Grizzlies Exec VP/Basketball Operations John Hollinger said the franchise's day-to-day has not "been a whole lot different" since the increased clarity and control from Owner & Chair Robert Pera. Hollinger said, "We never had any impression he was going to do anything other than what he did." Hollinger: "He has been around a little more lately, and I think he's intending to continue doing that, which is great. Otherwise, it's been business as usual" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 8/2).
FOR THE FANS: Nationals Principal Owner Mark Lerner in a letter to fans acknowledged the organization "seriously considered a roster makeover ahead of Tuesday’s nonwaiver trade deadline before deciding not to make wholesale alterations to a disappointing club that was a game under .500 on deadline day." The team did not trade RF Bryce Harper as some had speculated, and Lerner wrote, "My family and (President of Baseball Operations & GM) Mike Rizzo decided that we just couldn’t give up on this team. We couldn’t look ourselves in the mirror knowing that we had simply thrown in the towel" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/1).
ALIVE & WELL: In Pittsburgh, Joe Starkey wonders why the Pirates chose "this year, of all years, to stun the baseball world and steal the deadline headlines?" Starkey: "I have to believe a big part of the answer lies in a number: 7.95." That was the Pirates’ TV rating for their game against the Cubs on AT&T SportsNet on Tuesday night, their "highest rating of the season." It represented "tangible proof that against all odds, people are excited about the Pirates again." That is "vital for a franchise that has seen its ratings and attendance plummet over the past two years" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 8/2).
