Bi-Sex & Baseball! At last! An Israeli baseball story that won't drive away our regular readers!

Yes, we promised we wouldn't drive away our regular readers with lots of Israel baseball stories, but we have another one that we're pretty sure fits into Tabloid Baby territory, Israel baseball or not, while only making the Israel baseball story deeper and more intriguing. And it's only a coincidence the item's arrived on the heels of our newsmaking exclusive!

This one comes from our pals at The New York Post's Page Six, who report that Art Shamsky, the former Miracle Met and the Israel Baseball League's manager of the year (its only year), has been hit with a sordid, seamy, smarmy sex suit!

Art's ex-wife Kim has filed a lawsuit claiming the Mets legend gave her a sexually transmitted disease after repeatedly cheating on her with both men and women.

That's women... and men!

Kim says in the Manhattan Supreme Court papers that during their 13-year marriage the famed outfielder and first baseman "engaged in acts of adultery with both men and women," without her knowledge. His romps included "acts of 'unprotected' sexual and deviate sexual intercourse" that left her with human papilloma virus (HPV). Medical experts say HPV can cause problems such as genital warts and cervical cancer.

The suit claims Art continued to have sex with her although he "knew that an individual or individuals with whom he had engaged in sexual relations had contracted HPV or that he had contracted HPV."

Kim says she suffered "serious physiological and emotional injury."

She wants $11 million in damages.

Art's lawyer says the lawsuit as "frivolous" and insists that Art Shamsky is free of sexual disease.

Pat Crispo says: "This is the act of a very angry ex-wife who has maligned him in the press. He will be vindicated in the courts."

Art Shamsky is 67. He was with the Mets from 1968 to 1971 and batted .300 during the team's 1969 world championship season. He was named the IBL's manager of the year for leading the champion Modi'in Miracle. The Shamskys married in 1994 and divorced last May.

Any validity to Kim's claims? Remember: anyone can make up any charges in a lawsuit... and lots of frivolous claims fly in divorce battles, and there's no better way to embarrass a n old jock than to say he's gay. Our IBL sources tell us that during the IBL season, Kim sent letters to Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post, slamming her estranged husband. She is, says one, "some piece of work"...

Remember professional baseball in Israel? Well, fughedabout it for 2009! And maybe 2010!

Remember the Israel Baseball League?

Remember how we spent an entire year covering the fallout from the inspirational, fun, yet disastrous 2007 inaugural season of the Israel Baseball League, and followed every lawsuit, liar, layabout and lunkhead as they schemed, blathered, promised, fought, sued, threatened, begged and bullshat until by the same time 365 days later, we had to throw our hands up and walk away?

We ended our intense coverage on that first anniversary, but not before starting up a special Baseball in Israel companion site-- and not without regret, as we wrote:

"...The story grew on its own... with all its intrigue, deceit, betrayals and bizarre and unintentionally comedic twists. And the characters-- including a bagel baron, a champion competitive eater, a fast food defector, a ballplaying attorney, an overgrown Peter Pan, a mysterious Dominican, a toymaker, a billionaire, a US ambassador, a neglected wife, a controversial web mogul-- only made the saga richer.

"In the past twelve months and more than 300 posts, this site-- a tabloidcentric site of pop culture and media criticism and satire, became the meeting place and sounding board for ballplayers and sports fans around the world-- not mention a place where anonymity allowed key players in the story to float rumours and leads.

"All credit goes to Elli Wohlgelernter..."

We also said we’d report back when there was something worthwhile to report. So Elli Wohlgelernter, the top Jerusalem-based journalist known in these parts as Our Man Elli In Israel-- the man whose reportage, hard work and expertise our comprehensive coverage was built upon-- has this report:

Professional Baseball in Israel rained out for 2009

by ELLI WOHLGELERNTER
Special to TabloidBaby.com

JERUSALEM - Forget about professional baseball in Israel in 2009.

Sources tell me that the current economic meltdown is making it difficult to jumpstart a professional league of any kind in Israel in the foreseeable future.

"The economic climate is not the most conducive for these kinds of ventures,” says a figure close to the Israel Association of Baseball (Israel’s governing body for baseball and the only group authorized to run a pro league here). “But hopefully by 2010 there will be some kind of pro league here.”

The source adds that the IBA “hopes we’ll have something concrete to say this month, but it ain’t over till its over”—which seems to imply there are some serious negotiations being conducted.

Other sources tell me that one thing is for sure - the IAB is not negotiating with David Solomont. The controversial Boston businessman, who installed himself as the de facto head of the Israel Baseball League is persona non grata ever since he announced a twenty-game 2008 IBL season ... make that seven-game… er, six-game... would you believe a five-game "festivus" that never took place?

Even so, the frontman for disgraced IBL founder and former president Larry Baras continues to try and raise cash for a pro baseball league in Israel.

His “Twitter” page-- his preferred means of announcement-- states:

"Solomont
Getting ready for a hectic week with 3 deals to close! 12:28 PM Nov 28th from web


"working on several transactions -- Electric Vehicle Propulsion Systems is "hot". Of course, baseball is right up there as well:) 11:46 AM Nov 18th from web

"Working on Electric Vehicle Propulsion Systems, Solar Powered iphone Charger/Carrying Case, and Baseball! 8:26 AM Oct 13th"

The problem is that Solomont’s public displays are hindering others from moving forward.

Another insider who doesn’t want his name used:

"Solomont is going around telling people that all he has to do to get a license from the IAB is to pay debts of the IBL, and that the IAB's reluctance to deal with him is simply a matter of money, and not of trustworthiness. That's been complicating anyone else's efforts to get serious traction on an alternative approach."

