Moorad facing three key decisions

[azdad1978]

By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist

He has to rebuild a baseball team that's on pace to lose 113 games and restore hope to fans who feel Jerry Colangelo's ouster is a sign of bad things to come.
Other than that, his new job should be a breeze.

“This organization will be back,” said Moorad, the Diamondbacks' incoming CEO. “It's just a matter of when.”

Moorad was short on specifics, but that's understandable. He doesn't officially join the team until Sept. 1, so issues like payroll and personnel are still in the planning stages.

In one respect, it's unfair to expect too much too soon from Moorad. The Diamondbacks are paying for years of overspending, and Moorad has been saddled with more debt than talent.

But we'll know a lot about the new CEO, his bosses — and the direction of the franchise — by the way three important personnel matters are handled.

- Will the Diamondbacks be able to sign shortstop Stephen Drew, their first-round draft pick out of Florida State?

Drew was the 15th overall selection in last June's amateur draft yet his agent, Scott Boras, reportedly wants money commensurate with a top-five selection.

It's an outrageous demand, but Colangelo would have signed the player then worried about the money.

Of course, it was easy for Colangelo. He wasn't spending his own cash. And it was his freewheeling ways that got Arizona into this mess. That said, Drew represents the first litmus test for the Diamondbacks' brain trust. Which will come first, the player or the payroll?

“We intend to make a serious effort (to sign him), but we certainly will have our economic realities to guide us,” Moorad said.

Just what fans want to hear.

- Can Arizona re-sign first baseman Richie Sexson?

Sexson is the most important get of the offseason, the linchpin for 2005 and beyond.

The Diamondbacks can negotiate exclusively with Sexson until 15 days after the World Series has ended, and they can't afford to let other teams in on the bidding.

It's doubtful Sexson will sign a one-year, incentive-laden deal. He's already said he doesn't feel he owes the Diamondbacks because his season was cut short by injury. Best guess: Sexson will fetch $10 million per year if he becomes a free agent. Show him the money? How can Arizona afford not to?

- Can Moorad sell Randy Johnson on his vision?

Money isn't the issue with Johnson. It's trust.

Johnson doesn't want to finish his career with a franchise that's maxed out its credit card. Moorad must somehow convince the Big Unit that Arizona can contend while it caresses the bottom line.

If Moorad’s sales pitch falls on deaf ears, expect Johnson's agents to ask for a trade in the offseason. It's a long-shot trifecta. But Colangelo always seemed to be cashing tickets — until this season, at least — and fans won't settle for rationalizations or excuses from his successor.

“We all have high hopes for this organization,” Moorad said. “No one in the front office or the ownership group wouldn’t be involved if they didn’t believe.”

Moorad, by the way, sat in Colangelo's seat Monday.

Soon, we'll see if he can stand on his own.

http://www.aztrib.com/index.php?sty=26472

 

[Djaughe]

How did moorad get J.C.'s job? I've never heard of a sports agent taking over a team...

 

[AZZenny]

For one thing, he's actually a friend of Jerry's. For another, he's bright, articulate, dynamic, competitive, supposedly fairly ethical, and will continue the proud Diamondback tradition of pissing off Selig and mlb.com. Third, he's reportedly investing anywhere from $10-$35 Million of his own dollars over the next few years to become a co-owner.

Now on Bordow's comments - I really thought, and think, Drew may be a tad overrated, certainly for the money. Read Baseball America and see if Travis Lee doesn't come to mind (who was a Moorad client!)
Drew ranks as the best position player available. Scouts agree he's more like Todd Walker, though more athletic and better defensively. Stephen is a five-tool player, average across the board but with above-average speed and well-above-average hitting ability. He has fast hands and good plate discipline, and when he's locked in can dominate a game, a series, a week or a month. Scouts agree he doesn't play his best all the time--only when he wants to.
Elsewhere a comment that he doesn't appear to be a team leader type, goes more on his own.
Bad news is Arte Moreno just paid their 18th round pick $1.4 M! Cubs paid a second-rounder over $1M. Boras is of course taking notes. BA did a thing on super-high-bonus top picks, and a substantial majority haven't panned out.

