Washington Nationals' President Stan Kasten Reportedly Resigns.
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 1:54 PM EDT
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PrintUpdate: 2:15 pm DST: FOXSports.com's Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) just added another tweet based on another source's report:
"Another source said a "lack of (financial) commitment from ownership" was a factor in Kasten's decision to resign."
2:00 pm DST: 48 hours ago this would have probably come as more of a surprise, but after Washington Post writer Thomas Boswell's article yesterday entitled, "As Nats embark on next journey, will Stan Kasten be on board?", SI.com's Jon Heyman's (@SI_JonHeyman) Twitter report within the last half hour that read, "Stan Kasten resigned from the #Nats today," which has since been confirmed by FOXSports.com's Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) on his own Twitter feed, is somewhat less shocking. Mr. Boswell wrote in the article, (which seemingly brought the situation to a head since the announcement comes less than 24 hours after its publication), that Kasten believed that now was the time for the Nationals' ownership to finally step up and increase the team's payroll while aggressively pursuing the pieces they need on the free agent market:
"'This is the time to act,' [Kasten] said this week. 'We are close. This is how it felt in Atlanta just before we turned it around. Once you've laid the groundwork and improved the farm system, you need to add some pieces. That's where we are now.'"
Whether Kasten's decision to resign is a sign that he and the Lerners disagreed on the path the team should take in the near-future is unclear as of now. Mr. Heyman's article promised more info in an article still to come, and all that Mr. Morosi reported via Twitter was that, "Source says Kasten wants to take time away from the game for personal reasons." The Washington Post's Mr. Boswell ended his article with a quote from Mr. Kasten that in hindsight makes it sound as if the decision had already been made before today's announcement:
"'There's a future in place here now,' Kasten said."
Stan Kasten's role in shaping that future will reportedly end when this season does.
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I think but don't know
or remember, but I am pretty sure the Boswell column mentioned that Kasten’s contract as team president was up after this season. Maybe the Lerners are actually real human beings and not money collecting robots and don’t like losing and wanted someone to blame, and the one guy that has been here the entire time is Kasten. Maybe he is the fall guy for these three 90+ loss seasons.
What then are the chances that they hire someone who would continue along the path Kasten envisions?
It seems likely that they would try to find somebody who will either agree to run things only as a figure head (‘cause, we’ve been told, the Lerners are TEH CHEEP), or will otherwise run things in a manner quite inconsistent with Kasten’s plan. That means steering the Titanic, and that can’t be done easily, quickly, or without danger.
Rob
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." -- Rogers Hornsby
Rizzo to Pres. DiPoto to GM? Make the D-Backs pay for letting him go?
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I was actually thinking DiPoto for president, but either way would work.
by David Huzzard on Sep 23, 2010 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions
How much can change?
Isn’t the team president’s job to be more in charge of the day to day business operations of the team? I really don’t think hiring a new business guy is going to change the direction that the baseball operations is headed in, but who knows.
by David Huzzard on Sep 23, 2010 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions
What exactly does a team president do?
I stopped reading or listening whenever he talked because it was the same crap always. He must have been doing something behind closed doors.
I just can’t wait to see if Stan goes to the Blue Jays like all the other Nats employees.
If this is all aboot the Lerners now wanting to pay for talent, this team is doomed for a couple years past 2012.
If your boss was overweight and you knew he was going to let you go you would call him a fat SOB to your wife and friends. Bowden after he “resigned” said the lerners never gave him the money to spend, and now Kasten is saying the same thing. It is the obvious target and soft spot of the Lerners.
by David Huzzard on Sep 23, 2010 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Team president is supposed to superior baseball person to basically run the team...
…so that the ownership does nothing but write the checks.
This is a really big deal, though. Personally, I don’t particularly like StanK. He’s stuck up and he’s too much about turning us into the Braves and doesn’t fully understand DC. I wish he’d turn invisible.
Putting the personal aside, though, you’d like to see StanK get us to the playoffs. We don’t have but so much credibility as an organization as an operation that is all in committed to winning. Our draft and international development this year was a first step, but it’s still a relatively inexpensive step and it’s the kind of step the Lerners can understand as businessmen.