That complaint is exactly what was written here on the Tabloid Baby site on August 22nd:

As long as the people leading the alleged IBL (Larry Baras, David Solomont Martin Berger and the gang) hang around, it will be tougher to get anyone else interested in taking a new approach. Even if the IAB puts the IBL out of our misery by deciding it will no longer deal with its "executives," any other group stepping forward will have to deal with the baggage.”

Sources also tell me that "Solomont reportedly has been claiming that he has the ability to raise $ 5million. I'm not sure anyone believes him, but the Jewish National Fund apparently has maintained contact with him."

We’ve asked it before and we'll ask it again:

Why is the JNF in bed with the IBL?

And how much money is stuffed inside the mattress of that bed?

Stay tuned…

It’s good to be back on the hunt. Not that I ever left.

EW

-30-

Alan Gardner returns to Israel baseball debate

Alan Gardner has waded back in the Israel baseball fray.

The New York City attorney and former outfielder for the Israel Baseball League was one of the players who'd tried to step in a save the day by replacing the chaotic, crumbing IBL with an Israel Professional Baseball League that turned out to be just as secretive and in the end unsuccessful as its competitor.

Alan-- please, don't sue us!-- has been a cagy and prickly sort, no fan of satire, and very tight on information but quick to threaten us with legal action-- or even have our site taken down-- if we didn't remove anonymous postings about him in our comments section that he deemed to be libelous or even harmful (someone did a twist on a hoary old "kill the lawyers" joke-- see Shakespeare), after he'd elevated himself from a public figure-baseball player (he was on a card, wasn't he?) to public figure-frontman for an internationally-publicized fantasy baseball league.

We felt that Alan was a little sensitive, especially for a lawyer, and didn't "get" this Internet anonymity thing (or the therapeutic aspect of anonymous commenting by IBL veterans afraid of repercussions should they come forward), but hey, some of the comments were a step over the line and we're not out to hurt or embarrass anyone nor do we have time for legal fights.

We removed the comments; Alan went back to lawyering and brushing off our questions about what the heck was going with that IPBL.

Now he's back in his role as wise old Israel baseball public figure and opponent of anonymous postings, commenting on the brouhaha over Eric Holtz, the brash IBL apologist who, if he was a "man" as he likes to challenge all comers, would "man up" and "be a man and apologize for what he said about Our Man Elli in Israel.

Alan has written an entry in our comments section which is worth reprinting, and will probably mean we'll have to delete any negative comments about Alan. So be prepared.

Mr. Gardner:

Alan Gardner said...
Friday, July 18, 2008 7:33:00 PM PDT

"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… 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. " NOVEMBER '07

The anonymous, immature, irrelevant and, at times, mean-spirited and false comments on this site about the different individuals involved in various aspects of the IBL debacle are why I stepped away from this forum. Frankly, the forum was having no meaningful purpose.

For sure, Tabloid Baby includes a degree of lampooning, but the issues involved in the survival and continued development of baseball in Israel deserve to be treated, by the by, very seriously and without spurious and even potentially libelous verbal missives. When the masses remained anonymous and, largely, juvenile, I left TB to those who seemed to have nothing better to do than, among other things, call Larry Baras "fat and sweaty". Larry's size and tendency to perspire are in little, if any, way relevant to the, at a minimum, grossly negilgent mismanagement he brought to what should have and could have been a well executed amazing idea... baseball in Israel.

Recently, I was directed back to TB by a friend who has followed it. With Elli providing some on the mark investigative info, much has come to light about the current state of affairs, all of which has confirmed real, fact-based concerns raised by some of us all too long ago. Unfortunately, TB has again devolved into more of the same from some folks. While some people posted some straight forward questions to Eric Holtz after his comment on the blog, the personal attacks on him have no place here, or anywhere.

However, given that many, many months ago, there were plenty of people in the know that saw very clear and irrefutable evidence to make sure the Larry Baras regime came to an end, it is a fair question why business smart guys like Eric stood strong with him. So, I am willing to adopt those question that were asked of him by anonymous posters.

I do this because I believe that full disclosure will go a long way towards closure on the original IBL and it's Solomontian 2d incarnation and allowing the future of baseball in Israel to start on a healthy course. This is a venture, given its brief and tortured history, that needs to be led by well-respected, upstanding business people, not those who carry clouds of suspicion and negative reputations whirling about them. I know that there are interested, intelligent, well-intentioned and well-funded people out there who would love to build an oasis of baseball in Israel.

Heck, if there is a chance that Eric and I even see eye to eye on some of the issues, call that gravy. The key is righting the path of the future of the great sport that we all love in the land of milk and honey.

Let's play two...it will happen.

Alan

One note: That November posting with which Alan led off his latest comments, included another couple of lines:

"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."

Meanwhile, when it comes to commenting here, please do, feel free, anonymous or otherwise...

Childhood pal Carl: "If Solomont is willing and able to raise money from others... more power to him!"

As we await word on the future of the new and improved Israel Baseball League that will probably drop shortly after the end of Shabbat, the man on whom the future seems to hinge is David Solomont, the controversial Boston businessman who's stepped in with promise of being the IBL's financial saviour but more likely was handed off Larry Baras' top hat and cane in what appears to be an attempt to raise money from other investors, while keeping hope alive and appearances up.

We were the first to bring up Solomont's past troubles in the form of a well-publicized 2004 lawsuit in which he was accused of siphoning more than a million dollars in funds from a software firm while he served as its CEO.

We indicated that Solomont's past may not bode well for the IBL's future.

