FergieJ31

Exactly. The owners might drag feet on approval or heavily scrutinize the finances, but Cuban would get approved. I suspect Cuban would get tagged as a potential Steinbrenner of the NL, and given the oft-argued economic disparity in the league that alone would be sufficient reason to blackball Cuban. The Cubs could only afford four no-votes; the NL Central alone would be able to block the purchase. Pitt, Cincy and Milw are small-market teams - they would be heavily incented to block.

Would that happen quietly? I genuinely don't know the answer, not trying to be sarcastic or anything. Depends on whether the Cubs thought they could drive up the price with a bidding war or not. Or how much either party wanted to keep it a secret. My feeling is any Cubs sale would be somewhat of a surprise when it happens. I don't think you'd see it negotiated in the press for months on end. Corporations are very good at keeping deals quiet if they want to. And it's a lot easier to sell off an entity within a corporation than to sell the entire business, which would require shareholder votes. As I said in the original post on this during the winter, Tribune is probably not the entity who is going to decide to sell the Cubs. A financial buyer will come in and sell off the pieces to strategic buyers. I.e., the TV stations would be sold to a larger TV operater, the newspapers to a media publisher, in order to get premium prices. There will be no "Tribune Corporation" as we now know it. Lefty, I missed that original post during the winter. What's going on at Trib Co that would result in such a mass liquidation? TRB has rallied about 15% since the beginning of April. Someone on Wall St must have liked the stock buyback plan -- in fact Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock just this morning. Here's a pretty good articleabout it. Google News the word "tribune" and you'll find all kinds of articles about the Tribune possibly spinning of it's broadcasting division. Lots of change gonna be happening there. Thanks for that link Banedon -- the stock buyback plan, yes. I was wondering if there was something else b/c Lefty painted a bankruptcy scenario in his post. The buyback involved the strategic sale of assets like WATL, and it did have the intended effect of boosting the stock price, but it's really a doomsday scenario (bankruptcy) that would result in the Cubs being put up for general sale. What's much more likely to me (and I freely admit I'm speculating - I have no inside info) is that the Trib Co is bought in a year or two, after its recent market outperformance streak has petered out, and that the buyer will be another mass-media conglomerate (Viacom maybe?). The Cubs would be the crowning, sentimental jewel of that purchase.

Would that happen quietly? I genuinely don't know the answer, not trying to be sarcastic or anything. Depends on whether the Cubs thought they could drive up the price with a bidding war or not. Or how much either party wanted to keep it a secret. My feeling is any Cubs sale would be somewhat of a surprise when it happens. I don't think you'd see it negotiated in the press for months on end. Corporations are very good at keeping deals quiet if they want to. And it's a lot easier to sell off an entity within a corporation than to sell the entire business, which would require shareholder votes. As I said in the original post on this during the winter, Tribune is probably not the entity who is going to decide to sell the Cubs. A financial buyer will come in and sell off the pieces to strategic buyers. I.e., the TV stations would be sold to a larger TV operater, the newspapers to a media publisher, in order to get premium prices. There will be no "Tribune Corporation" as we now know it. Lefty, I missed that original post during the winter. What's going on at Trib Co that would result in such a mass liquidation? TRB has rallied about 15% since the beginning of April. Someone on Wall St must have liked the stock buyback plan -- in fact Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock just this morning.

Why would they not approve him? Think of what Cuban bring: a huge personality and a desire to win above all else. What more could MLB ask for than a winning team on the north side to boost interest in baseball in general and get people off the topic of steroids. The Cubs and Red Sox winning are the best things that can happen to baseball. Don't get me wrong - I'd love to see Cuban own the Cubs as much as anyone on this board. But how would you vote if you owned another team in the NL, knowing the expected price tag for stud free agents will go up, probably significantly so? For the same reasons Cuban excites Cubs fans, and rightfully so, wouldn't he scare the heck out of most NL owners? His aggressiveness and desire to win is legendary. He's not like most owners, most of whom pay more attention to financial statements than to box scores. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong (going from memory on the Montreal move to DC), but I think it'd require a 3/4 vote of NL owners and a majority vote from the AL. The AL would probably be no problem for the reasons you state, mul21, but I'd worry about the NL if it gets that far. And really, it's a moot point. If the Trib sold the Cubs their Board of Directors would be sued for malfeasance. The Cubs, a high-performing cash cow, would be the last asset sold by the Trib Co.