This move, and the timing of this move, should give one pause as they decide to reup for season tickets. It’s got to be Dunn money spent somewheres, a credible president, and something on top of that to prove to me that we’re heading in the right direction and that StanK isn’t resigning because he believes the Lerners are the cheap.
We now must consider that he’d leaked his decision to Boswell earlier given the way that story was written and how it sets the table and timing for this move.
The wait for 10/7 begins. This man is focused. Are you?
given the timing, I’m almost certain that Kasten called up Boswell and spilled the whole story to him. Not that I entirely blame him. Reading it last night, I thought damn, Boz still know how to cultivate outstanding sources. Today it’s more like, I wonder how pissed Stan is at ownership that he gave Boz that monster scoop.
I’ve had my issues with Kasten, but I think this is a bit of a blow. Kasten can, reportedly, be headstrong and stubborn, but I think the Nationals need that right now. Someone’s got to tell the Learners they need to stop with the penny pinching, re-sign Dunn, be aggressive on a “name” free agent or two, and try and hold things together for next season. My gut says the Learners will look for a yes-man, and that’s the last thing this organization needs.
Watching the O’s try to use strategy is like watching Mike Green trying to figure out the difference between "your" and "you’re"--Terpgrrl
Donation info for SAVES FOR KIDS 2010!! Make a difference.
OT: You didn’t flip the K’s last night! And they messed up! The usher who was doing it was one behind for most of the game.
The wait for 10/7 begins. This man is focused. Are you?
I was up there for a bit! And then the lovely usher had one of his other usher buddies let us sit near the dugout starting in the 4th! I wasn’t going to pass that up.
Watching the O’s try to use strategy is like watching Mike Green trying to figure out the difference between "your" and "you’re"--Terpgrrl
Donation info for SAVES FOR KIDS 2010!! Make a difference.
On topic…
This could be spun both ways. Sounds like Kasten knew a year ago that he wanted to leave. He gets Bos to write the tale he would like to tell about how we’ll all miss him. Than he gets to be classy in his press conference.
I think the Lerners stuck with Bowden longer than he would have liked. I also think Kasten doesn’t like the stain on his legacy with the Smiley Gonzalez stuff. I do believe there was some disagreement over payroll in years 1 and 2, the period where he wanted to win to establish legacy and the Lerners wanted to be conservative after MLB raked them over the coals with the purchase price.
It’s also possible StanK has prepared this exit strategy. They hired a Chief Operating Officer in January. He could be prepping Rizzo to take over the baseball side.
Much to be written and yet another hot stove issue for the Nats.
The wait for 10/7 begins. This man is focused. Are you?
This is a long time coming. If you look at last night's post it quotes chat with Boswell earlier this month...
The quotes there appear in yesterday’s story too. Kasten’s been letting the info out slowly for a while now…apparently…
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 7:33 PM EDT up reply actions
The Losers, I mean Lerner's, will sell the team in 5 years ala Bob Short, and get twice what they paid for it.
The song goes, “Take the Money and Run”.
Very decent of you - I have no such compunction
I’d happily take your money if you were willing to put it at risk. I’d even put it up right now – we could have Zuckerman be the 3rd party money guy.
I get venting at the Lerners – they’ve done a lot of dumb things with this team, starting with listening to Bowden tell them exactly what they wanted to hear. I think they know a little more now. What I don’t get is canonizing Kasten as a means of venting at the Lerners.
Several former Atlanta staffers are working in other big league offices ...
Some as high up as GM (Dayton Moore in KC springs to mind). Somehow despite people moving on the organization continued to do well.
Perhaps the Nationals will continue to build their foundation and add to it as opportunities become available. They will have some spectacular misses, and some lucky hits. I don’t think that losing Kasten affects their chances very much.
Kasten is well regarded in the old boys network, but I’ve never been impressed with what he was doing here until he hired Rizzo and let him work. And that was before the Opening Day debacle, or “last straw” as I call it. I’m not gleeful that Kasten is leaving, but I’m not shedding a single tear for him either.
Beat writers are all in Nats' dugout waiting for word from Nats...
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 2:13 PM EDT reply actions
Bos was right on one thing ...