But a different take comes from the Israel Matzav site ("Israel is treated unfairly by much of the mainstream media... Our own self-hating Jewish and Israeli left has not helped. This blog aims to tell you what's really going on Israel..."), written by a blogger who identifies himself as Carl in Jerusalem (a neat twist on Our Man Elli in Israel):

"I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for twenty-six years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 4 to 24 years and one grandson..."

Carl read our David Solomont coverage on our Baseball in Israel archival site (where you can find all of our Israel baseball coverage, uninterrupted), and gave his insider's view in a post entitled, "The 'new' Israel Baseball League: Is it different from the old?":

"The league plans to play a 20-game season this year with only four teams, beginning on July 27. Obviously, the league needs funding. "To raise money for the league to continue, Baras turned to another Boston businessman, 56-year old David Solomont (Hat Tip: Lance K.). (That last name may ring a bell with some of you). David Solomont was the defendant in a nasty lawsuit four years ago. The lawsuit was settled, but it is not clear whether the settlement was ever carried out. In any event, David Solomont did not - as far as I can tell - face criminal charges. Blogger Baseball in Israel has a problem with Solomont doing the fundraising.

"In an uncanny similarity to a federal lawsuit filed against IBL founder Larry Baras, the start-up scandal lawsuit stated: 'Solomont has become overextended, and is robbing Peter to pay Paul...' (See our teaser story.)

"Honestly, that's irrelevant. Like hundreds of other entrepreneurs, Solomont was caught in the downdraft of the dotcom implosion of the early part of this decade. The existence of lawsuits and paying money to settle them doesn't prove anything in the real world. There's not a failed startup in the world that hasn't led to lawsuits (except for the ones that never reached the point of raising money from outside investors). And if Solomont is willing and able to raise money from others (which is what he is doing according to my sources) to bring baseball back to Israel, more power to him. Does Baseball in Israel wish to kill the reason his blog exists?

"In sum, I say give the League a chance to get its act together. It's just about the only clean fun we have in this country.

"I should note my connections to some of the people in this story (so that some genious doesn't go searching the web to find them and claim that I am biased or hiding something). I know David Solomont from my childhood - one of his brothers went to school with me from Kindergarten through 12th grade. In the past, I have done some legal work for that brother, some of which was unpaid. I met Larry Baras a year and a half ago in Boston. His brother went to college with me. I did a small amount of legal work (as an American lawyer working for an American law firm, and not as an Israeli lawyer) for the Israel Baseball League in its early days."

Israel Baseball League's new promoter doesn't have a Bat-signal, so he communicates through "tweets"

David Solomont, the controversial new backer and promoter of the new and improved Israel Baseball League, is a controversial Boston businessman perhaps best known for a 2004 lawsuit in which he was accused of siphoning more than a million dollars in funds from a software firm while he served as its CEO. He also likes to express himself and hint at his plans on something called Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates (or tweets) which are text-based posts, ranging up to 140 characters long ("for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?). Solomont teased his participation through tweets. His latest posting is above.

Now, with the IBL's four-team, 20-game, three-week, momentum-keeping mini-season on the verge of cancellation, and the promise of Solomont as check-writing angel deferred to Solomont as soliciting promoter, we only hope that he'd planned from the start to first seek money from others, and then, if it didn't come through, just when the IBL seems on the verge of collapse, the agora teetering on its side, he'd ride in like the Lone Ranger, the saviour on a white horse, to write the check and save the IBL!!

Hero or Twit?

Time will tell!

BARAS SURFACES

Larry Baras, the beleaguered Boston bagel baron who founded the Israel Baseball League, then left Israel while the final game of the first season was still being played, leaving behind a million dollars in unpaid bills and riding into a future of lawsuits, acrimony, accusations and chaos, has come out of hiding to bask in the new, folksy, heroic image he's been given in the new IBL documentary, Holy Land Hardball.

Baras, whose name is not used in the launch of the "new" IBL's four-year, 20-game, three-week, momentum-keeping "mini-season," emailed Giants baseball fan Jay Roberts' Jaybird's Jottings site, in response to a Hardball review that painted Baras as a dreamer facing an "enormous challenge":

The Boston entrepreneur, reflecting on his faith, wanted to do something special for Israel. A lover of baseball, he was inspired to put together the Israel Baseball League, which made its debut season last summer... Giants fans will be interested to know that at the beginning of the film, when Baras was at his home, he talked about his father Hyman who was a Giants fan. Baras pulled out a well-worn Giants SF hat out of a drawer, worn by his Dad and a momento of the times they shared...

Roberts writes that Baras emailed the site with even more recollections:

"I'm not precisely sure how my father became a Giants fan, but I know he was a fan of the team his whole life. Even during World War II, when he served in the Philippines, he maintained a correspondence both with one of the players and with a reporter who covered the Giants.

"In my house, the Giants were treated as if there was some sanctity attached to them. For the first ten or fifteen years of my life, I would often listen to Giants games with my father via a green transistor radio that he had bought me that got games clearly even from as far away as Chicago, Cincinnati and St Louis. When there were games that ended after I was asleep already but had a dramatic and fortuitous ending, he would come into my room, wake me up, and recreate the ending for me as if it were taking place live.

"In the mid-60s (I think I am correct on the period), NBC started to broadcast the Game of the Week on Saturday afternoons. Sometimes, the Giants would be on. This presented a problem in our household because we were Sabbath observant and couldn't turn on the television. For the first time, my father went out and bought a timer, connected it to the TV, set it for 2 pm on Saturday, and we would actually watch television on the Sabbath, albeit in strict conformance with the rules of the day."

