Collude-Me-Not--Murray Chass is spoken to by Gene Orza, etc.--NY Times

Murray Chass wonders about the Theo-Beinfest inspired group chat amongst GM's at Thursday's meetings, maybe these guys shouldn't get quite so cozy or at least shouldn't appear so. Chass' article, "Is it Collusion or Friendly Chats?" notes no suspicious comments but says you never know.

• On the other hand, Chass reveals toward the end of his piece that Gene Orza accused Chass himself of being an "enabler of collusion" earlier this week.

(This is how the corporate world operates, in my experience. Time is wasted in political battles as opposed to getting worthwhile things done).

• From Chass' column: " In the interest of full disclosure, I will report that the union’s No. 2 official, Gene Orza, accused me yesterday of being an enabler of collusion. I’ve been called lots of things in my professional life, but this was a new one.

The reason for Orza’s assertion was a column I wrote earlier this week about Alex Rodriguez for which I asked about a dozen general managers if they had interest in the highly talented but highly expensive free agent.

• “You did the general managers’ work for them,” Orza said. “You did what they could not do in a room together.”

Taken aback by the charge, I told Orza I never signed the labor agreement between the players and the clubs. I, therefore, was not a party to it and I did not think I was obliged to keep readers uninformed, that is, not tell them which teams, if any, might be interested in signing Rodriguez.

• Given this episode, maybe I will be invited to join the negotiations for the next agreement."

From NY Times column by Murray Chass, "Is it Collusion or Friendly Chats?", 11/9/07

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