Dave Wilder saga takes another interesting turn

[caulfield12]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-d...story?track=rss

 

Apparently Jim Bowden is under investigation going back more than 10+ years...looks like that might be the end of his career. We'll have to wait and see how this all plays out.

 

Bizarre.

[Texsox]

Wow. That does offer a motive or two.

[caulfield12]

The Frustrated DC Faithful May Finally Get Their Wish...

 

According to a report by the same SI.com writer, Melissa Segura, whose work exposed the secret identity of the Washington Nationals' prospect formerly known as Esmailyn "Smiley" Gonzalez, DC GM Jim Bowden is the subject of a federal investigation into the "skimming" of bonuses awarded to prospects from Latin American countries, going, in Ms. Segura's words, "...as far back as 1994, when he was GM of the Cincinnati Reds, according to a baseball executive familiar with the investigation."

 

The SMILEYGATE scandal that broke last week was just the latest in a long line of disturbing events that are part of an FBI investigation (my lord, why am i writing about this?) into the activities of the then-Reds' GM Jim Bowden, Jose Rijo, (a former Reds' pitcher and assistant to Mr. Bowden with Washington), and David Wilder, a former Chicago White Sox' executive, who are all connected, Ms. Segura writes, by "Two sources inside baseball," to:

 

"... a long-time scout in Latin America, Jorge Oquendo, 47...who links the FBI's investigations of Bowden and his special assistant Jose Rijo to that of former Chicago White Sox senior director of player personnel David Wilder."

 

Mr. Wilder and "two Dominican-based scouts", Ms. Segura writes, were fired by the Chicago White Sox, "Last May...after allegations surfaced that they had pocketed money earmarked for player signing bonuses." MLB.com's Bill Ladson, in an article entitled, "Rijo takes leave of absence", reported on 2/21/09 on Jose Rijo's decision to "take a leave of absence" from the Nationals in the wake of the "Smiley" Gonzalez revelations. Rijo was Special Assistant to the DC GM Mr. Bowden, who, according to Mr. Ladson's article had been told not to talk to the media about the Esmailyn Gonzalez case by the Nationals' Team President Stan Kasten, though what, if any role Mr. Bowden played in either scandal has yet to be revealed.

 

Ms. Segura notes in the new SI.com article that the aformentioned Jorge Oquendo, "...distances himself from Jim Bowden, saying, 'He didn't even know who I was,'" though Oquendo, again, according to the article, worked for Mr. Bowden during two different periods of Bowden's tenure in Cincinnati.

 

And you thought not signing Aaron Crow was the worst thing that could happen to the Washington Nationals? Missing out on Mark Te - - - - ra was as bad as it could get? Thought Odalis Perez holding out was a big story? Now this tops them all...How can any Major League GM who is under investigation remain in his post? I would never go so far as to say that anyone should be fired, and especially not before they have been proven guilty in a court of law or admitted their own guilt...But I wonder if maybe Mr. Bowden, or any member of the Front Office who is under investigation, shouldn't step down, or at least relinquish their duties until such a time as it would be appropriate for a return?

 

Is this the end for GM Jim Bowden in DC?

 

from federalbaseball.com

 

http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/2/19/7...ton-nationals-p (more details)

 

http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/2/18/7...-a-fraud-who-is

 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2009 by caulfield12

[DBAHO]

This has been mooted for a long time, not really surprising.

 

Bowden's probably been doing it since he's been at the Reds, and it's finally caught up to him.

[scenario]

The Wilder affair is a pretty sordid and twisted situation, isn't it?

 

A 'rising star' as a baseball executive... then...

 

Skimming on signing of Latin American prospects...

Losing over $500,000 investing in a gay nightclub in Phoenix called "Club Burn"...

And now reporting an income of $7.50/hour.

All in the period of a couple of years.

 

 

What a fall from grace. Bizarre and sad.

 

 

[caulfield12]

Imagine if we'd signed Juan Silverio for $1.4 million and ended up not having enough money for Viciedo because of it?

 

You have to feel sorry for the Washington fans, at least the damage done by Wilder to the White Sox seems to have been contained and those acting in a criminal fashion were dealt with quickly and harshly. They also ended up not signing their first rounder (Aaron Crow), and some of the skimming might have led directly to that eventuality.

 

Was Wilder also responsible for perpetuating the "legend" of Anderson Gomes as a legit prospect as well?

