Wednesday, March 03, 1999

Next Reds owner mostly needs deep pockets

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BY PAUL DAUGHERTY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        SARASOTA, Fla. — The perfect majority owner for the Cincinnati Reds has pockets as deep as his ego is shallow. His cash pile is exceeded only by his humility.

        I want him listed in Fortune and quoted in Forbes. If his name is preceded by “prince” or “sheik,” that would be good.

        I want to see him write large checks and lots of them, then sit back quietly and enjoy his toy. If he has Bill Gates' wad and Howard Hughes' demeanor, let him apply.

        He should hire and retain good people and let them work. Money does not make you smart. Money makes you rich.

        Have you noticed what's happening in baseball now? In Los Angeles, it's not the Angels competing for fans with the Dodgers. It's Disney against Fox, thick wallets at 10 paces. This is the way things are all over.

        The Dodgers represent programming for Rupert Murdoch, just as the Braves do for Ted Turner. George Steinbrenner and Baltimore's Peter Angelos spend furiously to feed their egos. Angelos doesn't have the sense to stay out of the way. Neither does George, but now that his Yankees are halfway to world domination, he's getting away with it.

        Mom and pop have officially left the building. The path to championships runs straight from the bank.

        Those who own the Reds now will meet Monday at the Queen City Club, to discuss Marge Schott's intention to sell 5¹/₂ of her 6¹/₂ shares of the team to Cleveland lawyer Larry Dolan, for $65 million. I'd love to be an ashtray at Marge's elbow for that gathering, honey.

        Some are mad Marge didn't agree to sell to locals. They shouldn't be. I didn't see any locals coming to the table with

        $65 million. You get what you can.

        If the limited partners want to thwart Dolan's bid by matching his offer, they can. At the moment, they believe the price to be too steep. If they want to match, then sell the shares to Cincinnatian Bill DeWitt, they can try to do that, though DeWitt's majority ownership of the St. Louis Cardinals makes that a twisty scenario.

        Local ownership would be nice. But it's not necessary, or even mandatory. Cleveland money spends in Cincinnati.

        It's a nervous time for Reds employees, though. People throwing $65 million generally prefer to speak loudly. They want what they want. But smart, rich people would be wise to keep John Allen, Jim Bowden and, of course, Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall. They are at the core of anything that happens with the Reds.

        There's nothing wrong with the Reds that a steady cash infusion wouldn't fix. We won't offer revisionist history as Schott's light fades. But even as she busied herself rationing paper clips, for years she allowed her “baseball people” to wheel and deal. Under Schott, the Reds were competitive for a decade, until the big-money teams spent her off the table.

        Whether the limited partners would be willing to sit at the wheel with the big boys (or even the medium-sized boys) remains to be seen. It has been suggested the limiteds approved the trade for big-money slugger Greg Vaughn, knowing his salary would send the Reds payroll over $30 million.

        Most of the limiteds are supportive of Bowden. This is good. All are “deep background” types. Also good. Would they be deep-pocketed, too?

        This needs to be settled quickly. There is a ballpark to build, and before that a lease to sign. There is a minor league system to continue fixing and an organization that could use some stability at the top. Until baseball fixes its rich man-poor man world, poor men will have to scramble. It's better to be rich than smart in baseball. It's better still to be both.

        Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at 768-8454.

        Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at 768-8454.

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