SAN DIEGO—Following a long day of conferences on potential rule changes and other league business, MLB owners reportedly held a separate meeting Monday for teams actually trying to win next season. “It’s a small group, but it’s nice to get together for a more intimate conversation among the teams that are actually attempting to assemble a talented roster that could win a World Series,” said Houston Astros owner Jim Crane, adding that they enjoyed not having to deal with the annoying concerns of the owners who were just trying to make money off their teams. “Don’t get me wrong, we want to make a lot of money too, and we do, but in the regular meetings you talk to a guy like [Chicago Cubs owner] Tom Ricketts or [Anaheim Angels owner] Arte Moreno, and it’s clear that they don’t have any interest in actually getting good players. That’s fine, but there’s maybe a dozen of us who are actually trying to win.” At press time, the group was surprised when their meeting was interrupted by the late arrival of Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who expressed his annoyance that, despite his best efforts, the team’s roster was actually pretty good and he was desperate for the other owners to take his good players off his hands.
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