The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 20

B4 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2005 WE TiiE ENQUIRER til DS 0 IN SS Stat of the day $67 million: The price a group led by Carl Lindner paid for Marge Schott's controlling interest in the Reds in 1999. CARL LINDNER AGREES TO RELINQUISH CONTROL Carl Lindner's legacy The team's reaction The fans' reaction immk 1 1 1 Bsks WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE for mmm CASTELLIN! AND COMPANY? "Spend money and get some good players. I know that is not a unique statement, but I think it's a realistic one-and if they do it, they will have a better year. Enquirer file Jeff Swinger The Reds' Sean Casey lauded Carl Lindner for what he's "done for the city." News learned through Mand, pi The Associated PressTom Uhlman Carl Lindner participated in ceremonies to remove home plate from Cinergy Field and take it to and plant it in Great American Ball Park. The new park did not help the club's success on the field.

New park opened without solid plan for team's success By John Erardi Enquirer staff writer t's been a rough seven years for the Reds and principal owner Carl Lindner. The last five of those have been losing seasons, the worst such stretch since the Reds had 11 consecutive losing years from 1945-55. "It's no coincidence that Powel Crosley owned the Reds back then," said John Snyder, a Reds historian and author of Reds books. "He and Carl Lindner both ran the club as a civic enterprise." Lindner tried to make more of a splash than Crosley among the examples are the Ken Griffey Jr. trade in 2000, and adding $17 million to the payroll last year to no avail but otherwise Lindner didn't appear any more driven than Crosley in the 1950s to do everything in his power to get the Reds into the World Series, Snyder said.

Although Lindner succeeded in putting the Reds on stable financial footing as had been his goal when he took over from Marge Schott that stability didn't translate into success on the field, the ultimate measuring stick for any owner in professional sports, say Reds historians. So, what is Lindner's legacy as the principal Reds owner? "He had a new stadium paid for by the taxpayers but (hell be remembered for having) put no plan in effect to build the balldub," said Kevin Grace, author of two books of Reds histories. Missed opportunity "He blew a huge opportunity," said Snyder. "He could have filled that stadium for years to come by spending money to bring in people (to run the balldub) who really knew what they were doing. Just look at the way this balldub is constructed.

You want a legacy? There it is right there." No Reds owner has ever done less with more than Lindner, the historians said. The "more" was a new stadium on the river largely paid for by the taxpayers; the "less" was the quality of the team. In 2003, the year Great can Ball Park opened, the Reds were 69-93 (.426, fifth place), and Lindner was roundly booed when he took the field on Opening Day 2004. Reds fans had been promised that when the team got a new stadium, the club would contend seriously for a spot in the playoffs. Lindner's "intentions were good," Grace said, but the lack of a plan and the failure to hire "people with fresh ideas as well as experience in building a balldub" undermined any chance to capitalize fully on the excitement of a new ballpark at the time it opened.

It was Lindner himself who said he didn't expect to make money on the Reds, he just didn't want to lose a lot. He wanted to break even. It was a horribly flawed strategy for a team going into a new ballpark, Snyder said. Comparing ownerships Lindner's ownership will be compared to that of the group the previous time the Reds moved into a new stadium, historians said. Although Baseball's economics were different in 1967 when "617 Inc." ramped up the Reds by hiring Bob Howsam from St.

Louis as the club's general manager, it was a prime example of how one new ownership group had a specific plan as it headed into a new stadium (1970), whereas the Lindner group did not, Snyder said. The 617 group made it clear it wanted someone with major-league experience, who understood the use of promotions in building inter: est and believed deeply in a farm system and knew how to bolster it. Howsam had opened a minor-league ballpark in Denver and a major-league park in St. Louis. I le already had a lot to work with when he got here Pete Rose and Tony Perez in the fold, and Johnny Bench coming out of Triple-A but he made trades and Reds owners Here are the principal owners of the Reds team in 1869: since it became an all-professional 1869-70: Cincinnati Reds Base Ball Club, president Aaron Champion Dave Neltner, 49, Anderson Township "Take a lesson that they learned with the ownership of the St.

Lou is Cardiyials. TJiey really need to find some stability and shake up the roster. Mike Wolf, 25, Kenwood "Get us some pitching. Sue Shields, 1 Price Hill "Pitching. Pitching.

Pitching. Mike Gray, 43, Florence "Spend some money. You've got to spend some money to compete. Bid Renken, 56, Green Township "(Stay) in town. Good luck, Big Red Machine.

Bill Isaacs, 46, Middletown WM "I 1871-75: No team 1876-77: George and meatpackers 1878-79: J.Wayne Neff Narron, GM say little about possible sale By John Fay Enquirer staff writer The Reds players found out through e-mail that someone new could be signing their checks. Media relations director Rob Butcher sent the press release to all employees, including players and coaches. Front-office staff had been updated on the developments Oct. 21. "I was just reading it," first baseman Sean Casey said.

