$14 Million More in the TRIB's Pocket

[Chocolate Milk]

Most of this criticism of Cuban is petty and unwarranted. He's a great owner and it is undeniable that he's done a terrific job. I'd personally love to have the analysis that he applies to his basketball team, focused on the Cubs. In my mind, I'm not sure we could do much better.

[CubfaninCA]

He brings to the table what george steinbrenner does, and regardless of whether the yankees have won a world series or not lately, the fact is that they will forever be a factor. The yankees and the mav will always be involved in the postseason, and will decide on the outcome of each season no matter what.

 

How do you explain the 80's, and early 90's? I don't see the point in using such absolutes. It's not remotely true.

 

and really, how difficult is it to make the NBA playoffs? I wouldn't exactly call that a great accomplishment. Have the Mavs made it to the conference finals even? Cuban has done a lot to revive that franchise but making the playoffs in the NBA is quite different than doing it in MLB.

 

That's an excellent point. They made it to the conference finals in the 2002-2003 season. But that's it. Every other year they lost earlier. If you took the top 8 in the NL, the Cubs would have made the playoffs in 2001 and 2004. That would mean 3 playoff appearances in 5 years and who knows what would have happened in the playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks have been slightly better than the Minnesota Timberwolves have been in the regard that the Mavs make it to the second round before losing and the T-Wolves lose in the first round.

 

ah it was 2003.

 

best thing cuban did was get don nelson & his run & gun/no defense out of there. i didn't like cuban for quite some time, but he's finally learning how to construct a winner, with some fiscal responsibility.

[kente777]

He brings to the table what george steinbrenner does, and regardless of whether the yankees have won a world series or not lately, the fact is that they will forever be a factor. The yankees and the mav will always be involved in the postseason, and will decide on the outcome of each season no matter what.

 

How do you explain the 80's, and early 90's? I don't see the point in using such absolutes. It's not remotely true.

 

I'd gladly go 10-12 years of drought for a world championship. The problem with the Cubs is that they've gone almost 10 decades. I'd love to be like the Yankees because when they come out of a drought, they win a half dozen championships afterwards.

 

George Steinbrenner is a winner. Yes, he's had losing seasons and droughts. That's part of being human. But the mark of his baseball life is winning. If you doubt that, just take a look at the Yankees win/loss ratio with him as owner. I have no idea what it is, but I can guarentee it's much better than the Cubs in the last 35 years.

 

Ken

[LoneStarCubFan]

The difference is Mark Cuban transformed one of the worst franchises in sports history.

 

Wait, he owns the Clippers too?

[The Voice of Reason]

soccer10k wrote

 

Why does everybody think the Tribune Company doesn't care about winning? I'm sure they don't care as much as the fans but I bet winning does matter to them.

 

Because they are a public corporation with a Board of Directors that has a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders (not Cubs fans) to increase revenues and the value of the Tribune Corporation's stock price. It's naive to think the Board would be happier with a winning team than a profitable division. Like any corporation, the Tribune will only invest the minimum amount in their product (the Cubs) that they feel is required to maximize their return (i.e., keep Wrigley Field full, TV ratings high, etc.) on their investment.

[jjgman21]

 

Why does everybody think the Tribune Company doesn't care about winning? I'm sure they don't care as much as the fans but I bet winning does matter to them.

 

 

Trib is a corporation. the goal of corporation is to maximize profits. it's really that simple.

 

if winning brings in more profits, I'm sure the Trib is all for it. if winning has nothing to do with profits, the Trib wouldn't give a damn about winning.

[Fro]

There's a salary cap in the NBA... what Cuban spent money on was coaching, perks for the players, and getting fans in seats.

 

The big thing with Cuban is he believes in stat-based management. We'd get an organization that spent wisely, not necessarily more.

[oldstyle81]

He brings to the table what george steinbrenner does, and regardless of whether the yankees have won a world series or not lately, the fact is that they will forever be a factor. The yankees and the mav will always be involved in the postseason, and will decide on the outcome of each season no matter what.

 

How do you explain the 80's, and early 90's? I don't see the point in using such absolutes. It's not remotely true.

