Posts Tagged ‘Wrigley Field’
 |
Post SeasoningSeptember 30th, 2008
|
I’ll be honest, I’m no math whiz. But when I tried to figure out what the Rangers’ Magic Number was earlier today, the computer suggested something about a Mr. Peabody and a WayBack Machine. That doesn’t sound promising. But there will be time for an in-depth analysis and name-calling session about the 08 Rangers in a couple of weeks. Right now, with the playoffs bearing down on baseball fans, the most important thing is to figure out who you will cheer for this year.
(By the way, I checked my calendar from last year AND for next year. They are lying to us. There’s not only one October. I call for a full apology.)
Part of the danger in jumping in with a team at this point of the season is the very real chance that they’ll go three and out and then you have to start all over again. I don’t recommend buying a cap or jersey for your new post-season ride. Over the years, I’ve developed a simple system, with points assigned for various categories. Then I decide who I am cheering for and, more often than not, who I am cheering against. (Die, Yankee Scum!) And while a carefully weighted system of pluses and minuses would be ideal, again, no reason to stress the limited math resources available in my head. As such, here you go: Read more
 |
A Few, Good Baseball-Minded Men: Recent Battlefield Successes Could Be Foiled by Generalissimo Samuel Zell’s Continued OwnershipApril 22nd, 2008
|
When local Real Estate Magnate Samuel Zell acquired the Tribune Company (and the Chicago Cubs) at the insistence of the Chandler Family, many thought Zell’s overly cozy relationship to the financiers of the deal, Merrill Lynch and CitiGroup, was a bad omen of things to come on Wall Street. Both Citi and Merrill were advising the Tribune Company on the viability of the prospective bidders, termed “staple financing”, as in Staples, “we got that, too.” (In actuality it is called staple financing because paperwork is often stapled onto the deal’s term sheet to help a seller develop a robust auction by offering on-the-spot financing to all “potential” suitors. Wall Street speak…)
The fact Zell (above) had Merrill Lynch represent him in a $39 billion sale of Equity Office Properties to the Blackstone Group likely meant that any bid made on the Tribune Company by Zell was going to be promoted over the other candidates. (Viagranaires Eli Broad and Ronald W. Burkle also submitted an exact dollar amount bid of $8.2 billion.)
So, in April 2007, Zell became commander-in-chief of the most woe-begotten baseball franchise, the lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs in the 2006-2007 Hot Stove cooked up an entire pot of free agents signings to the tune of “Hey, Hey, Holy Mackerel!”, posting over $300 million in contracts. The Cubs replaced two-fifths of their starting rotation, signed the premier LF on the market in Alfonso Soriano to a eight-year, $136-million contract and resigned 3B Aramis Ramirez for over $70 million. With additional backup players, the money spent amounted to three seasons worth of salaries for a “Top Ten” payroll in the 2007 season. (But barely more than A-Rod’s contract.)
Primarily, this was due to the expectant sale of the Tribune Company, with the new owners on the hook for the ballplayer’s salaries. Long-time marketing guru John McDonough acquired the reins from ex-team president Andy MacPhail, who had not spent with the dangerous abandon of a drunken sailor on liberty in Thailand. (Is there any other kind…of sailor?) McDonough would resign his commission after only one season at the top, heading to the moribund Chicago Blackhawks as their new field commander.