...with Selig having announced his upcoming retirement, have any of you given any thought as to who would be a good replacement for him? ...I ask this because I have someone who I think would be a good fit and was wondering if anyone might have the same person in mind.
George W. Bush and George Will as the populist choices. Rob Manfred and Steve Greenberg as MLB insiders.
...damn!...how'd you know?...j/k ...I'm surprised no one else has thought of the one I'm thinking of.
...I'm sure it will raise a few eyebrows but I've always thought Bob Costas would make a great Commissioner.
Costas? I would have been inclined to agree with you until he started interjecting his political opinions on Sunday Night Football. First it was his position on guns, followed By the Redskin name crossed the line for me.
Well a purist wouldn't buy into the straw man argument that the name 'Redskins' was offensive. And a purist wouldn't rail against the 2nd Amendment. Consistency of purism isn't his strong suit. Those types of positions aren't going to instill confidence from owners. Plus he suffers from short man disease.
...I'm talking about a baseball purist...his political views don't bother me. I don't care if he's a democrat or a republican, a liberal or a conservative, etc,...all I care about are his views on baseball... he's always been a great student of the game and IMO, would also make a very competent ambassador of the game. ...first I've heard about the short man thingy. ...as far as the owner's, they're already hopelessly split as it is...and aren't they the ones who appointed Selig in the first place?
My case in point, you want a commissioner that is agnostic when it comes to everything, the person has to embody baseball period. For the same reason W wouldn't work. My point is Costa crossed the point of no return when he stopped discussing sports and attempted to shape/influence public opinion. The temptation to enter the realm of social commentary is my issue, he broke that seal and he can't walk it back. You don't want a commish that takes pot shots on TV to wave an agenda flag and risk alienating a significant portion of the customer base. Thus endth the lesson, who else you got in mind?
... like I said, I like Costas. You don't care for him, fine. ...I would think that owners would prefer a business guy, a CEO type...and that's probably the type they'll probably appoint...all I'm saying is I've always like Bob Costas and his views on the game...you have your opinion, I have mine.
I think they will stick with a baseball insider. Manfred is tainted by the Biogenesis stuff, Torre is likely too old or wouldn't committee, so that leaves Greenberg. Apparently this guy has his hands on many major deals for the franchises (ownership, stadium deals, TV/media deals, etc.). Also see Sandy Alderson's name, and think he would be a better choice than Dombrowski. Commish needs to be a marketing and money guy these days.
