Tribune makes first cuts in bidding process for Cubs, Wrigley
by ballhawk on Jul 23, 2008 2:47 PM CDT
Email
PrintJust got wind of this via Tribune news alert...
Tribune Co. informed would-be buyers of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field today whether they would be invited to continue in the auction based on last week's initial bids.
For the latest developments go to: chicagotribune.com/business
In typical sensationalistic fashion, a heavy favorite has been "cast aside" - apparently Canning & Co. came in with a lowball offer. But I think it's pretty safe to say he'll be back. This is only the first public step in a rather complicated, convulated, and complex selling/political process leading towards a final resolution. Think Elaine Benes dancing while Charles Barkley swings a golf club in the background...
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.
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Based on that article...
... I don’t know if Canning will be back, but I do agree with you that it will be a long, complicated and complex process. Don’t expect anything to happen until the season is over.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
No Canning is good thing right?
I mean for the future of the Cubs (i.e. cost cutting/trading expensive players, etc) he was the largest concern of the potential buyers right?
Yes, it's a great thing.
Canning = cheap douchebag
"That’s what I love about my skip, man. He’ll tell you that you suck...I know I suck. We know we suck...Yeah, we suck. But we’ll see who sucks at the end."
- Gary Sheffield
by DrGalazkiewicz on Jul 23, 2008 7:17 PM CDT up reply actions
AKA
If Canning were to own the team then 2008 would HAVE to be our year cause we’d never have money to build up a team like this again.
Not that I want Canning...
... or want to defend him, particularly, but do either of you have proof of these statements?
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Might have misread
Al, I was responding to DrGalazkiewicz statement. If you recall I was asking why we didn’t want him above.
Oh, I see what you mean now.
OK… then to DrGalazkiewicz, do YOU have any proof of your inflammatory statement?
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Canning
From what I know of Canning, he’s a lifelong baseball fan and a totally down to earth guy. I was trying to find the Business Week article link about his life – it’s pretty inspiring and impressive and says that he’s not arrogant in the slightest – but i think you have to pay for it.
He’s was a catcher for the Braves at some point in his earlier years and cared enough and was serious enough about the potential purchase of the Cubs that he resigned from his postition and the vast majority of his responsibilities at Madison Dearborn Partners.
I’ve been in his office and spoke with his receptionist that said over a year ago that “Bud Selig’s calling all the time these days” so it’s not unreasonable to paint him as someone with a possibly unfair inside track.
That said, Zell is about as hard-nosed as they come and if you track down the New Yorker article about him earlier this year you’ll know that MLB is not going to stand in his way of selling to the highest bidder. You have to remember that he runs the ship at one of Chicago’s (former) most important and recognizable companies – The Tribune Co and they need the money really bad. The City may even step if it feels MLB is colluding with preferred owners.
I have NO idea why anyone would call him “cheap.” Proof? Just because he’s an astute and rather corporate business man? He’s got all the money, baseball passion and chicago pride to make him a suitable candidate as far as I’m concerned. His low bid makes me wonder though – he’s built his weath in private equity (buying companies in transition) so this is his forte unlike Cuban and others.
"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." - Yogi Berra
by wrigley's ivy on Jul 24, 2008 1:37 PM CDT up reply actions
Interesting.
Canning never caught in the major leagues. He may have been a catcher in the Braves’ farm system at one time, but I can’t find any record of that.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Oops
I should clarify – I meant to write he was somewhere in the (Milwaukee) Braves system – I believe in the early 60’s. From my understanding he wasn’t all that close to the majors – but he did play baseball competitively, which means something to me.
That said, i think there are other good (or even better) candidates to buy the Cubs, I just don’t think he should get a bad reputation because Selig thinks he’d be a great owner.
PS. As far as the “cheap” comment goes, I happen to know that Madison Dearborn Partners (which he founded and named after the Chicago streets that his office intersected at – and still does) just spent over $20,000,000 to improve his 58,000 SF office space. That’s $350 per foot and if that’s “cheap” then I’d like to see your house.
"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." - Yogi Berra
by wrigley's ivy on Jul 24, 2008 2:38 PM CDT up reply actions
I agree...
...with your comments about Zell and the potential battle that could ensue with MLB over taking the highest bid.
Also, I don’t buy that Canning is out of this thing yet. He has to be astute enouph to know his bid was low and he may have not wanted to put too much on the table to begin with (I am guessing here).
Anyway, if Cuban ends up the highest bidder by 100-200 million, the battle that could develop between Zell and MLB could make that Peoria Chief brawl look tame.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
Well, except no one will likely throw a baseball at Zell.
Or maybe they will. Who knows?