Baras last surfaced in April, when he was quoted in an article about Fenway Park hotdogs. Before that, his last public comment was recorded on November 20, 2007, when, amid our exclusive revelations of an IBL-related federal security fraud lawsuit filed against him, he wrote to Our Man Elli in Israel, accusing the journalist of “destroying” him because of the IBL-related stories he had broken.

Exclusive! The "new" Israel Baseball League's new backer brings his own scandals to the game

Move over, Boston bagel baron, here comes the Boston business bigshot brother. Our Man Elli in Israel reports that the new bright and shiny Israel Baseball League, crouched behind its player-turned president Dan Rootenberg, is being bankrolled to a large extent by controversial businessman David Solomont, best known in Boston for a 2004 lawsuit in which he was accused of siphoning more than a million dollars in funds from a software firm while he served as its CEO.

In an uncanny similarity to a federal lawsuit filed against IBL founder Larry Baras, the start-up scandal lawsuit stated: “Solomont has become overextended, and is robbing Peter to pay Paul..." (See our teaser story.)

Our Man Elli reports that his sources have mentioned the 56-year-old Solomont as the "money "behind the league. And that Solomont has been contacting some IBL creditors, telling them they won’t be seeing any money for a month. “This could be another syndication deal, with Solomont fronting a little money to make some payoffs needed to get off the ground or licensed by the IAB,” says a source .“And he could be raising the bulk of the money from other investors.”

Solomont himself has been hinting at his involvement online for weeks, on his “Twitter" page:

working on the "best" deal ever, other than my family:) 02:10 PM May 20, 2008 from web

Humming, "take me out to the ballgame" 10:16 AM May 25, 2008 from web

Humming "Take me out to the ball game", and soon you will know why:) 06:27 PM May 30, 2008 from web

Planning to be in the big apple tomorrow, Thursday, still humming "take me out to the ballgame" Can't wait to share:) 12:47 PM June 04, 2008 from web

working on a baseball deal, if you hadn't already figured this out from my humming:) 03:32 PM June 11, 2008 from web

Holy Land Hardball, http://holylandhardball.com, engaging documentary telling amazing story about IBL, http://israelbaseballleague... 0:36 PM June 19, 2008 from txt

Solomont’s brothers have also made the news. Younger brother Jay Solomont was reportedly in jail in Israel for misappropriation of funds. Other brother Alan Solomont is a wealthy businessman and major Democratic fundraiser-- in fact, he's the former finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee, which is yet another link between the IBL and the next President of The United States.

Inside Baseball: Former editor's criticism of Israeli coverage triggers angry reply from Our Man Elli

A former Jerusalem Post sports editor’s criticism of the paper’s late but wide-reaching story on the Israel Baseball League and its offshoot rival’s failure to bring professional baseball to Israel in 2008 has led to an angry response from Our Man Elli in Israel, and opened a can of worms that dates back to his original exposé, first published on this website on August 28th, 2007.

Jay L. Abramoff , a former sports editor for the Post and Haaretz who is now a League Coordinator for American Football in Israel, has written a column in response to the Post article and accompanying opinion column, claiming the paper has little right to criticize the IBL because it did not assign a paid reporter to cover the league. He also disputes the contention that the league was a failure and insists that the IBL management has no reason to reveal its finances.

The piece was emailed to Tabloid Baby after it was sent to many other editors and journalists, as was a harsh rebuttal by Our Man Elli (who also received the unsolicited email).

Why? There’s a history to this dispute. It’s a sidebar that makes the IBL saga even richer. So read on, settle in, and enter a feud that gets very personal, yet gets to the heart of the story of professional baseball in Israel. Because both sides agree that in this case, the mainstream journalistic watchdogs dropped the ball:

All talk and no tachlis

By Jay L. Abramoff

This past week, The Jerusalem Post reported on the likelihood that the Israel Baseball League will not be back in 2008, and the current Sports Editor at the Post, Jeremy Last, in a separate piece, commented that it "was no big surprise considering the embarrassment of difficulties it faced" in its first season, the summer of 2007. Last concludes by recommending that the IBL model itself after the Israel Football League, the country's first tackle football league, which had also had its first season this past year.

Well, first and foremost, for anyone who actually went to the games, especially the hundreds if not thousands of children, Anglo or otherwise, the IBL was a huge success. Just ask them. Ask them how they went running after foul balls and home runs, and how they begged the players for their autographs. As far as I am concerned, this is the only indicator of whether the IBL management succeeded or not. While I myself enjoyed about 25 games, and will miss the IBL if it does not play this summer, I feel worse for these children.

Then again, The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz English Edition chose to publish game reports and other stories written by unpaid (and possibly unreimbursed) interns or the IBL itself, and then paid professional journalists, Wohlgelernter and Last, to write "color" and opinion pieces. Last summer, I was working for Haaretz, and on most nights I prepared the sports page, which meant that I worked closely with the IBL-- whose staff was itself mostly unpaid-- because while Haaretz wanted to cover the IBL on a next-morning basis, it did not pay anybody to provide those reports and/or photos. I actually was asked whether I would report on the 2007 championship game and make sure that the IBL sent in a photo the same night so it could be used in the next day's newspaper, but the newspaper was unwilling to pay me for the work. I have nothing against articles on politics, art, business, etc., but for sports, the local newspapers seem to think that the IBL and the local amateur scene can in essence cover themselves, and then reserve the right to publish harsh commentary.

Compared to the impressive international (mostly US) media coverage – a significant and overlooked achievement for the IBL - which, admittedly, focused on the novelty of an Israeli professional baseball league, and, as far as I can tell, did not follow up with reports of the alleged mismanagement, the local English newspapers focused and continue to focus their resources not on how the IBL provided and can provide a great "summer in the sun" for the Israeli fans and international players alike, but on the mistakes the IBL supposedly made - but which in any case were irrelevant to the true gauge of success of the league's first season.

