Roles are changing as new faces appear in the commissioner's office and Paul Beeston prepares to leave. Bob DuPuy is currently MLB's chief legal officer and executive vice president for administration. DuPuy will now replace Beeston as president and chief operating officer and take his spot on the three-man team negotiating the new labor agreement with the union.

Beeston's departure from the commissioner's office follows his gradual loss of authority. Reports abound of a labor agreement almost completed before last season's All-Star break until Beeston was suddenly told to discontinue the unofficial negotiations. His exit, which is expected March 15th, will likely be a serious blow to those interested in a peaceful settlement of these labor talks. Beeston has been one of the few representatives of management that appeared to have a decent grasp of the situation and who seemed capable of maintaining a level head during negotiations.

DuPuy is the person Selig selected attend the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on MLB's antitrust exemption in his place. With DuPuy replacing Beeston on the negotiating committee, the owners lose the one person on the team with a solid understanding of MLBPA. Neither of the remaining members of the team, MLB Executive Vice President of Labor Relations Rob Manfred or outside lawyer Howard Ganz, is known for their relationship with the players.

Therefore when the owners ultimately lose the grievance filed against them by the players regarding contraction, there will be no one there to recommend against pointless attempts at retaliation through hard stances on ill-advised changes to the labor contract. The players' patience can only be expected to last so long and eventually things will escalate to the point where at the very least the All-Star game, which is to be held at Selig's home park in Milwaukee, will be endangered.

In addition to his duties as a negotiator, DuPuy may now become the person who hears the appeals of player suspensions and fines as dealt out by MLB's new Vice President of On-Field Operations Bob Watson. Frank Robinson held Watson's position before Robinson was named manager of the Expos, and Watson has already said that he plans to increase the severity of punishments from the already strict levels employed by Robinson. Considering that the elimination of pay during suspensions is among the changes MLB is negotiating for in the new labor agreement, it would seem vital to install a more neutral party at least at the appeals level.

Elsewhere in the commissioner's office they have a new Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Jonathan Mariner, the Marlins' CFO from their inception in 1992 through 2000, will take over the position from Jeff White, who has held it for the last 10 years. I've seen no explanation for this change, so I can only presume that Selig wants to replace White with someone more in tune with his view of MLB's financial situation.

While Mariner can't be blamed for the quirks of the Marlins' first owner Wayne Huizenga, he certainly neglected to effectively point out to either owner that a continued investment in quality players would almost certainly lead to continued on-field success, which in turn would bring about increased fan support and therefore increased revenue and support for a new stadium.

The commissioner's office seems to be filling up with yes men and now reports exist that say that the owners will be fined if they even discuss labor relations between themselves. With this kind of restriction on communication, how can the two sides ever arrive at a meeting of the minds? Is Commissioner Selig worried that one owner might infect the others with the idea that crushing the union isn't a valid option and maybe it isn't even one that they should want to pursue? After all the players do provide the product and the primary turnoff for fans in recent years has been the focus on money.

When fans side with owners on labor relations, it is because they think that the players are overpaid and that player salaries lead to increases in the price of attending a ballgame. In fact the price of salaries has very little to do with how much teams charge for admission and related costs. Organizations will charge what people are willing to pay. Ticket prices rise with demand. While there is occasionally a corresponding increase in payroll, the proceeds normally turn into additional profit for the owner.

Lately the owners had a rather sharp clash with reality when confronted with the fans' reaction to contraction. If for some reason they thought that the fans would feel sorry for them as struggling multi-millionaires, maybe they should have consulted history for past reactions when the players were the multi-millionaires in question. Eliminating teams is not going to fly with the general public. The only fans still on ownership's side on the matter of contraction are those who were sufficiently hoodwinked during past labor negotiations into always thinking of the players as the bad guys.

The players' objections to revenue sharing are admittedly selfish. They don't want money taken away from those who would otherwise spend it. However, I'm not overly bothered by this stance, as revenue sharing isn't the answer to baseball's problems.

The general complaint is that when the season begins there are teams without any "hope and faith" of making the playoffs. I've seen columnists write that as many as 22 teams will start the season without a legitimate shot at the playoffs. If that were true, then that person should be able to make a fortune in Vegas naming all eight playoff teams before Opening Day.

Let's get realistic. The more savvy the baseball fan, the more teams you can at least doubt, but the number of teams you have to admit do have some chance at the playoffs also increases. For example, San Diego isn't making many lists of division and wildcard winners, but they do have a team with a lot of potential that could sneak in there under the right circumstances. The casual fan probably wouldn't have expected Philadelphia to put up the record they managed last season, but the results are quite indisputable.

Some teams are repeatedly at the bottom of the heap and others at the top. But above all else, including revenue, the number one thing that differentiates the winners from the losers is front office management. I've said this again and again and I will continue to repeat it until my fingers turn blue. Increase the level of competence in a team's front office and you will increase their success. Increase a team's success and you will increase their revenue.

All this eventually brings me back to the changes in the Commissioner's office where John McHale, Jr. will take over DuPuy's old position of MLB's executive vice president for administration. McHale left his position as the Detroit Tiger's Chief Executive Officer last May to go to Tampa Bay to sort out their problems as Tampa's new Chief Operating Officer.

I have little available with which to evaluate McHale's past work with the Tigers, so I don't know if he would have been able to make any progress with the Devil Rays regardless of the length of his stay with the team. However it seems highly unlikely that he could have done much to turn the team around in so short a time. This change of position for McHale once again leaves Tampa Bay without a clear leader.

I've rambled on in this article and climbed up onto my soapbox more than once, but the point I'm making is that MLB continues upon a slippery slope. Those with some shot at putting the breaks on this runaway train are leaving, only to be replaced with foot soldiers for the cause.

Given my current profession and my personal interest in the game, I strive for optimism when looking at the labor conflict. Nevertheless, I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel when I look at the details, and I would rather see a strike than see the owners allowed to declare an impasse and institute whatever labor contract they choose. I didn't want to write this article. I would have preferred spending today's column to discuss the inconsequential contracts of players who will never make an All-Star team. However, until a labor agreement is reached, this remains news and my optimism will have to revolve around my faith that fans will ignore the politics and continue to follow baseball.