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
bah
not enough details. What about Pink-Hat guy? What about Cuban? What about Al’s favorite guy?
"We expect to win. We go out to win. So we're just living up to our own expectations." Derrek Lee, 5/29/08
I don't know...
...how good the source information has been in the paper, but I haven’t seen Levin’s name as one that made the cut. It doesn’t mean he didn’t make it, I just haven’t seen it reported.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
Canning
apparently was counting on his friendship with Selig and long ties to MLB to allow him to pick up the Cubs cheap. But that’s not going to cut it with Zell. He’s assuming the Cubs sale would go like the Red Sox, Marlins or Nationals sales, but those were sales that MLB controlled either through ownership or in the case of the Red Sox, well-placed insiders controlling the deal.
MLB has no control over what Zell does and if it tried, I have little doubt Zell would tell them to buzz off. But this sale is more like the Dodgers sale, where NewsCorp sold to Frank McCourt and told MLB there wasn’t anything they could do about it. That’s why Cuban is a serious bidder. Cuban has something Zell wants badly—cash on hand. Zell doesn’t want any wacky financing plans.
Yes, MLB could vote to not approve Cuban as an owner. What would happen after that would be chaos, which MLB does not want.
Canning certainly could be back, most likely in a merged offer with one of the bids that passed the first hurdle. But you have to question his desire to actually own the team at this point.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
Here's more about Pink Hat Guy's group:
Chicago Lawyer Bidding for Cubs (July 21 article from American Lawyer Daily)
One of those bidders, The Am Law Daily has learned, is labor and employment partner Thomas Mandler of Chicago’s Hinshaw & Culbertson. A member of the firm’s executive committee, the 61-year-old Mandler is part of a group of bidders that includes Jim Anixter [ed: Pink Hat Guy], president of Northbrook, Ill.-based electrical wire and cable manufacturer A-Z Industries, and former Cubs outfielder and current Hall of Famer Billy Williams.
PHG has Billy Williams on his side! That is a huge point in his favor.
This isn’t the first time Mandler and Anixter have bid for the Cubs. In 1981 the two sought to buy the team from the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company for $22 million. (The Wrigley family said the team wasn’t for sale before turning around several weeks later and selling it to the Tribune Company for $20.5 million.)
Another point in his favor – he was already screwed over once when Wrigley sold to the Trib for less than PHG bid.
How sweet would that have been for PHG – $22mm in 1981 = $1b in 2008
Mandler’s bidding partner and fellow Cubs season-ticket holder, Jim Anixter, is the son of Alan Anixter, who founded the Anixter Brothers wire and cable company that the Anixter family ironically sold to Zell of all people in 1986. (Zell-owned Anixter International is now the world’s largest wire and cable specialist for the electrical industry.)
Another point for PHG – prior high-level dealings with Zell!
After the sale to Zell, Jim Anixter’s brother, Scott, started a smaller version of the company that he called Anicom. It was Scott Anixter who would be indicted by federal prosecutors in October 2003 on 26 felony fraud charges. . . . Jim Anixter was never implicated in any federal investigation.
Despite the last line about PHG never being implicated, this certainly does not help.
Edmonds-o-Meter discontinued
by joeschmitt on Jul 23, 2008 3:59 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Good stuff
thanks for posting … although none of us should be damned for the actions of our siblings. Ask, Tom Skilling :-)
What doesn't kill you makes you stranger -- The Joker
Cash is king
with respects the bids. Methinks that Canning’s history with heavily leveraged buyouts disqualified himself in this type marketplace. Good riddance. Hopefully the groups left in the process are the good guys like Levin and Cuban.
Question. Is there any relationship to the recent $500,000 fine from Selig and the failure of his buddy Canning to remain in the bidding process? In any case, the next owner should be onboard by the next Cubs convention.
If you like Selig's handling of the steroid issue, you'll love his choice for next Cub owner.
I believe Don Levin has plenty of cash.
When he was asked a couple of years ago about buying the Cubs, he said he could close the deal within 90 days, implying he could do it for cash.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
lol!
’’If somebody had told me we were going to lose Soriano for eight weeks, lose [Carlos] Zambrano and Kerry Wood for a couple of weeks apiece, and then at the same time lose [Reed] Johnson, and then when we played the American League not have a DH [then-injured Daryle Ward], and be in first place by two games, I’d tell you we were pretty fortunate.’’ Lou Piniella (7/23/08)
by drewishdrewid on Jul 23, 2008 6:36 PM CDT up reply actions
If Levin...
...could raise a billion in cash that quick, the dude has some serious dough stashed away or some very rich partners he would tap (which is the likely case).
I think Levin would be a terrific owner and I wish him luck.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
Pitching is KING!
