MLB Franchise Notes: Moores Plans To Keep Ownership Of Padres
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John Moores Confirms His Intention To
Maintain Ownership Of The Padres |
Padres Owner John Moores conducted his first in-depth interview of the MLB season with MLB.com's Barry Bloom, who reported Moores "intends to maintain his principal ownership of the Padres into 'the foreseeable future.'" Moores, who is in the midst of a divorce from his wife, Becky, said, "I'd never say never about anything, but I don't think I'll be out of the picture next year. I don't want to dance too much around it, because I have a very difficult personal situation and that drives a lot my life, but I anticipate being part of the Padres next year and into the foreseeable future." Moores said that he "won't sit in on the baseball operation meetings, but he expects detailed choices to be given [to] him concerning the club's immediate direction." He added the worst aspect of owning a team is the "public part of it." Moores: "It's just tacky. It's a little bit of a freak show. But being held up to public scrutiny just comes with the territory of owning any baseball team or public enterprise" (MLB.com, 9/18).
MAKING A STATEMENT: In Houston, Jose de Jesus Ortiz reports Astros players and one coach "wore black T-shirts on Thursday expressing their feelings about" MLB Commissioner Bud Selig's order to play the Cubs-Astros series last weekend at Milwaukee's Miller Park due to Hurricane Ike. "We survived Ike," was written on the back of the shirt "in red lettering atop a drawing of the radar impression of the eye of the storm." On the front, it read, "Bud killed us" over a "red drawing of [Selig's] bust." Astros P LaTroy Hawkins "ordered and paid for the initial batch of 50 shirts, which were hanging in the locker of every player, coach and even manager Cecil Cooper when they arrived at Dolphin Stadium" on Tuesday (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/19).
KAUFF MEDICINE: MLB Commissioner Bud Selig Thursday said of the Royals' chances of landing an All-Star game at the renovated Kauffman Stadium, "I would say Kansas City is doing extremely well. They will have an All-Star game in the future." In K.C., David Boyce writes that "might mean Kansas City could get it in 2012 or 2014." Selig: "I guess if I would say I like Kansas City's chances, that would not be an understatement" (K.C. STAR, 9/19).
IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY: In Philadelphia, Paul Vigna reports the Phillies "could break their all-time attendance mark as early as Tuesday night while the Braves are in town." The team is 79,324 fans "from the mark they set in 2004," the debut season of Citizens Bank Park. The club needs to average 39,000 over the last six games to reach 3.4 million (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 9/19).
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