Random Baseball Musings

[CubInOK]

that's my point. there are a few around here, but they typically end up being the same type of people who are "really into" the EPL. The sport itself is cool and the athletes are cool and from what exposure they get it seems like they have far more personality than athletes in the big 4 sports. But NHL fans are seemingly *BLANKET STATEMENT* really into letting people know what serious sports fans they are. it rubs me the wrong way.

oh I get it now.

Edited October 21, 2013 by CubInOK

[jersey cubs fan]

that's my point. there are a few around here, but they typically end up being the same type of people who are "really into" the EPL. The sport itself is cool and the athletes are cool and from what exposure they get it seems like they have far more personality than athletes in the big 4 sports. But NHL fans are seemingly *BLANKET STATEMENT* really into letting people know what serious sports fans they are. it rubs me the wrong way.

 

Wait, more serious than baseball fans who argue over how true of a fan they are, or football fans who try to out intensify each other?

[imb]

maybe most of that stuff gets lost in the wind to me since im around it more. I'm just saying, I dont think ive ever had an interaction, online or IRL, with a "casual" hockey fan. It's always dudes trying to impress you with how hardcore they are.

[OleMissCub]

Sounds like Cardinals fans

 

Any fans that vocally say they are the best fans are the worst.

[imb]

holy [expletive], how good was koji uehara this year?

 

101 strikeouts and ONLY NINE FRIGGING WALKS in 74 1/3. For those counting at home that's a 0.565 WHIP. 12.2 k/9 and oh yeah, a 11.22 k/BB.

[TruffleShuffle]

holy [expletive], how good was koji uehara this year?

 

101 strikeouts and ONLY NINE FRIGGING WALKS in 74 1/3. For those counting at home that's a 0.565 WHIP. 12.2 k/9 and oh yeah, a 11.22 k/BB.

 

as a reliever since coming over to the u.s., his whip is 0.701, his K/BB ratio is 284/26 in 219 innings, and he's got a .165/.192/.301/.493 line against.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

And his fastball averages 88.2 MPH.

[Banedon]

maybe most of that stuff gets lost in the wind to me since im around it more. I'm just saying, I dont think ive ever had an interaction, online or IRL, with a "casual" hockey fan. It's always dudes trying to impress you with how hardcore they are.

 

Oh I'm definitely a casual hockey fan. I mean, I watch it all the time now, but I really just got into it with the 2010 SC run. I can probably count on both hands the number of non-Blackhawks I have more than passing familiarity with.

 

My wife is in the same boat, and she now claims hockey to her favorite sport. Football was the only real competition for her though.

[Derwood]

maybe most of that stuff gets lost in the wind to me since im around it more. I'm just saying, I dont think ive ever had an interaction, online or IRL, with a "casual" hockey fan. It's always dudes trying to impress you with how hardcore they are.

 

Oh I'm definitely a casual hockey fan. I mean, I watch it all the time now, but I really just got into it with the 2010 SC run. I can probably count on both hands the number of non-Blackhawks I have more than passing familiarity with.

 

My wife is in the same boat, and she now claims hockey to her favorite sport. Football was the only real competition for her though.

 

Me too. I bought NHL 14 for PS3 and every time I play a new team I have no idea who most of the players are.

[jersey cubs fan]

In baseball, the size of the TV deal a team has usually has a lot to do with how much they can spend on free agents.

 

Meaning the Phillies could soon have a new healthy chunk of change to spend.

 

According to Howard Megdal of Sports on Earth, the Phillies are expected to complete a new deal for the TV rights to their games within the next 30-days. The Phillies current deal with Comcast does not expire until after the 2015 season and is worth $35 million annually.

 

Here is what Megdal is speculating the new deal could be worth:

 

"Under their current deal, which expires after 2014, the Phillies make $35 million per season. This is low by virtually any standard. The San Diego Padres, for instance, make $60 million per year on their television deal. The Rangers are on a new deal at $80 million per season. The Angels check in at $147 million per year. And all three also received equity stakes in the sports networks paying the team.

 

Just how much of an increase could the Phillies get? The Good Phight, one of the top Phillies sports blog, put together a nice piece on what the value of the new deal could be. By looking at some of the top markets such as Los Angeles, Texas, Anaheim and New York, they project the Phillies new deal to be worth somewhere between $180-$275 million annually.