I have my own list of things the IBL should do and its mistakes from my point of view, and I have mentioned these in conversations with IBL management, friends, softball teammates, and fellow fans.

Mr. Last, along with others, seem to think that the IBL promised a combination between Major League Baseball and the Israel soccer Premier League. Well, that is not what was promised and not what should have been expected.

The IBL, with support from MLB, was and is a semi-professional, developmental minor baseball league, of which there are many others around the world, and on top of that, a private "start-up" business, which does not have to release its financial results to the public. While I have not confirmed this, I am pretty sure that the Australian and Italian semi-pro baseball leagues, for example, do not average thousands of fans per game, which is what I am sure the IBL would like and what the critics expected for some unknown reason, but is simply unrealistic.

Finally and most embarrassing for Mr. Last, the IBL cannot use the amateur Israel Football League as a model for itself; the Israel Association of Baseball's senior league is the IFL-equivalent.

As I wrote for Haaretz last year - in a piece that I was not commissioned (meaning, paid) to write but did so in order to fill up the Anglo File Sports page the first week of the IBL season - the possibility of going out to the baseball (or softball) field to support a local team has existed here for a long time. And, while I appreciated the semi-professional level of play in the IBL, I also make it a point to bring a cooler of beer out to my softball games, stay afterwards to watch youth games and simply enjoy the atmosphere at the field on Kibbutz Gezer.

Elli Wohlgelernter responds in an email to Abramoff, Tabloid Baby, the editors of Haaretz and the sports department of The Jerusalem Post:

1) The Jerusalem Post did not first report last Friday "on the likelihood that the Israel Baseball League will not be back in 2008."

I reported it definitively on April 14; the Post took credit for an alleged "exclusive," which was then removed from the web site after it was pointed out to editor-in-chief David Horovitz that it was hardly an exclusive.

2) Ironic that Last should report about the league's failure in the story of last Friday-- "considering the embarrassment of difficulties it faced"-- when the Post to date has not reported any details of the difficulties themselves.

3) The column by Last contained not a single original thought or sentence that hasn't already been written many, many times.

4) "As far as I am concerned, this is the only indicator of whether the IBL management succeeded or not." That's as far as you're concerned, but it wouldn't be as far as the player who was almost killed because of league negligence, nor as concerns those who were not paid, including the players themselves, the league staff, vendors, umpires, the fields, and a television station that broadcast the games.

5) "…and then paid professional journalists, Wohlgelernter and Last, to write ‘color’ and opinion pieces."
a) My first name is Elli, I don’t go by simply a last name.
b) I never wrote a color or opinion piece, ever, on the Israel Baseball League

6) "…and, as far as I can tell, did not follow up with reports of the alleged mismanagement." The Jewish newspapers that ran my story after the season WERE following up with reports of mismanagement. And not “alleged,” I might add.

7) "The IBL, with support from MLB, was and is a semi-professional, developmental minor baseball league.” Incorrect. The IBL was a professional league, the same as any other Single-A league in the U.S. and other such leagues in the world

8) "… a private ‘start-up’ business, which does not have to release its financial results to the public…” Perhaps, but that will be determined when the current lawsuit by Blacher is heard in court. But certainly after huge debts have not been paid across the board, and after huge amounts of money was collected from investors, it is the business of journalists to ask why, and how much, not to whitewash the potential criminal behavior of Larry Baras. that is an embarrassment.

Why is Elli so outraged over Abramoff? As we said, there’s history here. Stay tuned here to see where Jay Abramoff figures into Our Man Elli's groundbreaking, historic coverage of the IBL.. and why he has Our Man so angry. The Israel baseball soap opera will continue...

Israel's baseball fantasy league boss Rosen says, "So long, summer 2008! Hello, Israel basketball!"

The Israel Professional Baseball League has finally removed all promise and mention of a 2008 season from its webpage.

The removal comes more than a week after league frontman, Miami millionaire Magnetix maven Jeffrey Rosen and his Triangle Financial Services, backers of the IPBL, were accused of bait-and-switch tactics because it was advertising for sponsors for a 2008 season, and then leading prospective buyers to its Israel basketball team.

Tonight, the only mention on the Triangle Financial IPBl page are calls for players, contributors and sponsors-- and the line:

For more information regarding the league,
please call 305-933-8308.

In related news, Rosen, who’s had as hard a time finding investors for his Israel Professional Baseball League as he’s had finding time to be straightforward with the news media about the state of his operation, is back to talking basketball.

Rosen bought the Haifa Maccabi team last July while he was an investor for the IBL— but months before he broke away to start a competing league after Our Man Elli in Israel revealed the financial disarray and federal securities fraud lawsuit the IBL's Baras was hiding.

Now, Haaretz reports that Rosen is placing his attentions and millions on the hardwood:

"The next big thing, if one is to believe the hype, is Maccabi Haifa, the newly promoted team from the second tier owned by Miami-based Jewish-American billionaire, Jeff Rosen.

"Maccabi Haifa was one of the original eight teams that formed the basketball premier league in the 1953/1954 season… But in 1992/1993 was relegated to the second tier… two years later to the third… bounced back to the premier league but… participated in the final four twice before… it was disbanded.

"Club officials decided to reform… the new team qualified for the first league in its first season and was then purchased by Rosen.

"Rosen immediately announced his intention to transform Maccabi Haifa into a top team in Israeli and European basketball. Haifa's budget was the biggest in the second tier but its hopes were almost lost after it lost six times in the first 9 rounds.