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Jul 23, 2008 5:47 PM CDT up reply actions
my exact thought when i saw "cash is king"
by Canseco's Roid Party on Jul 24, 2008 11:41 AM CDT up reply actions
no, no
Ray is King! Let’s get the Cubs raking!
by Shanghai Badger on Jul 24, 2008 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions
He'd fit right in with this year's Brewers, though.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
That Canning Didn't Make the Grade Is Astonishing
I assumed with his connections and friendships with Selig and Reinsdorf, he’d be at worst the first runner up when it came time to announce the sale.
Now before anyone posts the “beat the dead horse” GIF…...obviously I have no evidence that Canning would have been another Andy MacPhail and run things with a self-imposed salary cap in one hand and a passive contentment to just “compete within the division” in the other. Still, though, I was concerned about Canning’s ties to the Commissioner just like Americans used to be concered about the Roman Catholics’ “ties” to the Vatican before JFK was elected. And I say that as a Roman Catholic myself.
Though my first choice would be Cuban, I appreciate the concerns others have shared about him. So I think Don Levin would be a good consensus pick, being that he’s a local guy who’s had great success with the Wolves and would seem to spare no expense when it came to running the Cubs.
Eat More Katsui
Anyone with ties...
to Selig would worry me, because I simply don’t have a lot of respect for the guy.
Beyond that, I to am surprised Canning’s group came in so low. They had to know other bids would be much higher, so you have to wonder whether they were hoping for a little help.
In the end, I’m not to worried, because nobody (and I mean nobody) is going to make Zell take a bargain price for his asset.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
I work for John Canning
So I am really getting a kick out of most of these replies.
Some of you guys are very good at making it sound like you know what you are talking about.
But trust me…. You don’t.
I think you just want to make yourself sound smart, when in reality you don’t know what you are talking about.
This is how bad info gets passed around.
If you dont know about the topic….Don’t make yourself sound like you do.
‘Cuz some BCBers belive anything they hear.
Edmonds-o-Meter discontinued
Does the Trib...
...have a bad source?
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
That guy was full of crap and I got proof
One of my good friends from college had a roommate who works for a sports agency in Massachusetts. I’ve met the guy and he’s legit. Well one of the clients of this agency is Ryan Theriot. The guy who said he worked for Ryan was not out of MA so he was full of you know what.
Interestingly this guy did say Theriot was one of the most down to earth athletes he had ever met who also happens to have one of the dirtiest mouths when telling a joke.
When I said this guy
This guy = guy who works for sports agency. Not the guy BSing people on here saying he works for Ryan.
Please clarify
Because I am one of the BCBers who has heard about Canning only from this site. I’d be interested to know what’s incorrect…and I understand anything bad they’ve said that is true you can’t agree with for job reasons.
Ok enlighten us
Tell us just what is wrong and right about Canning’s potential involvement. Otherwise your comments are irrelevant and more than a little pompous.
If you like Selig's handling of the steroid issue, you'll love his choice for next Cub owner.
I think that was the point
joeschmitt does not work for Canning. He’s a troll.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 5:44 PM CDT up reply actions
Correction To An Earlier Post
The great linebacker whom I though JoeSchmitt was besmirching spelled his last name “Schmidt”. But I still got my eye on you, fella!
Eat More Katsui
Whatever happened to
the Ricketts family (of TD Ameritrade Holding)? Are they out?
"I don't want hope. Hope is killing me. My dream is to become hopeless. When you're hopeless you don't care. And when you don't care, that indifference makes you attractive." ~George Costanza
The only group
we’ve heard as in or out is the Canning group.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 23, 2008 8:17 PM CDT up reply actions
they had too much trouble getting to Wrigley
they had a low Vitamin D level and their bones hurt..
2008 Cubs: Who needs nine innings, when you only need a 7th?
Sun-Times sez . . .
Cuban is one of the five still in the running.
They don’t know who the other four are, except that Canning isn’t one of them.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
My hope
Whoever owns the team gets ownership before free agency this off-season. Then they can make a big splash and sign one of the two big starters who will be a free agent (AKA Sheets or CC). I’d love for us to give it to The Brewers :)
Absolutely no on Sheets
We don’t need to be giving long-term contracts to injury-prone starters. Sabathia would be nice, but to sign him away from the Yankees and Red Sox would be tough. He’s also love to play for the Athletics or Giants and would give them a discount. It’s unlikely the A’s would do anything, but the Giants might. I can see the Dodgers and Angels going after him too.