 

i also see the late 90's when no one could beat them

[oldstyle81]

There is a salary cap in basketball, there is not one in baseball

 

 

i would love to see Cuban, he has passion something that Andy MacPhail dosent have. when they turn the camera on him durning a game and he has that stupid grin eventhough the cubs are down 50-0

Edited May 10, 2006 by oldstyle81

[oldstyle81]

 

Why does everybody think the Tribune Company doesn't care about winning? I'm sure they don't care as much as the fans but I bet winning does matter to them.

 

 

Trib is a corporation. the goal of corporation is to maximize profits. it's really that simple.

 

if winning brings in more profits, I'm sure the Trib is all for it. if winning has nothing to do with profits, the Trib wouldn't give a damn about winning.

 

 

If they cared about winning, we would have a couple of world series rings since they took the cubs over. However like you said winning in their eyes is the money coming in. The Trib has plenty of money to hire the absolut best managers and players yet there has only been a handful since they took over

[Mark_R]

There's a salary cap in the NBA... what Cuban spent money on was coaching, perks for the players, and getting fans in seats.

 

The big thing with Cuban is he believes in stat-based management. We'd get an organization that spent wisely, not necessarily more.

 

The cap in the NBA is very loose, hence why teams like the Knicks can get just about any bad contract they desire (which often appears to be all of them).

[mjohnson71]

I think every MLB team, from the Yankees down to the Royals, is getting this $14-16 million dollar gift. I've seen other forums where people are being paranoid about the team pocketing the money and not putting it back in payroll.

 

All this means that the market for pitchers will get even more stupid. Any starting pitcher thats had at least one .500 season will be getting big jack.

[CubfaninCA]

There's a salary cap in the NBA... what Cuban spent money on was coaching, perks for the players, and getting fans in seats.

 

The big thing with Cuban is he believes in stat-based management. We'd get an organization that spent wisely, not necessarily more.

 

The cap in the NBA is very loose, hence why teams like the Knicks can get just about any bad contract they desire (which often appears to be all of them).

 

It's loose for bad contracts, but not good ones. NY couldn't add someone like Ray Allen who could have really helped them. Cuban would have no restraints in baseball.

[Mark_R]

There's a salary cap in the NBA... what Cuban spent money on was coaching, perks for the players, and getting fans in seats.

 

The big thing with Cuban is he believes in stat-based management. We'd get an organization that spent wisely, not necessarily more.

 

The cap in the NBA is very loose, hence why teams like the Knicks can get just about any bad contract they desire (which often appears to be all of them).

 

It's loose for bad contracts, but not good ones. NY couldn't add someone like Ray Allen who could have really helped them. Cuban would have no restraints in baseball.

 

That's absolutely wrong. If the Knicks wanted Ray Allen, they could give up any expiring contract (ie Penny Hardaway) and had him this season.

 

I believe the Knicks still have a portion of their MLE as well, but if we wanna discuss contract situations in the NBA, might be a good time to split this discussion off.

[Irrelevant Dude]

According to my really wealthy Cubs fan friend on the North Shore, the team has been up for sale the last few months.

Damn, I missed the "really wealthy club" meeting. :lol:

[Banedon]

According to my really wealthy Cubs fan friend on the North Shore, the team has been up for sale the last few months.

Damn, I missed the "really wealthy club" meeting. :lol:

 

Tuesdays...they moved it to Tuesdays. I thought I told you....my bad. :D

[CubfaninCA]

There's a salary cap in the NBA... what Cuban spent money on was coaching, perks for the players, and getting fans in seats.

 

The big thing with Cuban is he believes in stat-based management. We'd get an organization that spent wisely, not necessarily more.

 

The cap in the NBA is very loose, hence why teams like the Knicks can get just about any bad contract they desire (which often appears to be all of them).

 

It's loose for bad contracts, but not good ones. NY couldn't add someone like Ray Allen who could have really helped them. Cuban would have no restraints in baseball.

 

That's absolutely wrong. If the Knicks wanted Ray Allen, they could give up any expiring contract (ie Penny Hardaway) and had him this season.

 

I believe the Knicks still have a portion of their MLE as well, but if we wanna discuss contract situations in the NBA, might be a good time to split this discussion off.

 

That's only if Seattle agrees to a sign and trade though.

