Zack Greinke strikes out five what could be his final appearane at The K, the Royals reshuffle their scouting department and ownership can't decide where to build their boondoggle of a new stadium.
This is a clear sign that Sherman has failed in his ability to successfully play the two sites off each other in order to get the blank check of his liking. So, he sucks at business, too?
I have a difficult time saying a billionare “sucks at business.” I do think, as you mentioned, that working with goverment is an entirely different beast. He probably did not fully appreciate the complex relationship between the teams, the county and the city.
One of the reasons I continue to believe the Clay County site has no chance is that Jackson County will want their pound of flesh if the Royals go north of the river.
If anything, Sherman moved too soon. The correct play would’ve been to make this move closer to the end of the leases.
Gotcha, and to clarify, I'm nodding to the more political part of the game, as you mentioned. And, totally agree that the Clay County site is a carrot to get Jackson to buy in. What a shame.
I think NKC WAS a leverage point when first surfaced, but they misplayed that card in such a fashion that it may now be the best option.
Bringing NKC to the table inadvertently surfaced just how little investment the Jackson County power structure feels in this venture. That made it palatable for others in KCMO whose support the Royals need to instead hang back rather than step up.
Initially, it was just uncool not to support downtown baseball. Now, it's good business / fiscally responsible, too.
Sherman's head has to be spinning now that it's clear he listened to the wrong people before he bought the team.
As with rich dudes who are persuaded by consultants/pollsters to run for public office, when you listen too much to the professional class who needs you to buy into the fantasy they are selling, you never gain proper situational awareness.
Sherman has made enough investments in his career, and knows the economics of baseball well enough from his minority ownership stint in Cleveland, that he should not have closed a deal that only worked with a new stadium/entertainment district without doing his own polling. It should not be a surprise that a large portion of his audience is both economically and emotionally invested in the K, and skeptical of what feels like a disingenuous effort from the jump.
I don't feel bad for the guy, but I'd imagine the buyer's remorse is intense right now.
It's not too late to course correct. Mark Donovan stubbed his toe with his comments about a move to KS, and yet the Chiefs managed to get their process back on track without him losing his credibility as a dealmaker. A little humility goes a long way, but that does not seem to be in Sherman's playbook.
Agree with you on most of this, but not bringing Zack back. I want to see him in Cooperstown more than I want to see him suffer through another year with the Royals, which will hurt his chances of the HOF (certainly coming back to the Royals hasn’t helped his stats). I hope he retires after this season and gets inducted the year after the Royals win the World Series (has that for optimism?).
KC voters rejected the rolling roof ballot measure in 2006. We are among the cities to say no to a pro sports team owner, and that precedent has to loom large over these negotiations.
I don't know how you can possibly get confident in a ballot measure in either county at this point. What if the measure fails? Are you starting over again next year with option B, at which time you'll have zero leverage?
I wish dearly that Jim Fitzpatrick was still on the scene to make sense of this for us, because a lot of folks who know how to read the tea leaves seem reluctant to say much at the moment.
I know some people are genuinely concerned about the message sent by burning a local guy made good, who's put a lot of skin in the game to possibly keep the Royals from an owner more inclined toward Nashville or Portland, but at some point he has to stop and get honest with himself.
There are two things I’m wondering when it comes to the ballot. 1) Can they even get their act together to get it on the ballot in April? From what I’ve seen, I’m not so sure. 2) If it does get on the ballot and fail, what is Option B. A defeat at the ballot box doesn’t mean much if they can lobby lawmakers for something. What that would be…I don’t know.
I appreciate Sherman stepping forward and buying this team, but this has been a disaster of a process. I’m hopeful he uses this as a learning experience and figures it out. It’s early days of his ownership.
Sherman does not seem to have learned much so far, but it's never too late. I'm skeptical, though, that Sherman is going to get the decade-plus it took Glass, if you count his time as chairman during the post-EMK interregnum.
I bet they could shoehorn a measure onto the Clay County ballot in time, but I am more skeptical about Jackson County. The state is a mystery to me, but if they can move past the rancor over the police board and convince the governor he has a political stake in this, more power to them.
My other question is whether at some point Jackson County leadership is willing to (threaten to) box the Royals out completely by committing the full sales tax extension to the Chiefs, and letting Sherman sink/swim in NKC. I don't know how strongly the Chiefs feel about waiting to see what happens to the Royals, but I have to imagine they're exasperated by now.
They have a fairly advanced stadium project underway. It's speculative ala the Sprint Center, but corporate and community support for attracting an MLB franchise is strong.
PDX may not be Nashville, but it's regularly discussed as an expansion target. We should expect it to be one of the cudgels used to get KC voters to ante up, too.
