Rafael approved a deal to bring a North American League club to the city’s Albert Park.
  • It’s worth checking out Merc writer Dan Brown’s chat segment about Moneyball.
  • There is expected to be a press conference today in Seattle to announce the 2012 opening series between the A’s and M’s in Japan.
  • Added 6:22 PM – The NY Mets know how to play the T-rights game too, having denied the Yankees’ request to temporarily host their AAA affiliate in Newark, NJ for a year while their permanent home in Scranton-Wilkes Barre is renovated.

I’ll add more if I see anything else worth mentioning.

09.21.11
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Billy says…

Billy Beane was on The Rise Guys show this morning and said this:

It’s well documented that we’re in a state of flux as it relates to: Are we staying in Oakland? Are we moving this team at some point down the line? That is going to go into our short and long-term planning, and we do expect to have some clarity about this situation very soon. That will have an impact on which way we go.

At the end of the interview Mark Kreidler asked for more clarification on what Beane said about the stadium situation. Beane’s response:

It probably sounds like Groundhog Day and I don’t want to be Pollyannish, but I think we’ve gotten to a point now where all the information is in, we’re at a critical point, and I don’t necessarily have any information. I just think we’re gonna get it very soon and it’ll be great for us. Once again, a decision’s most important because whether we stay in Oakland or go somewhere else, it’ll be important for the planning of this franchise and right now that hasn’t been the case the last couple of years.

Sounds like progress, and that he’s not exactly hearing bad things. He didn’t directly address talk of him possibly moving to the Cubs’ front office other than to say, “Man, you guys read too many papers.”

Link to the audio is up.

09.15.11
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Unanimity

On March 11, Chuck Greenberg was ousted as Texas Rangers’ managing partner and CEO. Nolan Ryan was named CEO immediately thereafter, with the plan to become the managing partner down the road. Two months later on May 12, Ryan was approved as the Rangers’ managing partner by a 30-0 vote.

Just over six months after Greenberg’s ouster, the Giants were forced to announce managing partner Bill Neukom’s “retirement”. Mark Purdy reported that Larry Baer would be named CEO of the team, with someone else becoming managing partner. Purdy included three names as the possible next managing partner, including Franklin Templeton Chairman Charles Johnson, who appears to be the frontrunner among internal candidates (I’m not aware of any outside money coming in at this point, though Neukom said he will divest his share in the future). The Giants will need to address that hole at the top of the organization, since it’s the managing partner who represents the team on all relevant league matters, and a fairly important league matter is coming up in CBA negotiations. (The CEO title is entirely internal to the team organization.) Based on the lead time for the slam dunk approval for Ryan and the drawn out process for Jim Crane’s purchase of the Astros, approval of the Giants’ new managing partner candidate should take at least two months.

Now we all know how much Bud Selig, who gives the ultimate thumbs up or down on all ownership matters, likes consensus (or at least the appearance of it). He had no trouble rustling up the 30-0 yea for Ryan, since the fireballer has been a known quantity in baseball for over four decades and is not the type to rock the boat. He wants the same thing for the Astros, and he should get it for the Giants. Reservations about Crane’s previous business doings have tripped him up at least in some owners’ eyes. Just as reservations stand in the way for Crane, there could be at least one owner who stands in the way of 30-0 for the Giants: Lew Wolff.

Wolff has signaled on this site that he’s going to go along with whatever the Commissioner decides, so we can’t expect Grandpa Lew to pace outside Bud’s office wearing a sandwich board. Yet he doesn’t even need to formally verbalize his dissatisfaction regarding the Giants’ territorial rights stance in an owner’s meeting – everyone knows what he thinks and the threat he represents. This provides an opportunity – or rather, an excuse – to bring the two teams to the table to work things out. The Giants have the big holdout vote on the A’s moving to San Jose, and the A’s could be the dissenter in approving a new Giants managing partner. Obviously, the two decisions are not even in the same spectrum in terms of impact, but when you have a commissioner who strives for unanimity, even the smallest tensions can upset it. What’s a commissioner who normally sits on his hands to do? The last thing he needs is the appearance of disunity among his ranks, and a stalemate between the two Bay Area teams couldn’t come at a worse time, even if CBA negotiations are not expected to be particularly rancorous. Both the Dodgers and the Mets are on Lady Justice’s clock, which means no quick resolutions for either.

It’s unfortunate that the Giants chose to make this change now, before the season is officially over. They know that the CBA is coming up, they know that Wolff is looking for a crack in the door. They were probably looking to wait until after the big decisions were complete in November-December before they announced Neukom’s departure. Purdy foiled their plan with his reportage, and if it wasn’t for the very professional Giants media relations staff, he’d be persona non grata at AT&T Park. Nevertheless, that’s where we are now, and while it’s a leap to think that Wolff will aggressively pursue a course of action or lobby owners, that crack is there.

I’ll characterize Wolff’s chances at this point at 25-30% of getting what he wants, 50% of at least getting to the table. Considering where we’ve been for the last few years, I think he’ll take the odds every time.