Assuming the Cubs are on the block, and assuming Cuban is interested, couldn't other owners block the transaction? I can't imagine NL owners NOT vetoing this transaction.

Noooooo!!!!

Neifury!

And how many walks did we take today? This is priceless. Really it is. walks clog the bases. Philosophical question: how many walks would Cub pitchers have issued if they were facing Cub batters? Sort of the opposite of "irresistable force vs immovable object"

5, and 10 simulated games And then a few towel sessions when "a little shoulder soreness" is reported after the final simulated game.

Not to threadjack, but I just looked at Florida's payroll -- didn't realize just how low it really is. At $14.3M it's #30 in baseball of course, and it's well under half of #29 TB ($35.4M). Five Yankees individually earn more than the entire Fla payroll: ARod (25.7), Jeter (20.6), Giambi (20.4), Mussina (19) and BigUnit (15.6) Consider this: Sergio Mitre makes 330k which puts him in the top half of the team. More than half the team makes the league minimum, 327k. And yet, they're good enough to sweep the Cubs .. oh my. Back to topic, even though I agree it's a pipe dream I think Hendry would have to be asleep at the switch to not even inquire about Miggy's availability, or Abreu's for that matter. Maybe Florida values someone in our own system more highly than we do (it's not unprecedented :oops: )

Players get "physically attacked" frequently in baseball. When a player charges the mound after getting drilled, does he get suspended for 10 games? Ever? No, he doesn't and it's crap that Barrett got 10 games. And I have no idea who Rudy Tomjanovich is. Kermit Washington got about 25-26 games in the late 70's for breaking Rudy T's jaw in an NBA game - a blatant sucker punch that resulted in a serious injury. That was 30 years ago, diff't league, plus AJP wasn't injured, so not really comparable, but point taken. I do think 10 games is excessive though -- 5-7 would have been about right.

Dem's fightin words! :wink:

Hendry = Ned Beatty, Beinfest = Mountain Man. That sort of scenario would get a deal done before the end of July. I agree that Miggy is one player you trade the farm for, and it behooves the Cubs to be proactive, but the Marlins are not in any hurry.

Totally agree - this is the point I was trying to make previously re dealing for Miggy. Assuming the Marlins do shop him, they will string teams along until the deadline for maximum value, hoping some team bids TOP prospects + ML-proven talent. If Hendry doesn't throw Z into the aforementioned mix of Gallagher, Pie, Gooz + Murt (and he'd be run out of town on a rail if he did offer Z), Beinfest will say "thanks Jim we'll get back to you".

I'd prefer Jenkins over Lee -- his day splits are really good -- but he's signed through 07 with an option for 08. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Hendry likes his current outfield just fine; they just haven't "got going yet". I really believe you're right. Hendry et al are in denial. Bruce Miles wrote that this is an organization that values the wrong stats, which is an apt observation. I'd take it one step further: this is an organization that values scouting reports much more than stats, and Moneyball showed how fallable scouts can be.

Why stop there? Why not ARod at SS too :lol: Of all the realistic scenarios for 2007 I like goony's OF of Lee, Pie and Jones / Murton. I just don't see Hendry moving JJ at all, for the reasons goony states. Trading for Abreu or Miggy would be nice, but so would peace on earth. Cubs are not exactly dealing from a position of strength. They have plenty to give up to make the deal for Miggy. Other teams have higher ranked prospects, but most of them have no interest in trading their higher ranked guys. Gallagher, Guzman, Murton and Pie could probably get you Miggy. Send Pierre back there and pay his salary, move Jones over the center and call-up whoever the heck you want to play the other corner OF spot. Done. I'd do that trade in a second. Would Florida? I think the Angels could easily beat that package, don't you think? With their disappointing season it seems (I'm only speculating) they should be more incented to trade high prospects for a proven stud.