How about just re-signing Ryan Dempster? With Zambrano, Harden and Lilly under contract next season (and Jeff Samardzija possibly ready) I just don’t see starting pitching as a huge deal, especially if we can re-sign Dempster. I’d much rather we get a center fielder or a shortstop.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 1:22 AM CDT up reply actions
Reuters now reporting Levin eliminated
3 to 5 bidders advanced. Four of the advancing bidders were:
Mark Cuban
Tom Ricketts
NYC Taxi Tycoon Andrew Murstein and “Sports Properties Acquisition Group.”
The Michael Tokarz/Fred Malek group.
There may be a fifth group. Levin has confirmed that he’s out and he said “What they said to me was that other people were in a completely different zip code.”
Just say no to that weird taxi consortium and Watergate criminals. If those are my choices, I go with Cuban. Ricketts might be OK.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
BTW
The “3-5 groups” comment sounds like it doesn’t make any sense because four groups are listed as advancing. But the Murstein group is pairing up with another group, and that group may or may not be one of the other three groups listed.
Didn’t sound like it made sense when I wrote it, but it does now that I checked it.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 2:17 AM CDT up reply actions
That article also said...
... this game was “in the second inning”.
I’m guessing that any assumptions any of us make from what we read today are going to be wrong.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Al, he's out.
From what Don Levin said, he’s not going to get back in. Maybe he can get back in as a minority partner in another bid.
The Tribune elaborates this morning.
“There’s an emotional value for the team that I can’t afford perhaps,” Levin said. “I had to look at it as a business deal. It had to make some kind of sense.”
That’s not the statement of someone looking to up his bid.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 10:25 AM CDT up reply actions
The article did say that...
... possibly some of the bidders who didn’t “make it” might combine efforts.
I don’t think we’ve hear the last of Don Levin. Further, I’m surprised he said that—I thought his emotional investment in the team, as a lifelong fan, would have made him understand that this is MORE than a business deal.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Maybe he didn't realize
how much more. Perhaps it’s more of a premium than he was comfortable in extending.
Formerly NO100
by jerry morales rules on Jul 24, 2008 12:52 PM CDT up reply actions
Anything is possible
And I wouldn’t rule it out. But Cuban and Ricketts will strengthen their bids as well, and you’ve got to consider those two the favorites at this point.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 1:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Interesting stuff
This is going to take awhile. They don’t expect revised offers from the survivors until September. And they expect to recommend a preferred buyer to MLB in November.
Here’s what I don’t get about the owners possibly resisting Cuban (and, for that matter, MLB forcing the Red Sox to be sold to the second-highest bidder). Shouldn’t owners of other teams be thrilled with a high-ball offer and sale? Doesn’t a record-breaking valuation help increase the valuation of all other teams? Is there a reason owners wouldn’t want that?
''Listen, losing Soriano is no box of chocolates.'' ~Lou Piniella
Cuban !
Will Zell really cave to MLB if Cuban has the highest bid? Does anyone know what they have against him? to me he is the Clear choice ! as my logo shows ..i’m a huge fan !
Zell
Comes off as a hard-ass who bows down to no one. I doubt he cares what Bud and his chronies try to whisper in his ear.
by dr stabbingworth on Jul 24, 2008 7:55 AM CDT up reply actions
i dont know the rules
but i do know that it is not a totally free market – the other owners have veto power over a buyer, and i dont think they would ever approve cuban because he would drive salaries up
the pink hat guy is my father
Isn't Canning a Private Equity guy?
If so, wouldn’t it be second nature to him to lowball on the first offer? And also, if I’m Canning, and I know I have the inside track because of my relationships, I sure as heck don’t outbid everyone on the first bid. I let them set it up, I linger, maybe even get “eliminated,” then I talk to my buddies in high places in MLB. Then I raise my bid just enough.
Good Point Ace
Does anyone know if the eliminated bidders are allowed back in if they can come back with a higher offer?
Eat More Katsui
The articles today
suggested that yes, they can.
''Listen, losing Soriano is no box of chocolates.'' ~Lou Piniella
Which is why it was said this game was "in the second inning".
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
that is not they type of guy I want running this team
can already see him cutting the pursestrings on Hendry
Every player should be accorded the privilege of at least one season with the Chicago Cubs. That's baseball as it should be played - in God's own sunshine. And that's really living."
The problem with
talking to my “buddies in high places in MLB” is that MLB isn’t selling the team. Sam Zell is selling the team and he’s not going to listen to anything Bud Selig has to say.
Everyone keeps comparing it to the Red Sox or Nationals sale, but MLB controlled those deals. (John Harrington, a Selig confidant, had seized control of the Yawkey Trust that owned the Red Sox.) MLB does not control this deal. This is going down like the Dodgers sale and Sam Zell is going to sell to whomever he pleases.
