In the Commish's latest column, he closed with a statement revealing it was his last column of the year, citing a lack of readership and wasted effort. With so many duties and a disappointing season so far, was the Commish serious or perhaps just frustrated and overworked? Or, does he have an ulterior motive, namely the almighty dollar?
I approached the Commish's agent shortly after the column was published and he had this to say: "At this point, the Commish is frustrated about his team and about the small readership numbers. I cannot speak for him personally, but I do know that he enjoyed writing the column. Hopefully something can still be worked out between him and MRLB Weekly Update." This sounds like a ploy to negotiate a higher salary for the Commish. MRLB Weekly Update is unlikely to do this given the small number of readers drawn to the Commish's column and the lack of revenue generated by the website. Sam Jenkins, president of MRLB, however,does respect the Commish and doesn't want to risk losing him.
Despite acknowledging the Commish's frustration the past few weeks, Jenkins was as shocked as the readers. "I knew that Mr. Marcinkus was disappointed in his team this year, but he certainly wasn't letting it affect his writing. To find out that he was quitting by reading the column was a total shock to me. We have since talked and there is still a possibility that Mr. Marcinkus will continue to write for us in the future. He told me that he was more upset about his last place standing than anything and that, for the first time, he let that show in his writing. We have a great amount of respect for Michael and are making every effort to keep him writing for our website." If this is just a negotiating tactic by the Commish, it seems to be working.
It is not an exaggeration that the Commish's followers are tiny in number. They are a devoted group of readers, however. In just two days following his latest column, the Commish's small core of devotees spoke out. Firewire's owner Christian Tolentino said, "You have done an excellent job this year. Please continue your weekly column." Threepeats' owner Eric Meyers reiterrated the statement: "...hopefully you will reconsider your decision to stop writing your weekly columns." Others have offered similar sentiments, hoping to coax the Commish back into writing the sometimes funny, often informative weekly column.
With readers like Tolentino and Meyers supporting him, and having known the Commish for several years, I fully expect him to realize how much he is needed in the fantasy baseball world. I would not be surprised to see a Week 18 column shortly on the way. As a devoted reader of the Commish, I hope his pen's got plenty more ink left than quality pitchers.