Why stop there? Why not ARod at SS too :lol: Of all the realistic scenarios for 2007 I like goony's OF of Lee, Pie and Jones / Murton. I just don't see Hendry moving JJ at all, for the reasons goony states. Trading for Abreu or Miggy would be nice, but so would peace on earth. Cubs are not exactly dealing from a position of strength.

Wasn't Cabrera the one who once laughingly mocked Moises' hissy fit from an unspeakable game? That said, don't get me wrong -- even if he's a smartass I'd LOVE to see him in a Cubs uni next year ... Fla *owes* us a good trade fer cryin out loud :evil:

Er... "One of these things is not like the other..." MojoPin, great sig ... that's how I feel as I look at Nomar's line after 108 AB this year: AVG .370 OBP .430 SLG .657 OPS 1.087

Since misery loves company, thought I'd add this little tidbit: With last night's loss, the Cubs team OBP dipped under 0.300 for the first time all season (now 0.299) ... ouch :(

For the record: NYY and Bos are 1 and 2 in walks in the AL, 3 and 5 in runs. LAD and Cin are 1 and 2 in walks and runs in the NL.

Oh hell no. Murton for Soriano? I'll pass everyday, and twice on Sundays. Slumping Murton for Soriano? Still, no. Bradley wouldn't have cost that much, unless you're aluding to Colletti's former ties to this club and the spite he holds. I don't think he'd make any deal with us unless he were fleecing us. I'm assuming (hoping) the Soriano for Murton thing was sarcasm.

Yep. Blackjack McDowell was the guy that accused him. My recollection is that Prior laughed off Blackjack's suspicions - that was early last year if memory serves. Edit: It was April 2004: Cubs | Prior Responds Thu, 1 Apr 2004 11:04:39 -0800 Updating an earlier story, Cubs.MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports Chicago Cubs SP Mark Prior responded to the comments made by former MLB SP Jack McDowell about steroids. "Do I look like I'm on steroids? That's the first I heard. Was he serious? I guess the best thing I can say is obviously I'm not; I don't know why he would say that. I never met the guy, I don't know the guy," Prior said. "I don't know if he's got a beef with me because I went to (USC) and he went to Stanford. That's about the worst thing I've ever heard. It doesn't even make any sense."

End of your argument you mean? Barrett wasn't down blocking the plate - AJ could have touched the plate without sliding and still avoided Barrett. Or he could have slid in easily and safely. Legal or not, it was a dumb, unneccary and cheap play. Legal or not is the whole argument. You want to argue the morality of a baseball play? I'm not going to get into that, because it's a bottomless hole. My argument stands. We'll see who gets the bigger suspension. I'll be waiting to hear your excuse why Barrett got the raw end of THAT deal as well. My final take? Barrett should get 7+ games for cold-cocking someone who made a fair, within-the-rules baseball play. I'm no AJ fan, never was. But Barrett's lost his head 2 times in the past week. It's time for the league to sit him down. I appreciate that he still cares, but he needs to get control of himself. I agree 100%. Every word. I'd add that while it was sort of nice at one level to see AJP get his clock cleaned, I don't know why some people seemed to be celebrating the event, especially given the granny a few minutes later and the final score. Just like Z drilling Edmonds last year, it doesn't show "fight" or "spirit", just bad sportsmanship and frustration, and that's nothing to celebrate.

Can someone please describe what kind of reception Kerry gets when he takes the mound, if it's shown on TV? For the benefit of us stuck at work w/no tv in sight :(