[sneakypower]

holy [expletive], how good was koji uehara this year?

 

101 strikeouts and ONLY NINE FRIGGING WALKS in 74 1/3. For those counting at home that's a 0.565 WHIP. 12.2 k/9 and oh yeah, a 11.22 k/BB.

 

as a reliever since coming over to the u.s., his whip is 0.701, his K/BB ratio is 284/26 in 219 innings, and he's got a .165/.192/.301/.493 line against.

and he was left off the WS roster for the Rangers in '11

 

(you might remember that being the WS where the Rangers blew an 8th inning 7-4 lead in game 6)

 

For those counting at home that's a 0.565 WHIP

that's the new record, Eckersley had previously held it with a 0.614 WHIP

[Sammy Sofa]

In baseball, the size of the TV deal a team has usually has a lot to do with how much they can spend on free agents.

 

Meaning the Phillies could soon have a new healthy chunk of change to spend.

 

According to Howard Megdal of Sports on Earth, the Phillies are expected to complete a new deal for the TV rights to their games within the next 30-days. The Phillies current deal with Comcast does not expire until after the 2015 season and is worth $35 million annually.

 

Here is what Megdal is speculating the new deal could be worth:

 

"Under their current deal, which expires after 2014, the Phillies make $35 million per season. This is low by virtually any standard. The San Diego Padres, for instance, make $60 million per year on their television deal. The Rangers are on a new deal at $80 million per season. The Angels check in at $147 million per year. And all three also received equity stakes in the sports networks paying the team.

 

Just how much of an increase could the Phillies get? The Good Phight, one of the top Phillies sports blog, put together a nice piece on what the value of the new deal could be. By looking at some of the top markets such as Los Angeles, Texas, Anaheim and New York, they project the Phillies new deal to be worth somewhere between $180-$275 million annually.

 

For [expletive]'s sake.

[SouthSideRyan]

But we can't spend more than 3 nickels until our entire stadium is rebuilt and 2 years after every media contract has been renegotiatied.

[davell]

But we can't spend more than 3 nickels until our entire stadium is rebuilt and 2 years after every media contract has been renegotiatied.

I really want both sides re-done somehow or just give it all to CSN. But I can't see this bubble lasting until 2019. Assuming it costs us some to renogiate early, it still seems better than waiting.

[Sammy Sofa]

I like how the Phillies are rewarded with stupid money after spending dumb and the Cubs are being strongarmed in a back alley by the powerhouse that is [expletive] WGN.

[Clem Fandango]

Silly question, but can the Cubs just buy out the remainder of their TV contracts? Or will their TV partners never agree to such a deal?

[Sammy Sofa]

There's is absolutely no [expletive] way the Ricketts could afford that.

[Clem Fandango]

There's is absolutely no [expletive] way the Ricketts could afford that.

 

Not even if there's a billion dollar pot of gold at the end of that rainbow?

[Sammy Sofa]

There's is absolutely no [expletive] way the Ricketts could afford that.

 

Not even if there's a billion dollar pot of gold at the end of that rainbow?

 

Given this stupid debt structure nonsense and all the other [expletive] they're trying to find change for, yeah, I seriously doubt they could buy out both Comcast and WGN.

[treebird]

Silly question, but can the Cubs just buy out the remainder of their TV contracts? Or will their TV partners never agree to such a deal?

 

this is something i've wondered about as well. this doesn't make sense at all. i mean, obviously this would have happened by now if it was possible, but why the hell can't we just give csn and wgn some huge pile of cash tomorrow in exchange for letting us go get 100 million a season or whatever from what the new deal would be? even if ricketts really is rubbing nickels together to heat up his ramen while living in the visitors' clubhouse, this seems like the easiest investment ever for some other rando to wander into. give tom the buyout upfront, get all the money back plus whatever you want in a month when the cubs sign a new tv deal.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'd have to imagine that the pitch for investing in a Cubs network would probably go over a lot better when the team is a lot better and the organization's finances and reorganization plans weren't so publicly stuck in neutral. I'm not saying that it's a bust that people would flee screaming from, but the timing just doesn't seem right for some really key (and depressing) reasons.

[SouthSideRyan]

Team Valuations from Bloomberg

 

Don't know if there's a better place for this, but here goes.

 

Cliffs:

 

-Cubs 6th most valuable franchise at 1.32 Billion.

