Washington Nationals Season Ends — Thank God!
This is bad news. Real bad news.
Obviously the marriage between Nats President Stan Kasten and the Lerner family is not very good right now. The Lerner’s are giving signs of being tightwads, which really makes you wonder, if that is the case, what’s the point in buying the franchise if it will be an annual loser? No one doubts Kasten’s ability to build a winner, he did it successfully in Atlanta, but clearly Kasten knows, it takes money too.
The two — at constant odds, according to sources — stopped for a minute to chat, then headed in opposite directions. When Kasten stepped into an elevator moments later, he said, sarcastically, “Did you see us fighting over there?”
Obviously the building plan Kasten had in mind included the money aspect. What’s wrong with the Lerner’s and why, after all these years of waiting for a baseball franchise, did we have to have a family that didn’t want to spend, buy the franchise. This season was downright awful. In a rebuild plan, from season to season, progress should have been made, but this season, this team regressed into hell, sitting at the bottom depths of major league baseball.
According to numerous team sources and those within the industry, the Nationals’ chief problem originates with a private, scrupulous ownership group that maintains painstaking caution over the franchise’s spending.
Again, the point in buying the franchise was what?
According to some who know Kasten personally, his frustration more than two years later lies with the Lerners’ hands-on, tight-fisted management style, which interferes with Kasten’s own strategies for penetrating a market noted for its transience and its monogamous affection for the Redskins.
Said one team source: “A guy who’s been as successful as he has, you think he’d put his name on the line for some job where he doesn’t have last say?”
“He doesn’t look like a happy camper,” said one Kasten associate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to reveal his impressions freely. “There are rumblings that he’s very frustrated and ready to walk away.”
My fear — the Washington Nationals will have an ownership group similar to the Baltimore Orioles, a family affair of incompetent owners. If Kasten departs, are you telling me the brain trust becomes Mark Lerner and Jim Bowden. How scary is that thought?
Kasten’s departure would signal that this franchise is not about winning, it is just about ticket sales and low overhead, which of course, I just don’t understand the logic, because tickets aren’t being sold. To draw a crowd, you have to put a good product on the field, and Mr. Lerner, this simply is NOT A GOOD product at all. What makes me, a new Nationals fan, because in essence, we are are new Nats fans, encouraged to continue to root for this team? Who wants to annually in and annually out root for a fourth place finish, because, well, it isn’t last place. Isn’t that where we are as fans?
The Nationals have already begun to make changes in the off-season, just one day in, firing all coaches except Manager Manny Acta and pitching coach Randy St. Claire. Pretty damn pathetic response. Blame coaches for incompetent ownership. Maybe ownership should try giving coaches a roster they can work with. Pretty pathetic.
Here’s the thing — where is the hope? The franchise is only a few years old, just one season under their belts in a brand new stadium, but the management looks in complete disarray. The franchise is tanking. Tell me this — besides being ‘baseball’ fans, what is the draw to Nationals Park? Answer — nothing. Perhaps that is why they have a hard time filling a brand new stadium for a relatively new franchise.
The Lerner’s to me got this thing all backwards. See, the problem in DC is this.
It is not that the team needs rebuilt, that is a given. The problem is, you have a City that has been absent from the baseball world for years and years and years. So to rebuild, it is more than just rebuilding the team, you have to rebuild the franchise and that includes — a FAN BASE. In order to do that, in order to grow a rabid fan base, which this City has proven it will do, just look at the Redskins, you have to provide excitement, a reason to root for the home team.
The team is clearly not winning by any stretch of the means. Does it have a player on the roster to draw a crowd, to generate excitement in the youth of the DC area? Nope. Ryan Zimmerman? Umm, no. Zimmy is going to a very good third baseman for a very long time in this franchise, but let’s face it, Zimmy is not going to sell tickets, period. Would you buy a franchise jersey? Would a young kid in downtown DC run out to buy a jersey of a Washington National player? Who? I just don’t think so.
Yes, the Redskins have a 75 year advantage. But, the Redskins are also proof that Washington DC and the surrounding area WILL embrace a sports franchise overtime. But again, there has to be incentive, has to be reason to do so. So far, this franchise just utterly stinks and people who are offered free tickets are even turning them down. Why waste the time?
