Full Court Press

The Cubs need an owner who is hands on. Someone who sees that spending the money for the top tier free agents EVERY year is the only way to keep up with the Yankees and Red Sox of the world. They talk about winning championships every year, we talk about having back to back winning seasons! The culture has to change where we set the bar to acheive excellence and an owner like Cuban who is hand's on can help us do it.

The tribune only looks at profits they make on the Cubs. They dont care about putting money in to compete. The Cubs have enough money to keep up with a Yankees type salary, but no desire. Cuban hates losing and would turn it around. Get Bent Henry!

I doubt Selig would allow Cuban to buy a team. First, Selig is a proponent of economic equality among teams and Cuban would blow up any semblance of a salary cap. Could you imagine Cuban and Steinbrenner, along with the Red Sox owner, in a bidding war? Second, Cuban is very vocal about his criticisms about David Stern. I doubt Selig would want his name dragged through the mud more than it already has. With that said, I thought Cuban was a lifelong Pirates fan having grown up in the Pittsburgh area?

The Tribune Co. will not sell the Cubs as long as they keep selling out wrigley field. They only care about the bottom line, and they are making alot off the fans that keep supporting them, no matter what kind of team they put on the field. I'm not jumping on the bandwagon because they are playing bad, I just want all the other cub fans to know that we won't have a great team till we have a great owner. So stop supporting the Tribune and lets hope they sell the cubs so we the ture fans can have a world champ on the North side

That the Cubs are the only baseball team that is owned ny a corporation that changes directors of baseball operations like you and I change underwear, so there most certainly is a case to be made for an owner that is passionate about winning like Mark Cuban. The Cubs provide a lucrative income stream, even without WGN and should help any ownership group generate enough revenue to be a competitive organization. An owner that actually gives a S*** about his teams performance is the key. Prying one of the Tribune companies most successful profit centers away from them won't come cheap, but a dedicated owner could reap huge rewards in PR as well as profit and save the long suffering legions of loyal Cubs fans all accross the country. Day baseball provides an excellent opportunity for an astute owner to cross sell his other business ventures due to the lack of sports programming during the daytime. So this message goes out to all would be interested owners of one of the most storied and followed baseball organizations in the country; BEG, BORROW or STEAL to become one of the next George Stienbrenner's and ressurect an infamous if not famous baseball club that has a fan base as big as the Yankees.
PS By all means any new owner should clean house in all but the most competent of personnel in the organization.
PPS I am available and will work on an incentive contract with no guarantee.

spending money is not the only answer. I am glad the Cubs didnt get Furcal, way over priced. Just remember Florida Marlins have won 2 so far, and neither team was close to the top in payroll. These top tier free agent everyone talks about are not no brainers, but are many times busts. I think the trib is putting enough money into this team as it is. Need to start drafting better talent, build up the farm system and stop giving away players, good prospects for free agents just to please the cry baby cub fans.

Sure he would be a hands-on owner who wants to win. Sure he likes to please his fan base. But the most appealing part the possibility of a Cuban ownership is the fact that he has the image of the prototypical bleacher bum (plus a few $billion) and would be a natural fit as the owner of this franchise. He is not some stuffy exec, or old man who can't read a box score but likes what he sees on his profit/loss statement. Cuban could be to the Cubbies what Steinbrenner IS the Yankees: the face of an organization that fits the fan mold.

I realize that as a self made bazillionaire Cuban is also a very shrewd businessman. But I also think of him as one that realizes that a happy fan base equals a fat bottom line. Also, his naturally competitive nature has him actually caring whether his teams do well. It's not just about payroll. Any other owner would have been happy to have their basketball franchise scoring 120 a night, frequently making it to the playoffs, and getting the fans in the door. This man took a risk in letting go of Steve Nash and allowing his coaching staff focus more on defense so his teams could win.

Cubs fans can only hope that one opening day they will see their new owner sitting in the right field bleachers with a cup of Old Style in one hand, his other hand working on a laptop, confident that he will do what it takes to make this team a winner, and willing to make the changes necessary if they aren't.

Considering the Cubs are annaully one of the biggest flops in MLB in terms of payroll and performance, having Cuban as the owner could only help.

Keep Cuban out of Chicago, do you want his long dopy mug in the dugout, all over the city, with his 2 dollar haircut and smarmy, smug look. I will be a sox fan in no time. Cuban is the biggest @**hole ever. Its bad enough with Bob "lets talk about what a cool fella I am, and oh yeah, i won with the diamondbacks scmuck" Brenly and that other pud. Do not add Cuban to this already agitating ball club.

