Franchise Notes
 |
Dodgers Reinstating Mannywood
Section For Ramirez' Return |
In L.A., Bill Shaikin notes suspended Dodgers LF Manny Ramirez is set to be reinstated July 3, and the Dodgers "plan to reinstate Mannywood on July 16, in their first home game after his return." Dodgers President & COO Dennis Mannion: "We decided to reopen Mannywood directly based on our fans' interest." The decision "reflects the Dodgers' marketing strategy of enhancing some of the less desirable seats at Dodger Stadium by selling them in package deals that can include tickets, food and merchandise." Mannion said that the Dodgers "plan to introduce other such seating areas during the second half," including "Look Out Point" and "BBQ Bull Pen" (L.A. TIMES, 6/26).
CLOSE ENCOUNTER: Patriots Owner Robert Kraft said that he "came 'very close' to buying" EPL club Liverpool in '05, but he was "ultimately put off by the absence of a cap on players' wages." Kraft also had "concerns about the need for a new stadium but said that would not have stopped him from going ahead with the deal." Kraft: "We came very close to buying it, very close. But in the end my instinct was -- without a salary cap, or a stadium ... I wasn't sure how we'd get a stadium built quickly and efficiently. But the more important issue was the salary cap. If the salary cap was there, we would have done it" (Manchester GUARDIAN, 6/26).
NATIONAL AFFAIRS: Nationals President Stan Kasten spoke at the National Press Club Thursday and discussed the state of the team. Kasten said the team under the Lerner family’s ownership has “set a course to have success across the many the metrics that there are for measuring success." There are three aspects “critically important” to the team -- the “product on the field,” customer experience and community relations. Kasten: "We've followed a course that has us very close, much closer than you would think by just looking at the standings, to doing that." Kasten added, "Until we see the record on the field, it's easy to be critical, it's easy to be impatient. I totally understand that" (C-Span, 6/25).
DOLLAR DAYS: In Milwaukee, Tom Haudricourt noted the Brewers will charge only $16 for a Loge Outfield ticket at Miller Park for the team's games against the Cardinals on July 7 and 8. A Brewers promotion tied the price of a Loge ticket, which is regularly priced at $28, to those games to the number of home runs the team hit during a nine-game stretch that ended on Thursday. The team hit 12 home runs during that period (JSONLINE.com, 6/25).
|
