In K.C., Bob Dutton notes Royals Owner David Glass “sounds like an owner ready to make the necessary financial push in the coming offseason to bolster a suspect starting pitching rotation in order to position the Royals for a postseason run in 2013." Glass said, “What I’ve always said is when we get to the point where we’re competitive, we’ll do what we have to do to improve our position. Yes, we’ll do what we need to do. We are committed to improving our starting pitching.” Glass “indicated a willingness to operate the club at a financial loss in order to improve the rotation." However, he "offered few specifics, saying he has yet to meet” with GM Dayton Moore and other club officials “to prioritize a list of targeted players” (K.C. STAR, 9/25).
MAKING IT AN AFTERTHOUGHT: Baseball writer Murray Chass wrote MLB Commissioner Bud Selig may have "been delaying" resolving a dispute between the Giants and A's over the latter's proposed move to San Jose “hoping that the two teams will work it out between themselves.” Chass: “That, however, will not happen.” Owners and officials of the two teams “don’t even talk to each other.” The A's “have tried, but the Giants have ignored them.” Chass: “Selig’s treatment of the San Jose dispute is beginning to resemble the way he has treated Pete Rose’s requests for reinstatement from his lifetime ban for betting on baseball." Rose "submits an application for reinstatement, and Selig lets it sit." That is "what he’s doing with the A’s application for relocation." It is a "shameful situation, one that demands that a man being paid $22 million a year make a decision after two and a half years” (MURRAYCHASS.com, 9/23).
FISH TALES: In Miami, Clark Spencer cited sources as saying that “after going ‘all in’ this season with a franchise-record $95 million roster payroll,” the Marlins “will likely scale back in 2013 to a more moderate figure, somewhere in the $70 million to $80 million range.” Multiple sources said that the team “lost money this season due largely to a high payroll and lower-than-anticipated attendance at the new ballpark.” Spencer noted as a result, the Marlins “will not be repeating last year’s buying binge, when they spent more than $190 million on free agents” (MIAMI HERALD, 9/23). MLB.com on Saturday "confirmed reports" that Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria “is not expected to make drastic front-office changes.” However, the status of manager Ozzie Guillen and his staff “remains undetermined” (MLB.com, 9/22).
