badgercub

Let's wait and see how Prior, Wood, and Miller come back. I can just see the Cubs giving up some of their best prospects to get Willis and then in his first start with the Cubs his arm falls off. Don't we have enough problems with pitchers with bad mechanics? While Willis is good I think I would pass on him and hope for the best with the group of young pitchers that are coming up right now in Marshall, Hill, Guzman, etc....

Also a lot of times if you get there early players flip a lot of balls up into the bleachers. My little brother got one from Derrick May a few years back.

Ah, hell. I'll join in on the fun, too. Care to wager on that? I don't wager, ever. Well........I *did* bet on the Marlins on games 6 and 7 and won about 1,500 bucks. Almost never. It's a feeling, based on past history with how our starter's injuries tend to go. You should be banned from all things Cubs for the rest of your life. :twisted: :wink: I don't feel guilty about it, though I understand people's reaction to it. It was based on a hunch. No, the money didn't help soften the blow. It paid my rent instead :wink: Did you ever see The Bad lieutenant? Great movie. Harvey Keitel was excellent.

Working hard on NSBB eh? :lol: Stupid end of the quarter!! I worked from 8:30 yesterday morning til 11 last night on quarterly reports in hopes that I could get out of here for a couple hours this afternoon to watch some of the Cub game. I am still holding out hope. Maybe I will just go home for lunch at 1, take the rest of the afternoon off and come back after dinner and work til late tonight.

Less of a problem if a buyer buys the whole company and then sells the Cubs to help finance the purchase. They would need a lot more financing than the measley 500 million or so the Cubs would bring in. Like I have said the Cubs are a very small part of the Trib. The Trib has a current market cap of approx. 8.5 billion dollars and is trading near a 52 week low, add in a premium to get an offer accepted and you are looking at a price tag of over 10 billion that is if the stock price wouldn't go up on speculation that the company is for sale, which it is not. Using the 52 week high of the stock price and you are looking at a price tag of of closer to 15 billion. A financial buyer will borrow 80% of the purchase price. With deductible interest there won't be taxes for awhile. Albertson's was in an auction which was public knowledge. The bid was about 25% above it's low. There is so much money available in Private Equity, behemoths like FOX and Viacom out there, this looks to me like it will happen in some form. The numbers I used were very conservative, the Trib is only priced at 1.6 times book value right now. It is trading at a deep discount right now.

Less of a problem if a buyer buys the whole company and then sells the Cubs to help finance the purchase. They would need a lot more financing than the measley 500 million or so the Cubs would bring in. Like I have said the Cubs are a very small part of the Trib. The Trib has a current market cap of approx. 8.5 billion dollars and is trading near a 52 week low, add in a premium to get an offer accepted and you are looking at a price tag of over 10 billion that is if the stock price wouldn't go up on speculation that the company is for sale, which it is not. Using the 52 week high of the stock price and you are looking at a price tag of of closer to 15 billion.

The difference is those teams can afford to take on such a bad bat. The Cubs can't afford a black hole like Neifi in their already weak lineup. Boston has major holes in their lineup also. They're awful at SS,3B, and RF. And they're not overly strong at first. A platoon of Trot Nixon and Wily Mo Pena in RF will crush the production of any and all of the Cubs outfielders. I think Lowell will be just fine at 3b in Boston. Do you really want to compare the Cubs offense to Boston's? Boston's top of the line up of Crisp, Loretta, Manny, Ortiz, Varitek and Pena/Nixon will be one of the best in baseball. Sea Bass can go 0 for the year and Boston will still score more than 900 runs. The Cubs can only wish for 700 runs at this juncture, especially if Neifi is starting everday. Plus, if Lowell falters they have Youkillis who they can move back to 3b.

