The day in unsourced rumor mongering
Hey, how about a totally unsourced rumor from CBS Sportsline’s Scott Miller?
One fascinating rumor making the industry rounds has an investment group led by Microsoft executive and current Mariners minority owner Chris Larson and former Seattle GM Pat Gillick taking control of the Mariners sometime in the near future, with Gillick running the baseball operation and naming the new GM.
As the story goes, Hiroshi Yamauchi, retired head of the game company Nintendo, is looking to get out of the baseball business and is intent on selling his controlling share of the Mariners. Larson, it is said, wants to become the controlling owner.
I want Chris Larson to be the new controlling owner too. Miller does not offer quotes or denials of any kind from anyone vaguely involved, including unsourced confirmations or denials, which… well, you should be pretty skeptical.
But… Gillick? What? Gillick’s name came up in the GM rumors a while back, but — well, if something like this was afoot, I have to think the local Times and PI guys would have been able to scare something up. They’ll probably be left holding Miller’s bag, so to speak, trying to get confirmation or denials themselves now that this is all circulating.
But then, Miller’s arguing it’d be smart to move Ichiro so there’s that too.
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I read this in the morning as well. All speculation of course, but the part about Kenji’s contract being Yamauchi’s last act of gladhanding before getting out the door is pretty intriguing. Yeah, definitely an article to be skeptical about, but intriguing nonetheless.
I was more interested in the BBTN guys talking last night about the possibility of Bedard to the Brewers for Mickey Brantley, Jr.
I don’t know much about Mr. Larson. Should we look at a local owner as a good thing, or does it matter?
The Gillick thing kind of makes me worry, if this is true. I just can’t see any chance of getting an Antonetti/DePo/Ng type with him picking.
I think people are just desperate for any change, and there’s the perception that Yamauchi is detached and doesn’t care about the team’s performance.
That being said, I think Larson as majority owner would be an upgrade, but it’s not necessarily the only way forward for the team.
I guess, for starters, I don’t agree with Miller’s premise that no one on the Ms has a higher trade value.
First, I don’t know how Gillick could be involved prior to resignation of his job as GM of the Phillies. It would be a conflict of interest to hold two positions with two different franchises. So even though Gillick is already on the record on retiring at season end, this exploratory purchasing committee thingie cannot involve him until October.
However, if Gillick does get involved I would hope it would be at a level higher up, i.e. executive level, than the GM. However we may feel about Gillick, he has way more baseball knowledge than Howard Lincoln. Gillick might settle for a Sandy Alderson-ish role. We can hope.
I’d hope for a little more than a defensively-challenged, pop-devoid 4th outfielder in exchange for a season and a half of Bedard…..
It would be wonderful to have an owner who actually attends games.
remember, a varient bubbled up last June from Nick Cafardo in the Boston Globe:
“A few things scouts, GMs, and other baseball officials have said to me this past week: The Mariners might be for sale, with Pat Gillick’s name being mentioned as the possible head of a group.”
to which Pat replied in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
“The speculation continues, but Pat Gillick reiterated yesterday that he isn’t primed to return to Seattle.
The Phillies’ general manager dismissed a report Sunday that he could join a bid to buy the Seattle Mariners. And yesterday he said there is no truth to rumblings in the baseball community that he could leave the Phils to become Seattle’s club president.
“No,” he said. “I have not been contacted by Seattle. I’m loving my time in Philly. I love the city. I love the fans.”
“I’m hearing it all over the place,” a baseball executive said yesterday. “I’m not hearing it from bozos. I’m hearing it from respectable people – people who would know. It’s all over baseball. From what I’m hearing, [Gillick] can go there right now and be the club president.””
I guess it’s July, isn’t it … so, that would be the speculation back in June of 2007.
You weren’t here in the Argyrus years, were you?
Yes.
well, most of them do. Quantity over quality?
um, haven’t they been living in Magnolia for the last two years?
Then you will recall that he attended many games.
It wasn’t wonderful.
One thing that was sort of funny, he came up to the third deck one time and told us all to move down to the first deck behind home plate!
Was he being nice? Trying to reward us for being his customers?
No, unfortunately. The game was on national television, and there was hardly anyone in attendance and he wanted to make it look better.
I’ve never understood the local desire to get rid of an ownership group that has shown the willingness to pay people a lot of money if they deem them worth it. The problem isn’t the ownership group – it’s the people in position to decide who is worth giving large contracts to. I couldn’t care less if Yamauchi attends games or not.
