"They Speak"

Tragic Number 23 (Ventura)...'He Gone'

So not only have the fans found it hard to fall in love with this team, but it looks like even the team doesn't believe they're going to win.  After yesterday's rough 10-4 loss to the Rays, comments like "MLB did schedule a game for tomorrow so we're going  to be back" from Manager Robin Ventura doesn't exactly sound like the troops are getting ready for war.

I'm going to say what no one else seems to want to say or believe.  Ventura should be shown the door...fired.  Yes, I said it, fired.  

Everyone is heaping praise on the first year manager, actually first year anything.  This team according to some pre-season publications was supposed to lose 95 or more games.  These Sox were supposed to fold early and begin a multi-year rebuilding process.  However, somewhere on the way to a lost season, the three biggest questions (Peavy, Dunn and Rios) found themselves and had career-expected years.  Rios has been consistent in his whole game.  Dunn has hit 40+ home runs and driven in near 100 runs.  Peavy is among the leaders in the American League in quality starts and probably in lack of run support.  

On top of the player resurgence, and a host of rookies who pitched in when the farm system was ranked dead last, and three shrewd moves by Kenny to acquire Youk, Myers and Liriano for virtually nothing, this team was better than most thought and had a legitimate shot to win the division.  With the Tigers struggling on defense and fighting through some injuries, the Sox should have walked away with this thing.

So we entered mid September (actually September 18th) with a 3 game lead.  Winners of 5 in a row, having just taken a crucial make-up game from Detroit on a Monday afternoon, and then beating Kansas City in their park now as dumbfounding to the Sox as the Metrodome was in Minnesota for all those years.

Like it or not, the White Sox got to a position to be in the post season much earlier than most thought.  For better or worse, Robin Ventura was now on the spot to help deliver a team to a post season birth.  This is when we find out about players and their ability to grind out a win.  The same can be said for managers leading their teams to the post season.

Well, the results are in.  Since that 3 game lead and 5 game winning streak after play on September 18th, the White Sox have gone 2-9.  Yes, 2-9 in the most critical time of the year.  We've seen more Omogrosso and Septimo early in games to wish you were a Cubs fan.  We've seen an offense sputter with bases loaded and no one out yet we roll out the same players, and poorly execute when the other pitcher is supposed be so tight that you couldn't pull a tee out his butt with a pliers.  Except, that tightness was the case for our hitters and Robin continued to roll out the same line up and not ask some of our hitters test the fielding prowress of the opposing players with bunts, hit and run plays, or anything resembling a playoff offense.

Hawk will say it was the fault of the pitchers who couldn't throw strikes and walked us right out of ball games, or hitters who just forgot how to drive in runs with men in scoring position and less than 2 outs.  I say it's because we had a laid back manager who didn't know how to motivate, how to change a lineup, or how to put pressure on the other team for fear of losing.  As soon as you're afraid to lose, you will.  And did we, 2-9.

We got an early chance in Robin's tenure as manager to see what he could be about.  No one expected this but we got it.  And his grade is an F.  F for failure.  F for F*&ked up.  F for First year.  F for Find a new job.

Some will point to Fredi Gonzalez in Atlanta who blew their chances last September (2011) and came back this year to lead the Braves to a Wild Card spot.  I say bullshit.  The silver lining is that we did not have to go through a 5 year re-build to determine that Robin was just Gene Lamont and Jerry Manual reincarnated; like-able guys who couldn't command a team and lead them to success.  How long will it take for Hawk to start saying this team has no fire, and needs a kick in the 'behind.'  That's code for the manager needs to go.

I'm not advocating we should have kept Ozzie (Miami is sorry for that now I'm sure), but I think we in Chicago, in a big market, with a fan base that feeds off enthusiasm and excitement, deserve better.  Kenny and Jerry better have a new list of candidates.  The process should start in Cleveland tomorrow.  However, I don't think the media in Chicago is going to ask for Robin's head.  I don't think most fans are going to blame him.  But 3 years from now when the Sox draw 1.4 million fans and the team still can't beat Detroit, let alone KC, someone in the front office will ask the question.

At least I have my DVD's from 2005 and subscribe to the MLB package on Direct TV.  There will be plenty of good baseball to watch, just not live on the South Side.

White Sox Fade Quietly (& Privately) Out of Contention

I have to wonder why no one is writing about this subject.  Is Jerry Reinsdorf somehow convincing writers not to address attendance issues with this team?  Or is everyone scared that the truth is no one could really fall in love with this team?  Not that it's a team to hate, but it doesn't seem like anyone really cares.  It's been in first place but it's a boring team (teams do take on the personality of their managers, but that's another blog).

Who would have thought that after leading the American League Central all summer, having a 3 game lead on September 10th, standing at 76-64, 12 games over .500, then, Sunday, coming off a horrible road trip to KC and Anaheim, yet still 1 game up on Detroit (after a miserable double header loss of their own on Sunday), that the White Sox would come home to an empty ball park?  Seven games left, including 4 against the Rays, fighting for their own existence, and they draw 18,630 fans last night.  At least that's what was announced, who knows how many people were really in the park.