"…Haifa finished fourth and went on to beat its rivals in the playoffs in front of 3,500 fans. Therein lies the real cause for celebration, the return of the fans.

"On top of regular ticket sales, this season Haifa sold 150 regular and 70 VIP season tickets, a large amount for a second tier team…

"Indeed, Haifa plans on maintaining its following by becoming a force to reckon with in the premier league next season. 'We want to be in the final four,' Rosen has said, and allocated funds that will give the team a budget of 2.5 million dollars, one of the biggest in the top tier."

One other note: the Israel press keeps referring to Rosen as a “billionaire,” not millionaire. In that case, we can’t fault the guy for telling us lowly journos to bugger off!

On a sadder note, we’ll need to come with a new alliterative title to replace Millionaire Miami Magnetix maven.

Billionaire Boca basketball barimer?

Any suggestions?

Our challenge to Larry Baras and Jeffrey Rosen: Guys, do a baseball mitzvah this summer!

So here are after nine months of covering the state of professional baseball in Israel and what have we got to show for it? The players have scattered to the four corners of the Earth, the most prominent being a journeyman from the Dominican Republic who’s made his way up and down in the Yankees farm system; the founder of the Israel Baseball League is facing lawsuit(s) and questions he refuses to answer as he hunkers down in a bunker of his own creation; and the American businessmen who want to take his place with a league of their own have proven to be just as secretive-- and a lot less personable!

And despite our best efforts, in the end there’s no pro ball in Israel this summer.

So how can we make some good out out of this?

How can we get Larry Baras of the Israel Baseball League and the Israel Professional Baseball League's Jeffrey Rosen to do a mitzvah?

Well, leave it to Our Man Elli in Israel to take these lemons and make lemon-flavoured hummus-- in the form of a challenge to the Boston bagel baron and the Miami millionaire Magnetix maven to do something besides lining their pockets and ignoring us.

“I got an email from Janglo, a community bulletin board for Anglos in Jerusalem. Somebody named Shuki Goodman wrote this:

farm program for english speaking kids at risk
is looking for used baseball equipment in decent condition.

Tizku L'Mitzvot,

Shuki Goodman

“Baseball equipment!! For kids at risk! I spoke to Shuki. Turns out, he's from Queens, and he used to be a vendor at Shea Stadium! Now he runs a non-profit program called Chein Farm Learning in the Galilee, in upper Israel. It’s for 14- to 17-year-old kids who, he tells me, are either starting the slide downward, or trying to climb back up.

"Heres a quote: 'One 11-year-old is here for defending his mother from his father's beatings; another kid has been kicked out of 12 schools; another one was depressed and locked himself in his room. Some of these kids have been involved with drugs and alcohol-- not all by any means, but some-- and they're looking to find their place.’

“They stay in a dorm facility, and some of the boys are so attached to the community here that they even stay for Shabbatot,’ Shuki said. ‘Playing baseball is a good thing to keep them busy. It’s a much more gentle sport then basketball or hockey, where one player can be so good he can run over the others. Baseball is so much a team sport. They all need each other, so it creates more of a unity. It teaches better values, getting along, caring for someone else.’

“Hey," Elli says, "I agree.”

And so do we, Elli. So here’s the deal:

Yo! Larry Baras and Jeff Rosen! You both were planning on a baseball season this summer, which we now know will not be happening. So certainly there must be some equipment that you have that will go unused.

Help out Shuki Goodman’s kids!

Here's an opportunity to do something for disadvantaged kids, and at the same time do something to repair your tarnished reputations.

As Shuki Goodman wrote:

Tizku L'Mitzvot.

"You should be worthy of doing mitzvot."

Here's your chance to do a really good deed.

Why not?

It’s even got Sam Peters (at left) smiling! And anyone else who wants to chip in, contact Shuki Goodman at shukig@juno.com.

We'll keep you updated.

Israel baseball's Baras asks court to dismiss suit

With the dream of professional baseball in Israel crushed for the summer of 2008, fans are asking us why no one has sued Israel Baseball League founder and director Larry Baras over the more than one million dollars in debts the Boston bagel baron left behind when he hightailed it back to the States even before the final out was called (he left in the middle of the game and didn't stick around for the trophy ceremony).

While we hear that one Boston-based vendor has initiated proceedings, the lawsuit that caused the IBL crumble after we reported it, was back in court in Boston.

Natalie Blacher was an investor in Baras’ UnHoley Bagel (a bagel stuffed with cream cheese). In September 2007, she sued Baras in federal court for securities fraud, claiming that he used her $275,000 bagel investment for “his personal living expenses or expenses which should be charged to IBL.”

Now Baras’ attorneys filed a motion to have the suit dismissed. “My legal eagle tells me they moved to dismiss the case, saying that the allegations of the suit themselves do not make out a prima facie case,” Our Man Elli in Israel tells us, using a fancy Latin phrase. “The judge didn't rule on that yet-- and given the scheduling order, the scent in the air is that he won't dismiss the case-- although it is possible. The fact that the court required discovery to be taken means that the judge wants the case to either be teed up for summary judgment-- which means that if there's no disputing what the material facts are, the court can rule on the law. Or, if the court determines there are material questions of fact, it will be sent to trial.”

The judge has ordered that parties involved be deposed, including Baras, Blacher— as well as "the accountant for SJR Foods, Inc. (the UhHoley Bagelmakers), and a “representative of the Israel Baseball League.”

Baras has been laying low since the scandal hit the fans, surfacing to reminisce about ballpark franks with his local Jewish newspaper— whose reporter, most interestingly, did not grill him about the big story at hand.

