Israel Baseball League's festival a no-go?

We’re 12 days from the supposed first pitch of the new Israel Baseball League baseball “show” that’s supposed to take the place of its second, four-team, 20-game, three-week momentum-building mini-season, but there’s no word on tickets or whether Presidente Solomonte can find two more “All-Stars” to join Shoeless Leon Feingold and his IBL Six to make up a full team to put on the “show” he promised, and reports now that the whole idea has been scratched.

Time to get filled in by Our Man Elli in Israel.

Tabloid Baby: So, is there a festival happening or not?

Our Man Elli in Israel: So where have you been? Jay Abramoff calls the site a "trash-talker," Steve Walz calls you "scatalogical"—

Yeah and neither had the balls to mention us by name. Little putzes. No, there was a glitch in the Blogger system. They say they mistakenly tagged thousands of sites as “spam blogs” and shut us down for two days. We’re back. So what gives?

Will there be a series? Who knows with these guys. I hear that some of the seven players have been told that they'll be flown to Israel on the 11th or 12th, but apparently they haven't received any tickets.

Not even Leon Feingold?

Maybe because Solomont and the IBL aren’t sure there’s even going to be a festival.

Maybe Leon speed-ate the tickets.

No. There hasn’t been any advertising. Despite all the lip service about spreading the word to native Israelis: bupkis.

Could they be planning to play ball without advertising? Without fans? I mean, people make summer plans even in Israel, no?

You’d think. Huh.

What else? We’ve been shut down for a couple of days.

I found out that the Israeli who did merchandising for the IBL last year apparently ordered bats for a 2008 season because he was told there’d be a season. He's still trying to get the new league president to pay for them--

El Presidente David Solomonte!

Well, if that’s what you insist on calling him.

Presidente of the Dominican Republic of the Middle East Baseball League!

Whatever.

Don’t you dig that Woody Allen Bananas picture?

Chico Escuela is what cracked me up.

Together: “Base-ball... been berry, berry good to me..”

(laughter)

Anyway, Solomonte was to suppose to pay for the bats, but he hasn't yet.

Has he paid the players?

Funny you should ask. I spoke to one player, Justin Cardinal, and he’s real upset. Quote: “I’m very frustrated. It’s been a year now that I’ve been waiting for my money.”

They owe him $1,500 from last season, and the checks keep bouncing.

Even now?

Yes, the one he got from the batch that Dan Rootenberg mailed out last month bounced. But Justin doesn’t blame Dan. Another quote: “I respect him. He left because people’s checks bounced.”

You gotta get an interview with Rootenberg.

Yeah.

What’s Justin doing to get his money back?

He said he’s actually been in touch with Solomont.

Quote: “I talked to him a few times, emailed him, three or four different emails. He said he would pay me through ACH transfer, whatever that is. Friday before last (July 18th), he told me to mail him my banking information, said he would get back to me as soon as possible. I called him the next Tuesday (July 22nd) he says, ‘I am going to look over it, shouldn’t be more than three-four business days.’ Here we are a week later, still haven’t heard from him.”

Sounds like the same problem Rollhaus ran into.

Exactly the same. Anyway, Justin says he emailed the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport, which is in charge of sports in Israel. He told me, and I’m reading from my notes again: “I asked them if they could help me out. I’ll see what happens with them. The hardest part is, I don’t know if I’m dealing with Israel or U.S. law, it’s international. And I can’t sue anybody, because it costs more than the check is worth.” Unquote.

You think that’s what the IBL was counting on all along?

It could be seen that way.

But I only report. The readers decide.

But isn’t illegal to issue checks, knowing there’s not enough money in the account to cover them?

In the States, deliberate check-bouncers can be prosecuted, sure. I'm checking the law in Israel.

Melvin Ell- eye. Anything else from Justin?

Well, he did say he’s very grateful to Tabloid Baby for all the work you've done. Quote: “It’s been our main source. You guys have been our main backers, I’m thankful for it. It’s the source that all the IBL players are going to, great that you are so up to date, otherwise we’d be left in the dark.”

I told him we’re just doing our jobs.

Anything else with the IBL?

I noticed on their website that their countdown clock wound down to no game on Sunday. Now they’ve posted a new poll, asking this question:

Who do you think is having the best season in the professional baseball this year from among the following Jewish players:
Ian Kinsler, 2B, Texas Rangers. AL All-Star, hitting .325 with 14 homers, 25 stolen bases, and a .526 slugging average
Ryan Braun, LF, Milwaukee Brewers. NL All-Star, hitting .294 with 25 homers and .573 slugging average.
Kevin Youkilis, 1B, Boston Red Sox. AL All-Star, Gold Glover hitting .311 with 17 homers and .551 slugging percentage.
Rafael Bergstrom, P, Bridgeport Bluefish (Atlantic League). Starting pitcher, 5-5 W/L record, 5.07 ERA

Cute, placing Bergstrom with the guys in the Big Show. And nice writing. English is definitely a second language to their webmaster.

Yeah, and besides the fact that such a poll question is, by definition, obsolete by the very next day, this poll has produced a slightly underwhelming response. When I checked this week, a total of zero people have bothered to vote.

You’d figure Solomont and Baras would at least pump up the numbers.

Yeah. Justin is right: the players are coming to Tabloid Baby, not the IBL site.

Maybe they could post a more appealing and relevant poll for the readers of the IBL site.

Like what?

