LEXINGTON, KY (AP) - The Lions held a press conference to follow up on the announcement by AFBL Commissioner Matthew Streeter that the team had been purchased by Michael Harney. Until the Commisioner's announcement the sale of the team had been in limbo leaving the front office without a clear direction at the start of the season.
Harney, a land developer with projects across the country, was asked about his ownership philosophy - whether he would be hands-off or a micro-manager like some of the great traditional names in baseball history. "As a person whose background is in managing several different projects at the same time, I spend my time monitoring the critical items and giving others the resources that they need to accomplish their tasks." He then added, "Of course, baseball is a true passion of mine and owning a team is achieving a life long dream of mine. Since I grew up a Braves fan, I was always a big fan of Ted Turner. He showed patience as the Braves built themselves from the minor leagues into a team that was in contention for two decades. While he was an owner who was always present, his best decision was hiring good baseball people and stepping back and letting them do their jobs."
When reporters asked about whether there were any plans to relocate the franchise, Harney replied "We aren't prepared to make any of those decisions at this time and we recognize the great support from the Kentucky fans." This will surely do little to quite the rampant speculation on the local sports talk radio. While Harney currently lives in Texas, AFBL currently has a Texas franchise and will protect the franchise rights there. Reporters wondered among themselves whether this might mean the team will be moving to the Deep South where Harney grew up. AFBL Commissioner, Matthew Streeter, said while he has had some preliminary discussions with Mr. Harney about possible relocation destinations, the league was reviewing the proposals and they would have an announcement later in the season. Harney echoed the Commissioner's statement saying "My biggest goal right now is trying to fix our starting pitching and getting some help there."