The Cubs are the fifth marketing sports team in the country and they have no winning record to speak for it. The Cubs lost their drive to go deep into the playoffs after 2003. Look at the White Sox. They had the drive and desire to make it all the way and history wrote itself. If in fact Cuban does purchase the Cubs, which won't happen, he would be the envy of MLB. Most southside fans would be adding their names to the season ticket holder list for Wrigley Field instead of the God awful "Cell." Cubs merchandise throughtout the country would sore. Here is a thought, what has the Tribune Company ever done for it fans except stop the bricks from falling on fans heads during the game??? I wish I was a fan of Mark Cuban's team when he has fan appreciation day! I would fly for free!!!

Please God I beg of you Please let Mr. Cuban buy the Cubs. I am so sick of this constant losing. Cubbies make more money then everyone except the Yankees and Red Sox. We can spend like they do.

YES. But it will NEVER happen in a million years...

OK, maybe... but it'd have to be a HUGE offer... Tribune BANKS off of the Cubs, wins or no wins...

If he can not get TRB to sell the Cubs. Can he buy controlling intrest in TRB?

Ownership by committee is never going to work. The Cubs are going to be something of a loser team until the winning attitude is passed down from the very top.
Wouldn't you love to see a passionate owner who is on top of his managers everyday and is yelling from the stands rather than an empty suit who is more worried about his yacht races than baseball? Cuban is just like us, a crazed fan, not like that McFail (yes I know I misspelled it) character who pretends to be a baseball executive while racing to Mackinac.
To the Tribbies, the Cubs are a rousing success; park is filled, ratings are good, beer is selling. To the Tribbies, the problem is not the losing, but anyone who points out that they're losing. Sure, fire Stone, but keep the guy he (correctly) points out is ruining his arm, and career, with his pee-poor mechanics, and pay him 13 million for 20 starts while you're at it.
Do you think Mark Cuban would tolerate a player calling out the broadcast team for pointing out the obvious? Think Cuban would allow a manager to remain stone cold supportive of players who lose focus so quickly when the chips are down?
Cubs, the time has come to pay the rent. Sell the team and then sell some damn papers so we no longer have to worry about the parent company's profit margin.

Cuban is a winner, something the Cubs need desperately. The only way this can happen is not boycotting the games but every Cub fan must not but the Tribune newspaper.
The team would improve under Cuban's ownership & there would be love amongst the owner; GM; & new coaching staff. The one we have isn't working.
11 years on McPhail; 2 yr extension on Hendry & a possible extension on Baker.
It really doesn't make sense that they should have judged everyone at the end of the season.

The Tribune is arrogant as a seller & it will always remain that way. Remember, Jim Hendry says he is in charge & if he beleives that then he should resign if the Cubs falter this year. This is his team & the reason Pie isn't up because he has to make the Joque Jones 3 year-16 million deal look good.
Everyone we trade, especially Pitchers, seems to perfom better with a new hitting & pitching coach. Example, Koronoka & Patterson....explain that one...the answer is prtetty simple.

Cuban buying the Cubs could potentially reinvigorate the franchise. He's a good enough businessman to know that winning sells more than losing, and that a full Wrigley is only part of the financial story.

If Cuban took over the club, I believe he would allow Jim Hendry to do his job without having to justify signing proper bench players to the bean-counters (who think Neifi Perez, Freddy Bynum, John Mabry, and Henry Blanco are a good value and "will do just fine") He'd have the resources to go with his moxy, which would also benefit the club.

Cuban would also bring in a better field manager, someone with guts who is not a company man with better political skills than field skills. Seeing Lou Pinella (or someone of his ilk) in Cubbie blue would be a breath of fresh air... lapses of fundamentals would be met with ferocity, not a chewed toothpick and company-line cliches that really say nothing and deflect any accountability.

Cuban would be a truly wonderful new chapter in Cubs lore... one that will likely never be written.

Hail to the kings of mediocrity!

The Cubbies are worth approximately 488 million dollars. Mark Cuban and a couple of his associates could plunk down 600 million and the Tribstes would have to look long and hard at that offer. They like profits at the Trib, how about 112 million dollar profit?