This is a clear sign that Sherman has failed in his ability to successfully play the two sites off each other in order to get the blank check of his liking. So, he sucks at business, too?
I have a difficult time saying a billionare “sucks at business.” I do think, as you mentioned, that working with goverment is an entirely different beast. He probably did not fully appreciate the complex relationship between the teams, the county and the city.
One of the reasons I continue to believe the Clay County site has no chance is that Jackson County will want their pound of flesh if the Royals go north of the river.
If anything, Sherman moved too soon. The correct play would’ve been to make this move closer to the end of the leases.
Gotcha, and to clarify, I'm nodding to the more political part of the game, as you mentioned. And, totally agree that the Clay County site is a carrot to get Jackson to buy in. What a shame.
I think NKC WAS a leverage point when first surfaced, but they misplayed that card in such a fashion that it may now be the best option.
Bringing NKC to the table inadvertently surfaced just how little investment the Jackson County power structure feels in this venture. That made it palatable for others in KCMO whose support the Royals need to instead hang back rather than step up.
Initially, it was just uncool not to support downtown baseball. Now, it's good business / fiscally responsible, too.
Sherman's head has to be spinning now that it's clear he listened to the wrong people before he bought the team.
As with rich dudes who are persuaded by consultants/pollsters to run for public office, when you listen too much to the professional class who needs you to buy into the fantasy they are selling, you never gain proper situational awareness.
Sherman has made enough investments in his career, and knows the economics of baseball well enough from his minority ownership stint in Cleveland, that he should not have closed a deal that only worked with a new stadium/entertainment district without doing his own polling. It should not be a surprise that a large portion of his audience is both economically and emotionally invested in the K, and skeptical of what feels like a disingenuous effort from the jump.
I don't feel bad for the guy, but I'd imagine the buyer's remorse is intense right now.
It's not too late to course correct. Mark Donovan stubbed his toe with his comments about a move to KS, and yet the Chiefs managed to get their process back on track without him losing his credibility as a dealmaker. A little humility goes a long way, but that does not seem to be in Sherman's playbook.
Agree with you on most of this, but not bringing Zack back. I want to see him in Cooperstown more than I want to see him suffer through another year with the Royals, which will hurt his chances of the HOF (certainly coming back to the Royals hasn’t helped his stats). I hope he retires after this season and gets inducted the year after the Royals win the World Series (has that for optimism?).
I can get behind this.
Also! I don’t think this season has hurt his HoF chances. I’m actually working on something about that. Stay tuned.
KC voters rejected the rolling roof ballot measure in 2006. We are among the cities to say no to a pro sports team owner, and that precedent has to loom large over these negotiations.
I don't know how you can possibly get confident in a ballot measure in either county at this point. What if the measure fails? Are you starting over again next year with option B, at which time you'll have zero leverage?
I wish dearly that Jim Fitzpatrick was still on the scene to make sense of this for us, because a lot of folks who know how to read the tea leaves seem reluctant to say much at the moment.
I know some people are genuinely concerned about the message sent by burning a local guy made good, who's put a lot of skin in the game to possibly keep the Royals from an owner more inclined toward Nashville or Portland, but at some point he has to stop and get honest with himself.
There are two things I’m wondering when it comes to the ballot. 1) Can they even get their act together to get it on the ballot in April? From what I’ve seen, I’m not so sure. 2) If it does get on the ballot and fail, what is Option B. A defeat at the ballot box doesn’t mean much if they can lobby lawmakers for something. What that would be…I don’t know.
I appreciate Sherman stepping forward and buying this team, but this has been a disaster of a process. I’m hopeful he uses this as a learning experience and figures it out. It’s early days of his ownership.
Sherman does not seem to have learned much so far, but it's never too late. I'm skeptical, though, that Sherman is going to get the decade-plus it took Glass, if you count his time as chairman during the post-EMK interregnum.
I bet they could shoehorn a measure onto the Clay County ballot in time, but I am more skeptical about Jackson County. The state is a mystery to me, but if they can move past the rancor over the police board and convince the governor he has a political stake in this, more power to them.
My other question is whether at some point Jackson County leadership is willing to (threaten to) box the Royals out completely by committing the full sales tax extension to the Chiefs, and letting Sherman sink/swim in NKC. I don't know how strongly the Chiefs feel about waiting to see what happens to the Royals, but I have to imagine they're exasperated by now.
Portland is not buying a baseball team.
They have a fairly advanced stadium project underway. It's speculative ala the Sprint Center, but corporate and community support for attracting an MLB franchise is strong.
https://portlanddiamondproject.com/
PDX may not be Nashville, but it's regularly discussed as an expansion target. We should expect it to be one of the cudgels used to get KC voters to ante up, too.