09.14.11
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Neukom out as Giants CEO

So there I was, trying to cheer myself after another A’s loss with a side trip to SF’s new high-tech grilled cheese joint The Melt, and I hear that Bill Neukom, he of the monopoly-defending ways (for both the Giants and Microsoft), has been ousted as CEO. “What the what?!?!” I thought.

Mark Purdy appears to have the best read on things. Whether Neukom was too profligate a spender or if his style rubbed the rest of the Giants executive committee the wrong way, it’s a shocking end to a tenure.

At this point it’s much too early to know how this is going to shake out for the A’s. Neukom may stay on in some capacity, and if it’s as some sort of legal counsel, there’s no reason to think the Giants will be even the slightest amount more flexible regarding territorial rights to Santa Clara County. Team President Larry Baer will take the reins, and he hasn’t exactly been friendly to the concept. In a similar manner, Texas Rangers managing partner Chuck Greenberg was deposed before the beginning of the season and subsequently replaced by Nolan Ryan.

Still, you have to think that with the brain-trust of the Giants so worried about spiraling payrolls despite consecutive sellout crowds and locked-in TV dominance, something has to give. Given Bud Selig’s generally laissez faire approach to managing owners and ownership groups, this has to be an internal struggle. Who knows, maybe T-rights is part of the discussion? I can’t see it being at the top of the priority list. Selig is probably watching closely to make sure that the Giants don’t turn into the Dodgers, and not much else.

09.11.11
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Legislative and political flurry

A series of changes at Oakland City Hall and the State Capitol may portend well for Oakland’s chances to get either an A’s ballpark or Raiders stadium built. Or maybe not.

First up, newly hired Oakland City Administrator Deanna Santana, late of San Jose, made two key hires in poaching SJ Finance Director Scott Johnson and SF Redevelopment head Fred Blackwell to be Assistant City Administrators, each with different roles. Johnson will be tasked with the responsibilities you’d normally consider as part of a city manager/administrator role, such as finance/budget and labor relations. Meanwhile, Blackwell will be covering a redevelopment-oriented role. Scuttlebutt is that CEDA head Walter Cohen may be on his way out amidst “major changes” there. Could CEDA and ORA be headed for big time restructuring? It would make sense if they want to deal with next year’s budget deficit early. That shouldn’t mean bad things for the Victory Court EIR or the Raiders project since they’re already in the pipeline. It probably means there will be fewer resources for planning and future projects, both short and long-term.

Up in Cowtown, yet another bill (actually two) designed to bypass the CEQA process has made it through the Legislature. SB 292 (D-Padilla, San Fernando Valley) limits potential legal actions against LA Stadium/Farmers Field EIR by pushing challenges up to the State Court of Appeal, where cases could be expedited more quickly. This is important because it could save several months, maybe even a year by offering this kind of protection. The actual EIR review process will not be impacted in a major way, only the method for dealing with legal challenges. SB 292 only protects the Farmers Field project, so it isn’t helpful for either Oakland project, or others with already certified EIRs.

A companion bill, AB 900 (D-Steinberg, Los Angeles), could help Oakland. Initially meant as a companion for SB 292, AB 900 expands its coverage to large projects worth $100 million or more. Naturally, that would include any major stadium or arena project throughout the state, including either Oakland stadium, the Kings’ downtown arena in Sacramento, and others. AB 900 actually sets a time limit of 175 days for the Court of Appeal to issue a decision on any affected project after a party files a petition challenging said project. AB 900 will not become law unless SB 292 also is signed into law, so at this point everything rests with Governor Brown, on whose desk the two bills sit.

Brown may be of two minds on the bills. On one hand, he can’t be in love with the Legislature for flat out denying him on a multitude of tax extension requests, though he may be putting the blame on Republicans instead of his own party. And while he’s no proponent of stadium projects, in the case of these two bills there are no traditional public sources of funding being tapped, so he may be a little more amenable to signing these bills than he would for other deals. We’ll see shortly.

09.07.11
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Is Crane approval on hold pending Astros move to AL?

FOX-26 in Houston is reporting that Jim Crane’s approval as the next owner of the Houston Astros may be awaiting Crane’s agreement to move to the American League. When the possibility surfaced in June, the thought was that realignment could be done, but would have to be studied to understand the effects on scheduling (both inter and intraleague) and the playoffs. It’s safe to say that if Selig is pushing this to happen, that study is complete. Crane doesn’t have a lot of choice in the matter, considering that he remains on the outside looking in. Of course, this would mean that interleague play would occur pretty much everyday during the baseball season.

Houston realignment to the American League

Maury Brown claims that Crane could use “denial” of the move as an excuse should he be denied the ownership stake, and that the excuse would paper over many of the other misgivings the other owners might have about Crane assuming control of the Astros. That’s plausible, but the easiest way for Selig to get some modest form of realignment, which is one of his pet causes, would be to use this as way to kill two birds with one stone: get realignment on the back of Drayton McLane selling the team. I sincerely doubt that Selig and the other owners have gotten religion and have decided to have more “upstanding citizens” within their ranks. None of the billionaires or multimillionaires have gotten to where they were by being nice guys (yes, I am including Lew Wolff). We’ll find out sometime before the end of the season what happens to Crane, to realignment and scheduling in the 2012 or future seasons, and hopefully this will get things rolling for the A’s as well.