I don't know. How about “Which IBL player is owed the most money?” Or “What hasn’t Leon Feingold stuffed in his mouth?” That ought to draw some traffic.

Leave Leon alone. Don’t judge. Oh, one more thing: the IBL home page has a link, Direction to the Ballparks- which includes directions to Gezer. I’ve reported more than once, Gezer will not allow the IBL to play there until all debts are paid. So why directions to Gezer?

Don't ask me. You’re the man in Israel.

That’s it.

Wait. Jay Abramoff, the guy who accused you of being biased, wrote a letter to the Jerusalem Post in response to your article.

And Steve Walz, the Jewish Press blogger who called you cynical earlier this year, comes back and calls us a “scatological site.”

They're both jealous. Plus, you did a number on them both.

We just reported what they'd written and responded.

Didn’t you have a photo with the post you ran on Waltz?

Yeah.

What was it?

Just a photo.

Come on.

A guy with his head up his ass.

Okay. And how did you depict Abramoff?

As a braying jackass.

A couple of asses, no?

A couple of assholes.

There you go. Let’s talk next week.

Click. Brrrrr…

IBL investor Rollhaus: "I don't understand this festival thing. If they are serious and have the money, why not pay off the debts NOW?"

Now that the new Israeli Baseball League has released new specifics about their plan to replace a second, four-team, 20-game, three week, momentum-keeping mini-season with a two-week running “show” in which “an IBL All-Star team” will play against against a team made up of “premier Israeli players,” not everyone who was involved in the IBL is as excited as competitive eater Leon Feingold and his six fellow IBL veterans who’ve supposedly broken ranks with their brothers from Season One who were left stranded with bounced paychecks and broken dreams to play their part in this show put on by the new management.

Michael Rollhaus, for one.

Rollhaus, whose $100,000 investment in Larry Baras’ original Israel Baseball League, made him, according to Our Man Elli in Israel’s analysis of incomplete financial data, the fourth-biggest individual investor in the IBL. He was also the general manager of the league champion Bet Shemesh Blue Sox, and after the league’s collapse, so loved baseball that he became part of the group that attempted to form the rival Israel Professional Baseball League, a group that also failed to lift off under the weight of its own importance, but that’s another story.

The fact remains that for all the promises made by the new frontmen of the Dominican Republic of The Middle East Baseball League and their announced two-week PR festival in August, Rollhaus is still out $100,000 to the IBL, and still doesn’t know what happened to his investment.

Our Man Elli in Israel caught up with the Queens businessman in Jerusalem last week, and quotes Rollhaus saying he’s “always in the dark regarding the IBL. I never had an idea what Larry was doing during the '07 season, and have not had any correspondence with him since October. I have been given no financial information.”

Our Man Elli: What about Dan Rootenberg?

Michael Rollhaus: “I called him two weeks ago, and he was very upfront with me about the status of the IBL since he took over. But, of course, that ended.”

What about David Solomont?

“We’ve exchanged e-mails; I expect to talk to him (on Thursday). I’m confused. I really do not understand their claims that they have enough funds to pay debts, and enough money for two seasons. That is great, then just pay the players and debts ASAP. I also do not understand this seven-day festival thing. And they want to play winter ball in southern Israel? Well, unless they can import fans and build a domed stadium with a retractable roof… it is more fantasy than reality.”

Are you saying that you doubt the plans?

“If they are serious and have the money, why not pay off the debts NOW?”

What about your $100,000?

“It is the responsibility of a company to provide financial information to their shareholders/investors. As an investor, I think I am entitled to know what is going on. Is that too much to ask?”

Any regrets?

"Well, it hurts when I am in Jeruslaem and people ask me what is going on with Israeli baseball. It hurts when I am home in New York as well. I simply don’t know what to tell them.”

"This is going to be the Dominican Republic of the Middle East... Our players are going over to put on a show!"

--IBL's new "in-coming president" Solomont

Israel Baseball League's "interim president" now "in-coming president"; instead of season, vets to "put on a show"; Jewish National Fund in cahoots

The Israel Baseball League has made new promises and changes on its website.

David Solomont, who has been referred to as "interim" president, is now the "in-coming president," replacing former player Dan Rootenberg, who backed away from the job earlier this month. The "in-coming" qualifier apparently gives Solomont the option to do the same.

Solomont, also known as El Presidente Solomonte of the Dominican Republic of The Middle East Baseball League because of his promise that Israel would become the Dominican Republic of The Middle East, also figures prominently in a new press release that confirms that the IBL's second season that had been replaced by a four-team, 20-game, three-week, momentum-keeping mini-season will now be replaced by a week-long baseball festival starting on August 14th that will pit an IBL All-Star team against a team made up of premier Israeli players."

The IBL veterans who have confirmed they will play ball were listed by the IBL in this order:

Leon Feingold
Willis Bumphus
Jason Benson
David Kramer
Mike Lyons
Ray Rodriguez
Jason Bonder

Two more and they'll have a team.

Says Solomont: "Our players are going over to put on a show."


The IBL release also says the league is working with the Jewish National Fund, a fundraising group dedicated to bringing trees and water to Israel. Maybe they can bring the ice this time.


Here's the press release:

IBL Summer Baseball Festival to Commence Thursday, August 14th
07/24/2008 9:44 AM

The Israel Baseball League, which inaugurated the first season of professional baseball in Israel last summer, has officially announced its plans for this summer season, a week-long baseball festival starting on August 14th that will pit an IBL All-Star team against a team made up of premier Israeli players.

