It seems the Mitchell-reported conduct of our local baseball brass has caught the eye of politicians. When Selig appeared before the House committee last week, he was confronted with Sabean and Magowan’s reported behavior — stonewalling then-trainer Stan Conte’s concerns about Bonds’s BALCO buddies in the clubhouse — and Bud hinted he might take disciplinary action.
Well, now that the owners have granted Bud a new contract extension, he certainly isn’t going to fall on his own sword, which I’ve called for more than once. (Funny — Bud doesn’t seem to be getting the memo. I’ll have to blog louder.) That leaves others to do his dirty work — or, should I say, others to whom he’ll do his dirty work.
I still think the players will bear the brunt of the fallout despite having one of the most powerful unions in the land. But we can only hope that if players and only players take the blame for this mess, Congress and the media won’t be satisfied.
We can imagine, then, that the owners will find it expedient to sacrifice one of their own, or a few front-office underlings, to appease the antitrust Gods, and lo, the vorpal blade will go snicker-snack. But upon whose neck? Selig’s comments have certainly focused the discussion on our local nine. But scapegoating is a tricky business, especially when the potential ‘goatees have been throwing boardroom elbows and practicing lawyer-fu all their professional lives.
I don’t know the relative power of Magowan amongst his tasseled-loafer peers. If he’s got incriminating pictures that involve, say, Drayton McLane, donkeys and Tijuana, or other similar powerful talismans to ward off Bud’s evil eye — you laugh, but remember how Dusty Baker’s IRS violations magically surfaced at the end of his Giant tenure? — then voila, the blame train bypasses Pee-Mag’s owner’s box.
Notice, though, that I didn’t say it would bypass all executive offices of 24 Willie Mays Plaza entirely. It’s possible Magowan in one form or another could throw Sabean to the Waxman wolves. I’m not sure how that would work, and if Sabes is worth his salt-n-pepper mullet, he has placed in the right hands a few sealed envelopes that read “Do Not Open Unless I’m Mysteriously Fired or Run Off the Road by a Safeway.com Delivery Truck.”
Ray Ratto, who has been a constant voice of conscience in this whole matter, suggested yesterday an appropriate punishment of rescinding the Giants’ exclusive rights to the San Jose market.
Great idea, but it would probably lead to the Sabean/Revenge scenario writ larger. The Giants’ clubhouse was one of many in MLB with shady characters hanging about, and don’t think for a moment Magowan will settle for being the only one singled out. Press forward with the Ratto Plan, as savory as it might sound to those who’d love the Giants to get some o’ theirs, and I’ll betcha we’d soon find out how much the Yankees front office knew about Brian MacNamee, or the Mets about Kirk Radomski, or Kevin Towers’ nudge-wink relationship to Ken Caminiti’s ongoing pharmacist correspondence course. Magowan would not go down solo.
In other words, if Bud throws one owner under the bus, we’ll get to sit back and enjoy an acrimonious cycle of mysterious leaks, recrimination and David Boies/James Baker press conferences from now until Super Bowl 75. That’s why, no matter what happens, the first step is the resignation of Bud Selig.
Oops. Guess that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
Question: If the Giants deserve punishment, what should it be?
