Peter Magowan expectedly announced his retirement following the 2008 season and the Giants have already decided on the man that will replace him, William Neukom.
Mr. Neukom is kind of a baller. Besides formerly being the top dog attorney with this little Microsoft company until he retired in 2001, with $107 million worth of stock, he is currently serving as the president of the American Bar Association.
Neukom's toughest task, of course, besides figuring out how to get rid of Barry Zito without eating his entire contract, will be deciding how much it takes to buy out whether to retain Brian Sabean.
Magowan answered some questions from the Chron -- which is a pretty funny read by itself, just for the Zito quote -- that shed some light on how Neukom feels about Sabean.
'He's certainly safe as far as I'm concerned. (New managing general partner) Bill (Neukom) has said he's got confidence in Brian. You can't say anybody's got a guaranteed job. I never had a guaranteed job. I've never operated my entire life with a contract. I hadn't had one in 16 years. Brian has one that has another year to go. People who are the bosses are free to do as they see fit.'
See, to me, that's nothing more than a classic "vote of confidence". Sabean is Magowan's guy, so there's little chance he would ever actually lob him under moving wheels. But at the same time he has to know that the moves the Giants have made recently, and their inability to succeed, falls squarely on Sabean's inability to either a) put a team around Barry Bonds or b) recognize the need to rebuild (or alternately, understand reality).
Rumors have been filtering out of the Bay Area that Giants managing partner Peter Magowan would be retiring potentially as soon as this year, but it appears it may be more imminent than that; the San Francisco Chroniclereports that the Giants have called a special meeting on Friday. The likely outcome of this meeting would be the purchase of Magowan's shares, and him subsequently stepping down from his role as managing partner of the ballclub.
Sources tell us the real topic is the 66-year-old Magowan's planned retirement, which could lead to his ownership shares - estimated to be worth well over $70 million - being offered to fellow partners. The team overall is valued in excess of $500 million.
There was no immediate word on who might succeed Magowan, but the job is expected to go to someone already connected to the ownership group. The names mentioned most frequently are the team's general partner, former Microsoft general counsel William Neukom, and principal partner and business investor John Scully.
Now, it's possible that all of this is speculation. But it's more likely that Magowan is seeking to move on. He's 66, the Giants are in mid-life crisis in terms of which direction to take the franchise, and his second biggest signature signing, Barry Zito, is getting rave reviews when he eeks out a quality start and no decision after starting 0-7.
The other point worth noting is that Magowan recently gave General Manager Brian Sabean a contract extension; whether the new managing partner is willing to honor that or not remains to be seen. As the Chron notes, it is unlikely that whoever takes over as the face of the partnership conglomerate will be as vocal about their opinions on how to run the team. That does not mean they won't put someone they trust in charge though.
Peter Magowan has been the managing partner of the the San Francisco Giants since 1993. In other words, the Barry Bonds Era -- it's squarely on his watch. That means both good and bad things, in the sense that a lot of "history" was made, a new stadium was built and paid for, and the biggest free agent signings in the team's history (Bonds being the best and Barry Zito being the worst) went down. Of course, he is also the man that continues to employ Brian Sabean as General Manager.
But there's a possibility that he could be stepping down as acting owner (or general managing partner, if you feel like being quasi-technical about it) in the near future.
Neither Magowan nor his manager/cut man Larry Baer has chosen to respond for the record (a possible first in the history of this ownership). Neither was on hand to watch Tim Lincecum dismiss the Phillies 8-2 on Saturday, which is not that unusual. On the other hand, vice president for communications Staci Slaughter, referring to Magowan, told Our Team's John Shea the other day, "He's 66, and has thought about it from time to time, but no decision has been made at all. At this point, he has no decision on that.' In other words, an era in Giants baseball may be coming to an end. We think.
That's certainly far from definite, but it at least sounds like there's the possibility for change on the horizon. And the SF Chronestimates based on what the franchise is worth right now, it would take approximately $70 million to buy out his share of ownership.
As Rotto points out, there's no telling how new ownership would approach the team. But assuming Magowan does step down, you can bet his legacy will involve more talk of Bonds and Zito than Cain and Lincecum.
"I told Peter Magowan, 'If I'm a part-time player, I'm still better than your full-time player, and it's a wise idea to keep me,"' Bonds said. "We still have time. Things might change."
So clearly Bonds still wants back in the Bay Area and is trying to cast himself as a sympathetic figure. That won't fly with me, but I do believe -- as strange as it sounds -- that the 43-year-old can still play in the National League. Sure he needs days off frequently, but according to defensive metrics, there were left fielders who had less range than Bonds last year, and his offensive production is still top notch. He may be better suited for the AL, but I still think he could stick it in the NL. As far as where Bonds would consider if things weren't repaired with the Giants:
"I would consider DHing for the Yankees. Unfortunately, the Yankees have two DHs, so that dream would never happen," Bonds said. "I'm out enjoying my life. I don't know at this point what my plans are in the future."
We've already speculated upon where Bonds will end his career, and the Yankees weren't high on the list for the same reason. I'm sure there's at least one team out there that would toss Barry $5 million to DH in the American League. And you know what, I still think Bonds could play in the NL one more year as part of an effective platoon. Just seems like San Francisco wants to go a different direction with their club, without Barry as their centerpiece.
