Is the transcript out from this yet?
Yeppers...here it is:
Fox Sports Writer on Nationals' Penny PinchingKen Rosenthal
Reporter, Fox Sports
Thursday, May 3, 2007; 1:00 PM
Is the Nationals front office beset by turnover and mismanagement? That's what some former employees and others sources told Fox Sports senior baseball writer Ken Rosenthal. Rosenthal will be online Thursday, May 3 at 1 p.m. ET to take questions about his story, National crisis: Capital franchise in turmoil.
A transcript follows.
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Washington, D.C.: Mr. Rosenthal,
As a Nationals fan, I was very interested in your piece and reading about some of the problems currently plaguing the club?
However, how about a little context? Not so much for me, but the casual or non-fan. The Lerners haven't even owned the team for a full year yet, correct? And they acquired a franchise that everybody agrees was left to rot on the vine by MLB.
Granted, many things in your article raise legitimate question about administration of the team, but let's give the new owners at least a full year/season at the helm before we start pointing fingers.
Ken Rosenthal: You've got a fair point. However, I wrote the article because I felt that some of the things that were taking place were beyond the norm, even for an ownership inheriting a difficult situation._______________________
Washington, D.C.: Ken,
How would you respond to those that say you're just out to bash the Nationals? Why the focus on them and not some other club? I'm not questioning your motives, per se -- just curious about the "process" behind doing this piece. Thanks.
Ken Rosenthal: I write about all 30 teams, praising them when warranted, bashing them when warranted. Yankee fans say I'm biased against the Yankees. Red Sox fans say I'm biased against the Red Sox. I hear this all the time._______________________
Washington, D.C.: Ken, thanks for participating in this forum, and congrats on a very well written article.
The citizens and businesses of D.C. are responsible for the $611 million in bonds that are financing the new stadium. The ability to pay off the interest and principal of those bonds will be directly related to ticket sales and concessions. These are going to be directly correlated especially after the first season to how well the team performs. In your interviews did you get any sense that the ownership and management also understand their responsibility to fielding a competitive team (as opposed to this years team) in order that these bonds are paid off. The D.C. residents are taking a risk here as well in trusting this ownership.
Ken Rosenthal: Thanks for the compliment. I totally understand your point. I did get a sense from Kasten - and have all along - that he "gets" it. It's in their absolute interests to put a winning product on the field._______________________
20152: Ken,
As a national sports writer, what's your take on Stan Katsen's Plan?
i.e. Cutting payroll this year, pouring money into player development and trying to build a farm system before going out and spending money in free agency.
A lot of fans were turned off by the team not making a big splash in free agency, but we've all seen where that's gotten the Redskins.
Ken Rosenthal: I happen to like the plan. If anything, I think they need to go further. They should have traded Soriano. They should trade Cordero. If you're going to in this direction, you've got to go full bore._______________________
The Upper Decks: Online chats last year frequently alluded to the Lerners' painstaking, hard-nosed (some would say "cheap") attitude in all aspects of their business dealings; from FedEx charges down to pencils. This approach might work well in the construction business; I've heard it observed that this may help the owners greatly in supervising the completion of the new stadium.
But does that business attitude work as well in the very unscientific, mercurial world of professional athletics? Some owners are clearly irrational and unreasonable in their pursuit of championships, and some organizations seem to pamper and prize their staff -- perhaps rewarding them beyond what a marketplace might otherwise set.
Did your reporting uncover any reports of hard-headed businessmen unwilling to match other organizations' mad quest to succeed (at the expense of the bottom line)?
Ken Rosenthal: I think it comes down to ownership needing to do certain things to build morale. The Braves, for example, have extremely high morale. Why? Because management treats employees right. Obviously baseball is different than other businesses. The Lerners - if they want to keep good people - need to adjust._______________________
Washington, D.C.: Ken,
Great work. Front office drama is far more interesting than anything going on on the field this season. Thanks for shedding some light on the recent turnover which, to an outsider, appeared to be suspicious and possibly indicative of a large-scale issue.
Has there been any reaction from MLB (i.e. Selig, DuPuy, Reinsdorf)? This is the group that hand-picked the Lerners and urged them to add Stan Kasten. Any sense that they are nervous they made the wrong choice, and that perhaps the Malek group or Jeff Smulyan would have been a better choice? I seem to recall that the concerns about the Lerner group and Kasten prior to the sale of the club were that this assembly of leadership would be heavy-handed and frugal. Justified, or too early to call it?