There are several other entities the Tribune could sell before it it would sell the Cubs. Why sell one of the more profitable arms of your corporation? because the Cubs are not a part of their core business. I think they would sell off some of their peripheral businesses and concentrate on what it is they do best, which is media. So... "We're going to sell off the Cubs, even though they're a big money maker for us. And we're sticking with what got us here--our newspapers, even though we're running into heavy competition with the Internet, which is draining our circulation. We're also keeping our local television stations across the country. Yes, there are more viewing options than ever before, but we think the WB is going to turn it all around for us." Selling the Cubs may stop the bleeding at Tribune Co. But it would only be temporary. The Cubs are not keeping the Trib afloat.lol They are a very small stream of revenue for a multi billion dollar corporation. Yes, I think they should concentrate on what it is they do best which is media, find new ideas to generate revenue from their CORE business, which does not include the Cubs. If they don't turn around their core business it really doesn't matter what the Cubs bring in. Also, WB is a blip on their screen. Newspapers are their business that is what they need to focus on. Incorporate the digital media, internet into their businessplan. Believe me, I understand what you're saying. I'm just incredibly skeptical it will happen. I think the Cubs are too closely affiliated with WGN-TV, WGN radio and--even though they hate to admit it--the Chicago Tribune to be sold off. Other entities will find their way to the chopping block before the Cubs do. I don't know that it is going to happen anytime soon, I am just making the case as to why they should do it, and why it may happen. Again the only thing that is slowing this down is the 450+ million dollar capital gain they would have to pay taxes on.

Outside of Furcal, what were all these other options, aside from a trade? If Lugo was so available, why is he still in Tampa? It takes two sides to make a deal and if Hendry would have overpaid for Lugo or Tejada, like he did for Pierre we would be up in arms over that. Hopefully Ronny will pan out he has had a bad spring, but let's not panic just yet.

There are several other entities the Tribune could sell before it it would sell the Cubs. Why sell one of the more profitable arms of your corporation? because the Cubs are not a part of their core business. I think they would sell off some of their peripheral businesses and concentrate on what it is they do best, which is media. So... "We're going to sell off the Cubs, even though they're a big money maker for us. And we're sticking with what got us here--our newspapers, even though we're running into heavy competition with the Internet, which is draining our circulation. We're also keeping our local television stations across the country. Yes, there are more viewing options than ever before, but we think the WB is going to turn it all around for us." Selling the Cubs may stop the bleeding at Tribune Co. But it would only be temporary. The Cubs are not keeping the Trib afloat.lol They are a very small stream of revenue for a multi billion dollar corporation. Yes, I think they should concentrate on what it is they do best which is media, find new ideas to generate revenue from their CORE business, which does not include the Cubs. If they don't turn around their core business it really doesn't matter what the Cubs bring in. Also, WB is a blip on their screen. Newspapers are their business that is what they need to focus on. Incorporate the digital media, internet into their businessplan.

There are several other entities the Tribune could sell before it it would sell the Cubs. Why sell one of the more profitable arms of your corporation? because the Cubs are not a part of their core business. I think they would sell off some of their peripheral businesses and concentrate on what it is they do best, which is media.

I'm wondering how much protection Bonds will get from the MLBPA on this one. If remember correctly I think that Bonds has opted out of a lot of MLBPA agreements to promote his own self-interests; independent merchandising deals and so forth. well, my guess is they will defend him to the hilt because if they don't, it will erode some of their power and it could open the door for other players to be disciplined or suspended or whatever. But what can the players assoc. really do? This issue can't help but divide union members some of whom will support Bonds on principle while others will gladly let him burn. Here's the best case scenario for everyone involved: Bonds gets banned for 5 years with a chance to be reinstated. This makes Selig look like a responsible disciplinarian for the the politicians. The Players union can formally protest and then shrug their shoulders as if to say "Sorry Barry, we did what we could." This Helps Bonds because he gets a way out that gains him sympathy from his remaining fans and he doesn't have to crawl away and hide. Bonds can then bemoan his fate for as long as he likes. Just like Pete Rose he can play the "I didn't do anything wrong card" for years thus creating a cottage industry around himself. So Barry get's banned for 5 years, yet Rafael Palmeiro, who actually was caught red handed get 10 games, how is that fair?

The Cubs are a pretty small portion of the Tribunes assets and revenues, and are not a part of their core business. If enough investors get fed up with it, they will be sold. As far as Mark Cuban buying them, don't get your hopes up. Cuban is a shrewd businessman and when he bought the Mavs, he got them for a song. I doubt he would want to pay a hefty premium that the price tag will most likely include.

Too much is being made of Cedeno's defense this spring. I am not concerned by the errors in AZ, the fields they are playing on are rock hard and probably account for some of the errors. I have no problem with what Baker said and I think a lot of it gets overplayed in the papers. We'll just have to wait and see. I hope Ronny comes out and lights it up to start the season, if not I have no prob with Neifi in as long as he is batting 8th.