Plus, I still contend that given the recent history of sluggers recovering from Sexson's injury/surgery, the team should be very cautious signing him. He is likely to be sub-par (for him) for much of next season. Everyone sounds like Seattle will mainly compete for him - why would he want to step from our messy rebuild into theirs?

Signing him and Drew to big fat contracts will severely limit the money for a couple top FA pitchers or other good younger players next year. If they make those deals largely to "save face" for local media and fan pressure, it'll be disappointing.

 

[Djaughe]

For one thing, he's actually a friend of Jerry's.

So that gets his foot into management?

For another, he's bright, articulate, dynamic, competitive, supposedly fairly ethical, and will continue the proud Diamondback tradition of pissing off Selig and mlb.com.

What has he done?

Third, he's reportedly investing anywhere from $10-$35 Million of his own dollars over the next few years to become a co-owner.

Okay he's got the cash. But why such a big range?

 

[Djaughe]

Doesn't Moorad have to settle the conflict-of-interest concerns since he's a sports agent? Isn't Luis Gonzalez one of his clients?

 

[Djaughe]

So far everything I read has shown that moorad has no experience in running a baseball operation....wasn't moorad one of the main participants who negotiated some of the very contracts that has pushed diamondbacks into the red?

Moorad secured a five-year, $45 million contract for third baseman Matt Williams (at age 34). Williams appeared in just 460 games over the 810-game term of the deal before retiring due to injuries. Moorad negotiated left fielder Luis Gonzalez's three-year, $30 million deal (at age 36). Gonzalez just underwent elbow surgery and is out for the year. And don't forget the $10 million signing bonus Moorad arranged for first baseman Travis Lee, who hit .251 before he was traded 2 1/2 years later.

The Players Association has also recently raised some questions (Moorad has been accused of client raiding) and, since he is also buying a portion of the club, he must gain approval of other club owners....it'll be interesting to see if this guy makes it.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

So far everything I read has shown that moorad has no experience in running a baseball operation....wasn't moorad one of the main participants who negotiated some of the very contracts that has pushed diamondbacks into the red?

And what experience did Jerry have in running a baseball organization before he started here? And the fact that Moorad hosed Jerry and Joe into paying ridiculous undeserved contracts tell me all I need to know about each's negotiating abilities.

The Players Association has also recently raised some questions (Moorad has been accused of client raiding) and, since he is also buying a portion of the club, he must gain approval of other club owners....it'll be interesting to see if this guy makes it.

If the guy is doing press conferences and such I'm sure he's pretty confident that he will assume his role as CEO. These agents have their ears to the ground so if there was impending drama over his position I'm sure he would have heard something.

 

[Djaughe]

And what experience did Jerry have in running a baseball organization before he started here?

None at all. Is that one of the job criterias?

Granted J.C. was an integral part for bringing Major League Baseball to Arizona, fielded an instant contender and won the world title in the franchise's fourth year. That's a tough act to follow.

We also know that Colangelo ran up a massive debt ($300 mil), allowed his grudge against George Steinbrenner to prevent the team from unloading Randy Johnson's contract to the Yankees, and presided over a No. 1 draft pick (Stephen Drew) who not only is making outrageous demands but is represented by Moorad's arch-enemy, Scott Boras.

And the fact that Moorad hosed Jerry and Joe into paying ridiculous undeserved contracts tell me all I need to know about each's negotiating abilities.

Ok - So how does the comparison qualify moorad to run the team? Joe G. was also a sports agent and we know how things are going with him in being involved with managment.

If the guy is doing press conferences and such I'm sure he's pretty confident that he will assume his role as CEO. These agents have their ears to the ground so if there was impending drama over his position I'm sure he would have heard something.

