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Written by Maury Brown
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Sunday, 11 May 2008 |
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 This afternoon’s “Sunday MLB on TBS” was postponed due to rain. During the delay, Chip Caray and Ron Darling discussed some developing storylines in MLB.
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New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers (Postponed due to rain)
Game announcers: Chip Caray and Ron Darling
Darling on the Yankees attempt at a youth movement: “The Yankees are the type of team that always seem to get what they want in the off-season. They decided to evaluate their talent differently this (past) year, decided not to go after (starting pitcher Johan) Santana and instead (they) went with two young pitchers. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have really been a flop.”
Darling on the AL West division race: “Seattle has had pretty good pitching but they haven’t had any kind of hitting. Oakland has been a surprise team and the Angels are a juggernaut in that AL West (division).”
Darling on the Oakland A’s: “(The Oakland A’s) have been unbelievable. When you think about it, they made the trade (involving starting pitcher) Danny Haren (to the Diamondbacks), just another trade where (the A’s) have gotten rid of one of their great pitchers. (Oakland GM Billy Beane) got Greg Smith and Dana Eveland back (in exchange for Haren), they are both in the rotation. (The A’s) are so good that when Rich Harden comes back (from injury), Chad Gaudin will go back to the bullpen. Billy Beane has done an amazing job.”
Darling on the surprising Florida Marlins: “When you think of Florida, they’ve made the most errors in the league and that’s after having the most errors last season. (Manager) Fredi Gonzalez wants them to play a little better (defensively). I think the key for Florida is they just hit, Dan Uggla is unbelievable, (Hanley) Ramirez and (Mike) Jacobs. They lost (Miguel) Cabrera (traded to Detroit) and Mike Jacobs said it nicely, ‘It takes more than one person to make a team.’ Florida is proving that.”
Darling on the St. Louis Cardinals leading the NL Central: “(The St. Louis Cardinals) are getting great pitching, not only from their starters but from their relievers. They are getting just enough hitting. They are one of those teams, like the Minnesota Twins, that play really good baseball. They catch the ball and they play really fundamental baseball. I think that is why they are on top (of the NL Central).”
Darling on the Houston Astros: “(The Houston Astros) have arguably one of the best middle of the lineups, lead by Carlos Lee. It’s going to be interesting as the season goes along, if (Astros ace pitcher Roy) Oswalt gets hot, he’s one of those starting pitchers that can really carry a team.”
Darling on how importance of how teams utilize their bullpens: “In baseball, the recipe for success seems to be that baseball has decided to use the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth pitcher (on the staff) in the sixth and seventh inning. It’s tough to get those outs when you are only leading by one or two runs. Those pitchers who can go two innings (in relief) have become so valuable.”
Darling on how young starting pitchers are “under-trained”: “A starting pitcher in baseball is the only (position) that you under-train for. You go to the minor leagues and you can’t throw more than 85 pitches and you can’t throw more than 35 (pitches) in an inning. Games now, you need to be able to throw 120-130 pitches, (starting pitchers) aren’t allowed to do that. Right now, that’s not going to change. Until you get an organization that says, ‘We can’t treat all pitchers the same’ (it’s not going to change). Sometimes you have a Clydesdale and sometimes you have a sprinter. I think (teams) are going to have to treat their pitchers accordingly.” Source: TBS |
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Written by Maury Brown
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Saturday, 10 May 2008 |
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 Ever since there was discussion of the State of Illinois purchasing historic Wrigley Field from the Tribune Co. and renovating it, the question has been, “How would the State fund the renovation?” As we outlined yesterday, the Cubs (ergo, Tribune) see a complex deal with several moving funding parts (read Kenney Outlines Funding for Wrigley Field, Renovation).