Edited February 23, 2009 by caulfield12

[southsider2k5]

Imagine if we'd signed Juan Silverio for $1.4 million and ended up not having enough money for Viciedo because of it?

 

You have to feel sorry for the Washington fans, at least the damage done by Wilder to the White Sox seems to have been contained and those acting in a criminal fashion were dealt with quickly and harshly. They also ended up not signing their first rounder (Aaron Crow), and some of the skimming might have led directly to that eventuality.

 

Was Wilder also responsible for perpetuating the "legend" of Anderson Gomes as a legit prospect as well?

 

It sounds like the Sox lost years worth of real players and money because of this. I believe having a good product on the field made the problems appear not as bad. Plus Williams has now bent back the other way to really restock the system both at the top and at the bottom.

[caulfield12]

I'l answer my own question, the wonders of the Internet!

 

White Sox Senior Director of Player Personnel, Dave Wilder, compared Gomes to Alfonso Soirano when the Yankees signed him out of Japan.

 

bostonredsox.barebaseball.com/2005/11/wilder-interviews - [Cached Version]

Published on: 11/19/2005 Last Visited: 4/20/2008

BOSTON -- Interested in changing his Sox, White Sox director of player development Dave Wilder officially entered the Red Sox general manager race Saturday when he met with Boston brass at Fenway Park."The opportunity to be involved with this type of organization is an honor," Wilder said after four hours of meetings in and around Fenway."I know it's a very attractive opportunity."The 45-year-old Wilder is the latest in a string of candidates being interviewed to replace Theo Epstein, who turned down the club's three-year offer at the Halloween deadline.

...

Wilder woke up early Saturday and flew to Boston from Chicago, where he helped the White Sox secure the franchise's first championship since 1917.Now he's in the running to take over in Boston, where the Red Sox won that franchise's first title since 1918 in 2004."I don't think anybody in baseball could tell you they thought this would happen with this club, with the club they have in hand -- they still have the opportunity to compete for another World Series title," Wilder said of Epstein's departure.Wilder didn't acknowledge the other issues that seem to go along with the Boston job, such as the pressure to succeed and working with president/CEO Larry Lucchino.

...

Instead of the negative, Wilder talked about the chance to take over a team that has a chance to win a world championship, a team with a big budget, "the best fans in baseball" and the tradition of these Sox."It's not only a good organization," Wilder said, "[but] the history and background of the Boston Red Sox ... it's a wonderful opportunity."Wilder, who interviewed for the recent Arizona opening as well as the Baltimore and Seattle jobs the previous year, said, "I feel I'm ready -- definitely."Wilder served 5 1/2 years under general manager John Schuerholz in Atlanta and calls that admired baseball man the No. 1 influence on his career.

...

Wilder met with Lucchino, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, senior advisors Bill Lajoie and Jeremy Kapstein and others Saturday and will wait to hear if he'll be coming back for a second visit.

...

Among professional baseball people, David has a very, very outstanding reputation -- and if you look at where he's been, in Atlanta I think he made significant contributions to the Braves, and when you look at the White Sox this year, when you talk to people in baseball ... we all know that success is a total team thing.In Chicago, [general manager] Kenny Williams and David Wilder are the two leaders of that franchise in terms of putting that club together.

...

Clearly, Wilder seemed to want to be that person."I think I was ready to do the job," Wilder said of his first interviews two years ago.

Edited February 23, 2009 by caulfield12

[fathom]

The Wilder affair is a pretty sordid and twisted situation, isn't it?

 

A 'rising star' as a baseball executive... then...

 

Skimming on signing of Latin American prospects...

Losing over $500,000 investing in a gay nightclub in Phoenix called "Club Burn"...

And now reporting an income of $7.50/hour.

All in the period of a couple of years.

 

Wilder belongs in jail for what he did. It's karma that he got f'd in the ass by his nightclub investment.

[caulfield12]

Fathom, I was about to use your comment for a segue into the next salacious details, but decided not to...other than the fact that we can all feel chastened that we indirectly supported this bar with our hard-earned money buying Sox tickets and merchandise:

 

from www.soxmachine.com

 

I googled Club Chafe Burn so you don't have to, and there are some interesting things associated with it beyond Wilder:

 

An American Idol contestant, who reportedly stripped for men, worked there for three years.

"Meatheads beware: Saturdays are known for gay night, featuring chiseled and tanned go-go dancers in tighty whities."