This has been one of the nicest September's in Chicago I can remember, and I've seen quite a few.  Beautiful temperatures, very little rain.  This past week has almost been perfect.  So all those White Sox brass comments about "we always get the shitty weather, when it's nice our fans will show up."  Well, it's been BEAUTIFUL.  The team was in FIRST PLACE.  However, this weeks' attendance thus far:  

Monday - 20,206

Tuesday - (afternoon game with a temperature of 78 deg) 13,797

Wednesday - 20,106

Thursday - 18,630 (for two teams fighting for playoff existence with less than a week left!)

That's an average of 18,185 (and I rounded up).  Hell, even Dog Night couldn't draw a few extra souls..did we count the dogs?  Was Monday night half-price night also "half-count" night, so attendance was really 20,206 X 2?  Wow, 40,000 in the house --nope.  It's unbelievable to consider that Tampa Bay 'leads' the Major League in lowest 2012 home attendance average  - @ 19,418!  The White Sox couldn't even draw above the lowest home average in the Majors during a week in which they could have clinched the division crown!

No, this was a first place team, coming home off a tough road trip with a one game lead, and with Hawk Harrelson crying for the "10th Man" to come out and support this "tired" team as they "play the most important week of the year at home."  No wonder Hawk was out sick last night.  It wasn't because of the team's performance, it was because of the fan apathy that finally pushed him over the top and made him cry in his "can of corn."  

Why was this the case in 2012?  Was it a boring team?  Was it the feeling that this team couldn't go far in the playoff's anyway (after all, since 2005 we are all experts on that now)?  Was it the Economy?  Heck, maybe we should blame it on George Bush's policies, that seems to be a common blame from the White House these days. 

Personally, I think it was a team that over achieved for the year.  Key players had huge comeback seasons, a few others had very solid years.  But it was a team that people looked and questioned their advancement if they made the playoffs.  It is also a team that is hard to relate to.  It took on the qualities of their manager and it was like watching paint dry at times.  Bases loaded no one out, oh well we'll get'em next inning.  Was Gene Lamont the manager this year?  Who was?  Coop?

I know most of us got sick over the Ozzie show last year.  That's Miami's problem now (or at least until they fire his ass next week).  But Chicago has always been about the personalities on great teams.  Think Walter, Ditka, Michael, Carlton, Kane & Toews, Ryne, Andre, Buerhle.  Many others I didn't mention.  Now try and come up with one this year that really stands out?  Paulie, nope (but I still love the guy).  AJ, nope.  Chris Sale, no.  Peavy, heck no he's done in Chicago.   Gordon, no, not until he stops swinging for the fences every at bat.  Reed, ha.  Dunn, Rios, Viciedo, De Aza?  No, these guys don't stand out and you can't relate to them as fans.

It was a tragically nice year.  We almost made it (though at print time we were still in it), but no one really cared.  And no one showed up to support it.

BTW, and this really happened.  As I was writing this post, a friend emailed me to ask if I wanted his tickets for tonight, I said NO.  Geez.

 

New Director at Firm58

Yesterday we at Firm58 announced the appointment of a new director to our board.  Mike Plunkett, former President of Instinet has recently accepted our offer to be a part of the Firm58 team.  I couldn't be more excited.

I first met Mike last November and instantly knew he'd be a great fit for Firm58.  Mike's vast experience and industry knowledge will be incredibly helpful to Firm58.  I think it's safe to say that he's forgotten more about financial services then most of us will ever know.

I'm really excited about his appointment and am looking forward to working with Mike.  I'll post more on my Firm58 blog later.

Comic meets Finance

My old friend Daniel Rubin has a very appropriate post and comic on Motley Fool here .  Daniel is one of the funniest guys I have even known, terrified to fly but could light up a room of a 1000 or more. 

He brings some humor and reality to the world of investing, and this world can use a lot more of that today.  Kudos Daniel.

Look for me next week at the 2nd Annual Financial Technology Summit by Rosenblatt Securities in New York

Next week I've been asked to attend the 2nd Annual Financial Technology Summit in New York put on by Rosenblatt Securities.  Thanks to Vikas Shah and the team at Rosenblatt Securities for inviting me to the event.  I'm really looking forward to it.

I will be part of a panel discussion that day entitled: Demystifying Post-Trade:  Understanding back office innovations can pay dividends.  We'll be discussing the shifts in regulations and compliance, along with the ever changing demands of customers for greater transparency into their trading fees.  With transaction volume and commission dollars shrinking, and with regulations and compliance increasing the demands on trade by trade transparency, there's a bigger requirement on the sell-side to more accurately and more timely process, account for and report on daily trading activity, including the measurement of client profitability.  

