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 Jim Bowden, The Examiner
 May 4, 2006 7:00 AM


 WASHINGTON - The final decision by Commissioner Selig on the new owners of
the Washington Nationals may have taken longer than everyone wanted,
including Selig himself. But the important part is he made the right decision
for the long-term benefit of the franchise; not just for this generation, but
for generations to come.


Just like his final decision on the ownership group for the Boston Red Sox,
at the end of process he did the right thing for the Nationals, Major League
Baseball and the fans in the Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia areas.
During the past year-and-a-half, I have been blessed with the opportunity to
get to meet several members and three different generations of the Lerner
family. They are a class family and will serve this franchise well for years
to come. Intelligent, innovative, humble, family oriented and extremely
successful would be the first few adjectives that come to mind. Down-to-earth
people who care about treating people right and doing things the right way.
They are a great family, a great story and more importantly, an ideal
ownership group for baseball.

Stan Kasten joining their ownership group and becoming President of the
Nationals bodes well for the future of the franchise. When Stan joined the
Atlanta Braves many years ago, the Braves were in last place with similar
infrastructure or lack thereof as the Nationals have. With his leadership the
Braves have gone on to win 14 consecutive divisional titles and a World
Championship.

I have known Stan for many years. He is extremely bright and in all my
conversations over the years with John Schuerholz (VP and GM of the Braves),
Bobby Cox (manager of the Braves) and other executives that have worked for
Stan, I always get positive feedback. He treats people well. He is
hard-working, demanding, has a plan in place and wants to win on the field as
well as off the field. The Atlanta Braves’ track record in player
development and scouting, along with the major league record over the last
decade speaks for itself. His history shows he believes in doing things right
from the ground up. You will not see patchwork or trying to buy
championships. Stan has been successful for a long time for a good reason. He
knows how to do things the right way.

With the success the Lerner family has had in business, their successful
track record in real estate, Stan’s experience building Turner Field, the
new stadium in Washington should be nothing less than a grand slam.

Stability and continuity are vital in building a championship caliber team.
In just about a month when the deal closes, all the instability and lack of
continuity this franchise has had the last four years will be over.

I spoke to both Mark Lerner and Stan Kasten prior to the official
announcement last evening. One thing is for sure, the Nationals will have the
right ownership and leadership to be capable of building one of the best
franchises in baseball.

The light at the end of the tunnel has finally arrived. Be thankful that
Commissioner Selig made the right decision.