"I can't believe how few shirts there are in this place! Do they get inside and then take their shirts off, or just not wear shirts out of their houses? I'm not sure how this works."

 

I think this story has now passed Roberto Alomar's AIDS lawsuit on the weirdness meter.

Edited February 23, 2009 by caulfield12

[whitesoxfan101]

Wilder belongs in jail for what he did. It's karma that he got f'd in the ass by his nightclub investment.

 

Agreed. I almost want to give Kenny a pass to a certain degree with our bad farm system in recent years considering what Wilder was doing underneath his nose honestly. I'm just glad he was finally caught, and as for Jim Bowden, well with some of the stories that came out about him during his Cincinnati days I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he's a cheating bum.

[caulfield12]

Here is the concept of what was going on (and no, this is not something that happens throughout the industry - and the Chicago White Sox did not "find this out and report it to MLB." It was found out by MLB & reported to the White Sox through arrests & warrants).

 

Dave Wilder and his staff were in control of California (most of the Western part of the USA), and all Latin American operations (including Cuba, etc.). Wilder signed many (MANY!) latin-americans to rather large contracts (+ $100,000) who had no representation in the latin-countries. Now - for anyone who knows and understands latin scouting - there are almost ZERO players without latin representation (meaning - players in these countries are in academies run by agents from these countries who then sell players off to MLB teams to put in their own academies). Now - when a player has no representation - there is generally a reason, i.e., they're terrible. Now - what happened was this:

 

Wilder would find these players and sign them for a large amount of money (as mentioned above) and then take their money as their "agent." Now - he had to get permission to pass these players off & what he was doing was supplying these players with fake birth cerficates taking as many as 5 years off their age & also supplying them with HGH & steroids (even as they were in MiLB). He was then taking this money and putting it into an off-shore account, taking the maximum amount possible at any given time and washing it through a business he opened up in Arizona that rehabs houses.

"cheat" southsidesox.com

 

 

Scenario, besides Juan Silverio, Anderson Gomes and Paulo Orlando, do we have any other players signed in the last 3-5 years (specifically from the Dominican, but theoretically all of Latin America) that are possibly part of this scandal?

 

 

Bonus skimming

Denio "Deny" Gonzalez, a former major-league player, had been the White Sox's director of field operations in the Dominican for nine years until the club declined to renew his contract after the 2007 season, he said. He also oversaw the White Sox's baseball academy located in Boca Chica, east of the capital, Santo Domingo.

 

Recently, Gonzalez said he had "done nothing wrong" and that his departure from the White Sox was a result of the team "going in a different direction." But multiple baseball sources familiar with Gonzalez's dismissal said it was prompted by the MLB investigation.

 

Gonzalez said he has met with MLB investigators, who requested all his documents from the academy. He told the Tribune he had heard about bonus skimming, but not in the Sox organization. The practice, he said, started after the bonuses paid to Dominican prospects began escalating: They have jumped from an average of $15,000 in 1998 to nearly $110,000 in 2008, according to MLB figures.

 

"With [my] guys, there weren't problems," Gonzalez said. "The more recent guys, who they signed for large amounts of money, it appears that is where the problems are." One of those players who did sign for a large sum was Rafael Reyes, a 16-year-old outfielder who got a $525,000 bonus from the White Sox in 2007. Former White Sox scout Victor Mateo, who was fired along with Wilder and fellow scout Domingo Toribio, has told ESPN that Reyes' uncle gave him $50,000 as a gift after the signing.

 

Mateo told ESPN he passed $45,000 of that on to Wilder.

 

Another big-money signing was 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Juan Silverio—Wilder and Mateo signed him for $600,000 in the summer of 2007.

The Silverio and Reyes signings were among at least five with which MLB investigators found problems, MLB sources said. Those sources said up to $200,000 was skimmed from the bonuses of Sox prospects.

 

from Nation World

 

Edited February 23, 2009 by caulfield12

[scenario]

Scenario, besides Juan Silverio, Anderson Gomes and Paulo Orlando, do we have any other players signed in the last 3-5 years (specifically from the Dominican, but theoretically all of Latin America) that are possibly part of this scandal?

 

I really don't know how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

 

I would assume it would have to go deeper than 3 players to get the FBI involved.

 

But I have no idea.

 

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Here is the concept of what was going on (and no, this is not something that happens throughout the industry - and the Chicago White Sox did not "find this out and report it to MLB." It was found out by MLB & reported to the White Sox through arrests & warrants).

