MLB Franchise Notes: Selig Meets With Magowan

Magowan Meets With MLB Commissioner About Being Named In Mitchell Report

Giants Managing General Partner Peter Magowan said that he and GM Brian Sabean "have had their say with the commissioner's office over suggestions in the Mitchell Report that they turned a blind eye to steroid use in the Giants' clubhouse." Magowan: "We had a chance to opine on a number of matters of interest, and we did. That's all I can say. I don't know what action, if any action, will be taken. That's up to the commissioner" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/1). MLB Commissioner Bud Selig Saturday said that by the end of Spring Training he hopes to complete his investigation of players and officials named in the Mitchell Report, but gave "no indication whether he plans to punish" the Giants, Magowan or Sabean (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/2). In N.Y., William Rhoden writes if Selig's investigation finds that the Giants "looked the other way, as the Mitchell Report suggests, the organization, and Magowan, should be punished." And while Selig looks into the Giants, he "should look at the 2000 and 2001 Yankees as well" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/3).

PADRES: Padres Owner John Moores said the team is "financially stable" heading into the '08 season. The Padres last year ranked 24th in payroll out of 30 MLB teams. Moores, whose staff projects a larger payroll in '08, said of the upcoming season, "This will be the second year in a row without a cash call. We'll have one in 2009. Businesses, including the Padres, run on cash and we just don't have enough cash to satisfy all of the things we do." Meanwhile, Moores reiterated that his daughter, Jennifer, will succeed him as owner, though he "expects that to be many years down the road" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/3). The Padres Saturday sold 50,000 single-game tickets within the first three hours of putting them on sale, short of the '07 first-day total, which was "boosted by three sellouts for a series with the Red Sox." However, Saturday's sales were greater than in '04, '05 or '06. The Padres already have sold more than 1.5 million tickets for the '08 season (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/2).

TIGERS: The Tigers sold 202,000 tickets during the first weekend of single-game ticket sales, and Tigers VP/Communications Rob Matwick said that the team has sold the equivalent of more than 26,000 season tickets, up almost 8,000 from the '07 season (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 3/2).

Lofton (r) Takes Part In Pregame Ceremonies Before Urban Invitational Game

URBAN INVITATIONAL: MLB.com's Ben Platt noted MLB this weekend hosted its first Urban Invitational, created to raise awareness of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which have had a "great deal of problems recruiting African-American players." The invitational, broadcast on ESPN2, featured games Friday night at USC and UCLA and a Saturday doubleheader at MLB's Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California, featuring HBCUs Southern Univ. and Bethune-Cookman Univ. The academy for the event built a "fully functional press box" where ESPN announcers Gary Thorne and Brian Jordan called the games. Baseball HOFer Frank Robinson, former MLBers Reggie Smith, Eric Davis and free agent CF Kenny Lofton took part in pregame ceremonies at the academy (MLB.com, 3/2).