YAHOO SPORTS' Jeff Passan cited sources as saying that Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria "no longer considers" President David Samson, his ex-wife's son, an "untouchable in a planned overhaul of the organization." Marlins officials are "fascinated to see how it shakes out." Loria "almost fired" President of Baseball Operations Larry Beinfest last season, and that "could again be in play." Loria is the "East Coast [Arte] Moreno, dirtying everything up with his paws." Whoever "goes in the purge may well be relieved to get away from the worst situation in baseball" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/25).
PICKING UP THE TAB: In Milwaukee, Rich Kirchen reports Brewers fans are "devouring the team’s post-Ryan Braun suspension $10 concessions voucher program," and the giveaway "likely will exceed" $4M. Brewers COO Rick Schlesinger said, "The experience has been extremely positive, as you can imagine if you give every fan $10 when they come in the gate." Kirchen notes the giveaway will reach more than $4.2M if attendance "continues at the same average the last two home games this month" (MILWAUKEE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/23 issue).
WHERE'S THE LOVE? In N.Y., Tyler Kepner noted Philles GM Ruben Amaro Jr. "understands the criticism and vitriol" that comes with a losing record. Amaro: "That’s the nature of the beast, particularly here. I have a lot of expectations for the work I do. I’m not happy with how things have worked out at all." Kepner wrote the Phillies have been "slow to adapt to the analytics revolution in baseball, seeming to overvalue statistics like saves and runs batted in." Amaro said, "We may be looking to fortify some of our information with some more statistical analysis. We have to look at the way we do things and try to improve. ... I’m not so stubborn that we can’t try to do things a little bit different" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/25).
RAISING ARIZONA: In Phoenix, Dan Bickley wrote the D-Backs are "turning out to be a very disappointing team, losing civic interest before the start of the NFL season." D-Backs Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick said, "Starting in 2014, we’ll have substantially more revenue than we've had. We’re at $90 million now, and clearly we’ll go up from there." He added, “We’re in a better economic circumstance by a larger margin than the Tampa franchise, and they've competed very effectively with the Yankees. Will we have the same payroll as the Dodgers? No, we won’t. But I’m not afraid of competing with them" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/25).