The panel is going to dive into the post-trade problems and discuss potential solutions.  It's next Thursday, September 30th in New York and I'm sure I'll post some comments here after the event.

Where is the next "web" thing?

I'm ready for the next "web" thing.  

It seems to me that we are in a lull regarding new applications on the web, stuff that really challenges our senses, our way of thinking and our way of interacting with one another.  Maybe it's just me, but I'm bored with the applications that are out there.

Now let me preface that comment with this.  Many great new consumer-web tools have become valuable business franchises.  Think E-mail.  Think Instant Messaging.  Now today, think social networking (i.e. FaceBook) and micro-blogging (i.e. Twitter) have comfortably landed in the enterprise and have become valuable mainstream applications.  Look at Microsoft Sharepoint and it's partner eco-system (the likes of Social Sites by NewsGator) and you can see that real business value is being delivered to most enterprises through these market leading technologies.  The consumer web of social networking is all grown up.

Back on the consumer web innovation seems to come from add on applications to micro-blogging and social networking in the form of location based solutions, driven in a large degree to the explosion in use of the mobile web.  While that's interesting and adds some value to the current consumer social web, it doesn't excite me.

I find myself checking Facebook less and less and when I do I'm more disappointed all the time.  Don't get me wrong, I'll use it to keep in touch, share some fun things and generally stay in touch with my "network" but I'm looking for more than when a "friend" checks into Starbucks in Seattle, or the Ritz in New York City.  My response is "ok?"

Applications such as FourSquare were interesting at first.  But FourSquare became almost voyeuristic in a sense.  Do I really want to know if a friend in town was shopping at the local 7-Eleven?  Or worse, do I want them to know I was there?  Sure I could control where I checked in, but then what's the purpose if you are selecting your check-ins?  So what.

In my opinion, I believe the consumer hype over things like Twitter and FaceBook is dying.  That's why you see these firms attempting to monetize their assets, not grab new users.  Maybe it's this great recession we are in, and the overly negative tone we have in this country about our economy, our politics and our leaders.  Maybe it's the downsizing and scrutiny of early stage investors, but I sense a lull, a boredom actually, with real innovation around collaboration.

I'm ready for the next "web" thing.

Surviving in a competitive capital markets environment

Next week Tabb Group and Firm58 are hosting a webinar (Tuesday, September 21 @ 1pm ET) discussing the new brokerage relationship and the importance of capturing the right costs/fees and measuring client profitability, accurately.  

For many years it's been standard practice for brokerages to charge their trading customers some average mil rate and hope this covers the cost of doing business across all clients, even if some are unprofitable and others are unfairly overcharged as a result.  This has left a brokerage's revenue "unprotected."  As a result, profitable clients leave for better business relationships and unprofitable clients demand more services...at a loss.

Further, as clients have become more sophisticated and request arrangements like "cost-plus" billing, or do business with a bank across multiple asset classes, this method of average costing is misleading banks as to the profitability of a client, and regularly results in the distribution of even more services to underperforming, or unprofitable clients.  In today's economic and political environment, this is a recipe for business disaster.  Leading firms are already addressing these issues.

When you compare these costs today, the 2nd or 3rd largest expense in any financial institution is its Brokerage, Clearing & Execution (BCE).  In addition, the explosion of new markets (or trading venues) and the complexity of calculating fees or commissions, including commissions for adding liquidity, has made the effort to accurately capture and apply these costs across multiple client accounts almost impossible.  

The webinar highlights the problems for firms ignoring the warning signs.  Competition is eating away at firms that cannot accurately calculate and manage the cost of their trading clients.  The webinar will also offer suggestions to address this critical need.  

Not surprisingly, Firm58 is helping many firms with the technology behind this complex problem.  Firm58 can help firms manage their costs more accurately and Protect their Revenue streams more proactively, thus enhancing their competitive positions in any market.

Sign up for the webinar now!

Why brokerages need a real expense management system

The attached story from Trader's Magazine is exactly what brokerages need to take a very hard look at expense management and properly rank order their clients in terms of profitability.  There's clearly less dollars going around and everyone is chasing it.  But at what cost?  Firm58's Profitability Solutions will help brokerages gauge the value (or profitability) of each client and make informed decisions about which commission dollars to chase and at what price.  Chasing volume isn't the sole answer.

Firm58 Also Highlighted in Wall Street & Technology

Firm58 was recently highlighted in Wall Street & Technology.  The article talks about our work with ELX, a new exchange that ramped up operations last summer.  Firm58 is proudly supporting ELX's operations through our Billing solution.  

Firm58 Highlighted on Deal Radar 2010

Check out the latest write up on Firm58 via Deal Radar 2010.  It's a great overview of the business and the opportunity we serve in Capital Markets.  Back and Mid-office post trade processing has gotten more complex, and Firm58 is helping companies solve the complexity while protecting precious revenue streams.  Check it out and let me know what you think.