-4th in 2013 Revenue, 5M less than the Dodgers

 

Excuses why we can't spend money

-6th overall in media revenue

-Only 7M separating the top parking revenue team(Dodgers) from the Cubs (3M)

-5 teams with >10M advantage in sponsorship.

 

NL Central Revenues

Cubs: 320M

Cardinals: 250M

Reds: 205M

Brewers: 205M

Pirates: 185M

 

In what seems a rare occurence in baseball accounting, both the A's and Giants dispute their team valuation here, stating it should be even higher.

Edited October 23, 2013 by SouthSideRyan

[jersey cubs fan]

Silly question, but can the Cubs just buy out the remainder of their TV contracts? Or will their TV partners never agree to such a deal?

 

this is something i've wondered about as well. this doesn't make sense at all. i mean, obviously this would have happened by now if it was possible, but why the hell can't we just give csn and wgn some huge pile of cash tomorrow in exchange for letting us go get 100 million a season or whatever from what the new deal would be? even if ricketts really is rubbing nickels together to heat up his ramen while living in the visitors' clubhouse, this seems like the easiest investment ever for some other rando to wander into. give tom the buyout upfront, get all the money back plus whatever you want in a month when the cubs sign a new tv deal.

 

The biggest problem is that the organization most likely to parter with the team to form a Cubs only network is Comcast, which is already their partner in CSN Chicago. Plus, Reinsdorf is a partner in that deal (accounting for 2/5 entities in the Cubs/Sox/Hawks/Bulls/Comcast partnership). There just isn't enough motivation for the parties to agree to a deal, without a huge payoff, and Ricketts can't afford a huge payoff.

[ConstableRabbit]

Silly question, but can the Cubs just buy out the remainder of their TV contracts? Or will their TV partners never agree to such a deal?

 

this is something i've wondered about as well. this doesn't make sense at all. i mean, obviously this would have happened by now if it was possible, but why the hell can't we just give csn and wgn some huge pile of cash tomorrow in exchange for letting us go get 100 million a season or whatever from what the new deal would be? even if ricketts really is rubbing nickels together to heat up his ramen while living in the visitors' clubhouse, this seems like the easiest investment ever for some other rando to wander into. give tom the buyout upfront, get all the money back plus whatever you want in a month when the cubs sign a new tv deal.

 

The biggest problem is that the organization most likely to parter with the team to form a Cubs only network is Comcast, which is already their partner in CSN Chicago. Plus, Reinsdorf is a partner in that deal (accounting for 2/5 entities in the Cubs/Sox/Hawks/Bulls/Comcast partnership). There just isn't enough motivation for the parties to agree to a deal, without a huge payoff, and Ricketts can't afford a huge payoff.

FWIW, Ricketts also owns 25% of CSN Chicago.

[jersey cubs fan]

Silly question, but can the Cubs just buy out the remainder of their TV contracts? Or will their TV partners never agree to such a deal?

 

this is something i've wondered about as well. this doesn't make sense at all. i mean, obviously this would have happened by now if it was possible, but why the hell can't we just give csn and wgn some huge pile of cash tomorrow in exchange for letting us go get 100 million a season or whatever from what the new deal would be? even if ricketts really is rubbing nickels together to heat up his ramen while living in the visitors' clubhouse, this seems like the easiest investment ever for some other rando to wander into. give tom the buyout upfront, get all the money back plus whatever you want in a month when the cubs sign a new tv deal.

 

The biggest problem is that the organization most likely to parter with the team to form a Cubs only network is Comcast, which is already their partner in CSN Chicago. Plus, Reinsdorf is a partner in that deal (accounting for 2/5 entities in the Cubs/Sox/Hawks/Bulls/Comcast partnership). There just isn't enough motivation for the parties to agree to a deal, without a huge payoff, and Ricketts can't afford a huge payoff.

FWIW, Ricketts also owns 25% of CSN Chicago.

 

Not exactly.

 

Ricketts owns 1/5th, 20%. Reinsdorf owns 2/5th, 40%. There are 5 entities, the 4 teams plus Comcast. Reinsdorf owns 2 of the 5 entities.

 

The point is that Ricketts' counterparties do not have motivation to help him make a bigger deal with another company.

 

Also, I already noted Ricketts was part of that

most likely to parter with the team to form a Cubs only network is Comcast, which is already their partner in CSN Chicago.