"It unbelievable. Casey, the longest-tenured Reds player, was surprised CEO Carl Lindner was giving up control. "I love what Carl Lindner has done for the city and community as a whole," Casey said. There was no staff meeting, because the announcement was hastily put together after The Enquirer learned details of the possible sale. "We would (have) liked to (have brought) everyone together, but because of the way it happened, e-mail was the best way to let everyone know," Butcher said.

Reds manager Jerry Narron expects the transaction to have little effect on the club's day-to-day operations until it's completed. "Until it's approved, there's no reason to talk about it," Narron said. "Right now, it doesn't mean a lot to the players and coaches." Reds general manager Dan O'Brien would not comment on the possible sale. "But as far as the business of baseball, we'll continue to press on," he said. None of the players probably are familiar with the Williams brothers, Thomas and W.

Joseph, who partnered with Robert Castellini to put together an offer for the club, but Reds legend Joe Nuxhall is. The Wil-liamses' father and uncle were part owners during the Big Red Machine days. The Williams boys, they know what it takes to have a winning balldub," Nuxhall said. It's good news." Enquirer fileMike Simons Reds Icon Joe Nuxhall was upbeat about a possible change in ownership. i I 1 1880, 1882-83: JustusThorner 1881: Noteam 1884, 1887-90: Aaron A.

Stern, clothing merchant Herrmann 1885: George Herancourt 1886: John Hauck 1891-1902: John! Brush, Indianapolis clothing store magnate 1902-27: August (Garry) Herrmann, of the Boss Cox political machine 1928-29: C.J. McDiarmid Well 1930-33: Sidney Weil, businessman 1934-61: PowelCrosley businessman 1961-66: William 0. DeWitt, baseball man Josiah L. Keck, DeWitt Schott Cincinnati by John Baskin and Lonnie Wheeler. The EnquirerRandy Mazzola Record under Lindner Carl Lindner was named Reds CEO on April 20, 1999.

The team's record over the past seven seasons: IT Crosley 4P T-' i For a longer version of this story, go to Cincinnati.Com. but he characterized the $27 million dollar, three-year contract awarded to Barry Larkin in 2002 as an albatross to a club trying to field a productive team while keeping a close eye on the bottom line. "You have to separate the success of the team in wins and losses from the stability of the franchise in a business sense," said agent and attorney Brian Goldberg, who represents Griffey. "If obvious to say that under this regime, the franchise is very stable in the business sense, but unfortunately it hasn't translated into wins and losses." Faced with criticism Lindner endured heavy criticism from fans in 2004 for cutting the Reds' player payroll. But in 2005, Lindner pushed through $17 million in new contracts, which had fans optimistic that the team could contend in the National League Central Division.

But that, too, backfired on him. Most of the signings, especially those of pitchers Eric Milton and Ramon Ortiz, were busts. Lindner always had insisted that he liked running the team and wanted to win. But he wasn't willing to lose millions of dollars to do it hi 2003, the Reds opened Great American Ball Park; he and his minority owners authorized a $62 million Opening Day payroll, only to see the team overshoot the budget and fail to contend on the field. In 2003, at the MLB trading deadline, the club fired manager Bob Boone and general manager Jim Bowden and traded several of its best players, including Aaron Boone and Jose Guillen.

That stopped a three-year stretch when the team lost $27 lion in 2000, 2001 and 2002 combined. That's the kind of struggle it has been for Lindner. E-mail jerardienquirer.com 1967-73: 617 president Francis Dale 1973-80: LoulslNippert, Jm3ncierphilanJhropist 1980-84: James and William Williams 1984-99: Marge Schott, businesswoman 1999 to present: Carl Lindner, businessman Next owner: Robert Castellini 'AJLkJl Lindner Sources: The Enquirer, the Cincinnati Reds and The drafts that brought in pitching (Clay Carroll, Wayne Simpson, Wayne Granger, Pedro Borbon, Jim Merritt, Jim McGlothlin, Raw-ley Eastwick, Ross Grimsley and Don Gullett) and hired Sparky Anderson as the team's manager after the 1969 season. A fast start The Reds started the 1970 season in Crosley Field, and after one month in their new digs at Riverfront Stadium they were 70-30, the best start since the 1944 Cardinals. The Big Red Machine of 197079 won two world championships, four pennants and six division titles.

A quarter of a century later, it remains the gold standard, having Year Record Pet 1999 96-67 .589 2000 85-77 .525 2001 66-96 .407 2002 78-84 .481 2003 69-93 .426 2004 76-86 .469 2005 7JL8J ,451 Total 543-592 .478 set the record for single-season attendance (2.6 million in 1976). Grace gave Lindner high marks for making possible the huge splash of bringing Griffey to town, A.