The baseball festival, which will go from August 14th through August 21st, will take place at the Yarkon Sports Complex at the Baptist Village. The Baptist Village field, Israel’s state-of-the-art baseball and softball facility, is located in Petach Tikva, about seven miles outside of Tel Aviv.

Games will start at 7 p.m. and are scheduled to be played on Thursday night, August 14th, and then each night from Sunday August 17th through Thursday night, August 21st.

“Our players are going over to put on a show. They are going over to run clinics in various communities. They are going to visit hospitals and hand out gifts. And most of all, they are going over to play some baseball,” said David Solomont, who has stepped into the role of president of the IBL. The festival will feature nightly games at the Baptist Village, with other baseball-related activities taking place before the games and in between innings. Like last year, IBL merchandise and memorabilia will be sold at the games and there will be a full food concessions service featuring a menu of barbecue offerings.

“We are very excited about this festival”, said Martin Berger, one of the IBL’s top executives. “First and foremost, we are going to once again offer a high caliber of play, with most of the players being among the best IBL alumni from last season. But we have purposely put together this season in the form of a festival, with an international vs. Israel component, in consideration of the Olympic Games that will be going on in Beijing simultaneously to our tournament. It adds to the connection between what is going on sports-wise in Israel with what is going on internationally.”

The IBL, together with the Jewish National Fund, is engaged in a far-reaching campaign called “Project Baseball” to build more community baseball fields in Israel and foster a grassroots initiative to support amateur participation and interest in baseball and softball. Baseball has long been the favorite sport of the Jewish population in America.

The IBL believes that not only can baseball become the first professional sport in Israel with a cross-section of fans, irrespective of gender or denomination, but that baseball and softball, sports played by men and women alike, offer a new common ground for people to meet and compete in a wholesome environment.

While final rosters are still being formally assembled, among the IBL players who have already committed to returning for this summer’s activities are Leon Feingold, Willis Bumphus, Jason Benson, David Kramer, Mike Lyons, Ray Rodriguez, and Jason Bonder. For the Israelis, former Seattle Mariners pitcher Ari Kafka, who now studies in Jerusalem, has informed the IBL that he is ready to pitch for Israel.

Final roster spots will be determined and announced in the coming days.

The full schedule of events will be announced on the IBL web site shortly.

Eric Holtz wants your Israel baseball questions

Eric Holtz will answer your questions if you give your name.

Opinions from the 41-year old New York City businessman who left his business, wife, children and responsibilities behind to chase a boy's baseball dream in far-off Israel are of interest because he's been a cocky, controversial figure in the Israel Baseball League long before his family discord was immortalized in the IBL documentary film, Holy Land Hardball.

In the weeks following the IBL’s first season, as the façade was being methodically stripped away by the intrepid reporting of Our Man Elli in Israel and the stink of corruption began to ooze from the Middle East, across Europe and back to Boston, Eric was not only the main player apologist for embattled IBL founder Larry Baras, he shockingly became the IBL management’s attack dog against the reporter who was revealing a rats nest of wrong.

Eric wrote on this site's comment pages:

“In life it is always easier to pick apart what someone did wrong (Monday morning quarterback) Like this Elli guy from Israel who could be the lowest level of Human Life in a reporter that I have ever seen, rather than to Look at the Positives and try to recover from them. I myself have always prided myself on being a Glass Half-Full Guy but again -That is Me!"

This Glass Half-Full guy has yet to apologize to Elli. But when his former league mate Dan Rootenberg was forced to walk away from what turned out to be a ceremonial role as “in-coming President" of the "new and improved" IBL, Holtz jumped onto the public stage to again declare himself some kind of leader, writing in the comments section of this site:

"I am very disappointed and disturbed at how things have transpired. I had been planning great things with Rootenberg in the hopes of resurrecting the league, but only if it would have been done correctly and responsibly. There is for sure a future for Baseball In the Holyland, however there needs to be a Group to come in and right the wrongs-save face if you will and move on in a positive and right way. Financial responsibility and paying previous debt is paramount to the future of Baseball. Putting an ample product on the field will never be the issue at hand, rather being Businessmen is the foremost task at hand. I for one will attest to the Hard work, dedication and undying attempts to get this done correctly by Dan Rootenberg who I take my hat off to. The last month has been tough and believe me, he has tried to get things done only one way-The Right way! Thanks for your hard work and attempt at advancing Baseball in Israel..."

Eric’s grandstanding led to immediate ridicule and hard questions from commenters like "Anonymous":

"Disappointed and disturbed? Only now? Where've you been? Walking around with your head up your butt? Or Larry's? Or Martin Berger's? Maybe the people who somehow believed that the IBL leaders would change their ways should start explaining why they believed this. You all have empowered them to keep their operation going when it should have been steamrolled months ago. So, Mr. Holtz, after all that went on last summer right in front of your eyes, why'd you sign on with them? What did they tell you? What proof did they show you? What financials did they show you? What empty promises did they make to you about what they were going to do for the league? About what role they were going to give to you? To others? And what made you, after all this time, so disappointed and disturbed? The people deserve to know. The young players who followed your lead deserve to know."

Eric responded this morning:

"I don't respond to anonymous questions. You have something to say, step up and be a man. I'm easy to find."