Israel baseball blogger arrives late to the game

“Think about the goals of Baseball in Israel…
Are we going over to offer a distraction?
Do they need a distraction?
Is this another example of America trying to act as a hero?”

A new baseball website has us wondering, as we’ve stopped to do more than once over the past nine months, why the mainstream sports, business and political media have overlooked, and actively ignored— the story of the Israel Baseball League and efforts to bring professional baseball to Israel-- a story that’s of such interest and importance to so many people around the world. With league founder Larry Baras a colorful, controversial and lawsuit-laden bagel baron based in Boston, with a would-be rival league headed by a controversial lawsuit-laden toymaker taking cash from auditioning athletes in Miami, and minor and semipro leagues around the world picking up IBL refugees, there would seem to be enough local angles, mysteries, sports fans and Jewish readers out there for some award-hunting reporter or editor to feel the thrill of the hunt as they follow the money.

For now, Our Man Elli In Israel has the field to himself. But the latest visiting player is "Elliott," AKA “OMmetsfan07,” the blogging Mets fan behind the 213 Miles from Shea site. His new site, The Great International Pastime (Exporting America’s Game), started up a few weeks ago with a post about baseball in Ghana (anybody seen Eladio Rodriguez?) and today lands in Israel.

Despite a year of raucous infighting, accusations and outrageousness that was enough to fill an entire website called Baseball in Israel, this new internationalist site picks up the story of the Israel Baseball League in a much simpler time, before the drama of the past year, when the spin was only starting to pick up speed, and doesn't seem to realize that greed and bad business killed off baseball in Israel in 2008:

"Baseball in Israel was one of the first topics I thought of when I decided to talk about world baseball because I feel that its known in America more than in Israel and I have often questioned the motives for it (but I do love it, don't mistake that). I root for the Modim Miracle only because of their Manager, Art Shamsky, who was a '69 Met, so I am a little biased when it comes to their teams.



"I found this video on YouTube not too long ago (about two weeks ago). The video was added online a little over a year ago, but makes a lot of insightful points subliminally. When you watch it, think about the goals of Baseball in Israel? Are we going over to offer a distraction? Do they need a distraction? Is this another example of America trying to act as a hero? 
I have been thinking about this clip now for over two weeks, and I still have not finalized my opinion about it.
"

These of course are questions first posed by Our Man Elli almost a year ago, so we don’t know whether to be frustrated that the author didn’t do a Google search of “Israel Baseball” or gratified that someone’s at least sniffing out the story. We sent Elliott a link to our site. Once again, we’ll see if the bloggers pick up where the mainstream journos dropped the ball.

We talk to Our Man Elli about the woeful news that there won't be pro baseball in Israel this summer

Our Man Elli in Israel kept in touch from the road during his recent lecture tour (and ballpark tour) of America and broke a few stories along the way, but he waited til he was back home in Jerusalem to drop the bombshell— his exclusive report yesterday that the Israel Baseball League nor the upstart Israel Professional Baseball League will be rolling out a season in 2008. Time for a talk.

Tabloid Baby: So, that’s it, huh?

Our Man Elli: That’s it. No baseball this year. And I gotta hand it to you. You called it back in January.

A regular Carnac. But we thought the IPBL had the pedal to the metal.

Too little, too late, too bad. Even before their tryouts, they knew. And then they had the tryouts. The quantity of the players was promising. The quality? Not so. The last I’d heard, the IPBL was talking about setting up exhibition games in Israel among teams comprised of players born in different countries like the US, Canada, the Dominican Republic, and possibly, Europe.

And then Larry Baras surfaces, talking bout the joy of kosher hot dogs. What’s up with the “Lah-di-dah” attitude?

The questions for Larry Baras remain the same as they’ve been since last summer: How much money was raised for the IBL? And how much money was spent. That's it. His problems with his bagel company, and whether bagel money was used to help the IBL, will be determined in that lawsuit brought against him by Natalie Blacher. Whether he used IBL money to help his bagel business is another matter.

More than a year ago, Baras told me that he was budgeting $3 million for the inaugural season, and he said he'd be able to raise it "very easily." “Very easily.” Those were his words. We do know that the American Jewish community went hog wild, you should pardon the expression, over the idea of baseball in Israel, and people everywhere were eager to help in any way they could. And they did. How many investors were there? And how much money was raised? If $3 million could be had "very easily," how about $4 million?

We have no idea, because until today there’s been no accounting of any of it.

Hmmm… You’d think maybe Baras might be hiding something.

(LOOKING FOR A LINK? CLICK HERE TO GET TO OUR BASEBALL IN ISRAEL ARCHIVE SITE: THE ENTIRE STORY AND EVERY POST ON BASEBALL IN ISRAEL.)

You know, we have some interesting anonymous commenters on this site. There’s Scooper 0007 from Haifa—

Yes, a tip of the hat to him. He’s obviously close to an insider, because he does deliver good bits and pieces—

There’s Pooper Scooper—

I thought that was the same guy--

Nope.

A fine cub reporter—

And then there are people like this guy “Allen” who posted this morning, accusing you of being angry about the idea of baseball in Israel. What’s up with that?

I love and respect your readers. But that kind of talk is beyond stupid. It’s like the schmucks who deliberately spell my name wrong. If I were a million dollar investor, they’d spell it right. But this? I don’t have to prove my bona fides to anyone. What reason would I have for not wanting baseball in Israel? Shooting the messenger is an old tactic. Accusing me of wanting a job is getting old, too.

Hey, you turned down the commissioner job.

Yeah, right.

