Robert Castellini expected to buy Reds: Lindner to give up control

[love_that_reefer]

Congrats to the Reds and all their fans.

[Fishercat]

I'd be willing to trade for John Allen if you guys take Larry Lucchino, we'll even throw in David Wells.

[CincyRedsFan30]

How about you just take John Allen?

The first order of business of Mr. Castellini and his group is to dump Allen. I seriously can't see how they could possibly justify keeping him around going into this season. He has been the backbone for the losing attitude that these guys have indicated that they want to change. If these are the same guys Johnny Bench talked about a couple of weeks ago, they indicated that they want to improve the farm system after its struggles over the last decade or more.

Another source also indicated that these guys will have deep pockets and a "burning desire to win."

Dumping Allen(and eventually O'Brien/Narron) would indicate that they not only have money to spend and want to win, but that they understand that those individuals have led to us not doing just that over the past several years.

[redsrbetter]

"deep pockets and a 'burning desire to win!" Are we getting jibber jabber already or are we seeing a huge change in the face of this team? We could see a drastic difference in this team pretty soon. It definitely sounds promising at the least and it has my hopes up. I am going to rest easy tonight in hopes of a new era.

[Fishercat]

No, I insist, take Larry and David. David can actually pitch!

[Geki Ace]

Not in GAB.

And I think Lucchino and O'Brien on the same team, even for mere minutes, would probably make the world explode from so much concentrated douchebaggery.

Now, dump Allen and O'Brien. Bring in someone who can actually do a competent job as team president and someone like DePodesta or Epstein who won't give up Dunn. Let the new GM decide whether or not Narron stays around for this year, and then spend a little money in free agency.

[Sea Ray]

Another source also indicated that these guys will have deep pockets and a "burning desire to win."

I like the sound of that. What source was this?

[Sea Ray]

Sources say brothers Thomas L. and W. Joseph Williams are in Castellini’s ownership group. Tom Williams is the president of North American Properties, which is headquartered in Cincinnati. Joseph Williams is the chairman.

North American Properties has offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Ft. Myers and Minneapolis.

It was started in 1954 by William J. Williams, who owned the Reds with his brother James from 1980-84

These Williams brothers owned the team in the early 80s before Marge Schott bought them out. They were the worst Reds owners I have witnessed in my lifetime. Let's hope this ownership group turns out to be better than that one.

The Lindner team has been incredibly horrible so I'm willing to take my chances with a new regime. If they fire John Allen right away, that would be a very good sign that they know what they're doing. I wonder if Allen is on any sort of long term contract?

[CincyRedsFan30]

I like the sound of that. What source was this?

Posting that here would be detrimental to the board for a few reasons, but if you want to PM me, I would be happy to tell you where to search out this answer.

[missionhockey21]

Now, dump Allen and O'Brien. Bring in someone who can actually do a competent job as team president and someone like DePodesta or Epstein who won't give up Dunn. Let the new GM decide whether or not Narron stays around for this year, and then spend a little money in free agency.

I know I am going to sound like a broken record but really, if Allen and O'Brien are dumped and someone like DePodesta or Epstein is brought in, I will be 100% satisfied. Getting a new coach and making moves will just be icing on the cake. With O'Brian at the helm of this ship we could only expect it to get worse, if the new ownership realizes what has plagued this team, the dark ages could be over for us Reds fans.

[missionhockey21]

how long are all of the contractual issues going to take to resolve? I doubt that we'll get a new GM this year if it takes more than a few weeks, and i have to imagine that it will. I don't really know much about this side of the business, butit does seem like having someone in there at this point is better than no one, and we just gave narron his contract, so their not going to fire him.

I think Allen will get the boot soon after the new group takes control, and then dano and narron will have their year to pull things out without the medling of allen. Maybe narron and dano will get the axe if the reds are out of it quickly again, but i think they'll be around for the beginning of the season at least.

I imagine since Castellini is somewhat of a known name in baseball in terms of being an owner, once he sales his share of the Cardinals, I would expect for the MLB to approve this pretty quickly (quicker than most at least.)

And to help me keep my sanity this offseason, I am praying/wishing/hoping that it happens fast enough to give Dan O and Allen the boot. I too think that Narron has a pretty gooc chance of sticking but that I could live with for awhile.

[Wally Mo Pena]

DanO does just seem to have the reputation of a push over at this point, and that can't be good for a GM. I'd like to see a new guy (Kriv or Depo maybe) that would make a good trade right off the bat to set the tone. Rather than how DanO set the tone his first year by staring like a deer in headlights at all the GMs at the winter meetings.

[redsrbetter]

I am glad you brought up the Winter Meetings as well Wally. There is a GM gathering I think at the end of this week. Or sometime real soon, but that is not going to be the time of reckoning. If we are going to get a new GM, we have to get him before the Winter Meetings. I don't see that happening. IMO, I think we must get rid of Allen first and foremost, then figure out the GM thing directly after. This way, if DanO is going to stick around, he will not have this on his mind and can concentrate on his job. We all know that he is too slow to pull the trigger most of the time. And with his job likely in jeopardy, his mind will be on other things which will slow him down even more. Or he will make a trade that he thinks will save him but it will be rushed and another Milton situation for a guy like Dunn. GMs making moves solely to save face is not unheard of.

[Wally Mo Pena]

This is from the Lancaster blog, he doesn't sound upbeat about a quick turnover:

"I do think those expecting an immediate housecleaning will be disappointed. Just because this thing was announced today doesn't mean it's anywhere near being done.

The bottom line with all of that is that the new owners can't make any changes until they're officially the new owners, and that probably won't happen until at least sometime in December. If it happens that quickly, it will only be because MLB knows what it's getting with these guys because they're already involved with St. Louis. These situations usually take six months or so to play out. This one won't take that long, but I have a hard time looking at the timetable and seeing new ownership in place before the vast majority of the offseason moves need to be made. Last year, the Reds were basically done by Christmas, with the Aurilia signing the exception.

There's no doubt changes will be made at the highest levels of the organization, but it may take a while to get to that point."

[redsrbetter]

This would hurt, but he reassures a possible point. If Castellini is not in office by the Winter meetings, we are going to miss out on many opportunities. We may still have to put our hopes in Allen and company for a while. Yuck!

Is DanO going to try and make a great move in order to save his job? Or is he sure is time has come only to realize that he can sell the team short of its needs? Either way, with DanO having this sort of pressure, I expect absolutely nothing from him.

Castellini has to make his mark now.