So, gentlemen-- and ladies--we offer you a chance to “step up and be a man” and ask Eric Holtz a question.

Send your questions here-- and be sure to be a man and include your name.

Who wants to be first?

“I’ll start. Sam Peters is the name. I do PR and occasional research for this here site. And I got a question for Mr. Holtzman. Do you still blame Elli for the downfall of the IBL and for the state of baseball in Israel? And are you man enough to step up like a man and man up and apologize? There’s my questions. The name’s Sam Peters. Alto-Nido Apartments, 6350 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, California. I’m easy to find, too."

"I've got one too. I'm Shmuley. I work in research. Question, Mr. Holtz: You were so big on the IBL-- past and present-- but were you really willing to stick your neck out? Is it true, Mr. Holtz, that you were supposed to deliver the uniforms for this season, but refused to do so until you got paid?"

That's a start. Now back to work you two. Hey, someone submit the 20 questions we'd sent Dan and El Presidente Solomonte! let's see what Eric Holtz really knows!

Now we have twenty questions for Presidente Solomonte of the Dominican Republic of the Middle East Baseball League

Our Man Elli in Israel originally posed the following questions to Dan Rootenberg, the player-turned-"incoming-president" of the new and improved Israel Baseball League. Since Dan was not given the information to answer them, we turn them over to David Solomont, AKA "El Solomonte" of the IBL's successor, the DROTMEBL (Dominican Republic of The Middle East Baseball League):

Here are Our Man Elli's 20 questions. As a matter of fact, we;ll take answers from anyone who feels they can answer:

1) How much of the $1.5 million in IBL debts from last year has been paid?

2) Has Kfar Hayarok been paid? If not, will it be? What about Gezer?

3) Does the IBL owe money to the JNF for the roughly half million dollars given last year by the JNF to the IBL?

4) Is it true that most of the money being used to pay players now came from Israeli VAT refunds relating to last year's activities, and the proceeds from the sale of Maximo Nelson to Japan-- in other words, not from new investors?

5) How many investors have signed on to the new season?

6) When will the private placement memorandum necessary to raise most of the money needed by the IBL be available?

7) Is it true that the IAB is requiring the IBL to make a security deposit ($200,000) in order to be re-licensed, which the IBL hasn't been able to make?

8) If the IAB doesn't acknowledge a license with the IBL, will the IBL try anyway to conduct a league?

9) Who is controlling the finances of the new league - Baras? Duquette? You?

10) Will your brother, Jay Solomont, have any involvement in the league?

11) Is it true that Larry Baras still has a large ownership stake in the IBL?

12) Will Dan Duquette be the CEO of the revamped league? If so, would you be reporting to Duquette, or to someone else?

13) Have plane tickets for this year's players been purchased?

14) Where will the players be staying during the summer? Have there been any payments made reserving those arrangements?

15) Have the player's uniforms been ordered and paid for?

16) Is the league supplying bats or will the players have to bring their own?

17) How many players have committed to playing this summer, and what percentage is from last season?

18) Who are the managers and coaches?

19) What is the drop-dead date for declaring that there is no season this year?

20) If there is no season this summer, are there plans to continue efforts to create a season in 2009?

"This is going to be the Dominican Republic of the Middle East"
--IBL "interim president" David Solomont

Update on El Presidente Solomonte's Dominican Republic of The Middle East Baseball League

This just in from Our Man Elli in Israel:

"The IBL site does not have the announcement, still has Dan Rootenberg listed as 'in-coming president,' and the countdown clock has a game being played a week from Sunday at 6:04:27 p.m."

"This is going to be the Dominican Republic of the Middle East"
--IBL "interim president" David Solomont

DAVID SOLOMONT IS ISRAEL BASEBALL LEAGUE'S "INTERIM PRESIDENT"! PROMISES TO MAKE ISRAEL "THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC OF THE MIDDLE EAST"!

In wake of Our Man Elli in Israel's exclusive report last night that former Israel Baseball League player and "incoming president" Dan Rootenberg has resigned from the league amid frustrations and unanswered questions from an inner circle that includes embattled founder Larry Baras and controversial Boston businessman David Solomont, comes the expected cancellation of the new IBL's promised four-team, 20-game, three-week, "momentum-keeping" mini-season.

But the news release from the IBL bunker this morning includes several other revelations, shifts and promises that are sure to generate more controversy, and extend this story and its accompanying investigations in 2009:

* David Solomont is the IBL's "interim president."

* A brief, "best-of-seven, "festival-style" tournament pitting an Israeli all-star team against international players will begin on August 14th to coincide with the Beijing Olympics. The series will include youth clinics. The international team will be comprised of all-star players from last year, the league said.

* Solomont says the league hopes to begin winter play this year.

* Winter facilities have not yet been arranged.

* Solomont says the new management has raised enough money to pay off all remaining debts and finance the league for at least two more seasons... and believes it can be profitable.

* Former Boston Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette, who oversaw player development last year, will now take on an expanded role as director of operations.

* Duquette and new board member Gary Woolf will oversee long-term development, including the launch of the winter league in southern Israel.

* The long-term goal is to attract international players along the lines of the winter leagues in the Caribbean.

* Solomont says: "This is going to be the Dominican Republic of the Middle East."

* The IBL is in the process of hiring a full-time staff, including senior sports-marketing professionals who will be based in Israel and the U.S.

* League founder Larry Baras, will no longer be involved.

