A "move is afoot to strengthen" MLB's "central
structure" by making Blue Jays President Paul Beeston COO of
MLB, according to Murray Chass of the N.Y. TIMES. Several
MLB league officials and club owners have told Chass "that
while the appointment is not imminent, Beeston has been
approached about the position and has indicated he would
accept it under the right circumstances." A group headed by
Toronto real estate developer Murray Frum is looking to buy
the team, and Beeston "is not expected" to remain with the
team if Frum's bid is approved. One official said if Beeston
becomes MLB COO, "it would mark the end of Greg Murphy's
tenure" as MLBE CEO. Chass: "Even if Beeston doesn't make
the move, Murphy isn't expected to survive for long. The
general feeling among officials and clubs is that Murphy has
made far more enemies within baseball than he has made good
business deals for baseball" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/10).
XEROX COPY: In Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom writes that
White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf is looking to receive a copy
of the Yankees-adidas sponsorship deal. Reinsdorf, on the
deal: "If [Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner] has $9 million
of something to sell (annually), we might too. We're going
to look into it" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/10).
