Don’t like the Dodgers? Buy a team and try to beat ‘em
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The Cubs are on the market, and the Padres could be too.
Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, has made no secret of his interest in the Cubs. Tribune Co., owner of the Cubs (and the Los Angeles Times), has made no secret of its intention to sell, and the sooner the better.
But Cuban told the Chicago Sun-Times that the economic crisis could delay a sale of the Cubs, to him or to anyone else:
Honestly, they’d be crazy to do something now because it’s not optimal for them and it’s not optimal for the buyer. So there’s not really a rush.
In a market like this, when there’s so much uncertainty and IBM and General Electric don’t know how much they’re going to pay on a loan, Mark Cuban doesn’t know, either. Six months ago, you could say: ‘Here’s how much this debt is going to cost you. Here are the terms that are available. Yes or no?’ Now you can’t do that anymore. Even if we wanted to close the day after tomorrow, the banks might not be able to close.
In San Diego, amid reports that owner John Moores could sell 49% of the team to satisfy his divorce settlement, Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the timing could hardly be worse:
Reports that the Padres’ principal owner is prepared to sell up to 49 percent of his franchise as part of a divorce settlement coincide with the Home Team’s 99-loss season, a 13 percent drop in home attendance and the furious meltdown of the financial markets. Good luck with that, Hoss.
-- Bill Shaikin