By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 4, 2006

Stan Kasten, the man who will run the Washington Nationals as their president, has been involved with professional sports for nearly three decades, virtually the entire span of free agency. Theodore N. Lerner, the man who will own the Nationals, is making his first foray into this world. Yet when it comes to how the on-field version of the Nationals will be built, the two appear to be in lockstep. There is, they said yesterday, no quick fix for a franchise with a minor league system bereft of talent, and they won't necessarily expand the player payroll in the hope of winning immediately.

"We feel that we had the opportunity to take a franchise and build it over a period of time, primarily by building up a very fine scouting [operation] and farm clubs," Lerner said during an interview at his downtown Washington office yesterday. "That's the number one priority."

On the day when Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig selected the Lerner group from among eight willing to pay $450 million for the Nationals, the men who will run the franchise outlined very few specifics about who will remain and who will be replaced, on or off the field. The one certainty: Kasten, who ran the Atlanta Braves for 17 years, will succeed Tony Tavares as the team's president, and he will have significant input in determining whether General Manager Jim Bowden and Manager Frank Robinson keep their jobs.

When asked about the future of front office employees during yesterday's interview, Lerner deferred to Kasten, who declined to comment on Bowden, Robinson, or any other current employee. Kasten spoke to both Bowden and Robinson by phone yesterday, but would not reveal a timetable to make decisions.

In a 30-minute interview, however, Ted Lerner, his son Mark and Kasten laid out their belief that the Nationals should be built through their minor league system, and they preached patience if the team does not pursue big-name free agents this offseason. The team's payroll is roughly $63 million this season -- a figure that ranks 20th of 30 major league clubs -- but Ted Lerner said it was too "early in the process to try to determine what it will be" next year.

Kasten's philosophy, though, is clear. His teams in Atlanta never approached the free-spending New York Yankees. He did say that once a new ballpark opens, scheduled for 2008, the team should have the revenue to spend wisely on free agents.

"I understand people ask about payroll," Kasten said. "Respectfully, it's the wrong question. The questions we should be asking: Are you going to be spending money right away on the minor leagues? Are you going to be spending money on scouting? Are you going to be spending money on instructors at every level? . . . And the answers to all those questions are yes."

Tavares and Kasten spoke by phone at about 4:30 p.m. yesterday, the beginning of a transition that Tavares said "will not be cumbersome." Selig put Tavares in charge of the Montreal Expos in February 2002, and the 56-year-old former president of the Los Angeles Angels and hockey's Anaheim Mighty Ducks ran the franchise's operations as the team moved to Washington, leading the club through a tortuous time. He is about to be out of a job and has no idea what he will do, but he said in an interview yesterday that he thinks the transition should come sooner rather than later.

"Stan has a philosophy, and he should start implementing that philosophy immediately," Tavares said. "There's going to be opportunities to trade some players. . . . I don't want to be the one who's making those decisions given that an owner's been selected."

Since Bowden was hired in November 2004, Tavares has consistently maintained that he would recommend to any new administration that Bowden be maintained. Bowden's moves have been the subject of much debate by ardent fans, and his future could be further complicated by his arrest on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol last month in Miami. Tavares said he would still recommend keeping Bowden.

"He had a problem," Tavares said. "Everybody understands he had a problem. I think, ultimately, those charges will be dropped, and I think he should stay."

Kasten and Bowden, who served for more than 10 years as the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds, spent some time feeling each other out when Kasten visited the Nationals' spring training complex in Viera, Fla., in March. Bowden has repeatedly said one of his top priorities is improving the Nationals' farm system. He said yesterday that "progress has been made, but there's a long way to go."

Whether that apparently shared ideal will be enough for Bowden to keep his job remains to be seen. The 44-year-old made significant inroads with the Lerner group during the last year and a half, but Kasten would appear to have significant impact on the hires in baseball operations. Years ago, he hired John Schuerholz to run the Braves, a move that has helped pay off in 14 consecutive division titles.

In fact, Schuerholz has two assistants in Atlanta who are considered future GM candidates -- Dayton Moore and Frank Wren. Moore interviewed to be the Boston Red Sox' GM last fall, but withdrew from consideration, and Wren served as GM of the Baltimore Orioles in 1999. Speculation around baseball is that one will succeed Schuerholz when he retires -- possibly following the 2007 season, when his contract runs out -- and that the other could be plucked away by Kasten.

Asked yesterday about Moore and Wren, Kasten said: "I love both of them. But what do you want me to do, give you a list of all the people I love?"

In an interview last month, Schuerholz said of Moore and Wren, "Stan knows them both and has a lively and proper respect for both of them."

The fate of Robinson, 70, is tied up in the decision about the general manager. Robinson has two winning seasons, one losing season and one campaign of 81-81 in his four full years managing the franchise. The team has a 9-19 record after losing last night to the Florida Marlins. Robinson has said repeatedly he would like to manage beyond this season, but he has no pre-established relationship with Kasten. He said yesterday that he "respected him for what he's been a part of."

Sources within the Nationals' front office believe that the most likely fate for Robinson is to manage the rest of this season -- "unless things get really bad," one source said -- and then be offered a position in the front office. Robinson said last week he would consider such a move.

"It would have to be a meaningful position with some authority," he said.

Bowden has spent considerable time preparing for the June draft, and Kasten said he would not interrupt that process. This draft, though, will be the first step toward building what Kasten hopes will be a farm system that produces players long into the future. The key for those who end up working for the team, not to mention the fans who follow it, will be patience.

"That's the most important message I can send to every one of our fans who we hope is with us for the long-term," Kasten said, "because we intend to have long-term success here."

Staff writers Dave Sheinin and Eli Saslow contributed to this report.