* Officials at the Israel Association of Baseball, a local organization that promotes the sport in the country, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

* Solomont said he expected to work with the IAB "for years to come."


The expanded Associated Press story, from The International Herald Tribune:

Israeli baseball league to shorten season, launch winter league in latest shakeup

JERUSALEM: Israel's beleaguered professional baseball league on Wednesday unveiled its latest plan for survival, saying it would scale back its upcoming season to a brief exhibition series next month before launching a winter league and returning to full strength next summer.

The shakeup was the latest twist in the league's short but tumultuous history. Just last month, the league said it was coming back for a second season after an inaugural campaign that left it on the brink of collapse. At the time, it said four teams would compete, down from six last year, and the season would be cut in half to 20 games.

But after further discussions, the league's new management concluded a brief "festival-style" tournament pitting an Israeli all-star team against international players would be the best way to generate fan interest and showcase homegrown talent, said David Solomont, a Boston businessman who is serving as the IBL's interim president.

He said the best-of-seven series, which will include youth clinics, would begin on Aug. 14 to coincide with the Beijing Olympics. "The plan to host an Olympic style baseball festival is a fabulous way to promote the sport and give the Israeli athletes the attention they deserve as local baseball heroes," he said.

The international team will be comprised of all-star players from last year, the league said.

The inaugural 2007 season delivered a respectable level of play — roughly on par with single-A minor league baseball in the U.S. — and more than a dozen players went on to sign professional contracts.

But in a Middle Eastern country where football is king and baseball is little more than a curiosity, the league suffered from low attendance, financial difficulties and a mass defection of executive board members after the season. The troubles fueled persistent rumors that the league would fold.

Solomont said the new management has raised enough money to pay off all remaining debts and finance the league for at least two more seasons. He said the league's new investors believe it can be profitable. "In the next three to five years, the challenge, and the opportunity, is to develop a local fan base," he said.

Former Boston Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette, who oversaw player development last year, will now take on an expanded role as director of operations. Duquette and new board member Gary Woolf, a Boston businessman with years of sports-management experience, will oversee long-term development, including the launch of the winter league in southern Israel.

"Now that the potential is established a more robust and sophisticated league, teams, management and vision can be engaged," Woolf said. "The entire team believes this enterprise can become an explosive element not only in Israel but have international marketing and business appeal."

Solomont said the league hopes to begin winter play this year, though he said facilities have not yet been arranged. The long-term goal is to attract international players along the lines of the winter leagues in the Caribbean. "This is going to be the Dominican Republic of the Middle East," he said.

Solomont does not expect to serve as league president for long. It is in the process of hiring a full-time staff, including senior sports-marketing professionals who will be based in Israel and the U.S.

The league's founder, Boston businessman Larry Baras, will no longer be involved, and Dan Rootenberg, a former player who was appointed league president last month, has decided not to accept the position, the league said.

Officials at the Israel Association of Baseball, a local organization that promotes the sport in the country, did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The group has had rocky relations with the professional league, but Solomont said he expected to work with the IAB "for years to come."

ROOTENBERG RESIGNS: HATS OFF TO DAN!

Dan Rootenberg, the Player King of the New Israel Baseball League, has tossed aside his crown and walked away.

We say, "Hats off to Dan!"

And sadly, we knew it was going to come to this, because there was no other way it could end. Dan Rootenberg proved himself to be an upstanding straight shooter, who took on the job– or at least was in line for the job-- as "in-coming president" of the Israel Baseball League for one purpose: to straighten out the outstanding debts of last season, and to right the ship for this season.

And because we know him to be a straight shooter, we will also forgive him for his apparent hubris in thinking that he alone, could have been the savior of the league; that he alone, could have forced the league leaders to suddenly engage in financial transparency, opening the books and admitting how much money was raised, how much was spent, and how much debt is still owed- and why.

Because honest as Dan is, did he really think he could accomplish exactly what another Dandy Dan couldn’t achieve ten months ago? Last September 19, IBL Commissioner Dan Kurtzer– the former U.S. ambassador to Israel, who carries considerably more weight and muscle– attempted the very same thing. He and others from the IBL advisory board held a four-hour meeting with Boston bagel baron Larry Baras, reading him the riot act and demanding to know the who, what, where and how of the IBL's money.

And as as Our Man Elli reported here reported here on January 26th, Baras had a free offer from his advisory board to have an independent financial professional-- somebody he’d find acceptable-- review and assemble the financial information of the league.

Baras turned down the offer.

So if Larry Baras told dandy Dan Kurtzer to stuff it like one of his UnHoley bagels, how could dandy Dan Rootenberg have believed that he was going to get the Boston bagel baron to come clean on the dough?

Even after Kurtzer and the IBL 10 quit — as we reported first on November 15th-- still there was no accounting of how much was raised ($3 million? $4 million? $5 million?), or how much was spent.

All these many months later, we still we don’t know.

Nice try, Dan Rootenberg. At least he made the effort, and had the courage to quit when he was being stonewalled, as did the IBL 10.

Dan Rootenberg stands in good company.


THE EMAIL:

Elli,

I got your phone call earlier today and I'm writing to let you know that the league is issuing a press release later today announcing that I will not be accepting the presidency of the IBL. I wanted to give you a heads up since you have been so closely following the story. “I remain committed to cultivating a strong, responsible and viable professional baseball league in Israel.” I think I will wait a bit before commenting further, if at all. Elli, I appreciate your cooperation through all of this.

