Inquirer Beat Guy to MLB.com ?

bottom line is mlb got a solid guy in zolecki

 

I would say at least half of MLB.com writers have newspapers background, as beat guys and that Mandel wasn't the highest-paid beat guy and his canning wasn't motivated by salary. BYH, you need to get over the fact that MLB.com is pulling kids out of college and sticking them on beats. It's not happening everywhere. And newspapers aren't doing the same thing?

 

Perhaps the Inquirer beat guy fears that future consolidation of the Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News will eliminate one of the Phillies beat jobs.

 

Good point, Fran. We see what's happening in Dallas.

 

We all know MLB.com has made recent cuts for no purpose other than to save money, and hiring interns to fill full-time jobs follows that philosophy. But I certainly hope Mandel wasn't getting paid more than guys like Sullivan and Kaegel, just to name two among many others in the organization who have long-term track records in the business. Perhaps they weren't all that thrilled with Mandel's work. Regardless, Zolecki is a pretty nice pickup.

 

Salisbury's done a decent job with the Phils' off-season news. They'll miss Zolecki. They also had Brookover doing Phils before he went to the Eagles.

 

I suppose the logical question now is, who is next at the Inquirer? Do they switch someone onto Zolecki's desk or bring in from outside they they did for the Sixers (and the DN did with the Phils)?

 

The Inquirer is looking to hire a beat writer from outside, and some of the people considering the position are established MLB beat writers elsewhere. They should be able to make a very good hire, if they haven't already. Jim Cohen seemed to be moving very quickly.

Without getting too personal, Ken's dismissal was separate from the monetary purge of nearly everyone unassigned to a team--more a conflict with a superior. He was the only person assigned to a team let go, if I'm not mistaken. He's a good guy, so I hope he lands on his feet.

 

There are still enough warm bodies to cover the Phillies without going outside. As for consolidation with the Daily News, it may be coming sooner than many think. The photo and copy desks have merged. The only thing left is for the reporting staff and since cash flow is a serious issue as the recent missed bank notes have indicated, it appears to be a logical step.

 

It would be nice if the Inquirer hired a baseball beat writer from the outside, but it's hard to picture that happening. The newspaper does have a propensity for bringing back former Inquirer guys, so you never know.

 

I know that won't be happening. I'd bet the house on it.

 

What difference does it make how solid someone is if they're operating under mlb.com restrictions?