Canning might have enough money to get back in this thing, but he’s not going to get any favors or discounts through MLB. Canning has just gone from the favorite to a long-shot.
And Don Levin is out.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 10:34 AM CDT up reply actions
How do you know MLB is not "controlling" this deal?
They still have to approve the final choice.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Because
Nothing that Sam Zell has done concerning this deal is in line with anything that Bud Selig would want done. And from watching what Sam Zell has done with the Tribune Corporation, he’s not the type of guy who would even listen to what Bud Selig told him to do with the team.
Yes, they have to approve the final choice. For baseball to reject someone like Cuban just because he’s outspoken-well, they wouldn’t do that. First, Zell would sue them. Might not win, but it would be tied up in court for years, costing MLB millions. Secondly, Zell could sell Wrigley, the concessions, the ticket takers, Comcast Sports Net-heck, everything but the 25 people who take the field—to whomever he wants and then ask MLB “What are you gonna do now?” That’s the way Sam Zell runs his business.
If MLB was running this deal, Canning would have never been publicly dissed like he was yesterday. And I have little doubt the half million dollar fine the Cubs got hit with two days ago was because Zell wasn’t doing what Selig wanted him to.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 10:56 AM CDT up reply actions
Your last sentence...
... implies that this deal MIGHT be one that gets tied up in court if Zell’s eventual choice isn’t palatable to the rest of the owners.
We’ll seee. As the article says, this game is in the second inning.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
As far as I can tell
the only people who have ever had their application to own a team rejected by MLB are people with gambling ties. Now that’s not to say that MLB hasn’t used the threat of a rejection on other potential owners, but Zell doesn’t sound like the type of guy to back down from a threat.
But you’re right, it’s early. But I still think Canning has gone from a favorite to a long-shot. And Ricketts has got the money too, and he’s not Cuban. Ricketts may make the high bid and the whole Cuban issue would just go away, which would make Selig very happy.
If Fred Malek got the team, the good news is he’d almost certainly get rid of Jason Marquis and Sam Fuld.
Now to be fair, I don’t believe that Malek is actually an anti-semite. But the fact that he’s not an anti-semite and that he did that because “He was just following orders,” well, I kind of think that’s worse. And then for him to go on an serve as a campaign chair to re-elect a president that he knew first-hand to be a vicious anti-semite, well I really think that’s worse. People can unlearn bigotry. I’m not sure how one unlearns that type of cowardice and blind ambition.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 11:17 AM CDT up reply actions
Nixon
If you read the article, Nixon ordered Malek to compile a list of Jews in the Bureau of Labor Statistics because Nixon believed a “Jewish Cabal” was trying to make him look bad. Malek went through and compiled a list of employees with Jewish names (he apparently never bothered to find out whether or not they were actually Jewish) and at least some of those on the list were transferred and demoted.
Malek claimed (sixteen years later) that he opposed this, but his opposition didn’t stop him from serving as a chair of the Committee to Re-elect the President less than a year later. Malek was about the only high-ranking member of CRP not to be indicted for crimes connected to the Watergate break-in.
(By the way, George Steinbrenner was convicted of crimes connected to Watergate.)
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 1:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Interesting Stuff
Especially when you consider that Henry Kissinger and Ben Stein, both Jewish, were members of the Nixon Administration.
Eat More Katsui
Famously
Nixon was ranting once about the Jews to Kissinger, who replied “Well, Mr. President. There are Jews and then there are Jews.”
Which if you know Nixon, makes perfect sense. To Nixon, Kissinger was Jewish but he wasn’t a Jew. And if you’ve studied the history of anti-semitism, as I have, is all too common an attitude.
To be clear though, Malek’s crime wasn’t anti-semitism but “I was just following orders.” I don’t think that makes it better.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 8:06 PM CDT up reply actions
Wasn't that also the defense
at the Nuremberg Trials?
‘Nuff said.
"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07
Also Said By My Co-Workers
when asked why a PDF file with four-color black was shipped to the printer.
Eat More Katsui
I was about to post about Bill Veeck
But I don’t remember enough of the details. I know he wrangled with the owners about moving a team to LA (before the Dodgers/Giants moved), but I seem to remember that there were issues with him attempting to buy a team. Does anyone remember this more clearly? There were lots of these insider battles in Veeck as in Wreck
Some people have 3 layers, like pie.
The problem with Veeck
is that the guy was a tall-taler. A lot of the stories he tells don’t check out when they’re investigated—or there’s a smidgeon of truth to them but he exaggerates what happened.
What I think you’re remembering is Bill Veeck was that Veeck owned the St. Louis Browns in the early 50s and wanted to move the team to the West Coast, but was denied. Veeck then had to sell the Browns and the new owners moved them to Baltimore.