Sincerely,

Dan Rootenberg

EXCLUSIVE!!! DAN ROOTENBERG BALKS-- AND WALKS!!! ISRAEL BASEBALL LEAGUE'S "IN-COMING PRESIDENT" IS OUT!!! FUTURE OF LEAGUE IN JEOPARDY AGAIN!!!

Exclusive from Our Man Elli in Israel (that's Elli Wohlgelernter to you!):

Elli,

I got your phone call earlier today and I'm writing to let you know that the league is issuing a press release later today announcing that I will not be accepting the presidency of the IBL. I wanted to give you a heads up since you have been so closely following the story. “I remain committed to cultivating a strong, responsible and viable professional baseball league in Israel.” I think I will wait a bit before commenting further, if at all. Elli, I appreciate your cooperation through all of this.

Sincerely,

Dan Rootenberg

Twenty Questions for Dan Rootenberg

Something's going on behind the scenes of the supposedly new and improved Israel Baseball League, and it doesn't bode well for their headline-changing promise of a four-team, 20-game, three-week, momentum-keeping mini-season beginning July 27th. Player Dan Rootenberg, who was plucked from the ranks and plopped into the role of "in-coming President" certainly put a fresh, new, Obamalike face on the embattled, secretive IBL operation. But weeks after his installment, for all his good intentions, he appears to be the odd man out, while backroom dealings continue with the involvement of the Cheney-like, bunkered-down IBL founder Larry Baras.

Dan is a straight-up guy who deserves our respect. He's placed himself in a very difficult role with a very arduous task ahead. We should know, because we, led by Our Man Elli in Israel, have been alone in reporting the shenanigans of the IBL for about a year now.

Elli spoke on the phone with Dan a week ago, and at Dan's request, followed up with twenty questions that he'd promised to respond to by today.

But then Dan stalled, asked to have until Sunday. Then Monday.

Then Tuesday.

He's stalling us. Obviously his IBL teammates are stalling him.

By now, we know some of the answers to the questions. We've reported them. Others have no answers, but need to be asked for the record.

We wanted Dan-- the official "in-coming president" of the IBL-- to have a chance to set the record straight. But it appears that he's not in a position to get the answers. Perhaps his former colleagues, IBL apologists like Leon Feingold or Eric Holtz, can answer.

Better that somebody answers them now, before they're forced to answer, under oath.

Here are Our Man Elli's 20 questions for Dan Rootenberg:

1) How much of the $1.5 million in IBL debts from last year has been paid?

2) Has Kfar Hayarok been paid? If not, will it be? What about Gezer?

3) Does the IBL owe money to the JNF for the roughly half million dollars given last year by the JNF to the IBL?

4) Is it true that most of the money being used to pay players now came from Israeli VAT refunds relating to last year's activities, and the proceeds from the sale of Maximo Nelson to Japan-- in other words, not from new investors?

5) How many investors have signed on to the new season?

6) When will the private placement memorandum necessary to raise most of the money needed by the IBL be available?

7) Is it true that the IAB is requiring the IBL to make a security deposit ($200,000) in order to be re-licensed, which the IBL hasn't been able to make?

8) If the IAB doesn't acknowledge a license with the IBL, will the IBL try anyway to conduct a league?

9) Who is controlling the finances of the new league - Solomont? Baras? Duquette? You?

10) Will David Solomont's brother, Jay, have any involvement in the league?

11) Is it true that Larry Baras still has a large ownership stake in the IBL?

12) Will Dan Duquette be the CEO of the revamped league? If so, would you be reporting to Duquette, or to someone else?

13) Have plane tickets for this year's players been purchased?

14) Where will the players be staying during the summer? Have there been any payments made reserving those arrangements?

15) Have the player's uniforms been ordered and paid for?

16) Is the league supplying bats or will the players have to bring their own?

17) How many players have committed to playing this summer, and what percentage is from last season?

18) Who are the managers and coaches?

19) What is the drop-dead date for declaring that there is no season this year?

20) If there is no season this summer, are there plans to continue efforts to create a season in 2009?

"Dan, talk to us!" A reader has some questions for the Israel Baseball League's "in-coming president"

Did you get a load of that comment
on our last post about
the Israel Baseball League?

Our continuing coverage of the IBL saga may have cost us a few regular readers, but the new readers from around the world and all walks of life from the world of competitive eating to the corridors of corporate power, have more than made up for it. And nothing makes it more worthwhile than the fact that this little tabloid, T&A and media watchdog website has become the clearinghouse for all things Israel baseball and the center of spirited debate. Whether it's the teasing of 0007 or the anonymous comments from IBL players, the comments are all terrific. But every once in a while, someone posts a comment that's so... well, long... it deserves a larger forum.

No, in light of our earlier report from Our Man Elli in Israel, this reader has some simple yet serious questions for the IBL's "in-coming president" Dan Rootenberg. We only wish he wasn't Anonymous:

Wednesday, July 9, 2008 12:26:00 PM PDT:

Dan Rootenberg is a seasoned businessman. He runs a well-regarded physical therapy practice in NYC and makes a good living. It's not anyone who can throw down $25K in a fledgling baseball league, right?

Dan also loves baseball and has been immersed in it for years. He is one of many that would like to see pro ball take hold in Israel. He may be one of the few in that group that can actually contribute to making it happen.

