Nationals team president Stan Kasten spoke to local reporters for the last time as he prepares to depart after five years with the organization. Wednesday was Kasten’s last official day at Nationals Park, but he said he will return over the next few weeks to hammer out a few deals, including one for the team’s radio rights.
Kasten will also maintain his minority ownership stake at least for the time being. He cited his own desire to stay connected to the organization for a bit longer, lack of any immediate plans that would force him to sell that stake and various tax and legal reasons for holding tight.
“I wouldn’t say I feel excessively emotional,” Kasten said about his final days in the District. “Again, I’ve been planning this for more than a year. People close to me have known about it and been planning it for a long time. So it’s been a build-up and given me time to prepare.”
More on this in another post soon, but Kasten did mention the Nats seeking to improve their spring-training situation in Viera, Fla. Whether that means upgrades at the Viera facility, bringing more MLB teams into that part of Florida to lessen travel issues or moving operations entirely to Arizona – let’s call that a long-shot – he left all options on the table.
Will also have another post on Kasten’s thoughts on MLB’s issues in the Dominican Republic. He again said he first became aware of the Smiley Gonzalez fiasco two years before it broke in public. That was the low point during his tenure here. But despite poor results on the field, Kasten believes plenty good came out of it, still.
“Well, obviously, this job is far from complete, so you can’t give a final grade. But no one in this business is truly successful unless they win it all,” Kasten said. “And yet there are things which are real milestones and real progress on the way to becoming successful. There have been real good things that have happened here in the last couple years that were important to us, starting with a scouting and player development system that I’m really proud of, with people that I’m proud of, starting with [general manager] Mike [Rizzo].
But Kasten also acknowledged the hard truth – his previous organizations in Atlanta made the postseason 31 times during his career. That number is kept on a board in his office. But it didn’t grow during his time here. So with the job unfinished why leave now?
“It was a personal thing. I made the commitment to stay here for the five years. And as I told you a couple weeks ago, it just has to do with my own personal expectations, goals, aspirations for myself,” Kasten said. “I thought when I fulfilled this commitment…I really thought I would be better doing something else. And that’s all. I still love everyone here. I love this team. Love this city. But for my professional goals and aspirations, I think I need to be doing something else. It’s really that simple.”
Kasten shook off questions about working in Major League Baseball’s front office – even as a possible commissioner when Bud Selig steps down. That move has been rumored for 2012, but Kasten scoffed at that notion. For now, he is going to spend more time with his family – a daughter getting married, three young grandchildren – take a ski trip with his wife for the first time in five years. And then? Time to explore his options. He didn’t rule out working for a professional sports league office or another big-league team.
“People have been talking to me off and on over this last year about different stuff and to most of those people, I said look, ‘Let’s wait until after this season. Let’s wait until the offseason.’ So I have a bunch of people that I need to talk to and see and visit and listen to,” Kasten said.
Kasten said the Lerners have not begun any search for his replacement. Andy Feffer remains the organization’s chief operating officer and Mike Rizzo and his staff are still in control of the baseball operations department. As for their commitment to spending what it takes to win? Another lengthy explanations, but the answer appears to be yes – I think.
“I think so. I hope so. It’s what we’ve been talking about. We think we’re getting closer. And I know the owners are intent on making this successful and on winning here. Believe me, it’s their best case. It’s how all of us do better, when we win. They’re intent on backing Mike up and pursuing the things he wants to pursue and giving him the resources to do it. That’s all we talked about all summer. I think we’re all on the same page. So when I talk about an active offseason, it’s because it’s what we’ve all talked about, internally with each other. Again, let’s see how the winter unfolds. There’s still many unknowns about it. But I do know the desire is there. The willingness is there. And I think the follow-through will be there too, I really do.”
And as a follow-up: Where does he think Adam Dunn will end up. Not exactly a ringing endorsement to pump fans full of confidence, here, but…
“Well, I’m going to say for today, yes, I think so. Everyone here knows I hope so. I said that externally and I’ve said the internally and I’ve said that to Adam. You have to wait and see. Obviously, the free agent window is shorter this year so we’ll all know, I think, sooner than we might have in the past. I hope that happens. I think it will be the right thing not just for us. But it would be the right thing for Adam.”
Finally, Kasten said it still doesn’t make sense for the Nationals to take just any naming-rights deal for Nationals Park. He pointed out that the new Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N..J. and the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas don’t have naming-rights deals, either. The sour economy is the biggest factor, of course. They have enough revenue with this team that they can wait for a good deal and not simply take any one that comes their way.
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