To build a rabid fan base you have to create memories, tales, you know, stories to pass down to get the young energetic. You have to create drama and tales of Nationals Park. Are there any in the first season? Yes. If we have 100 losses, how many would we go over 100. Very encouraging.
I challenge the Lerner’’s to look at the Leonsis model. Look at how the Washington Capitals rebuilt their franchise. First, they did it around a super star, Alexander Ovechkin, a crowd draw, a great personality, a player kids want to emulate, a player that is attractive to the community. See a ton of Ovie jersey’s around? I do. Heck, I live in south central PA near Hershey, Pennsylvania. Go to a Hershey Bears game once and see how many #8 jersey’s are there, night in and night out.
But it is not just about Alex Ovechkin. Ted Leonsis made a commitment, both as a person as an owner and a huge financial commitment. That commitment involved drafting smart, spending money on veterans to boost and supplement the youth movement, yet not block the youth. A good mix that has paid huge dividends in 2007/08. Take a look at how well the Capitals will pack in the Verizon Center this year.
It is not all about winning either. It is about how Ted Leonsis built this franchise, asking himself to make a huge commitment and in return asking the fans to commit. The playoff run of last season that sparked the craze of the Sea of Red will be a tale I will remember, I can pass down, a tale that excited my son to be a brand new, avid Caps fan. He now owns a Ovie, Semin, and Backstrom jersies. Why? He is excited, he has reason to be a fan, he enjoys hockey, he enjoys the excitement of the Verizon center, he is watching a team that was built to be good for more than a season or two, but a long term consistent winner, he is excited about the Washington Capitals. Will that be a long term commitment from my son as a Caps fan. You bet it will. Can the Nationals say they can do that right now with a young kid? I doubt it.
Ted Leonsis built the franchise in a logical, orderly way, spending money, drafting smart, and creating the perfect storm. Fact is this — the Capitals have a huge draw in Alexander Ovechkin. How much of the nightly crowds do you think come to see Ovechkin? A ton. But that crowd is also excited for more than just Ovechkin because the rebuild looks to have put Washington hockey on the maps for years to come. Leonsis was not making money on this franchise. Leonsis was not rolling in the dough like Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins. BUT, Leonsis made a dedicated commitment to Washington Capitals fans, a commitment that he wanted to build this franchise to win, to restore Washington hockey as a serious professional franchise in Washington DC, to show that there is room for more than just the Redskins in the DC area. He did so by making a serious financial commitment to the young players the rebuild center around — Ovechkin, D Mike Green, Brooks Laich, and others — while spending some cash to bring in veterans to supplement and youngsters and play other huge roles, guys like Michael Nylander, Tom Poti, Victor Kozlov, Sergei Federov, Jose Theodore, and more. The $124 million dollar investment into the face of the franchise spoke volumes, and volumes about Leonsis commitment to building this franchise, LONG TERM, not a one or tow year window. Will Ted Leonsis commitment pay off for the franchise. Last season was an indication that the commitment may begin to pay dividends as many of the games in the second half began selling out. Why? Not only the commitment by Leonsis, but it goes back to the same rationale we spoke or earlier — put a good product out there, people are interested. Leonsis provided the good product and fans are responding.
Ted Leonsis asked for patience, promised a successful rebuild. He has delivered. Are the Lerner’s prepared to do the same? Where is that player draw? Why won’t the Nationals provide a player to draw fans? That triggers interest? Where is the financial commitment from the Lerner family? How can we as fans be committed to the Nationals when all signs point to a Lerner family that balks at making any serious financial commitment to building a winner. Are the Lerner’s really serious that they expect me to travel and 1 hour and 15 minutes to come watch a 102 loss team with absolutely no hope in the short term for success? What is my encouragement when I don’t see any serious financial commitment from the ownership? Leonsis will get my money because I am not just a die hard Caps fan, but i I am energized and excited. When Leonsis asked for patience, I gave it, because I genuinely felt he was serious about this franchise and its long term success. You feel that way about the Lerner’s who failed to make ANY serious financial commitment to players yet? Are you excited about the Nats next year?
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