It’s clear where blame belongs in Defenders debacle

In the old world, and even still today in some cultures, prearranged marriages are the norm.

Any number of parties could put the bride and groom together, cutting out the courtship all together. Often times, these unions are driven by economic forces. It usually involves a rise to power and/or the bride bringing a substantial fortune to the groom’s family.

As we’ve learned, the pre-arranged marriage between the Connecticut Defenders and Richmond Baseball LC was a joke, one that’s done damage to many layers of a community.

For months, Eastern League President Joe McEacharn said securing the financial means to purchase and run the team was necessary — except that his handpicked bride didn’t include a dowry.

That’s why this “imminent” sale, as he’s called it, went on for months and months. Because he was so desperate to get his way by any means necessary, he’d trample everyone under foot, all while taking significant risk for vouching for an ownership group that has as much business buying a team as a panhandler.

After months of strong-arming Defenders owner Lou DiBella and his partners, the city and every single one of us who call Eastern Connecticut home, the poor power play by McEacharn — and ostensibly, Minor League Baseball (unless we are to believe McEacharn acted alone) — has done irreparable harm to the community.

And for what, a bonus?

This is no longer a pro- or anti-baseball issue. This is an issue of respect and decency.

It’s been a clever rouse, but because McEacharn failed to cover his bases, it is one that he can’t hide from.

He told Norwich Mayor Ben Lathrop that he was taking the team to Richmond. Never mind that it was McEacharn saying this, not the team’s ownership group. The cat got out of the bag and advertisers pulled support of the team, fans determined it’s not worth it to get behind the team, and full- and part-time staff at Dodd wonder where they are going to work next.

Maybe McEacharn didn’t see the trickle-down effect, but it’s time he stands judgment for his reckless abuse of power and trivialization of a community.

At a time when the economy is struggling, he took steps to undermine people with no sense of consequence. People like those Defenders employees who waited for any sort of official word of a sale and were left hanging like a curve ball; like the youth groups who come out in droves on Thursday mornings to hear a message of living drug-free lives; like the 70-year-old season-ticket holder who travels an hour to every game; or the usher who uses his pay to fill the gaps of Social Security; or the family of four who can’t wait for the Friday night fireworks. To us, they are our neighbors. To McEacharn, they were collateral damage.

Everyone thought this was DiBella’s idea — just as McEacharn wanted — figuring the owner was painted into a corner. God forbid this plot crumbled, DiBella would have to sell since he’d be the villain.

Lathrop called McEacharn the “facilitator.” McEacharn can no longer deny this sale doesn’t have his hands all over it.

He can’t.

Until after it was announced Thursday that the original deal was dead, DiBella hadn’t spoken with the bride-to-be in weeks, maybe months. And he hasn’t been allowed to look into moving the team. Why is that?

McEacharn is clearly an interested party, and it would behoove DiBella, his partners and the city of Norwich to challenge baseball’s anti-trust exemption. This is a clear case of collusion among McEacharn, Richmond Baseball — which knew it didn’t have the money — and Minor League Baseball.

This seems about the right time for an apology.

Or at the very least some clear answers. That would be the right thing.

But McEacharn isn’t likely to do the right thing. He hasn’t done it in months, so there’s no reason to anticipate a change now.

He promised support to bring a short-season Single-A team here for next year as a trade-off, but why should anyone believe him? McEacharn already proved a below-average student at doing his homework. Imagine what he might do on an exam.

Sure, a move to Richmond is ultimately about money. No one can fault that reasoning. But while other Eastern League team owners would benefit from increased revenues in Richmond, they should also be thinking, “What if that were me?” Take our word for it: He’ll take advantage of you, too, if given the chance.

He’s already begun that process in Richmond, and it doesn’t even have a team yet. McEacharn endorsed a new stadium plan that essentially required the city and its taxpayers to pay the bill while ownership had minimal risk if the venture failed. The good people of Virginia’s capital are already on to his shtick.

This was McEacharn’s deal from the start, which I’m sure began long before anyone had any business discussing a sale of the team because of tampering concerns. He handpicked the buyer, failed to do his due diligence and, as a result, has two months to come up with a plan to save face — and possibly his job.

These checks he keeps writing will continue to bounce. Sooner or later, they’ll end up at the door of Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Connor, who will want to wash his hands of McEacharn and his mess.

Being able to do the same will be the one positive if the Defenders do leave town

Businessman is passionate advocate for baseball in Richmond

Critically evaluate Bryan Bostic's belief that minor-league baseball can greatly enhance a community's quality of life. Challenge his contention that Shockoe Bottom is the ideal location for a new ballpark.

Questioning his commitment to those positions is a tougher task.

Dating back to his involvement with the Richmond Ballpark Initiative, the local businessman has spent the past seven years advocating an upgraded baseball experience in a modern facility. Since the Atlanta Braves announced in January 2008 that they were moving their Class AAA franchise to Gwinnett County, Ga., Bostic says he has worked nearly every day toward his goal of returning baseball to Richmond.

Bostic, 47, acknowledged that the effort has included "hundreds of thousands of dollars" from his personal account. He has made more than 80 presentations to Richmond-area groups.

Why the investments in passion, time and resources?

"I was tired of going to all of these other cities and seeing how they had leveraged baseball as a catalyst for growth and revitalization, and how we weren't," said Bostic, a Richmond native who grew up in Newport News. "If we're going to spend money, let's spend it wisely. Let's create an economic-development opportunity."

Seven months ago, Bostic was among those who introduced the Shockoe Center proposal, a $318 million development with a $60 million ballpark. "We've done our homework," said Bostic, who strongly believes that the success of downtown ballparks in many other locales provides a blueprint for Richmond.

"Why should we be different? Just because baseball has been played on the Boulevard for 50 years?" Bostic said. "That doesn't mean it's right. It just means that's where it's been."

He is chairman of Richmond Baseball Club LC, which is in the process of purchasing a Class AA franchise -- the highest competitive level from which a franchise is available -- for the purpose of relocating it to Richmond and, in the short term, The Diamond.

Bostic, a former James Madison University tennis player, moved to Richmond in 1985 and launched 2b Technology. That became a global ticketing and reservation business for museums, zoos and other attractions. In 2000, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch Inc. acquired the company in a reported $23 million, all-stock deal.

Bostic may be genetically wired to ensure that Richmond has pro ball. During the mid-1950s, his grandfather, Ed Phillips, was instrumental in raising money to turn Parker Field, which had been used for football and horse racing, into a baseball facility for the Richmond Virginians, the New York Yankees' Class AAA team.

The city continues to study the Shockoe Center proposal. Bostic continues to pitch.

"This is a huge challenge, there's no doubt about it," he said. "But I believe this community has real opportunity in front of it. It just needs to open its eyes to what other communities have done and we haven't."