 

Dave Wilder and his staff were in control of California (most of the Western part of the USA), and all Latin American operations (including Cuba, etc.). Wilder signed many (MANY!) latin-americans to rather large contracts (+ $100,000) who had no representation in the latin-countries. Now - for anyone who knows and understands latin scouting - there are almost ZERO players without latin representation (meaning - players in these countries are in academies run by agents from these countries who then sell players off to MLB teams to put in their own academies). Now - when a player has no representation - there is generally a reason, i.e., they're terrible. Now - what happened was this:

 

Wilder would find these players and sign them for a large amount of money (as mentioned above) and then take their money as their "agent." Now - he had to get permission to pass these players off & what he was doing was supplying these players with fake birth cerficates taking as many as 5 years off their age & also supplying them with HGH & steroids (even as they were in MiLB). He was then taking this money and putting it into an off-shore account, taking the maximum amount possible at any given time and washing it through a business he opened up in Arizona that rehabs houses.

"cheat" southsidesox.com

 

 

Scenario, besides Juan Silverio, Anderson Gomes and Paulo Orlando, do we have any other players signed in the last 3-5 years (specifically from the Dominican, but theoretically all of Latin America) that are possibly part of this scandal?

Gee, I wonder where Cheat got that information...

[caulfield12]

I really don't know how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

 

I would assume it would have to go deeper than 3 players to get the FBI involved.

 

But I have no idea.

 

Well, the Rafael Reyes kid is obviously part of the subplot.

 

I tried thebaseballcube's scouting index, but neither Victor Mateo (I think he must have played in 97-98 in GCL) or Domingo Toribio is listed (the two fired DR scouts).

 

The only logical thing to do would be to look at the organizational bios for the minor leaguers at the back of the media guide and you should be able to find every player scouted/signed by those two or Deny Gonzalez, who, if memory serves me correct, played briefly with the Pirates in the 80's or early 90's.

 

His name was Denio then.

 

 

 

[NorthSideSox72]

This is the other article in the Trib today, more about the Dominican in general with baseball scouting, and more info on Wilder. Lots of "sources" cited.

[Dick Allen]

Wasn't the investigation started after Wilder was caught going through customs with a bag with $40k inside? He's a scumbag's scumbag that is for sure. I'm sure KW felt like a fool for trusting him. I haven't read the articles, but was he doing this all along, or just when he started having money troubles with his club?

[caulfield12]

It seems the amount skimmed is pretty limited...well, in the overall scheme of things. Something like $200,000, most of it from the bonuses to Juan Silverio and OF Rafael Reyes. I'm sure $50K plus changed hands with Reyes, too. That's $100,000 right there between two players.

 

Other players that I've heard or logically deduced were Anderson Gomes and Paulo Orlando...any Latin American player that received $100,000 or more in a signing bonus would draw a red flag I guess over the past 3-4 years. We lost the money to essentially pay one or two high round draft picks. I don't the organization was decimated like it could have been, and KW has recovered pretty nicely. I think it's safe to say that the new emphasis on the minor league talent side might be directly related to the whole Wilder situation, and the realization that none of his prospects were ever going to pan out, that they were essentially fool's gold.

 

Seems that most of the problems were in 2005-2006-2007, so more recent...probably related to his Club Burn leaking cash like a sieve. Must have been pretty desperate to hatch that idea, or think he could run a successful club of that nature while also being the GM of a team like the Boston Red Sox.

[southsider2k5]

It seems the amount skimmed is pretty limited...well, in the overall scheme of things. Something like $200,000, most of it from the bonuses to Juan Silverio and OF Rafael Reyes. I'm sure $50K plus changed hands with Reyes, too. That's $100,000 right there between two players.

 

Other players that I've heard or logically deduced were Anderson Gomes and Paulo Orlando...any Latin American player that received $100,000 or more in a signing bonus would draw a red flag I guess over the past 3-4 years. We lost the money to essentially pay one or two high round draft picks. I don't the organization was decimated like it could have been, and KW has recovered pretty nicely. I think it's safe to say that the new emphasis on the minor league talent side might be directly related to the whole Wilder situation, and the realization that none of his prospects were ever going to pan out, that they were essentially fool's gold.

 

Seems that most of the problems were in 2005-2006-2007, so more recent...probably related to his Club Burn leaking cash like a sieve. Must have been pretty desperate to hatch that idea, or think he could run a successful club of that nature while also being the GM of a team like the Boston Red Sox.