They need to get a new owner, who would pry Andy MacPhail out of his ivory tower, then get rid of Jim Hendry, and finally get rid of Dusty Baker and replace them with people that know what they are doing. Steve Stone would probably come back if the Tribs were gone to serve as GM, and we could get someone good to manage that Stone trusts. With Baker gone, we wouldn't have to deal with his favoritism for Neifi Perez, Freddy Bynum, Roberto Novoa, and Henry Blanco that is totally undeserved by those players. I'm sick of watching them play every day and do nothing. Stone would trade away all of Henry's mistakes and build the farm system back up with quality prospects, instead of the garbage Hendry has gotten for the ones he has traded lately (what did we get for Farnsworth, Patterson, etc)? Plus Stone would get a new coaching staff (i.e. a hitting coach that knows what he is doing). It will never happen though.

I would love to see Mark Cuban to buy the team from Chicago tribune since Worls series and it will be 100 years by next year. All the team already had won while Cubs dont and it would be nice to have Cubs win world Series by next year if Mark Cuban own the team and I believe that it would happrn.

I have written Cuban 3 times, once last year twice this year, begging him to try. Install Steve Stone as GM and, perhaps, my 57 years of suffering may be rewarded!!

The Tribune Co wil NEVER sell the Cubs as long as Wrigley is filled day after day for a poor or mediocre team. McFail/Hendry have given real talent away because they don't recognize "REAL TALENT". The Cubs have the best Class AAA team around but few ever make it in the majors with the CUBS. Money is the only thing the Tribune cares about. Cuban or anyone who really has PRIDE and loves Baseball would at least bring respecability to the North Side. I think the ides of not buying the Tribune newpaper is a great idea since no one can get the real fans to stay away from Wrigley. I read the Sun Times at least they tell the whole story.

The Tribune won't sell to Cuban however everything isfor sale if the price it right

When are Cubs fans going to wise up? They don't - because once a Cubs fan wises up, he's no longer a Cubs fan. Like me, I rooted for them for over 30 years. No more. I rejoiced when the White Sox won a World Series for our beautiful city last year.

It isn't the Cubs that are worth $488 million or whatever - it's WRIGLEY FIELD! People go to games to see and party at Wrigley Field, not to watch the Cubs. That's why it's always sold out, and that's why the Tribune will NEVER sell the team - Wrigley Field. Sadly, the Cubs won't change ownership until at least the day that they move out of or demolish Wrigley. Period.

I used to live at Wayne & Grace and ride my bike down waveland to the lake. I LOVE WRIGLEY FIELD. I JUST WISHED THEY PLAYED PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL THERE.

The cubs need someone that cares more about winning than about lining their pockets. If the cubs could get Mark Cuban and bring in Steve Stone as their general manager. The Cubs will win the World Series.

It doesn't matter who the owner is. The Cubs are cursed and that will never change.
You can't blame the ownership for players getting hurt or not performing.
We just caught a break last night with Pujols going down. There's ground to be gained, stop worrying about the ownership and coaching and start cheering. The team needs you fans, this is their time to shine.

When fantasy baseball crosses over into reality this is what happens,a championship starved franchise dreams of heaven and that is what Cuban would bring.Year in and year out i have watched these "LOVEABLE LOSERS" break my heart by either stinking it up from the start or be good enough to give me hope then falter at the end and it has to stop now.Why should we have to deal with this while on the other side of town the"champs" show us how to play the gamewhile posting one of the best records in baseball.Dallas,a once "lovable loser" now competes year in and year out for championships,hmmm.If there is a basebal god please send us suffered souls of baseball a messiah(Mark Cuban)and let us bask in his glory.Call this blasphemy if you want but the only choice left is becoming ,dare i say,gulp.. a White Sox fan.

Mike's rationale is exactly why the Trib will never sell. The endless hoping and cheering put into an organization that couldn't care less whether it wins or loses is ill spent effort. The Trib figured out that 2003 wasn't all that much better than other years in terms of bottom line, and they damn near went to the Series. It's not worth the bet to try and make a winning team. Given how their fan base acts, it would honestly be poor corporate governance to try.

CAN HE BUY THE BLACKHAWKS TOO?