Not quite the same situation as being vetoed as an owner. Now Veeck claimed that baseball conspired against him to keep him from buying the Phillies in 1944 and stocking the team with players from the Negro Leagues. But investigations in recent years suggest that isn’t what happened. Veeck might have had the idea of doing this (there’s some evidence of that) but there is very little evidence he ever really came close to buying the Phillies (or even raising the money or making an offer), or that Landis personally stepped in to stop Veeck.
Ironically, the Phillies were for sale because their owner was banned from baseball for gambling on the Philliies.
You might have the two incidents mixed together.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 2:47 PM CDT up reply actions
It was 1943...
... when he was going to move the Browns to LA. If WWII hadn’t been going on - restricting travel and making it expensive - he might have done it. It was before jet travel so people would have had to go by train.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
He bought the Browns in 1951
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=St_Louis_Browns
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2004/nf20041027_3631_db078.htm
I’ve got other sources backing that up. Veeck owned the Milwaukee Brewers in 1943. Oh, and he was fighting in the Pacific at that time too.
Veeck wanted to move to the West Coast in 1952. But he was only one team (unlike the Dodgers and Giants who moved together) and he didn’t own the territorial rights to LA (The Cubs did—O’Malley had to buy the LA Angels before the move). Plus, it was Bill Veeck. They blocked him from moving, but WWII had nothing to do with it.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions
I'd have to look this up...
... it may be that he was going to BUY the Browns in ‘43 and move them to LA.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Crain's Report
Crain’s posted a clip on their website this morning, pretty much verifing that Canning is out and that Cuban and four prospective buyers others are still in. You have to sit througha couple of mintutes of other news before the Cubs story is discussed on this link: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/multiMedia.pl?l=1519676900
I’m rooting for Cuban, but if there’s someone out there that wants to spend and win more than he does, I’m all for him/them/whoever.
One day, the dream will come true.
I continue to sound like a commercial for the Score
Just happen to be listening at work all day. Latest update on Cuban said he was the highest bidder and “refused to be outbid.”
Went on to say that he would consider sueing MLB if he has the highest bid and Selig tries to deny him becoming owner.
This thing is going to be very very interesting, and possibly very ugly.
Missouri Tigers 2008 Cotton Bowl Champs
That's really nasty of Cuban if true...
... what if the difference in the bids is $1? Or even $1,000,000? Out of $1 billion that’s 1/10 of 1%.
Plus, I doubt Cuban knows exactly what the other bids are.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
I think Cuban feels as though he might get boxed out by Selig
Which we all obviously feel as well. I could see Cuban offering some crazy sum of money that is 50% more than the closest guy.
The more I hear from “people close to him” the more I think that he is going to offer an insane amount of money and if he is indeed the highest bidder, fight MLB to the bitter end.
Missouri Tigers 2008 Cotton Bowl Champs
I don't think
MLB has nearly the objections to Cuban that people think they do. I think they’d prefer someone else, but not nearly enough to block him if he’s the highest bidder.
Their biggest objection to him would not be the “look-at-me”ness or even complaining about the umpires (heck, Selig has been in a battle with the umpires union for most of his tenure-Cuban would be an ally) but that he’d spend a lot of salaries and drive them up. However, that’s true of most of the people bidding (although I don’t know much of this “Sports Properties Acquisition Group” except that is sounds shady).
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 3:57 PM CDT up reply actions
That I agree with you on
I don’t think Cuban knows what the other bids are. But I still think he’s the favorite with Canning out.
You know, Al, if and when Cuban buys the team he’s going to invite you for a one-on-one interview at the Cubs convention and you’re going to drink beer with him for three hours and you’re going to post here that “I still think that Don Levin would have been a better owner of the Cubs, but I’m willing to give Cuban a chance if he behaves himself. I liked what he had to say, but we need to wait and see if he lives up to his words. We shall see.”
Just a guess.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 3:48 PM CDT up reply actions
As I said after I met Cuban in Las Vegas last November...
... I’m very impressed with him as a businessman—he wouldn’t have made all the $ he has if he wasn’t.
But I still find him to be an “all about me” kind of guy and I don’t want that to be the focus of the Cubs’ ownership.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
nasty because...
like all of them he wants the cubs, but unlike all of them he will spend the most money?
or nasty that he will sue because someone who should have no say in the team’s sale is trying to have a say in it?
or nasty becasue you just don’t like him?
Interesting bit
here at Si.com:
and a group led by Sports Acquisition Holding Corp. that includes former baseball home run king Henry Aaron and former Republican Congressman Jack Kemp. The last group is believed to be teaming with another bidder who submitted an offer in the initial round.
