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."
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."
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