There are questions out there though that are still unanswered. Some have been posed on this blog about who else besides players are being paid.

Paying some of the players is a good start. Understandably, Dan has a strong allegiance to the players having been one of them. Yet, one might well wonder how it was determined which players get paid first...the ones Dan wants to come back (apparently that is a qualification based on the latest Elli post)? the ones who are owed the most (some were owed $500, others supposedly as much as $1500, maybe even $2000 for the full summer fo 2007)? What about the managers? Some time ago, it was noted that at least 2 of the managers were owed a lot of money. Have they been paid? And all the vendors? The overall number was reportedly over $1 million. That leads to other questions.

Like, what about the financials from last year. For Dan to accept the reins of this enterprise and for him to be able to engage new vendors, one would think that the accurate financial statements for last year now exist and were prepared by a certified, licensed financial professional of unquestionable reputation; as well, it would make sense that a statement about new funding would have to be in place. After all, he has now reportedly sent out a bunch of checks to players. So, what about the source of the funding for the venture Dan is looking to head up this summer. Who are the new investors? Were they vetted and, if so how? Are the rumored investor problems that have appeared accurate or a nasty rumor? What's up with Solomont? Is he another Larry Baras? Do birds of a feather...? With all the distrust flowing from last year's experience, why not firmly dispell the rumor if the latter is true?

And who are the new vendors? Have they been paid even before the debts were paid to the 2007 vendors, without whom last year might not have happened. And if the financials for 2007 have been done, why haven't they been summarized for the public to create a better sense of trust going forward. Even more importantly, why is it that original investors have not received any financials yet although they were entitled to them in early April.

Then there is the decertification by the IAB for the IBL's breach of contract, as stated in the IAB's letter that made it's way to the public. Where is a joint statement from the IBL and the IAB that they've ironed out their differences, if in fact they have done so?

It would be great to see a full press release providing meaningful answers to these questions and would go a long way towards creating a broader base of trust based on a transparency that was non-existent with the 2007 leadership (when their attempts at transparency later proved to either shade the truth or simply be false).

Lastly, here, word is getting around that the documentary Holyland Hardball is stirring up (significant?) interest in new investors, perhaps with the assistance of this Boston-based investment firm Elli heard about. However, the video, while apparently very well done, only documents the creation of the IBL through its opening day. It does not address the major league problems of last summer's then brand new league...from the lack of a the IBL website-reported "marquis"playing field at Sportek Park upon our arrival and it's hasty, sub-par construction to the sub-par room and board to the near work stoppage in mid-July (which would have been the end of the IBL only shortly after it started) to the broader financial problems that almost led to the travel agent pulling the return flight tickets of league players and personnel and did lead to bounced checks (that have reportedly had serious impact on some league participants) and unpaid debts of over a million dollars.

Which begs the question, what broader disclosure about the inaugural/only season is being made to the prospective investors who are being lured in with the Holyland Hardball film? What promises, if any, are being made and what is truly behind those promises that will ensure that they can be kept. Or, are the people who were more prominent last year but seem to be almost publicly invisible right now up to what some, and perhaps many, would say are the same questionable business practices?

This is pointedly not a suggestion that Dan Rootenberg would be involved in this type of behavior; rather, it is a question of what information does he have about how the now silent leadership behind the scenes is going about their business. Remember that Mr. Baras' investment firm quit on him last winter after they discovered he'd been less than honest with them, having failed to mention to them his being sued for securities fraud in Boston Federal Court.

All of these are very valid questions given the debacle that was year one. No doubt the players made the league the success that it was. And no doubt, the founder and his close allies quickly ran that success into the ground.

Baseball is a magical sport. It is intoxicating to player and fan alike. Find a bunch of like-minded people with some bats, gloves and a ball, a large grassy area and a baseball game can break out almost anywhere.

But a professional baseball league is a whole different world. And speaking of worlds, doing business in Israel is a far different world in many ways than doing business in other places. Everyone I know wants a professional league to take hold and grow in Israel. That means making the Israelis fans, making the Israel vendors happy and really selling the game to the local population. It means having a meaningful PR and advertising strategy. It means having a field development plan. It means connecting with a feeder system of talent that will build the talent level and status of the league in the baseball world.

All the power to Dan if he has a real plan for getting pro baseball to stick in Israel. One wonders whether a three week long tournament, some clinics and playing catch, without much more on the league's part, can accomplish that goal. It would seem to be appropriate to hear some more from him (and, perhaps, the others in the current IBL hierarchy) about his/their plan of action, particularly given the unfortunate prior history of the IBL. Hey, if it sounds good and has some teeth to it, it might well interest investors he never knew had in interest in funding this attempt at reincarnating the original venture.

Ball's in your glove, Dan. Talk to us.

Our Man Elli: Israel Baseball League is running out of time, doesn't have the money, and may not have its momentum-keeping mini-season after all!

The new and improved Israel Baseball League is what? Eighteen days away from the first pitch of its four-team, 20-game, three-week, momentum-keeping mini-season, and everyone's still standing around with their fingers up their creamcheese-filled bagels wondering what's going on.

We praised player-turned "in-coming president" Dan Rootenberg for actually speaking with Our Man Elli in Israel, and for putting his reputation on the line when he promised that checks are in the mail to some players still owed money from last year. Today, despite our advice, the IBL site still hasn't taken the "in-coming" off his title and some checks that were supposedly in the mail a week ago have still not landed in mailboxes.