John Canning, the chairman of private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, which had been treated as the front-runner, did not make the initial cut, according to the person, who said Tribune is not letting any bidder eliminated after the first round submit a new higher proposal in the second round.
Now maybe Canning and/or Levin are joining the Sports Acquisition group, but the bolded sentence seems to imply that both Canning and Levin are done.
"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07
Gah.
Link.
"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07
The paragraph
containing the bolded sentence is from the SI piece. I no can haz compooter skillz.
"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07
Yeah
that “No re-entry” thing is new. Canning is gone unless he teams up with someone else.
The group joining with “Sports Properties Acquisition Group” is the Tokarz/Malek group. I’ve made it clear I want Fred Malek far, far away from the Cubs. Canning and/or Levin would have to join Cuban or Ricketts to rejoin.
So if those are my choices, and I guess they are . . .well, I need to know more about Ricketts.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 5:31 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't mind Cuban.
I feel like he’d go all-out to make the team a perennial competitor. I don’t care about anything else he does. I know nothing about Ricketts. Honestly, Canning was the one guy I didn’t want, and now that I’ve heard more about this weird taxi-Malek group, I’m definitely in the Cuban camp until I know more about Ricketts.
"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07
We're on the same page
Perhaps I was a bit more inclined to Cuban due to his apparent urgency to win and willingness to spend. But now it seems Zell has taken the owners out of the veto by eliminating Canning and cutting the accepted bidders to his list, not Selig’s.
It would be interesting to see Mark bring Levin into his bid.
If you like Selig's handling of the steroid issue, you'll love his choice for next Cub owner.
I can't help but like
the thought of Zell sticking it to MLB, if that is indeed what he’s doing. Delicious. Bud Selig is an insufferable little man who takes himself way too seriously. I guess it took an egomaniac like Zell to show him his place.
"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07
I think Cuban
could be a good owner. It’s possible others would be better.
But I want to see Cuban bring Al into his bid. He’d still be pulling for Don Levin from the owner’s box. ;-)
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 6:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Selig/Reinsdorf/Other Owners Don't Want Cuban
because he’d drive up salaries. But couldn’t Cuban turn around and say “How come you let owners like Steinbrenner and Henry and Wilpon spend like there’s no tomorrow if you’re so concerned about how much I’d spend on salaries? Why is there a double standard?”
Eat More Katsui
Wait,
so it’s OK for the Yankees and RedSox to spend like a drunken Navy but not the Cubs?
Fuck that.
Cuban will be the owner and he will be great. The Cubs won’t take any shit from anyone, will be a favorite for the post-season every year, and will finally start behaving like the huge market team it is, with the best fans and park in baseball.
Tinker to Evers to Chance.
by Matt Allison on Jul 24, 2008 7:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Well, it's not OK
in the world according to Selig for the Red Sox and Yankees to spend like that. There just isn’t anything he can do about it. What he can do is keep someone from joining their club.
However, my point is that pretty much any Cub owner is going to spend more than any team other than the Yankees and Red Sox, so what’s the point in keeping Cuban out?
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 8:09 PM CDT up reply actions
That's the hope!
I sure hope whoever we get to own the team makes a huge splash this off-season.
However...
Included in the second round are Internet billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban; the Ricketts family, which founded the brokerage that is now TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.; and a group led by Sports Acquisition Holding Corp. that includes former baseball home run king Henry Aaron and former Republican Congressman Jack Kemp. The last group is believed to be teaming with another bidder who submitted an offer in the initial round.
(Emphasis added by me)
I’m hoping that means Don Levin is in with the last group. That’d be perfect.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Nope
Another article said that the Tribune was encouraging Sports Acquisition Holding Corp. to team up with “a group led by Michael Tokarz, an Illinois native who is chairman of MVC Capital Inc..” That’s the group that includes Fred Malek, who once co-owned the Texas Rangers with George W. Bush.
My next sig line quote will also be from Lou Piniella, and the first word will be either "Look", or "Listen", followed by a comma.
That would really be a shame.
Malek is, as has been noted elsewhere here, is not a good person.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Cuban starting to look better?
He is to me. As is Thomas Ricketts, although he doesn’t have the experience owning a sports team. Then again, someone made the point that Canning would have been buying just to add another investment to his portfolio, even though he is from Chicago. The same might be presumed about Ricketts – but no one seems to know much about this family.
My next sig line quote will also be from Lou Piniella, and the first word will be either "Look", or "Listen", followed by a comma.
About Ricketts...
... I think you’d have to assume that he would simply be the owner (or managing general partner of a partnership), and put people in place who DO know baseball as the actual management.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
According to ESPN article...
