Be seen and not heard is a mantra that many sports team owners follow. Mark Lerner has not spoken publicly for over a year. Instead he has used the written words to get his messages out to the fans. The last two written pieces were very optimistic, and his interview with Dan Kolko was a lot of optimism if you allowed yourself to really understand what was said.
There were not a lot of specifics in the five minute interview. But it really takes a few listens to make your own opinions. On selling the team, Lerner would not give a direct answer except to say they have not made any decisions, and they would look at all of their options. Sure, if someone offers him $3 billion to buy the team with no contingencies, then maybe he sells. Otherwise it sounds like it is business as usual.
Big news before the game today… hopefully true news. pic.twitter.com/aFXkZ36dsx
— Nationals Source (@NationalsSource) March 30, 2023
We asked previously for Lerner to be transparent and this might have been as transparent as he could be. You can’t say what will happen in the future because free agency is a crapshoot. You are competing with 29 other teams. Lerner spoke to a 3-to-4 year rebuild that has taken other teams 10 years. Lerner said he is excited about the future.
Lerner said he would guarantee future success. To me, it seems like he is in this for the long haul unless someone blows him away with an offer to buy there team. Lerner kind of seemed excited as he named some of the team’s top prospects and core players on the MLB roster.
In the interview, Lerner just asked that fans be patient with the process. That does not seem unreasonable to ask for. Not all rebuilds are the same, and we won’t know how this one goes until you are through it. This will be analyzed over and over. But general manager Mike Rizzo and the Lerner ownership group went through this already over a decade ago and then had eight consecutive winning seasons culminating in a World Series championship. It shouldn’t be hard to believe that they can do it again.
“We are all in and we feel great about it. We feel Mike’s plan for this team has got it covered.”
— Mark Lerner in an interview with Dan Kolko
It also sounds like the Lerners are committed to Rizzo for the future. Will the Nats turn this next offseason into what they did after the 2010 season? Hopefully, the Nats are at that point in the rebuild. If Lerner said all of this back in 2010 we would have no reason to believe him, however this time around there is a proven track record.
Sure, be negative if that is your disposition. That’s your prerogative. For me, the glass is more than half full. This is all good to hear.