And, of course, he opines that Beltre’s been a bust.
Sure, but who hired and retained those people?
You’re back to the ownership group, and there’s the source of the problem.
What gets me is that Armstrong lists off the reasons why the Mariners wouldn’t trade Ichiro and him helping the team win, or win a championship never comes up. He talks about how he’s an exciting player, and how fans come to see him wherever he goes. I do agree that Ichiro is a very exciting player and I’m against trading him, but I’d like to hear from Armstrong that the reason he’s not looking to trade somebody is because we need them to win, not to make money, but to win.
Larson? I’d love it. Gillick? Not so much. We want a GOOD GM, remember?
Thanks Matthew, I don’t know how I missed that.
Maybe the decline in attendance has finally gotten his attention. Maybe the decline from 40000 to 30000 didn’t bother him, but now that it is under 30000…
Average attendance in Seattle
2001 43300
2002 43739
2003 40351
2004 36305
2005 33619
2006 30626
2007 32992
2008 28277
speaking of unsourced rumor mongering, wonder if the Ms will look at Freddy when he throws for teams in a couple of weeks …
This continuing obsession with a very old owner living across an ocean never attending games is bizarre.
Ichiro’s response to the rumors:
“I haven’t heard that, but what I think about it is that when things are not going well, many people have different ideas, and that’s only natural,” he says. “If a crow has thought it, it would surprise me. But since it’s human beings, it does not surprise me.”
If this has already been posted in another post, my apologies. Regardless, I love Ichiro.
Mr. Yamauchi not only refuses to attend Mariners’ games but, I’ve heard from reliable sources, that he hates Rally Fries and thinks the term “Funk Blast” is cheesy.
This is heresy.
Crows perform complex mathematical calculations to avoid getting hit by cars. Humans, on the other hand, frequently get run down by freight trains in the vicinity of Auburn.
Ichiro has the best qualities of both.
Heresy? This… is… SEATTLE!
Sorry, had to…
I’m not opposed to Gillick taking Armstrong’s job. At least we’d have an actual baseball guy there instead of a bottom-line guy. And since he’s just approving moves instead of making them, the issues we had with him last time around should be minimized.
Why in the world would anyone think that Gillick could or would be hands-off in any front office role? He certainly wasn’t last time we tried this.
I’ve always felt pretty good about old Stand Pat. So far as I can tell he has overseen the most successful years of four different franchises in the last 25 years (the Blue Jays, Orioles, Ms and now Phillies). Since 1985 his teams have gone to the playoffs 10 out of 18 seasons (and two of those non-playoff teams were the 93 win Mariner clubs of 02/03). I know he didn’t pull the trigger at the deadline to bring in that Big Bat we were perennially in need of, but the guy does seem to have the magic touch. I, for one, would welcome him as head of baseball operations.
I’ve been itching for an ownership change and I think now is the time to do it. Sell the team and start fresh. New GM, new VPs, new (Japanese…) Manager. New everything. Keep Ichiro and trade everyone else (including and especially Felix, he isn’t going to stay anyway so I think the time has come to pillage Boston’s farm system). And finally, even if it’s a superficial change, dump the broadcasting team. The mindless homerism that has been running rampant for the last few decades has just got to go. A new era of intelligent baseball consciousness is dawning in Seattle.
No doubt about it.
Perhaps Mayor Nickels can get involved to help?
Sure, he handled the Sonics situation so poorly they settled today (and are leaving ASAP) but perhaps he learned from that experience.
An ambassador in high places to wine and dine interested parties… sell them on Seattle… etc.
I wouldn’t.
I think he has better talent evaluation skill than most anybody at the mariners…but, remember, Lincoln and Armstrong claim they learned what they know now from Gillick.
Too, remember that minor league talent development seemed to suffer at Gillick’s hands. I’m not sure that there’s been that much talent developed by GIllick…
the sonics are gone 🙁
Bill Bavasi was an actual baseball guy. We don’t need an actual baseball guy; we need a guy (or a gal) who understands how to maximize value.
Trade Felix? Blasphemy!!!!!!
Hey, let’s get Clay Bennett to buy the Mariners. He has a lot of money I hear!
Slowly I turn…step by step…inch by inch… >:(
I hated the last paragraph. The one that confirmed what I already know.