Its Official...A-rod is OPTING OUT!!

[The Lovedoc]

Whatever Doc. Say what you want but you want him just as much as everyone else. And don't blame this years playoff numbers cuz his were no worse than Jeter or anyone else.

We'll take him BEEEEATCH!

Wrong... Dimer can attest to this statement... When all that talk was going on when arod wanted to be traded after the 2003 season i said to him quote" I dont want him going to Boston because he will beat us and i dont want him coming to NY" "I hope he goes to a NL team" I never wanted him, and still dont even though he's the best player in the world and going to the HOF

[savage1]

Re: ARod and Lowell-lets just say that if ARod went to a team other than Red Sox and Lowell ended up with Yankees, it would tip the scales dramatically in Yanks favor; I am not confident that Sox could find anyone else to fill the void;Lowell was a kingpin this year and for that matter since he has been here.

[blitz]

With Bonds gone.........I hope ARod ends up with the Giants!!

[Spark]

Cubs Please !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ditto

[wayne1218]

According to the beat writer in Chicago (On Sportscenter), the Cubs have zero chance of getting A-Rod. He talked about the reasons why and the sale of the club was number1.

[The Lovedoc]

According to the beat writer in Chicago (On Sportscenter), the Cubs have zero chance of getting A-Rod. He talked about the reasons why and the sale of the club was number1.

Yep, i heard that too... Looks like the Tribune is fucking with cubs fans AGAIN!

[TheRook]

According to the beat writer in Chicago (On Sportscenter), the Cubs have zero chance of getting A-Rod. He talked about the reasons why and the sale of the club was number1.

It all depends on who buys the team and how quickly this transaction takes place. Obviously if the new owner is interested in taking the contract, Boras will make it happen. But the longer they delay in the process, the harder it is to make that happen.

[TheRook]

Yep, i heard that too... Looks like the Tribune is fucking with cubs fans AGAIN!

How do you figure it's the Tribune?

Could it not be major league baseball dragging its feet with getting all the bids together?

[garth]

Stros need him, but would never pay'em!

At one time a couple of years ago the Stros had the largest payroll in the NL. I'm with you, Dat. We'll take him.

[wayne1218]

It all depends on who buys the team and how quickly this transaction takes place. Obviously if the new owner is interested in taking the contract, Boras will make it happen. But the longer they delay in the process, the harder it is to make that happen.

He also said Cuban had almost ZERO chance of buying the club because Selig and a few other owners DO NOT want Cuban in their circle. Cuban (IMO) is the only chance they have of getting A-Rod. Nobody else there would spend the money (IMO).

[BigWeiner]

With Bonds gone.........I hope ARod ends up with the Giants!!

We gotta at least make a good offer for him

[The Lovedoc]

He also said Cuban had almost ZERO chance of buying the club because Selig and a few other owners DO NOT want Cuban in their circle. Cuban (IMO) is the only chance they have of getting A-Rod. Nobody else there would spend the money (IMO).

I agree...If cuban buys the cubs....LOOK THE FUCK OUT!! IT'S OFFICIALLY ON!!!

[wayne1218]

We gotta at least make a good offer for him

I wouldn't mind seeing that but i'm just not convinced that A-Rod will go to a team that he isn't convinced can Win it all next year. I really think S.F. has several problems and that would be tough.

[wayne1218]

They also said the Cubs team payroll is going to go UP, UP, UP in the next few years because of back loaded contracts (Soriano for one), and that would also hurt them in signing A-Rod.

[TheRook]

doc---i stand corrected.



Curve for Cubs bidders: Trib stalls on sale


By Gregory Meyer
Oct. 08, 2007

The effort to sell the Chicago Cubs has slowed to a crawl as the team's owner brainstorms ways to reap maximum cash from its pinstriped asset.

Despite Tribune Co.'s official line that the Cubs will be sold in the fourth quarter, the team looks likely to stay in Tribune hands well into next year — possibly through opening day. That means a new owner will have to manage a team with a roster assembled by corporate brass long maligned, but recently cheered, for payroll decisions.

The slowdown has mystified bidders, who months ago submitted applications required by Major League Baseball, but since have heard little. "It's maddening," says an adviser to one bidding group who, like most involved with the sale, requested anonymity. Offering documents won't be ready for weeks, a source familiar with Tribune's planning says.

But Tribune is in no hurry as it decides whether to sell the team, Wrigley Field and other assets in one piece or individually.

"There's no hard deadline, and I don't think that the interest in this asset is going to dwindle," says the person familiar with the planning.

"The groups that you've heard publicly that are interested in this deal, none of them have said, nor do I expect they will say, 'If I can't own it by April 1, 2008, I'm taking my money and I'm going home.' "

If offering documents don't go out until next month, it's unlikely the team will be sold until spring, says Michael Rapkoch, president of Sports Value Consulting LLC in Dallas, who is not involved in the sale.

Tribune is going private in an $8.2-billion buyout led by Chicago billionaire Sam Zell. The deal — announced April 2, the Cubs' 2007 opening day — hinges on the sale of the Cubs and Tribune's 25% stake in cable channel Comcast SportsNet Chicago. A Tribune spokesman says the fourth-quarter Cubs sale date hasn't changed.

The team, the cable stake, and Wrigley Field and affiliated real estate could be shopped separately, the person familiar with the planning says. Such a move could lure new bidders daunted by the price tag for the whole package, estimated at $600 million to $1 billion.

For instance, Comcast SportsNet might attract buyers who don't want to own a baseball team. The regional cable network is co-owned by Tribune, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Chicago Bulls, the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. The other partners would have first dibs if Tribune relinquishes its stake, but regional sports networks elsewhere have attracted interest from outside the sports world.

The person familiar with the planning projects the sum of the parts could yield a 20% to 50% premium over selling the assets together. "It changes the calculus," this person says.

"I'm not sure how you're going to get 20% to 50% more," Mr. Rapkoch says. "Potentially, you can get more value if you split up the regional sports network and kept the team and stadium together."

Splitting the Cubs and Wrigley is unwise, an investment banker not involved in the sale says.

"It's a much more attractive asset if the stadium is with the team," says Jeff Phillips, managing director at Stout Risius Ross Inc. in Virginia.


Still, splitting up the assets could create new competition for bidding groups thought to have the upper hand, including one led by Chicago private-equity executive John Canning Jr., a friend of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. Mr. Canning didn't return calls.

With almost $13 billion in debt after going private, Tribune will be under pressure to sell. But the first payment on its buyout debt doesn't come due until December 2008. Last week, it announced the receipt of $286 million in a tax settlement, money that could lessen the load.

In the meantime, Tribune is exploring ways to create new revenue streams to help fund the Cubs' player payroll, which was a team record $110 million this year.

"We want to raise revenue so we can continue to put a winning product on the field and do everything we can to enhance Wrigley Field and to make a long-term commitment to this ballpark," Cubs President John McDonough said in a recent interview. He declines to discuss the sale.

©2007 by Crain Communications Inc.