Sunday, June 06, 2004 |
The Owner Who Got Away
In 2001, Diamondback fans watched their team go all the way. Last year, the bill came due in the form of deferred salaries to guys like Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. The team moved Schilling and his salary to make room for Richie Sexson -- who's now done for the season.
It's no wonder some of them have started blaming ownership for the precarious situation they're in, and especially, they're casting green eyes on former minority partner Arte Moreno, whose money now helps the Angels buy the kind of free agents to put the team in first. See:
No doubt. Moreno has seized Southern California since buying the Angels for $183 million in cash in May 2003. He has lowered Angel Stadium beer prices by nearly $2 a cup, expanded the availability of $5 tickets to youths 18 and younger and provided $5 family package tickets Mondays through Thursdays.Maybe true. But while Arte's a great guy -- and I think I speak for every single Angel fan out there when I say we're incredibly lucky to have such an owner -- he's not a magician. He can't double Phoenix's market size. Sure, Arte's got money to spend, but he views it as an investment with a reasonable hope of a good return -- and in this market, Southern California, he's got that chance. The Diamondbacks' 2001 was bought on credit cards; the Angels' 2004 is a mortgage.And that was before he spent $145 million on free agents such as All-Star right fielder Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Guillen, Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar and Shane Halter.
If Moreno had been devoting those resources to the Diamondbacks, the possibilities seem endless.
Imagine a team not saddled with $170 million in deferred payments to players or harnessed to more than $100 million in stadium debt.
Moreno's moves would have been subject to investor approval, but he possesses the capital to have set the Diamondbacks on a different course.
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But alas, while Moreno has fans flooding Angel Stadium - the Angels exceeded 1 million in attendance in only 25 games - Arizona is well below .500 and drowning in debt.
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