One thing that was not mentioned, possibly due to the hot-button nature of it, has been the possible selling of naming rights to The Friendly Confines. As Kurt Hunzeker and I noted in The Curse of the Ex-Wrigley Field, any company looking to purchase the secondary naming rights for Wrigley would find it nearly impossible for anyone to think of Wrigley Field as, well, anything other than “Wrigley Field”. While secondary naming deals have been able to get out from under the original name’s recognition (best example would be the short-lived Enron Field which is now Minute Maid Park), Wrigley would nearly impossible. As we wrote in Curse, “Hyatt Field? Gatorade Field? State Farm Field? Blue Cross Blue Shield Field? None of them work.” Beyond the financial implications (based upon Hunzeker’s research, using the Mets Citigroup naming deal as a barometer, a secondary naming deal for Wrigley would run -276 percent of value based on Wrigley’s longstanding history as a name), the political realities of those immersed in the purist and traditional world that baseball, and more importantly, the Cubs hold, show that a complete renaming of Wrigley Field would create a backlash the likes of which the Cubs may have never seen before. Jim Thompson, who is the chairman of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, seems to realize that a full rename of Wrigley would be nearly sacrilegious. However, given the need for the revenues that a naming rights deal would offer, would a partial renaming of Wrigley work? Think of “<YOUR BUSINESS> At Wrigley Field”. Thompson hinted Wednesday that the concept is still in play. As reported by the Chicago Tribune: "We certainly would want the name to stay Wrigley," said Thompson, who is chairman of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, the state/city agency that is in negotiations to purchase the park. Asked whether the authority would sell partial naming rights so that the Wrigley Field name would be linked to another corporate moniker, he said, "I presume there are people out there who think so highly of Wrigley Field that they would want to be associated with it and, therefore, would be willing to pay for that privilege. "But I have no deals, I haven't heard of any deals. We would have to test the marketplace."
“Testing the marketplace” would be an interesting feat. One could speculate that a company that decided to do a naming deal might find a customer backlash, as opposed to a positive relationship. Still, the Cubs have incredible brand recognition. There would surely be a company that would take the risk for the chance to place their name in association with one of the top 3 clubs in terms of brand recognition. But, as we have reported prior (read Zell is Selling and Maximizing, Much to MLB's Discontent) Sam Zell, the new owner of the Tribune Co. sees selling Wrigley separately from the other baseball holdings that Tribune owns as more lucrative than selling them all together. That might be true, but it’s a negative for the bidders for the Cubs, and it’s technically more difficult for the ISFA to pull off. That’s why, when the financial information is delivered to the prospective bidders this week, there will be not one, but two books handed over. One with Wrigley, and one with it factored out of the deal. How the new owners would treat the name “Wrigley Field” if they owned The Friendly Confines, is something all will be looking at, should Sam Zell not get his wish of selling Wrigley Field to the State of Illinois. |
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Written by Maury Brown
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
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 A lawsuit by Norman Braman, an auto dealership magnate in the Miami area challenging the constitutionality of funding for the proposed Florida Marlins stadium has been given the green light and will go to trial in July. As reported by The AP:
A judge in Miami-Dade Circuit Court decided Thursday to let the lawsuit go forward. Braman claims the $3 billion plan is unconstitutional because of the way it is financed. Besides the 37,000-seat ballpark and parking garage, the plan calls for construction of a tunnel to Miami’s port, a new downtown trolley line and money for the arts. The Marlins ballpark, which would be built at the site of the decaying Orange Bowl, would cost approximately $515 million. The 6,000 space parking structure is priced at $94 million.
The Marlins have targeted a 2011 opening date. While Braman scored a victory in getting the case to trial, the judge did throw out claims in the lawsuit contending that the funding agreement was reached in secret, a violation of Florida law. (See renderings of the possible new Marlins stadium design here) |
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Written by Maury Brown
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
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 Robin Ventura, the MLB vet who played 10 seasons with the White Sox, will fill-in for broadcaster Steve Stone this coming weekend on WSCR-AM 670’s White Sox games. According to the Chicago Tribune, Ventura is not sure whether he’s ready for broadcasting as a second career:
"I don't know if I'd do it yet," Ventura said. "It's definitely not a natural thing for me. There are times when I need to speak more. When I did the World Series game with Gary Thorne, he told me I didn't have to say anything at all. He's professional enough to cover up if I didn't say anything."
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Written by Maury Brown
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
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 Crane Kenney, the Chairman of the Chicago Cubs outlined how the sale of Wrigley Field and its renovations would be paid for. Speaking in an interview on WSCR-AM670, Kennedy outlined the complex structure being proposed by which the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority would purchase Wrigley separately from the Cubs and other baseball related assets that the Tribune Co. currently owns.
The model outlined by Kenney has the following moving parts: - Wrigley Field would be sold to the ISFA
- Bonds would be issued so that the ISFA could pay Tribune for the purchase of Wrigley.
- To pay for the bonds, rent, paid by the new owners for the use Wrigley, would be used.
- To pay for the $400-$450 million in renovations to Wrigley Field, construction bonds would be issued.
- To pay the construction bond schedule, a proposed method by which the incremental tax revenues created inside Wrigley (sales tax, amusement tax and other taxes collected) that go into the general fund coffers would be baselined using 2007’s figures.
- When the taxes collected at Wrigley exceed the baseline, they would be used to pay the construction bonds for the renovation.
