Major League Baseball will never let this thing happen. Ever. Mark Cuban could bid 100 times more money than any other bidder, and MLB could and would still deny his bid. Bud Selig and Jerry Reinsdorf have no use for a guy like Mark Cuban.
Lemuel Gulliver wrote:Everyone already loves the Cubs despite their futility. Besides, they already spend money.
Saying that the Cubs have historically spent money is an outright lie. Compared to any other organization with comparable revenues, the Cubs have been absolute cheapskates. But why spend money when the Quad Cities tour bus contingents will continue to pour in through the gates to see cut-rate talent kick the ball around the field? Man, the fact that I spent money to attend professional baseball exhibitions at Wrigley Field at any point in the past ten years is a mark against me. It identifies me as a sucker.
And if you're talking about the $300M that the Cubs spent in the offseason, then allow me to explode that myth completely. What the Cubs really did was to acquire as much talent as possible for a short-term push for success. The purpose of this push is to increase the immediate value of the franchise while The Tribune Co. tries to sell it. How did the Cubs accomplish their goal of increasing the short-term value of the franchise?
They did so by locking a number of prime players into back-end loaded contracts that the Cubs will shift off onto the person/group who acquires the team. Take the two biggest contracts that the Cubs completed in the past off-season:
Alfonso Soriano:
2007: $9 million
2008: $13 million
2009: $16 million
2010: $18 million
2011: $18 million
2012: $18 million
2013: $18 million
2014: $18 million
Full no trade clause.
Aramis Ramirez:
2007: $8 million
2008: $14 million
2009: $15.65 million
2010: $15.75 million (can opt out after season)
2011: $14.6 million
2012: $16 million club option w/$2 million buyout
No trade clause through 2010.
The Cubs did not "spend money". In fact, they will pay Soriano and Ramirez far below their market value during 2007, and these players (and their contracts) will then be someone's problem after that. All that the Cubs really did was to acquire marquee talent on someone else's tab, but they're somehow reaping the goodwill of having personally made a substantial investment in the team. It's totally cynical behavior, and it's 100% in keeping with how this organization has always gone about its business.
But really, Cubs fans. You and I should put all of this nonsense behind us. For the next game at Wrigley, I suggest that you and I meet up beforehand to say hello in front of
the Ernie Banks statue.
Stay classy, Chicago.