Its not like MLB owners are all angels...but his application will definately attract more interest during the apporval process.

 

[AZZenny]

OK, how about he built and ran a sports agency/conglomerate that he sold for $100 Million a couple years ago? Also won some sort of infringement lawsuit against a competitor for $45M and the judge said he was tempted to award him more.

It's not like he was some solo practitioner out there beating the bushes for the occasional big client. He is a savvy business man, specializes in baseball, knows how the overall system works and knows ALL the players; he was a big winner on one end of the system, now he wants to see if he can do it from the other end.

Would you prefer Ken Kendricks?

I'm not sure how inheriting and running Walmart, inheriting a team, owning theme parks and movie studios, or running a media empire, or owning a billboard company, or owning used car lots, etc., qualified a number of current and past owners and CEOs for the job of running a baseball team. But it did...and look at the state of things! Moorad probably has more pertinent experience than many of them.

LOL- The owners may feel that despite their misgivings, he knows the Union better than any of them. And the Union may decide that it could be like having a fox in the owner's henhouse. I suspect they'll cancel each other out, and further, that these issues have already been scoped for legalities by the suits from Moorad and the team.

 

[Djaughe]

The players' union, according to an official, is investigating "everybody at Moorad's firm," to determine whether any player represented by the firm was compromised during the process of what the union believes "could not have been an overnight decision."

This new investigation coincides with an ongoing union investigation into allegations by other agents that representatives of Moorad's firm have been guilty of stealing clients — a tawdry practice that has generated union investigations into other agents at other times.

In addition, if Moorad takes an equity position with the Diamondbacks and/or is designated as the club's representative at owners' meetings, he will have to go through a background check and be approved by the same owners with whom he has waged contract battles as a player agent.

The situation may be no more bizarre than longtime agent Steve Greenberg's becoming deputy commissioner under Fay Vincent, but can Moorad guard against the perception — and reality? — of conflict and hypocrisy?

Can the man who helped inflate payrolls now deflate the Diamondbacks' payroll? Can he tell future free agent Shawn Green he's not worth $16 million a year, after helping convince the Dodgers that he was? Can he reject a possible contract extension for Luis Gonzalez, on whose behalf he negotiated Gonzalez's five-year, $30-million deal with the Diamondbacks?

It'll sure prove interesting to see.

 

[Djaughe]

OK, how about he built and ran a sports agency/conglomerate that he sold for $100 Million a couple years ago? Also won some sort of infringement lawsuit against a competitor for $45M and the judge said he was tempted to award him more.

It's not like he was some solo practitioner out there beating the bushes for the occasional big client. He is a savvy business man, specializes in baseball, knows how the overall system works and knows ALL the players; he was a big winner on one end of the system, now he wants to see if he can do it from the other end.

Would you prefer Ken Kendricks?

I'm not sure how inheriting and running Walmart, inheriting a team, owning theme parks and movie studios, or running a media empire, or owning a billboard company, or owning used car lots, etc., qualified a number of current and past owners and CEOs for the job of running a baseball team. But it did...and look at the state of things! Moorad probably has more pertinent experience than many of them.

LOL- The owners may feel that despite their misgivings, he knows the Union better than any of them. And the Union may decide that it could be like having a fox in the owner's henhouse. I suspect they'll cancel each other out, and further, that these issues have already been scoped for legalities by the suits from Moorad and the team.

So far all it looks like is that moorad is leaving one den of snakes to settle in with another.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

None at all. Is that one of the job criterias?

I don't think so but I thought you were insinuating that it should be when you said "So far everything I read has shown that moorad has no experience in running a baseball operation." My bad for the misunderstanding.

Granted J.C. was an integral part for bringing Major League Baseball to Arizona, fielded an instant contender and won the world title in the franchise's fourth year. That's a tough act to follow.

