Baseball ownership groups have for too long resembled Dark Age European royalty–closely related and weak. Hand-picked for convenience and agreeability rather than on any objective basis, they’ve given us undercapitalized owners like Steve Schott, lapdog owners like Jeff Loria, evil owners like Carl Pohlad.
Between the persistence of Pete Rose, the ongoing turf war between Tribune Co. and the Wrigleyville neighborhood, and the deteriorating mental health of John Schuerholz, the most oft-reported story of this winter has been the apparent deflation in the market for free agents.