Hey, we had the campaign going, but you said you wouldn’t accept it.

Like I need those kind of distractions.

We had the hats—

Anyway, again I have to repeat myself: So far, no one has been able to prove or even claim that anything I ever wrote about the league wasn't true. All they can do is spin why it happened. But the facts are still the facts.

And the facts are?

The facts are that the 2007 season was a poorly run effort led by an organizer who lied to everyone with whom he made a deal. And the fact is that 2008 was a non-starter from the beginning, because of poor planning and organization, and an attempt by one rich man to bully his way into creating a new league. The facts? No more baseball because of poor planning, organization and, sorry, greed.

So what point are they missing?

This story has divided everyone into two camps since the season ended. One side swallowed the Kool-Aid, and they still believe that Larry Baras is an honest businessman who may have been in over his head, but was only trying to do the best he could and wasn’t prepared for all the things that came up. Ask them how much money was raised and where the money went, and they change the subject.

And a lot of the people in that camp were some of the marginal players who were just happy to be playing professional ball. They didn’t even care that he even owed them money.

Baras's charm and awe-shucks persona was able to convince that half of his sincerity— and convince them that I was to blame for all his troubles-- that if only I hadn't written those nasty little stories about what happened in the summer of 2007, he would have been able to raise the money from more investors and paid off the 2007 debt and start up the 2008 season.

Me. I'm to blame.

Of course, that doesn't explain why the commissioner and nine others from the advisory board of the IBL quit.

Touche.

The second camp was more forthright and critical. They didn't shy away from asking the basic questions, including how much money was raised and where it went. And it was that exact question that moved the commissioner and the advisory board members to quit.

If I may borrow a political analogy, it's like the liberals in Israel. No matter how many times you showed them the actions of Arafat, they still believed he had good intentions in him.

Whoa. Mr. International Affairs in La-la Land.

I had another political analogy. With Barack Obama and accusing the working class of being bitter. Are you bitter?

What? Me worry? No way. We’re talking baseball. Not Gaza. This entire experience is the definition of “pastime.” I only wish I had a season to follow this summer.

We posted a story about the South Coast League in the States that went belly up the same way as the IBL. What was the difference?

I’d say honesty. They seemed to be very upfront about their problems and missteps, so when they announced they’d suspended the 2008 season, there was real disappointment—but not anger.

Look, starting up a league is difficult. But nothing can fly without transparency. And there hasn't been any transparency with the IBL.

Now what about the IPBL? These guys are really tight-lipped as well. Why the secrecy? And why do they keep their webpage on some finance company’s website?

It's on the business site of the IPBL’s organizer, Jeff Rosen, and he didn't bother to create a separate Web site for the league. Greed is not part of this equation, because everyone knows it will take years to turn a profit. Arrogance? Maybe arrogance, from someone so rich he thought he could just dial up a new league, someone trying to show up Baras on how it can be done—and somebody who can’t—or won't-- get somebody’s name right. He’s learned that money can buy a lot of things, but not necessarily a baseball league in Israel. He has a lot to learn if he wants to attempt it again next summer.

I know he doesn’t like to answer questions. But it sounds like he got your goat.

It's my name. It's all I've got. Elli. Wohlgelernter. And when I have to correct someone three times, I don’t care who he is, he can go take a flying—

We get it.

Hey, I expect to be respected on that issue. Like I said, If I was a million dollar investor in the IPBL, I guaran-eefin-tee he’d know how my name is spelled.

And how was your trip to the States?

Wonderful. And successful. It was great to drive around America, listening to Sirius radio—

We won’t pay for radio.

I know, but it came with the rental car. It’s great. And I got to explain Israel to the American Jewish community, especially the kids on campus who are woefully ignorant of the situation here. And I got to go to see a lot of baseball games.

So is this story over?

Baseball in Israel? It’s only beginning.

I told you it was a book.

Now I'm starting to believe you. Talk to you later.

--click--

After Baras, Kurtzer pinch-hits for Obama

Daniel Kurtzer, former commissioner of the old Israel Baseball League, is leaving baseball behind-- but stepping into a new Israel-related controversy with an increasingly prominent role as foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama as he angles for a role in Obama's Presidential administration.

Kurtzer, a former US ambassador to both Israel and Egypt, was a very prestigious name for Boston bagel baron Larry Baras to add to the roster of sports and industry bigwigs that propped up a league that brought MLB-style play to Israel last summer. But days after Tabloid Baby revealed the details of a federal lawsuit that accused Baras of securities fraud in connection with the league's startup, Kurtzer resigned his post in November, leading an exodus of board members and helping ensure the fall of Baras' house of cards.

This morning, the JTA news service reports that Obama's camp is using Kurtzer ("the first Jewish U.S ambassador to Egypt and the first Orthodox Jew to serve as envoy to Israel") to bolster Obama's appeal among Jewish voters in advance of the April 22nd Pennsylvania primary:

"President Bill Clinton named him to the Cairo post in 1997, and President Bush sent him to Tel Aviv in 2001. Such credentials are important for a candidate whose Jewish campaign has been dogged by questions about the fierce criticism of Israel embraced by his former pastor as well as some advisers who counsel more balance in the U.S. ...

"Yet Kurtzer, 58, could prove to be more problem than solution, at least among the more established elements of the pro-Israel community. If anything, he is more pronounced in advising a balanced approach to Middle East peacemaking than any of the real and purported advisers to Obama already singled out for criticism by pro-Israel hawks..."

At the very least, in light of our exclusive report yesterday that THERE WILL BE NO PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL IN ISRAEL IN 2008, Kurtzer has a new job lined up.