We also know that Colangelo ran up a massive debt ($300 mil), allowed his grudge against George Steinbrenner to prevent the team from unloading Randy Johnson's contract to the Yankees, and presided over a No. 1 draft pick (Stephen Drew) who not only is making outrageous demands but is represented by Moorad's arch-enemy, Scott Boras.

Like you, I'm concerned aboutthe prospect of Moorad negotiating with his competition on contracts. Boras is enough of a pain, imagine him against Moorad. But I only imagine this being an issue with draft choices because with this team's finances I doubt we enter into any major free agent negotiations.

Ok - So how does the comparison qualify moorad to run the team? Joe G. was also a sports agent and we know how things are going with him in being involved with managment.

It doesn't, I only compared each's negotiation skills. The fact remains that our former CEO and the owners were not on the same page. I'm assuming Moorad and the owners are if they are tabbing him as the next in line. And when the owner disagrees with one of his employees, we all know who gets the boot.

Look, I'm not guaranteeing that Moorad is going to achieve success as quickly as Jerry and Joe did (albeit at a extreemely high cost). All I want, like the owners, from Moorad is to display some sort of fiscal responsibility while building up our farm system so that we can compete year in and year out. I don't think this was possible under Colangelo. Is Moorad the best fit? Time will tell. But we all know that Jerry wasn't the right fit at this time and his exit was a necessity under this current climate.

 

[Djaughe]

Is Moorad the best fit? Time will tell.

Got to hand one thing to Moorad...he was the agent that found some obscure rule that freed up travis lee from (twins?) to become a free agent.

 

[Evil Ash]

How did moorad get J.C.'s job? I've never heard of a sports agent taking over a team...

Did you forget about Michael Barnett (sp?), GM of the Phoenix Coyotes?

 

[NJYAJ09]

Signing Drew is important. He wants top 5 money, I'd give it to him.

 

[Bob Chebat]

Moorad's first mistake is keeping Joe Jr as the GM. Sorry, but this guy has shown no ability in making good trades. Granted, the Sexson deal would not look so bad had he not gotten hurt, but the deal was way lopsided. He got screwed on the Schilling deal, made a public disaster of the attempted Matt Williams deal, failed to get a deal done for Randy Johnson, and what exactly did he get for Finley?

Rebuilding this organization starts at the top, or so it would seem with the ousting of Colangelo. Maybe Moorad is giving Joe the false sense of security and still plans on replacing him, but until that decision is made, I don't see this team doing any better.

I feel really bad for Pedrique every time I see his sad face on TV. The guy was thrown into a horrible situation.

I think you can say that Joe Jr has outlived his usefulness with this organization and it's time for him to move on. Of course, just my opinion and someday, maybe I will eat those words.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Speaking of Joe Jr, Durazo hit three HRs yesterday in an A's win and is having a magnificent season. But I can't blame Joe because remember, playing a geriatric Grace was more important to the team that getting Durazo reps at 1B. Also thank god we got someone useful for Durazo considering Billy Beane was salivating over the prospect of obtaining him for years.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Speaking of Joe Jr, Durazo hit three HRs yesterday in an A's win and is having a magnificent season. But I can't blame Joe because remember, playing a geriatric Grace was more important to the team that getting Durazo reps at 1B. Also thank god we got someone useful for Durazo considering Billy Beane was salivating over the prospect of obtaining him for years.

Trades such as this really worried me at the time, and in retrospect, they look more ******** than ever. Look, being a small market team, can anyone explain the logic in giving 10 million a year to Sexson, who while he is a nice player, is a power hitting first baseman, which are a dime a dozen? How on earth can we not focus on the obvious problem, our pathetic starting pitching? Why is every media outlet focusing on Sexson, and ignoring this?

 

[hafey2]

Like the trade or not, you cannot say players like Richie Sexson are a dime a dozen.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Like the trade or not, you cannot say players like Richie Sexson are a dime a dozen.