 

The amount of money runs more than just what was skimmed. The players they gave it to seem pretty much like lost causes according to what I have read. That couple of million dollars we handed is gone, as are the prospects that we could have been paying the money to instead. We have a half a dozen more duds that we have wasted roster spaces and organizational resources on for a few years now. Its bigger than just the money that ended up in Wilders pockets.

[caulfield12]

Well, yes, in the overall scheme of things...it still probably wouldn't come close to adding up to Borchard or Viciedo's bonuses.

 

Let's say it was $3 million, $4, maybe even $5 million total. We sunk half of that money into Mike MacDougal. Or Uribe.

 

Of course, the bigger damage is the institutional/organizational damage getting things re-established again in the DR. The two scouts we fired were Dominican, and then there's all the problems with our academy as well, and Denio Gonzalez.

 

You have to go back to Magglio and Carlos Lee to find homegrown, high-impact players....and neither of them were Dominican. Who is the best we've had since those guys that we didn't acquire via trade? Jesus Pena? I'm joking, but that might even be the answer.

 

Now we've brought a ton of Hispanic players in from other organizations (Loaiza, D'Angelo Jimenez, Julio Ramirez, Jose Paniagua, E, Sierra, Jimenez this year, Pablo Ozuna, Miguel Olivo, Damaso Marte, L.Vizcaino, Contreras, El Duque, Ramirez, Viciedo, etc.), but Carlos Martinez is/was one of our brighter prospects from the DR.

 

Other than that, there's only been who...De Los Santos recently? Gio Gonzalez (I know he's not Domican, just trying to think of any Hispanic players we've developed)? Lorenzo Barcelo, but he was part of the White Flag trade to SFG.

Edited February 24, 2009 by caulfield12

[southsider2k5]

Well, yes, in the overall scheme of things...it still probably wouldn't come close to adding up to Borchard or Viciedo's bonuses.

 

Let's say it was $3 million, $4, maybe even $5 million total. We sunk half of that money into Mike MacDougal. Or Uribe.

 

Of course, the bigger damage is the institutional/organizational damage getting things re-established again in the DR. The two scouts we fired were Dominican, and then there's all the problems with our academy as well, and Denio Gonzalez.

 

You have to go back to Magglio and Carlos Lee to find homegrown, high-impact players....and neither of them were Dominican. Who is the best we've had since those guys that we didn't acquire via trade? Jesus Pena? I'm joking, but that might even be the answer.

 

Now we've brought a ton of Hispanic players in from other organizations (Loaiza, D'Angelo Jimenez, Julio Ramirez, Jose Paniagua, E, Sierra, Jimenez this year, Pablo Ozuna, Miguel Olivo, Damaso Marte, L.Vizcaino, Contreras, El Duque, Ramirez, Viciedo, etc.), but Carlos Martinez is/was one of our brighter prospects from the DR.

 

Other than that, there's only been who...De Los Santos recently? Gio Gonzalez (I know he's not Domican, just trying to think of any Hispanic players we've developed)? Lorenzo Barcelo, but he was part of the White Flag trade to SFG.

 

Good catch on the erasing of our ground operation there.

[Texsox]

How does one country produce so much talent? Or does it?

[southsider2k5]

How does one country produce so much talent? Or does it?

 

From the sounds of it, people in the DR view baseball the same way we view college. It is the one big necesity to move up out of the barrio.

[caulfield12]

1) Immense poverty/very weak educational system...no opportunities even w/ a college degree

2) Beisbol is king of the island, MLB players are like gods there

3) Athletic ability/instincts

4) Sports are not fragmented like US, where youth are also steered into golf, tennis, soccer, basketball, football, etc.

5) Relative "cheapness" of game...just need a field, can improvise to make a glove and ball, sticks as bats, etc.

6) Year-round weather and games 365 days a year, not seasonal like US

7) Satellite tv and Internet, everyone around the world can follow MLB

Edited February 24, 2009 by caulfield12

[Texsox]

From the sounds of it, people in the DR view baseball the same way we view college. It is the one big necesity to move up out of the barrio.

 

What I'm wondering is this; Is all the attention because they treat the Scouts like royalty and line their pockets? Seems like Scouts are mining for gold in more than one way, and if this gets cleaned up, we may just see a more normal distribution.

 

Remember, the edge is these players are not under the restrictions of the amateur draft, baseball could clean this up with one rule change.