Ken Rosenthal: Too early to call. No reaction from MLB. In general, MLB prefers owners to be frugal - at least when it comes to player salaries. Obviously, though, MLB officials badly want the franchise to succeed. If this team was a mess in, say, two years, I'm sure they would be concerned._______________________
Silver Spring, Md.: What was the point of your article, exactly? I don't get it, a couple of disgruntled mid-level employees couldn't pick up housing expenses because they live in Florida. I live in Silver Spring. I can't stay in a hotel in Washington when my agency holds an event there. I didn't hear too much from these clowns when their travel vouchers were getting paid and they had jobs. Time to move on to that second career of selling used cars, boys. Surely this isn't the first new ownership team to face adjustment issues in their first year of ownership. Although this might be the first new ownership team to take over an entire organization that was left for dead by MLB. The Bowden/Kasten dichotomy is old news. If all of the crybaby/know-it-all consultants and Fed employee fans who claim that the Nationals somehow owe them something could put as much energy into solving the country's problems as they do in complaining about Kasten and Bowden's rebuilding project and the hot dogs, I think America would be in much better shape. If they think that the Lerners owe them something for the sweetheart stadium deal, guess again. Blame the elected officials that you voted for, D.C. Oh, guess what, The Yankees have won one more game than the Nationals. A three part non-story on this, only in Washington.
Ken Rosenthal: The point of the article was to shed light on certain things going on internally with the Nats - things that I thought were worthy of attention. The disgruntled employees were one aspect of it, yes. But there are plenty of other things in there as well._______________________
Re: Soriano: Ken,
We hear a lot from the talking heads about not trading Soriano. Do you know of any good deals that were offered that Bowden refused?
Ken Rosenthal: Tough to say what was offered. Most of the interested teams contend that Bowden set his asking price so high, the talks never got all that hot. The question is, could they have done better than the 31st and 68th draft picks - the compensation the Nats ultimately received when Soriano left as a free agent. I'm willing to guess the answer is yes._______________________
Columbia, Md.: Just curious. How did you get this story? Did those employees come to you, or did you seek them out?
Ken Rosenthal: I talk to people from all 30 teams constantly; I'm on the 4,000-minute cell-phone plan. I started hearing things and checked into them._______________________
Washington, D.C.: Mr. Rosenthal, will you please specify on what issues the Nats deviate from the norm?
How far from the norm are they? With Stan Kasten, I thought these types of "newbie" issues would be minimal.
Ken Rosenthal: The turnover is beyond the norm, even considering that it's a relatively new G.M. and new owner. The issues with expenses are also beyond the norm. Scouts from other teams were talking about it all spring._______________________
Section 213, Row 12: Here's my question, and it's a serious question.
Have the Nats properly staffed the front office?
I understand that the Nats are committed to developing their farm system. After the pillaging that occurred under Omar Minaya and MLB, I understand that commitment. (How much better would this team be with Grady Sizemore and Jason Bay in the outfield, Brandon Phillips in the middle infield, and Cliff Lee and Chris Young in the rotation?)
But the Winter Caravan that they put out was a joke, ticket relocations during the offseason were handled haphazardly and with another 3000-4000 seats not being renewed - that's a missed opportunity for goodwill, season tickets were delivered barely on time, the concessionaires weren't ready for the Opening Day crowd, the promotions calendar is meager.
Are they properly staffed up there? And if so, what do they do all day?
Ken Rosenthal: I asked this question, not specifically about tickets, but about scouting and player development. I do think the Nats' baseball operations is fully staffed, yes._______________________
Prince William Co., Va.: Ken, you've followed Jim Bowden's career a lot more thoroughly than most of us have. Do you see anything in his track record that indicates he knows how to build pitching, particularly a starting rotation? Based upon his years in Cincinnati, I don't see it, and fear he's exerting Rasputin-like influence over the Lerners. You would think Kasten -- who saw Atlanta's rise to prominence built upon pitching -- would know better. I really thought he'd bring in someone like Dayton Moore or Frank Wren as GM.
Ken Rosenthal: That's a legitimate point about Bowden - he hasn't done a particularly good job building starting rotations. That said, he also has never operated with the resources that he will have in Washington. He's clearly bright and creative, so it will be interesting to see how he fares._______________________
Glen Echo: Ken
You've given us 4,917 words of negativity. Is there anything positive that you can think of ?
Ken Rosenthal: Did you read the sidebar on how Kasten is working the ambassadors? I try to make the articles as fair as possible._______________________
Anonymous: You mentioned treating people right. Do you sense the Lerners, Kasten, and Bowden accept how important this is and are willing to change?
I fear that no good baseball person -- player or management -- will want anything to do with the Nats because they treat people poorly. Money only goes so far -- we see that with Mr. Angelos.
Ken Rosenthal: Great point. I think that Bowden and Kasten believe they didn't have the right people in place, and that's why the turnover has been as extensive as it has been. I don't know that they see a need to change. Only time will tell if that is the case._______________________
Washington, D.C.: I'm very sad I'll be in a meeting for this chat, I've always been a big fan since your Baltimore Sun days!