I think this would be too hard to do because it really isn't a static thing. Things change all the time and you never know what can upset the "Chemistry" of a team.

9 with wade miller... Fer got em but the point is the same. At some point the team will either recognize the emerging abilities of Marshall/Hill/Guz and see what they can get for the others, or keep shuttling pitchers between Iowa and Chicago. Although given the injury history of scertain stud righ handers maybe that's a good option to have. When is it time to see what Wood/Prior can get on the open market, or do we simply see them walk in FA for nothing? won't the Cubs at least get draft picks for them if they let them walk?

I'm wondering how much protection Bonds will get from the MLBPA on this one. If remember correctly I think that Bonds has opted out of a lot of MLBPA agreements to promote his own self-interests; independent merchandising deals and so forth. well, my guess is they will defend him to the hilt because if they don't, it will erode some of their power and it could open the door for other players to be disciplined or suspended or whatever.

MLB can do whatever it wants. MLB is a private club, protected by Federal legislation. The White Sox players were acquited in a trial and still got banned. I don't think it really matters what is done to the players who are "proved" to have used steroids. It's about exposing the guilty. It's about showing the fans all of the evidence against those who used steroids. If they can finally prove that Bonds/Big Mac/Sosa/whoever was a steroid user beyond a reasonable doubt, this will be a success. Selig has done a very good job in the last 2 years of cleaning up a mess that he was probably partially to blame for. The current steroid punishments are excellent, the testing policy is going in the right direction, and I expect this investigation to provide information about the recent history of the game. I like it. Selig is a boob.

MLB can do whatever it wants. MLB is a private club, protected by Federal legislation. The White Sox players were acquited in a trail and still got banned. The players didn't have a union back then either. The players union is too strong today. I have a feeling they will drag this investigation out for quite sometime and release their findings towards the end of the season or even after the season is done. Therefor if someone like Bonds is definitively found to have used steroids he will just retire anyway. A second thing to think about is, what about some of these players from foreign countries where steroids are no illegal and baseball had no rule against them, what do you do about that? There were rules against using steroids, they just didn't have a rule that allowed for testing of steroids. Getting caught with them was similar to getting caught with other illegal drugs. IIRC wasn't there a big debate that a lot of these steroids were not on the banned list of substances until the last few years. I may be wrong, but again I am just playing devil's advocate. Looking at it from a defensive standpoint as to what the players and their union might argue.

MLB can do whatever it wants. MLB is a private club, protected by Federal legislation. The White Sox players were acquited in a trail and still got banned. The players didn't have a union back then either. The players union is too strong today. I have a feeling they will drag this investigation out for quite sometime and release their findings towards the end of the season or even after the season is done. Therefor if someone like Bonds is definitively found to have used steroids he will just retire anyway. A second thing to think about is, what about some of these players from foreign countries where steroids are no illegal and baseball had no rule against them, what do you do about that? note: I am just playing Devil's advocate here.

Other than penalties imposed by the criminal justice system (assuming they can convict in a court of law) what can MLB do? They had no policy for steroids on the books. There is no way they can go back and suspend someone for breaking a rule that did not exist prior to last year. While I think the players should be exposed I think this is just a dog and pony show. with no physical evidence and a case that is going to be based mainly on hearsay I highly doubt there will be any convictions other than in the court of public opinion. If you really want to stop the used of steroids you have to go after the source.

Please don't pick him up. It wouldn't surprise me though.

from everything in the papers today, it sounded like they were going to wait and see how Williams' start went today.

Yeah, I don't get why Neifi is being mentioned either as he should be the primary backup at SS and possibly get some playing time backing up 3b. If Walker is not starting I am willing to give Hairston a chance to see what he can do at 2b now that he is healthy, maybe he will break out, maybe.

Like it or not, Pierre is the only legitimate option as a leadoff hitter for this team. You can talk about Pie all you want, but he is not a leadoff hitter and if the Cubs try to make him into one I think they will regret it. If the Cubs do trade Pierre they had better find someone to bat first in the lineup unless they plan on putting Hairston or Walker in the leadoff spot.