MLB Franchise Notes: Rangers Bidders Will Not Meet With Ryan

In Ft. Worth, Jim Reeves noted the prospective groups bidding on the Rangers are "all going to troop out" to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington during the next two weeks, but as it "stands now, they won't be visiting" with team President Nolan Ryan.  Ryan "has aligned himself" with Pittsburgh sports attorney Chuck Greenberg in a bid for the team and if accepted, Ryan "will be a minority owner." Ryan said of not meeting with bidders, "I guess it's because of my relationship with Greenberg. I don't know where it came from, whether it's Tom, or [MLB], or who decided that. That's just what I was told when I was informed that the groups were coming in to visit." Reeves wrote, "If I'm about to spend upward of $500[M] ... the one man I have to talk to in the Rangers organization is Nolan Ryan" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 10/18).

Sources Say Frank (l), Jamie (r) McCourt Often Argue In Public

A DIFFERENT SHADE OF BLUE: Sources said that Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt, and his wife, CEO Jamie, who have separated, "routinely stage vicious, appalling arguments in public, including stately baseball affairs." In S.F., Bruce Jenkins wrote, "No way that was going to remain a secret" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/17). ESPN's Jim Rome said, "We're supposed to assume that the McCourts, two fiery personalities who are both intimately involved in running the team, are going to just peacefully split their assets and not have it impact the Dodgers on the field. Right!" He added of Dodgers manager Joe Torre saying the separation will not impact the on-field product, "The Padres said all the same things that you're saying right now, then they stripped that bad boy bare in order to sell it and of course it affected the product on the field" ("Jim Rome Is Burning," ESPN, 10/16).

JOB INTERVIEW: SI.com's Jon Heyman wrote Padres Vice Chair & CEO Jeff Moorad "did the right thing by interviewing" Dodgers VP & Assistant GM Kim Ng for the Padres' GM job. However, Ng is "still viewed by outside observers as a long shot to get the job." Baseball insiders "don't believe this will be the time for her to break through" as MLB's first female GM. Observers "believe Moorad will talk to a couple others in the next few days" (SI.com, 10/18).