Cuban bid $1.3 billion (with a “B”) for the team, Wrigley and the stake in SportsNet….
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3503599
Let my ashes blow in a beautiful snow from the prevailing 30 mile an hour southwest wind...
When my last remains go flying over the left field wall, I'll bid the bleacher bums adieu,
And I will come to my final resting place, out on Waveland Avenue. --Steve Goodman
Wow
That just might do it.
Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?
by Josh Timmers on Jul 24, 2008 9:06 PM CDT up reply actions
I do
Owning the Cubs is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I could absolutely see a bidding war. However, I think Cuban will win any war.
Well we can agree that Cuban will win any bidding war brought on him.
Missouri Tigers 2008 Cotton Bowl Champs
Wow indeed
The Trib paid 20.5 million in 1980. I know inflation is bad, and I don’t pretend to be an economist, but that seems like a very healty return for Zell/Tribune in 28 years.
"Your eyes can decieve you. Don't trust them." Obi-Wan Kenobi, the first sabermatrician...
by Curtain Jerker on Jul 25, 2008 10:59 AM CDT up reply actions
Quite a return indeed...
...and if it were a perfect world, the Trib would take a couple hundred million and distribute it amongst those that helped their valuation go through the roof since 81:
Dallas Green
Ryne Sandberg
Sammy Sosa (I hate to admit it)
John McDonough
Cub’s season ticket holders
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
I don't know how...
..I missed that, you are absolutely right.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
All this posturing and theatrics reminds me of a scene from The Untouchables
Sam Zell – played by Sean Connery (they seem to have similar attitudes on women…)
Bud Selig & MLB in an off-camera role – played by Andy Serkis (Gollum in LOTR). Or Gilbert Gottfried.
Mark Cuban – played by…. [wait for it]... Mark Cuban (what – you were expecting George Clooney?)
Here’s the pivotal scene, high up in the Tribune Tower…
Zell: You said you wanted to buy the Cubs, but MLB is dead set against you. Do you really wanna buy the Cubs? You see what I’m saying is, what are you prepared to do?
Cuban: Anything within the law.
Zell: And then what are you prepared to do? If you open the can on these worms you must be prepared to go all the way. Because Bud Selig and MLB are not gonna give up the fight, until they send you back to the NBA in a used gym bag.
Cuban: I want to buy the Cubs! I don’t know how to do it.
Zell: You wanna know how to buy the Cubs, regardless of what Bud and MLB say? They send you a slotting memo, you sign whoever the hell you want for however much you want. They fine you $500K, you send their “inside track” guy’s bid to the morgue. That’s the Sam Zell way! And that’s how you buy the Cubs. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I’m offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?
Cuban: I have sworn to buy the Cubs with all legal powers at my disposal and I will do so.
Zell: Well, the Lord hates a rich man, but I love him.
[jabs Cuban with his hand, and Cuban shakes it]
Zell: Do you know what a bleed cubbie blue oath is, Mr. Cuban?
Cuban: Yes.
Zell: Good, ‘cause you just took one.
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
keep going...
Bud Selig: Mr Cuban! I do not approve of your methods!
Cuban: Oh yeah? Well you’re not from Chicago.
Cuban Net Worth
2.8 Billion according to Forbes. No clue how much of that is cash or how he liquid he is.
Old Style is the nectar of life.
The thing about Cuban...
...is he may be (I’m guessing) the only bidder that could buy the team on his own for cash.
I know Levin said he could do the deal in 90 days for cash, but I’ll bet he meant he could raise the cash (with the help of some friends) in that time period.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
Whoever It Is
I hope they show the same devotion and commitment that guys like William Wrigley (P.K.’s dad) and Tom Yawkey had. Self-styled geniuses like Steve Stone will say that because they didn’t win anything they weren’t very good owners. But those two did all they could in terms of spending money and treating players graciously and bringing in astute baseball minds in order to win a championship.
Eat More Katsui
And, in fact...
... the Cubs won three pennants (1918, 1929, 1932) while William Wrigley was alive and the ‘35 and ‘38 teams were put together under people he hired.
The fact that they never won the WS doesn’t mean they “never won anything”.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Right On, Al
Seems to me that Stoney has become quite the jagged little pill these days and talks frequently out of his gluteus maximus.
Eat More Katsui
two more bidders have been identified
From the Tribune BizWrap e-mail
Media investor Leo Hindery Jr. and Chicago real estate executive Hersch Klaff on the roster of bidders for the Cubs:
Here’s the link to the story:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chicago-cubs-bidders-klaff-kindrey-jul25,0,1262838.story
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
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