1999-2010

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Player sheds light on Israel baseball scandal

Alan Gardner, the New York City-born outfielder for the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox of the Israel Baseball League (who believes that you haven't done your job if you didn't get your uniform dirty, and at age 45 could claim proudly to have covered as much ground in the outfield as the kids), has posted the following comments in response to Tabloid Baby's exclusive coverage of the scandal that has interrupted Israel's baseball dream:
Hey guys... ok, it's time to stop all this anonymous stuff that's been going on... this IS a serious situation... the IBL's infrastructure has crumbled... very little, if anything, meaningful is left and for some very disturbing reasons (as clearly stated in the Goldklang/Zimbalist resignation letter and the Spectrum Capital cancellation letter)... unfortunately, Larry Baras and Martin Berger could not even secure a bridge loan that would allow the league to make the final payments on salaries due to players, managers and personnel and fees owed to vendors. The federal lawsuit allegations are, if true, deeply disturbing and no-one can miss the unusual parallels between the allegations and what we in the league have experienced.

There is, from what I have seen in discussions that I have been having with some very responsible and concerned people, a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. I believe that baseball will continue in Israel and will have a brighter future than the past season could ever have foretold.

If you have concerns about money owed to you, please reach out to me at 917-710-7168 or by email at amgardneresq@gmail.com.

And, if we have comments to make from hereon forward, let's make them professional and fact-based and sign off on them. Let's leave the emotional nonsense and smoky messages to the others that have been pulling the wool over our eyes (and, it seems, others) for a bit too long already.

Let's play two, men.

Alan Gardner
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox '07

P.S.-I appreciate Mr. R's thoughtful comments as well. However, as they say, things "have gone too far" at this point. We all hoped that change would not be necessary, but it is clear that it is. We, the players, managers and on-site personnel in Israel are really who sank and watered baseball's roots this summer... we, with little help, both organized the product and played the games. Just remember how hard guys like Andrew Wilson, 23 and David Rattner, 21 worked and how many different roles they took on as an example. Just remember how Eric Holtz had to order extra bats through a contact he had because the baseball league itself could not get us more bats. And the list goes on.
In response to another commenter, Mr. Gardner added:
Players, managers, personnel and vendors have been wronged to the tune of a lot of money. Maybe it has nothing to do with what our anonymous poster quotes Teddy Roosevelt saying at the Sorbonne in 1910.

This is 2007 and it has to do with running a business right, dotting i's, crossing t's and being forthright with the people that you deal with. Maybe it takes a "cold and timid soul" or two to sell a bill of goods to a bunch of largely college grads and poor Dominicans who need the money they are owed under a contract the parties agreed to, not to mention generous investors and vendors.

By the way players, if you want a copy of your signed contract (signed by both player and league rep), email Martin Berger and ask him to send you the PDF of it he has in his office computer. I asked him for mine to include in my scrapbook, before all this hit the fan, and he sent it to me almost immediately... they do exist and you have a right to yours.

Let's play two,

Alan

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I predicted this weeks ago! I said to others that the same people who are shoveling the negativity, trying to search it out and publicize what they can find about the nascent league---- weighing it down, making it even harder for the league to pay debts and move forward, are the ones who will try and put together something of their own creation. Sleezebag Behavior 101. I was right! YOU HAVE TRIED to WEIGH DOWN THIS LEAGUE WITH AS MUCH NEGATIVITY AS YOU CAN FIND for your own self serving you know better interests.I assume that the rest of your group will show yourselves. How truly evil you are. You must feel smart and creative. In actuality your self serving actions and motivations of your group discredit all that you may try and do. I hope someone does some digging to try and damage you and your group in the same ways as you have tried your best to weaken a great endeavor that you were fortunate to have been a part of. I expect you never tried to support or help the league in constructive ways although I expect you will say you have. People like you are built to do things this way instead. Nobody should let you succeed. I knew the writers of this blog were hoping to be on someone's payroll. I was .

Anonymous said...

I was right. You must be hoping for a management role in a new enterprise.

The IBL and its supporters and the people who hope to get paid ( a cause which is not helped by the type of negativity in this blog) should be very glad that the origins and motivations of this blog content are now out and clear.

This blog had tried very hard to manipulate the press,let the press now understand the motivations of this blog.

This tabloid baby blog represents a minority of viewpoint.

People are infuriated by the unfair public criticism and the way in which the league as they try to swim across the channel, have been pummelled.

Anonymous said...

If Alan's "unfair public criticisms" were not correct and warranted,then why did Dan Kurtzer and the whole advisory board quit? The fact that Larry has not been forthcoming is his own undoing.

Anonymous said...

Hey Alan, You think it is over? I doubt it!! Why did they leave ? Because there was bad press ready to come out that there were financial problems. Did you ever think of it that these guys who left, who probably did not put a penny in this, (Kurtzer for sure did not ) have left us all hanging. Think about it, if this does not happen next season (it will , but theoretically) because we are bitching about a few $ and yes we can sue but we will not be playing this season. So lets say there are/were more investors what the f@#@k do you care who gives their money and why. I haven't heard that the investors , who actually put money in complaining. Yes we have not been fully paid , i have been paid in part and the last payment is due and i will wait.
What financial numbers did these "advisors" want to see?
They left because the press wa getting bad and not because they care 2 sh@#$@s about us, if they did they would have stepped up and maybe put their money where their mouth is. They could have come up with the dough and made conditions on that with Larry and take some more control of the League and done it a lot better (as they say it could have been done)

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr Anonymous,I am an investor and I am complaining.
I spoke to Larry and he has never told me who the investors are,how much was invested,how much was paid and how much was owed.I know for a fact that Dan Kurtzer and the committee tried their darnest to make the IBL a success. One thing Larry told me was that he wants to pay the players next year $1500 and the Israeli players $500.(And that amount is before he defaults on the payments)

Anonymous said...

I would rather believe in people who have done a great thing like put together this wonderful league than believing people who are not giving time to grow same time and leeway that any new business ought to have. YOu have tried to damaged it such that it has likely been harder to remedy issues. People are trying to tear it down so they can try to make a league of their making. That is what is apparent here from Alan Gardner and this blog--- showed in all different ways. I am off this crappy site. No more comments from me. You have shown yourselves and your motivations for what you are.

Anonymous said...

hey everyone , now we all know that jeff rosen and alan gardner and michael rollhaus and andrew wilson (who i heard wanted a lot of money for next season but did not get it , oh yeah ask him if he got paid in full???) are the anonymous writers that have written daily here and spread the bad rumors , yes there were bad things bt fraud nand stealing , they now want to have their own League. Like I would play for a guy like gardner in the management organization or andrew wilson, ouch!!