Read that through a few times and it makes sense and doable. Where things get confusing is when this model is set against comments by former Gov. Jim Thompson, who is the ISFA chairman. Thompson said that no tax money would be used as part of the renovation to Wrigley. As reported in the Chicago Tribune: "We are working on a proposal to present to Tribune Co. that will allow ISFA to acquire and fully restore Wrigley Field, as well as add parking and neighborhood improvements, without using any public tax money, either state or local," Thompson said late last month. Speculating for the moment, it may be that Thompson is saying that no new tax dollars would be used. If not, the part of Kenney’s model by which in-stadium taxes above a certain threshold are earmarked for paying renovation bonds goes out the window.
The proposed model outlined by the Cubs and Tribune come at a difficult time for public support of the ISFA purchasing and renovating Wrigley Field. It also comes at a time when the financial “books” are to be delivered to prospective bidders looking to purchase the storied franchise, with, or without, Wrigley in-tow. As we have reported prior, the idea of new ownership paying rent to payoff a facility purchase that they will not own is a glaring negative. By not owning the facility, they do not control it. In that sense, they may have input on the renovations to Wrigley, but not the final say. As to the renovations, the Chicago Tribune story offers the following: Kenney also said the Cubs want to restore Wrigley Field to "its original look," which would include removing exterior chain link fences and concrete panels. The renovations also would include upgraded luxury suites and premium seating behind home plate that would require the destruction of the team's offices. Pointing to the bleacher expansion, Kenney said Cubs fans should trust them to treat the ballpark with respect. "We aren't foolish enough to ruin what makes the place special," Kenney said.
READ MORE ON THE PROPOSED SALE OF THE CUBS: Tell Us What You Think... Leave your comments on the sale of the Chicago Cubs |
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Written by Maury Brown
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
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 Ever since Barry Bonds started using them in 2001, the use of maple bats has been in the rise. Now, a baseball culture icon, Sam Holzman, of Sam Bats, gave Bonds one of the pricey maple bats which run from $65-$75 each, and when he did, it created a wave of players using them. Albert Pujols and Alfonso Soriano are but two others that use maple bats.
But, while players say that they can hit balls further with maple bats, as opposed to the traditional ash bat variety, that claim does not seem to stand up to scientific rigor, and worse, maple bats break with more regularity, thus creating a serious danger to players, coaches, and fans. Jeff Passan the national baseball writer for Yahoo! Sports has published an expansive article on maple bats – a fascinating read into the pros and cons of maple bats, and whether there will be any possible restrictions of the bats that seem to break more often than the ash bats that were the only variety any player used for generations. The story covers the injury of Pirates hitting coach Don Long, who had his cheek gashed in a broken bat incident that caused Long to have a severed nerve in his face. The incident has caused management to consider some form of restrictions on the maple bats. As Passan reports: MLB scoffed at putting nets in front of the seats closest to the field, as the NHL did after a stray puck struck and killed 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil. The discussions went nowhere quickly, and it ended with them agreeing to table the issue until a later date. Both sides spent the next year focusing on the Mitchell Report, and only after the Long incident did they revisit it. “We have provisions in the agreement,” union leader Don Fehr said Thursday by phone. “There will be a committee that will be put together and meet on it. We’ll look at it in good faith.” Said Rob Manfred, MLB’s lead labor counsel, in a statement through a spokesman: “Baseball is aware of the bat issue. We have done scientific research in the area. We brought the issue to the bargaining table in 2006 and we are embarking on a detailed consideration of the issue with the union in the context of the Safety and Health Advisory Committee.” When that happens, the thickening of the bat handle seems the likeliest compromise. Sherwood said the study showed that as the size of the handle increases, the potential for broken bats decreases. Players might object to thicker handles because they add weight, and every 10th of an ounce counts.
As Passan notes, an outright ban seems unlikely, anything is possible these days, given labor relations. If someone were to get seriously injured, and management were to push hard enough, the MLBPA might be more willing to negotiate a ban on the popular bats. |
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Written by Maury Brown
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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
Lawyers for Brian McNamee are planning to send two private investigators to Houston to investigate Roger Clemens in an attempt to further discredit him as part of Clemens’ defamation lawsuit, and possibly unearth other damaging information. The twist is, Clemens’ lawyer Rusty Hardin, did much the same less than six months ago, sending two PIs to New York in an attempt to discredit McNamee. As reported by the New York Times: Richard Emery, one of McNamee’s lawyers, said Thursday that the two investigators — Gerry Kane, a former commanding officer of the Manhattan robbery squad, and Stephen Davis, a former detective — were already working on McNamee’s behalf and would go to Houston if the motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by Clemens last January is denied. “They are going to be my Belk and Yarbrough,” Emery said, referring to the two former Houston officers — Billy Belk and Jim Yarbrough — who, on behalf of Clemens’s lead lawyer, Rusty Hardin, interviewed McNamee in December and secretly tape-recorded the questions and answers. “They will be looking at everything,” Emery added in reference to his own investigators.