Kasten is seen by many as the guy who invited all those insulting Philies fans to invade his own team’s opening day. Maybe he knew Atlanta inside out, they argue, but he has proven tone-deaf in the Washington market.
For me and Kasten that was the last straw; it’s not like he had a record of building the fan base before this year, and it’s not like he had a great relationship with fans in Atlanta before this. The Bos article seemed to me to be Kasten burning his bridges, so this doesn’t really surprise me. Kasten seems happy to take credit for Rizzo’s work while not-so-subtly deflecting blame for the last four disastrous seasons here. I’m not celebrating that Kasten is gone, but I’m not shedding any tears either.
I don't believe Kasten knows that much about building a real team
He’s been riding on John Shuerholz’s coattails for years. Remember, he was asked to leave Atlanta, and they seem to have done pretty well without him.
You do got to pay to play and win ... but you do it by paying intelligently. Just raising payroll isn't going to turn this into a winning team
And thanks for acknowledging my point about how the Lerners are NOT the Shorts
From Ladson:
@washingnats: Stan Kasten has announced that he is leaving as president of the #Nats. I’ll have more on MLB.com.
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 2:43 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Beat writers reportedly waited in dugout for an hour for story...
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 2:43 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He was just
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 2:53 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He was just making it official.
Sources before that as opposed to Kasten himself saying it.
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 2:54 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He was just making it official.
Sources before that as opposed to Kasten himself saying it.
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 2:54 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Dave From NNN @ Nats Park:
@NatsNewsNetwork: Kasten made decision to leave last year, honored his five year commitment. #Nats
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 3:06 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Mark Zuckerman:
@MarkZuckerman: Kasten wants to work again, not right away: “I don’t feel like retiring. I’m going to do something. I think it will be a while before I do.”
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 3:07 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Again ... $100 ... easy money for the taking ...
I’m even willing to pay up if the Nats go somewhere other than Carolina or Las Vegas!
The League will not let the Nats go anywhere for at least a decade
Rob
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." -- Rogers Hornsby
Ladson:
@washingnats: Stan Kasten told the #Nats a year ago that he was leaving the organization.
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 3:11 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Which means...
…that they better have a killer candidate ready to take Kasten’s place if this isn’t a surprise.
The wait for 10/7 begins. This man is focused. Are you?
Ladson:
@washingnats: Stan Kasten was emotional when talking to the media. #Nats http://plixi.com/p/46713259
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on Sep 23, 2010 3:14 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
This is such a weird time to be making this move.
With Dunn unsigned and a lot of questions about the team direction, it really makes things unstable and casts a sad tone on the offseason.
The wait for 10/7 begins. This man is focused. Are you?
makes an already uncertain off season look a heck of a lot more dark. sigh.
Watching the O’s try to use strategy is like watching Mike Green trying to figure out the difference between "your" and "you’re"--Terpgrrl
Donation info for SAVES FOR KIDS 2010!! Make a difference.
I'll wager Kastin does not want to resign Dunn and the owners do
"What you know is often the enemy of what you can learn" Bill James
Could be the other way around.
We’ll never know, though.
The wait for 10/7 begins. This man is focused. Are you?
Kastin can't be blamed for much of the losing
We have been mostly victims of bad luck (see Strassburg, Patterson, Nick Johnson, and the list of pitching injuries on this team since 2005) and a bad Bowden. But I blame bad luck more.
Personally I think Kastin is right. this team has a bunch of very good young pitchers that are capable of dropping the era from 5 something to the low 3s in one year just like the Braves did. Remember the braves got rid of a several home run monsters that struggled defensively like Dave Murphy and Lonnie? smith and signed good defensive players with weak bats like Sid Bream to replace them. Then the era plummeted and the team went from last to first. I was a braves fan that played fantasy baseball then and remember it all very well.
Kastin knows how to build a baseball team that can win with average luck. Noone not named the Yankees can survive terrible luck . I hope I am wrong, but without Kastin I fear the Nats are in for a run familiar only to the Pirates and Royals fans in recent years.
"What you know is often the enemy of what you can learn" Bill James
I don't think it's that bad because Rizzo will at least make sure that our farm system improves.