How much do you think this process truly differs from any other changing of the guard in upper management of professional sports??
It certainly sounds dramatic, but anytime there is leadership change in any business there is going to be turnover and turmoil as personalities mesh or clash.
Ken Rosenthal: Thanks for following me all these years! In doing the articles, it was difficult to separate how much of this was normal and how much of it was out of the norm. I made the point at least once that such issues aren't unusual during ownership transitions. That said, as I mentioned before, I wrote the articles only after concluding that some of the things going on were, uh, a little unusual_______________________
20120: Ken,
Since you're plugged in. Has anyone used any of your 4,000 cell minutes to mention any improvement in the Nats farm system?
Are there any names scouts are talking about?
Ken Rosenthal: No one raves about the Nats' system, at least not yet. They've got some decent prospects, some interesting guys from last year's draft, but they're not nearly at the level where they want to be._______________________
Washington, D.C.: While I appreciated many of the points you made in your comprehensive article, I am not so sure that I share your optimism about the long-term prospects of the Nats in this market. D.C. is a very competitive sports market where just about every major and minor American sport has made the tactical decision to plant their flag in this region -- the latest being Tiger Woods new tournament at Congressional. While the Redskins have enormous fan support in the D.C .area, I am under the impression that the Wizards (who are arguably the second most popular team in DC) are only in the middle of the pack in the NBA in terms of revenue. In short, why do you think the Nationals will likely become a major revenue team in light of the stiff competition for sports entertainment in this market and, I might add, the salient points you made in your article?
Ken Rosenthal: I just think the market has changed significantly since the Senators left - it's bigger, wealthier. We're talking about the seventh-largest TV market in the country. The new ballpark should be an attraction. The Nationals have advantages that other franchises don't._______________________
Washington, D.C.: Your article is an informative mix of expose and optimism. Which direction do you instinctively lean to with the Lerners?
Ken Rosenthal: I'm in a wait-and-see mode. I know that sounds wishy-washy, but I do think the situation needs more time to evolve._______________________
Great Falls, Va.: I am very concerned with the broken promises about customer service. They promised better ticket service, but season tickets this year were delivered one week (or less) before opening day. They promised a better RFK experience, but the lines, bad food and conditions this year are no better than last. Finally, they promised in a glossy brochure last winter to send packages to season-ticket holders about relocation in April, but now they're saying late May or June. These broken promises add up and raise serious concern whether they know what they're doing. Is there any serious effort to improve customer service, or are they just going to keep making empty promises?
Ken Rosenthal: On this, I have no idea - sorry. I tried to cover a lot of ground in these stories, but didn't get into that area._______________________
Washington, D.C.: It's reassuring to see that you like "The Plan."
Being new to this "patience" thing, what are realistic expectations this fan should have? How successful? How soon?
Ken Rosenthal: Wow, that's a great question. I think the Nats believe - privately - that they can be competitive next season and perhaps a contender the year after that. I'm skeptical of that timetable. I just don't think they have enough talent in the pipeline yet._______________________
Arlington, Va.: I have a question on Bowden. As you mentioned, he's really made some really good (one-sided) trades. I have no idea how he pulled off the Kearns/Lopez deal and dumping Vidro and all that cash is also hard to believe. At the same time, it seems that the general baseball community has no respect for him and don't want to deal with him. I'm not sure if its his arrogance or the fact that they don't want to be embarrassed by him. How does he stand with the other GMs, and do you think he hurts the Nats more than he helps them. Thank you.
Ken Rosenthal: Some GMs don't like Bowden, but I don't know that it hinders his ability to make deals. If the Nats have a player that a certain GM wants, that GM is going to deal with Bowden. Personality CAN be an issue, but with Soriano, for example, the bigger issue was the asking price._______________________
Logan Circle, D.C.: Ken,
Thanks for your article and shedding some light into our ownership. I'm still willing to give them a chance since they are new and having dysfunctional ownership wouldn't be a new thing here in DC. Anyhow, any reaction to your article from the Nats brass? Do you expect to get the cold shoulder from Kasten and Bowden when you run into them next?
Ken Rosenthal: No reaction from the Nationals. I don't know how Stan and Jim will receive me. I've known both a long time, especially Jim - we worked together during the 2004 post-season on ESPN's Cold Pizza. That said, I feel it's my responsibility to report things like this. I fully understand that certain relationships might not be the same afterward._______________________
Ken Rosenthal: Everyone, I've got to run. Thanks very much for reading the article. Your questions were excellent. I'll be working the Mariners at Yankees game for FOX this Saturday afternoon at 3:55 p.m._______________________
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