In Phoenix, Mike Sunnucks noted the D-backs have "never drawn fewer than 2 million fans to home games at Chase Field since" joining MLB in '98, but the club "needs to attract 210,183 fans over eight games -- or close [to] 26,300 per game to get to 2 million" this season. The D-backs are "averaging just over 24,500 fans per game at Chase Field." The team is currently 60-84, "third-worst in MLB" and last in the NL West (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/15).
LEFT ON THE TABLE: Former FC Dallas U-18 MF Weston McKennie recently rejected a senior contract offer from the MLS club to sign with Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04, and MLS Commissioner Don Garber said, "That one hurt. We had a lot of forces that we were working against on signing that player, and that’s the reality of how difficult it is with a player pool at the youth level that continues to attract the attention of very, very aggressive and well-funded international teams. That one hurt. Not sure there’s much more we could’ve done. We did everything we could financially" (SI.com, 9/15).
BEN THERE, DONE THAT: In Toronto, Brendan Kennedy notes given the Red Sox' "current strong place in the standings" at first place in the AL East, former GM Ben Cherington’s time at the helm is "being remembered today for the hits." But like any GM, Cherington, now the Blue Jays VP/Baseball Operations, also "had his share of misses." However, in spite of those "less-than-stellar moves, Cherington is still considered one of the game’s brightest executives." He has a "reputation as an analytically inclined, even-keeled, evidence-based decision maker, which would seem to align" with Blue Jays President & CEO Mark Shapiro’s "overall vision and philosophy" (TORONTO STAR, 9/16).