[jjgman21]

He brings to the table what george steinbrenner does, and regardless of whether the yankees have won a world series or not lately, the fact is that they will forever be a factor. The yankees and the mav will always be involved in the postseason, and will decide on the outcome of each season no matter what.

 

How do you explain the 80's, and early 90's? I don't see the point in using such absolutes. It's not remotely true.

 

the 80's can be explained by Steinbrenner's meddling in baseball operations. the early 90's can be explained by Stenbrenner's ban from having anything to do with the operation of the Yankees. once his pocketbook was back into play and his nose out of the transactional side of running the team, the Yankees became perennial contenders almost instantly.

[Jon]

One of the most important things to remember is that if the Tribune Co. was in a position where they were going to/had to sell it, they could care less who they were selling it to as long as it meant the most money for them. There wouldn't be any guarantees that the money spent on the team would remain at least at the level where it currently is. And it's a big assumption to make that Cuban would be the highest bidder. Of course, if the Cubs weren't in a position where they needed to sell the team, why would they?

 

As it stands now, though, the Tribune Co. owns the Cubs and has a strong interest in winning. They're spending the money anyways and get a far better return when the Cubs win. The boost in ticket sales (especially post-season ticket sales), merchandise sales, exposure, etc. all bring in more money.

 

It would be pretty irrational for the Tribune Co. not to care about how the Cubs do.

[Jon]

He brings to the table what george steinbrenner does, and regardless of whether the yankees have won a world series or not lately, the fact is that they will forever be a factor. The yankees and the mav will always be involved in the postseason, and will decide on the outcome of each season no matter what.

 

How do you explain the 80's, and early 90's? I don't see the point in using such absolutes. It's not remotely true.

 

the 80's can be explained by Steinbrenner's meddling in baseball operations. the early 90's can be explained by Stenbrenner's ban from having anything to do with the operation of the Yankees. once his pocketbook was back into play and his nose out of the transactional side of running the team, the Yankees became perennial contenders almost instantly.

At the rate George is losing money on the Yankees (and it's a pretty high rate), though, it's not going to last.

 

At some point, he's going to have to make cuts. When the Yankees can't afford to grossly overspend on FAs, that farm system of theirs is really going to kill them.

[Caryatid]

He brings to the table what george steinbrenner does, and regardless of whether the yankees have won a world series or not lately, the fact is that they will forever be a factor. The yankees and the mav will always be involved in the postseason, and will decide on the outcome of each season no matter what.

 

How do you explain the 80's, and early 90's? I don't see the point in using such absolutes. It's not remotely true.

 

i also see the late 90's when no one could beat them

 

And that had a whole lot more to do with their talent evaluation (see homegrown talent such as Rivera, Pettitte, Jeter, et.al.) than it did with their checkbook.

[srbin84]

Sorry if this was said, but didn't the Cubs pay in part for the Nationals already, and if so, how much was that?

[CubfaninCA]

Now if the Cubs had Cuban as owner, Giles would probably be patrolling rf. Cuban seems like a guy who looks at the long-term and increasing the value of his team. He doesn't care if he loses $10 million in one year, cause he'll get that money back and thensome later on.

[srbin84]

Now if the Cubs had Cuban as owner, Giles would probably be patrolling rf. Cuban seems like a guy who looks at the long-term and increasing the value of his team. He doesn't care if he loses $10 million in one year, cause he'll get that money back and thensome later on.

 

I agree with you on wanting Cuban as the owner because he does what it takes to win. However, I don't think winning 10 or so more games a season would really increase the value of the Cubs much more than it is or much more than it would cost to do it. The value of the Cubs is so high because they have a gauranteed profit every year from the ticket sales, etc. If sales are already close to maxed out, where is the potential for more profit by winning and paying to do so on top of that?

[Banedon]

[entirely unfounded conspiracy theory]

 

You know it's interesting. Despite reportedly having said that he would have an interest in the Cubs in the past, there are no references on blogmaverick.com about any interest in either the Cubs or owning a baseball team. You would think if he had an interest, he'd mention it at some point, maybe in passing, unless possibly he was already in some kind of talks??

 

[/entirely unfounded conspiracy theory]