The Royals and Pirates have mismanaged their farm as well by not being willing to go overslot for guys (I believe). Rizzo can keep us competent and keep adding to our prospect resources. I might prefer to have Kasten’s voice on free agency and payroll goals but I would imagine there’s a plan in place.
The speculation on this being part of a Kasten angle for Bud Selig’s job is an interesting angle to me.
The wait for 10/7 begins. This man is focused. Are you?
Rizzo can't do it without the right voice to argue for money
If the Lerners install someone who want to be frugal as they are, then Rizzo’s job will be very difficult indeed.
Rob
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." -- Rogers Hornsby
John Shuerholz built the Braves - I have no confidence that Kasten knows how to build a baseball team
Kasten has been riding Schuerholz’s coattails, IMHO, and Kasten was the one who was asked to move on from Atlanta when they slipped back. In DC Kasten signed off on retaining the bad Bowden, so we can’t just dismiss the lost years of ‘05-’07 as “bad luck” or “not his fault.” I’m glad that he signed off on moving Rizzo up and I’m willing to give him credit for that, but that doesn’t mean that he is essential at all.
And I’m still really angry about having my very first Opening Day ever spoiled by Kasten’s miscalculations and Philly fan boorishness.
Is this a surprise? This didn't end over night.
Stan Kasten is a good baseball person. He knows MLB and what makes it tick.
He will greatly missed, and now makes it official. This, my friends, is the death spiral,or the beginning of the end for the Washington Nationals.
I know Mr. Kasten would have stayed if he knew the Lerner’s were serious about winning. He tried his best under a penny-pinching, micro-managing owners, who should have stayed in the real estate and development business. The Lerner family obviously knows next to nothing about owning a MLB team. I mean didn’t we all see it coming 3 years ago when the Lerner’s refused to spend a nickel extra to get a couple of blue chip players. Now no one will come here and work for the Lerner’s. The Lerner’s have always seen this as a money making venture via selling the team after the first ten years ala Bob Short. Get the city to build a stadium, keep costs low, and then sell, a crappy team to a MLB hungry city like Las Vegas or Charlotte for twice what they paid for it. Mark my word this will happen in the next 5 years, as attendance gets lower and lower (below 10,000) by the end of next year. Then they can sell, saying the 4 million plus DC metro area residents can’t or won’t support this MLB minor league team. Where is Ted Leonis when you need him? Please Ted helppp!
Add to the micro-managing, penny-pinching Lerner’s, the totally minor league marketing of this team. Piss poor radio network. Oh don’t get me started. And anybody who blames Kasten for any of this, just remember, he was handcuffed by the Lerner’s and did what he could with the lack of money from a family worth 8 billion dollars. A family worth 8 times George Steinbrenner.
Does anyone really think the Lerner’s will pay anyone more than $10 mil a year to play with the Nats? Remember Dunn when he leaves. this the big league Lerner’s, it not a condo project!
Wrong on a lot of levels
Bob Short was leveraged to the gills and always had the “flip the team” as his primary escape hatch. The Lerners are incredibly wealthy and (unlike Short) heavily invested in the Washington DC area. Being hated in DC didn’t hurt Short. It would hurt the Lerners.
I think this is at worst a non-issue as Rizzo consolidates the baseball side of this business. It’s quite possibly a major positive in that perhaps the Nationals will actually view their fanbase as an asset to be nurtured instead of ignored in favor of short term gains.
Yes, because this is all about me and not about the points I'm stating
I’m just trying to look at this logically. I’m perfectly happy to have my ideas challenged and have even been known to change them if/when I learn something that gives me a chance to look at something in a new light.
I think it's a bad thing that Kasten is leaving,
because he is one of the better sports management guys anywhere. The Nats were lucky to have him, and the Lerners did well financially under his leadership.
That said, the organization is not going to collapse without him. They will, IMO, take a lot longer to become a championship team, but they will last in DC for a long time. The League has a vested interest in keeping them here, and the Lerners are still making good money. The only thing missing (and the only thing I really care about) is that fourth pennant for top of the scoreboard…
Rob
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." -- Rogers Hornsby
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