Malek's Being Counted

Thomas Heath writes what appears to be the first of a series by examining the Malek group, considered the front-runners in the DC Derby. The article provides lots of background details, including concerns, expressed by MLB, that his group was doing a little too much destructive politicking to derail the other ownership groups.

It's especially notable because it discusses Jeffrey Zients, the number two man in the group. He doesn't get as much of the publicity, but this article gives a good snapshot of his background.

It's been alleged that Malek is a favorite of Reinsdorf and that Bob DuPuy prefers one of the local ownership groups. Combine that with the years of legwork he's put into it, and he's gotta be one of the frontrunners.

The article gives a glimpse into what kind of ship he could run:

Frank Carlucci, secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan and now chairman emeritus of the Carlyle Group, a McLean-based private equity firm, said Malek has a knack for surrounding himself with talented, young people, many of whom handle the details while Malek concentrates on the big picture.

"I wouldn't expect he would be sitting there nine hours a day telling you how to steal third base," Carlucci said.

Hopefully that means he'll let his baseball people make the baseball decisions instead of being a meddling owner like Peter Angelos or Drayton McLean.

I'd definitely favor his group over Smulyan's. Hopefully MLB will too.