Perhaps you didn't understand my point. My point is, that with a limited payroll, to invest a significant portion of it on a power hitting first baseman is a waste of money, because compared to most other positions, there are many quality first basemen available. Would you rather see us run out Sexson, and the crap at the bottom of our rotation, or Shea, and two other quality starters? I think this is a no brainer.

 

[hafey2]

The Sexson trade was nearly equal in terms of salary changing hands, so I do not think Richie prevented us from signing a pitcher.

edit: Sexson cost an additional 2 million then the players sent to Milwaukee.

 

[Bob Chebat]

In addition to what you say about the investment in Sexson, let's not ignore what Overbay is doing this year. Apparently, he is reaching his potential and it is one more clear sign that he was given up on too soon.

Trading Curt to the BoSox was nothing but a salary dump to make room for Sexson. I agree completely to the point of, how can you get rid of a pitcher of Curt's stature to bring in a first baseman when you had one that had not yet come of age?

I bet when Jr made that deal, he was laughing at the Brewers thinking he had shoveled off a guy that was underperforming. I blame that on Bob Brenly more than anyone. He was the worst at finding a lineup he was comfortable with.

Had Jr been smart, he would have canned BB last season when the team was reeling. Brenly had no faith in the youth unless they produced immediately.

The only good thing about this situation is that it forces the team to play these guys and it gives them a chance to learn the professional game.

We're watching the Tucson Toros farm team learn how to play MLB baseball all at the same time.

Why did they have to give up Moeller, Overbay, Counsell and Spivey for Sexson? Maybe we should have thrown in a couple million extra dollars too.

 

[Bob Chebat]

The Sexson trade was nearly equal in terms of salary changing hands, so I do not think Richie prevented us from signing a pitcher.

This makes the deal look even worse then. Lets evacuate four positions for the price of one. Nice move Jr.

 

[hafey2]

It is important to remember that Schilling was not coming back here and would not allow himself to be traded at the deadline. So Joe could've cleared his salary or let him go at the end of the season.
As for Overbay, at 26 (now 27) he was hardly an elite prosepct. Since May his monthly OPS splits have gone 1.012, .937, .843, .795.

As for the rest or the trade, are they anyone worth missing. I don't think so.

Moeller OPS: .584
Spivey OPS: .790.....injured for the rest of the season
Counsell OPS: .692

 

[Bob Chebat]

It is important to remember that Schilling was not coming back here and would not allow himself to be traded at the deadline. So Joe could've cleared his salary or let him go at the end of the season.
As for Overbay, at 26 (now 27) he was hardly an elite prosepct. Since May his monthly OPS splits have gone 1.012, .937, .843, .795.

As for the rest or the trade, are they anyone worth missing. I don't think so.

Moeller OPS: .584
Spivey OPS: .790.....injured for the rest of the season
Counsell OPS: .692

With Sexson missing almost the entire season and the D-backs on pace to break the all time record for losses in a single season, I'd say those guys are being missed a great deal at this point.

Joe Jr failed to assess the teams needs properly in the offseason. Had Brenly shown some cajones last season when the team was sinking and let the younger guys get the experience they needed, it is pretty safe to say management may have had a better idea of what the teams needs really were.

Overbay was a hot prospect for the Diamondbacks and was highly touted when he came up last season. When a ballplayer is in his late 20's, that is when he starts to mature and get better. Look at the history of guys throughout the league. How many of them have come in and had an immediate impact? It is a different game at this level and his experience last season made him better, even if his production has tapered off since the early going.

As for Schilling, he did not have a gun to the head of the organization to get rid of him. They risked losing him for nothing, sure. Instead, they gave him away for nothing. You can bet that if he were still on this team this season, and had they still been this bad, it would have been a little easier to get the no-trade clause waived at the deadline, unlike with Randy and the rumors of his demands to go to the Yankees or nowhere.