Notes from the Ryan-Davis-Simpson Presser

Davis and Simpson opened by simply re-reading the statement they had released earlier today.  Then Nolan Ryan took the podium and, unlike the first two, didn't mention or thank Greenberg until he opened it up for questions.

Upon questioning, Ryan skirted the issue of what the differences were between himself and Greenberg on management styles ("I'm not going to go into any of that."). 

"I don't think there was an event that created the differences we had, we just had different philosophies. It's like a marriage. You think it's going to work, but you get in there and find out maybe that things aren't going to work out like you hoped." -- Nolan Ryan

Davis and Simpson then stepped up and tried to take some heat off of Ryan, stating that the decision to remove Greenberg was a board decision, and not simply Nolan's idea.

"Neither Bob nor I expect to ever do another press conference." -- Ray Davis

"I expect to be able to do both [run baseball and business sides of org]. I'm not a micromanager....  I don't think it will be any different than how it's been the last three years I've been president." -- Nolan Ryan

"I think during the effort to purchase the ballclub and bankruptcy and subsequently the auction, that's where the focus and energy was.  The group of owners was united in trying to get that done, and then once that was done, we realized there were differences in how to run the business." -- Nolan Ryan

"We liked having Chuck out there. We liked having him out there in the community....  This had nothing to do with someone being too visible. Chuck did an excellent job of going out there and working with the fan base and working with the media." -- Ray Davis

"I think that this is the end of any issues. Ray and I are remarkably comfortable with each other as partners." -- Bob Simpson

Greenberg was given the option of remaining an owner but without being the CEO. But he declined. "Chuck likes to do deals." -- Bob Simpson