As noted, the investigation can look into all facets of Clemens’ background, including any evidence that might point to him using PEDs. If that were the case, Jeff Novitzky, the former IRS agent, who is now with the FDA, could use the evidence against Clemens in a possible perjury case for lying before members of Congress. Clemens, to date, has not dropped the defamation lawsuit. Recently, tabloid-esc reports have had Clemens connected to not one, but several, extramarital affairs, including one with country music star Mindy McCready that started when she was reportedly 15 years of age. The reports have further discredited Clemens' credibility. However, it should be noted that while this news is damaging to Clemens in the court of public opinion, in the case of the defamation lawsuit, it revolves around Clemens' public standing at the time of McNamee's claims that he used performance-enhancing substances. Any of the news of his extramarital affairs after that point would irrelvant, no matter how damaging, and almost certainly be inadmisable in court. So, while McNamee's lawyers can sniff around for anything and everything as part of the discovery phase, and release damage information to the press, in terms of the defamation lawsuit, it may have little or no bearing. The actions of McNamee's lawyers are seen as a method by which the pressure of any negative findings being made public would force Clemens to drop the defamation lawsuit to prevent further embaressment, or in the case of possible findings on PED use, place him in the sights of federal investigators who are looking into whether Clemens perjured himself before Congress. |
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Written by Maury Brown
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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
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The sale of the Chicago Cubs will move beyond pure discussion when Sam Zell and the Tribune Co. deliver the financial “book” to the six prospective bidding groups sometime this week. The “book” is a financial assessment of all the holdings being sold by Tribune in association with the storied franchise, including the team, Wrigley Field, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, and Wrigley Field Premium Tickets. A separate “book” is also being distributed with Wrigley Field removed as part of the sale. Zell has been in discussions with the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority about selling it off separately, a move seen as a negative for prospective owners. As for the six groups bidding they include Madison Dearborn Partners CEO John Canning, Jr., the Ricketts family, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the partnership of attorney Thomas Mandler and businessman Jim Anixter, MVC Capital Chairman Michael Tokarz and private-equity investor Thomas Begel. As we have reported at the outset, from MLB’s perspective, the leading candidate is John Canning, Jr. due to his close ties to MLB and deep financial resources. He is a minority owner in the Milwaukee Brewers and has had close ties to Commissioner Selig. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, MLB could pass on any of the prospective buyers, even they are acceptable to Zell and Tribune, or offer more money than an owner they see as working well within MLB’s close-knit ownership framework. The Canning group has "every leading citizen of Chicago," said a highly placed Major League Baseball source, who estimated the individuals in the group have a combined net worth of $10 billion to $15 billion. "If you were to say, 'What are you looking for?' you're looking for a group of responsible people who are in it for the long term," the source said. "That kind of describes this group." […] Asked what would happen if Tribune strikes a deal with an individual or group who is unacceptable to the owners, the MLB source said, "We turned down Eddie Gaylord [to purchase the Texas Rangers]. This is nothing new. In fact, the Chicago White Sox wouldn't be Reinsdorf's team if we hadn't turned down Eddie DeBartolo."
There are other examples, as well. Most recently, the Charles Dolan offered more money for the Boston Red Sox, but was passed over in favor of an ownership group headed by John Henry. The reasonings for selecting a bidder that would offer less money has to do with the current CEO model that baseball is functioning under, with Bud Selig acting as the pseudo Chairman. A prospective owner such as Mark Cuban would not fit in with the dynamic that MLB currently is witnessing, with owners being far more subdued than Cuban. The notion that an owner would sit in the bleachers with fans, or run a personal blog is intriguing to fans, but unappealing to the ownership brethren. With Wrigley Field in the mix, the sale price could be as high as $1 billion. With the Cubs being the third highest in brand recognition behind the Yankees and Red Sox, and Wrigley being a historic jewel in a key market, it is possible that the lofty $1 billion figure is possible. However, given the large backloaded contracts afforded players such as Soriano, Zambrano, Ramirez and Lee, new ownership will be constrained by an even larger player payroll within the next 2-4 years. Based upon this, my valuation sees the Cubs sale price ranging between $725-$880 million. READ MORE ON THE PROPOSED SALE OF THE CUBS: Tell Us What You Think... Leave your comments on the sale of the Chicago Cubs |
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