Behind the scenes, we're hearing the machers behind IBL Mach 2 are talking about delaying the mini-season by a week. But again, nobody's talking and all the anonymous commenters who were quick to say we were wrong in being the first to report there won't be any professional baseball in Israel this summer may have been, as they are in bed, premature.

But who knows? Time to wake up Our Man Elli.

Tabloid Baby: So?

Our Man Elli In Israel: Yes and good morning-- is it morning?-- to you. There's a a lot going on. Lots of news. Hard to keep up.

So?

You wanna play that way? Fine. First off: Gezer has been promised again that the money was wired to their account, but as of yesterday – Tuesday – no money has arrived. Which means that as of now, the IBL can’t play on their field.

What’s the problem?

Money. Duh.

We thought the IBL was paying off all debts from last year.

Yes. That’s what they're trying to do. And they're racing the clock to do it. Because if they don’t get the money soon, it's pretty much over. I don’t know about any drop-dead date yet, but c'mon! The season is supposed to start two weeks from Sunday. This can’t go on for much longer.

But what about David Solomont? Isn't he the moneyman who’s paying the tab?

I never said, and you guys never reported, that he was picking up the debts. We all said he was fronting a little money to make some payoffs needed to get the league off the ground or licensed by the IAB. And that he could be raising the bulk of the money from other investors.

So?

So it looks like Solomont hasn't been willing yet to put in much of his own money.

He's not stupid, you're saying.

He's definitely not stupid. And because of that it's looking less and less likely that the IBL will be able to conduct a season this year. I've heard that Solomont or Larry Baras retained an investment banking firm in Boston named Baker and Company to help raise money for the IBL. That probably means that the bulk of the money they need isn't committed.

They're soliciting.

Yeah. The important point is whether they're giving investors full disclosure of the IBL's history of the IBL and the risks of investing in it.

Okay. Hold on a minute. You mentioned Baras. Larry Baras. I thought he wasn't involved. Remember the AP reported--

I have it here. Last line of the story says that Baras, quote, “is not expected to be involved in day to day operations.”

So it depends on how you define "involved.”

My sources say that both Solomont and Baras would be involved in ownership, with Baras as a minority partner. They say Baras would continue to own part of the league, but he wouldn't be an executive, if Solomont can move things forward.

So we’re back where we started.

You were expecting maybe something new and improved?

"Sources tell me
that no team uniforms
have been purchased."

What about the players?

The same sources tell me that some players won’t be paid, at least not for a while. There’s a hierarchy on payment:

The ones coming over here to play will get paid first.

Americans owed money will be paid second.

Other foreigners, third.

And players who intend on playing this summer have to make their way to New York-- and only then will their airfare to Israel be paid. And they better bring uniforms. My sources tell me that players have been told that no team uniforms have been purchased.

Sounds like there's no money to buy them.

The IBL is scrambling. They need cash, and they don’t have enough of it.

"I've sent Rootenberg
a list of 20 questions.
I'm awaiting his response."

What about Rootenberg? Hero or puppet?

So far, neither. He’s certainly trying his hardest to do the right thing, but it’s still not clear that he'll be allowed to do it. Indications are they the new, and still, “in-coming” president, is not being fully informed. Sources tell me that Rootenberg recommended that "small creditors"-- like players and field workers-- be paid in full, especially the ones who'd be needed for a second season.

I don't know if this has happened or will happen. It could be that creditors are being offered much less than what they're owed. And it's not clear whether they'll have enough money to do even that.

In any case, I'm also hearing that Solomont and Berger are in charge of settling the IBL's debts, and that Rootenberg has little say. All he can do is recommend.

I've sent Rootenberg a list of 20 questions. I'm awaiting his response.

Any news about the IBL itself?

Well, their website hasn’t been updated since they made their dramatic announcement on June 19th. And that means ticket sales page is still listing Ra’anana Express and Tel Aviv Lightning as teams. And its very first sublink, a description of the IBL, still lists the original six teams (Bet Shemesh Blue Sox, Modi’in Miracle, Netanya Tigers, Petach Tikva Pioneers, Ra'anana Express and Tel Aviv Lightning) and still states that “among the managers of the IBL’s teams are former Major League stars Art Shamsky, Ken Holtzman, and Ron Blomberg," which must be a bit of a shock to Ken.

So now the good news.

Good news? I've got lots of it. The All-Star game next Tuesday at Yankee Stadium features three Jewish players. Well, one full and two half-Jews. We have Kevin Youkilis, the Red Sox first baseman who'll start for the American League. The two half-Jews are Ryan Braun, the sensational outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers-- he'll be starting for the National League, and Ian Kinsler, the Texas Rangers second baseman who made the American League team as a reserve. Both Braun and Kinsler have Jewish fathers. Braun’s dad is Israeli.

I mean good news about baseball in Israel.

Of course. The European Championship Qualifiers are going on right now. There are five tournament locations,featuring national teams vying for a spot at next year’s championship tournament between national baseball teams. It happens in Europe every other year in odd-numbered years. And it’s on this week through Saturday. Israel plays in Karlovac, Croatia. And incidentally, they're one-and-two in the tournament, but still have a chance to qualify for the finals. In one of the losses, the team lost an 8-0 lead.

And as I do the IBL, I wish the Israeli team much success.

As do all of us. But what about--
Gotta go.

Click. Brrrr...