One aspect of Barry's milestone home runs that most people are missing, is that the Giants lost not only on Saturday when he crushed No. 755, but also on Tuesday when he blasted No. 756. In fact, Bonds took his selfishness to a whole new level on Tuesday, exiting the lineup in the middle of the game while his team was barely hanging on to a 5-4 lead.
After leaving, the bullpen gave up four runs in the 8th, allowing the Nats to grab what would be an 8-6 win. Had Barry stayed in the game, he would've had an at-bat in the 7th with one out and a man on. Furthermore, had he reached base in that at-bat, he would've batted once again in the bottom of the 9th. Instead, it was decided that Barry's work for the night had been done, and his team was left to lose 8-6 -- with its best offensive threat sitting on the bench.
Maybe now we have a better idea about what Peter Magowan was complaining when he said he felt the pursuit of the record was distracting the team. Maybe now we have a better understanding of traded pitcher Matt Morris who said many of the older Giants didn't play hard, and that they had accepted losing in San Francisco. It just seems fitting to me that one of the notoriously self-centered players in baseball left the game during the middle of it, allowing his team to end up losing. If he really were a team player, don't you think he would have stayed in until the game was over? I certainly think that would have been the right thing to do. Then again, when have we known Barry to ever do what was right?
If I happened to be the owner of the team who employed the guy who was about to break the most hallowed record in sports, I'd, I don't know, try to prolong that as much as possible. After all, every home game Barry Bonds drifts around breaking the record is another sell-out, and sell-outs are very, very good for the bottom line. Live it up!
"I can't wait until it's over," Magowan, the team's managing general partner, said before the Giants came from behind to defeat the Marlins, 12-10, at AT&T Park. "I think we'll start winning more consistently when this is behind us."
"Barry has done all that we could have basically expected of him," Magowan said about the left fielder, who finished the game batting .281 with 20 homers and 49 RBIs despite a prolonged July slump. "The question of whether to sign him or not, by his performance it was a good signing and our problems have not been because he hasn't done what we thought he would do. And that signing did not prevent us from doing other things we wanted to do, like signing a starting pitcher [Barry Zito]."
Let's not bring up the Barry Zito signing, eh Peter? That's a story of ineptitude for another time. No, the real question here is whether the Giants will actually win more games after Bonds finishes with his steroid-infused dog and pony show ... and the answer is no, probably not, because they are not a very good baseball team. Reap the benefits of the record while it lasts, Big Pete.
Unless Sabean really has lost his mind, and has joined ownership in its desire to see Bonds play left field until he's 50, this means the end of Bonds' tenure as a Giant. Sorry, Barry, no 3,000th hit in a Giants uniform for you; take a shot at the American League (and good luck finding a taker) while we let Sabean run the team as he sees fit. Peter Magowan won't say that publicly, but only because he's terrified of Bonds, and you wouldn't want to make the man angry. Can't blame Magowan, either. Essentially cast aside while still in uniform, Bonds would set new standards for arrogance and hell-with-the-team stunts.
Ray Ratto also seems to be in agreement, suggesting that the Giants no longer need to rely on Barry Bonds for income. It's not much of a surprise that Giants management might want to rid themselves of Bonds in '08. We already know that they tried to signCarlos Lee in the offseason instead of Barry, and that Magowan was disappointed Bonds didn't participate in the home run derby. We also know that Barry wants to play in '08 to pursue 3,000 hits. Now it doesn't look like that pursuit will occur in a Giants uniform. But what team would want to take Barry on in '08?
Sabean has had mixed results with the Giants. A contender until 2003, when they lost a seven-game World Series to the Angels, the Giants have been a one-man show since. Despite Sabean's attempts to bring in talent around the slugger, nothing much has materialized for San Fransisco in the past four years, and Barry Bonds continues to be the only reason to buy a ticket.
That includes, of course, the disastrous Barry Zito signing this past offseason. Even at the time, Zito's $127 million contract looked suspect, and now that Zito has had a season to show just how much he's declined, it looks like one of the worst in history. (Mike Hampton, stand up!) For Sabean, Zito is another in a long list of mixed results, results apparently good enough to keep his job, but not to place him in the top tier of current GM's.
"But I do think he's passed up a real opportunity to be able to thank the fans," Magowan said. "The community would have loved to have seen him participate in this contest. I just think, in San Francisco, maybe the last All-Star Game that he would participate in possibly - and to have the place filled with people who were going to be there supporting him - I just thought it was a marvelous opportunity for him, as well as for our fans.
"So I'm disappointed, but I understand the reasons why he made the decision that he did."
I think everyone understands why Barry has elected not to participate in the derby, but it doesn't change the fact that he has disappointed several people, including the team's front office. I still maintain Barry owes it to the fans that "voted" him into the game to participate, especially since it's at his home park. Obviously the Giants brass feels the same way. Previously at FanHouse: Barry Bonds Owes it to Fans to Participate in the Home Run Derby The Debriefing: Fists Full of SchruteBucks VIII Barry Bonds News Sorry, No Photos
Peter Magowan expectedly announced his retirement following the 2008 season and the Giants have already decided on the man that will replace him, William Neukom. 
Rumors have been filtering out
Peter Magowan
We've already talked about 
One aspect of Barry's milestone home runs that most people are missing, is that the Giants lost not only on Saturday when he 
If I happened to be the owner of the team who employed the guy who was about to break the most hallowed record in sports, I'd, I don't know, try to prolong that as much as possible. After all, every home game 
PostmanE told you on Friday that Giants GM 
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