I HAVE BEEN A CUBS FAN FOR ALL MY LIFE,WHICH HAS BEEN 35 YEARS. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A NEW OWNER,GM,AND COACHES.I'M TIRED OF SEEING A WAIT TILL NEXT SEASON YEAR. IF THE REDSOX AND THOSE BUMS FROM THE SOUTH SIDE WIN IT ALL WHY CAN'T WE!!!!!!!!!I'M STATIONED OUT IN NORFOLK, AND I HAVE TO LISTEN TO ALL OF THESE NYY,NYM,ATL,BOS FANS TALK ABOUT WORLD SERIES WINS.DO SOMETHING NOW PLEASE, I'M TIRED OF THE LET DOWNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'M sure Cuban would do a better job then the losers we have now ,we know who they are(the paper sucks too)maybe instead of yearning for the good ole days of baseball we can string together some wins and make a good run for the playoffs?(just wishful thinking)

The Cubs need someone like Mark Cuban. A fan first then an owner. Fans understand the importance of winning. The tribune co. knows that the Cubs could go 0-162 and we loyal Cub fans would still spend more and more per ticket each year to watch it. They (tribune co.) are totally willing to run this team into the ground , and squeeze every last ounce of fun out of Cubs baseball, while pinching every last penny before selling this team.

Puhleez! Mark Cuban isn't going to make a run at the Cubs. It would be a fruitless effort and he's a amrt guy who loves the pub, but wouldn't waste his time.

Cubs "fans" just keep paying, ever-increasing, ticket prices for any product that gets thrown out there. Why would the Tribune Company ever sell such a no-brainer (no brains?) cash cow?

The real difference between the Cub fan base and that of teams like the White Sox is that the Cubs get 18,00 walk ups to every game - people who come to the neighborhood's biggest bar and not to actually make a trip to a baseball game as a destination.

The White Sox, located in a more industrial area are lucky to get 18 walk ups. But those who come are fans looking to travel to see baseball. When the product is good they will draw well. But they need to give their fans a reason to pay for their product.

Sure, the Sox blew it years ago when they vacated WGN, and yes Wrigley has a "charm factor" and gets a few thousand out of towners for each game who became fans of the "loveable losers" by watching the games on a national superstation, but the real lucky break for the Cubs occurred when the neighborhood became "partyville."

The ballpark is actually somthing of a run down dump, but like Fenway, everyone should go there once. Again, the Trib can put in the minimum here too. Look at all the $$ the Sox have had to put into their park to make it attractive. At Wrigley the Tribune company only spend $$ to get more seats (and nets to keep the falling concrete from killing people).

Cuban - or anyone else for that matter - has about as much chance of buying this license to print money franchise as he does of moving it to Havana. The irony is that so many Cub "fans" would like to see a change but keep supporting the status quo by selling out all the games...embarrassing!

ive siad for years just make stoney gm and get a manager like leyland and bring up some of the guys like pie etc and there you go...case closed....

How long can we be the whipping boy of the National Leauge before the big cheese upstairs get with the program? While other teams are adding the likes of Beckett and Ryan we are adding PHIL NEVIN. Why not just move Walker back to second and leave first base open. Not much use to have someone at first when all he does is watch the hitters rounding the bag on their way to home plate. And God forbid someone hit the ball in the infield, the season ticket guy behind the visitors dugout makes just as good a Firstbase man as any. They keep stringing us along with the likes of Wood and Prior, and then they draft a left fielder in the first round. What the H... is going on here. Do they even care if we win, and i am not even talking about a World Series...i mean any series during the year. We are a team in the third largest ( and most baseball) friendly city in the country, and who do we get in the off season...Sheffield..no...
Beckett....no....Ryan...no..We get to root for Tony Womack, and company. What the .... ever man. I am so disgusted with this team...yet i find myself year in and year out rooting like the center filed crowd in Major League. " It's to high, to high, It's Gone" come on Hendry, just be like the Marlins and buy just ONE for us. I don't care if we win a World Series one year and the next year, cut the whole team and promote the entire AA Jacksonville team to the Bigs. At least i wont have to face my friends with the same old song and dance " You just wait until next year, they will put one together" Talk about a number one hit, that song has to hold the record for being at the top of the charts Casey Casem, 108 years...top that Aerosmith. This team sucks and i dont know how much longer i can hold out, damn WhiteSox, it would not be so bad if they had not won.But that is just par for the course. Well that is about all of the verbal vomit that i can spew about the the Greatest team ever to not win the big one
( since the invention of the automobile anyway) I know who our next GM should be and dare you to argue me on this...Lets go out and hire Phil Mickelson...at least he found a way to tame the Tiger.....and look he did it in less than a century. GO CUBBIES!!!!

Its more about talent evaluation, coaching and a little luck than just throwing $100 million at it. The tribune company is already spending like $75 million and they probably could fill the stands if they spent 40 million. There are a lot of teams that spend spend close or over $100 million every year and dont get to the playoffs. But if you draft good, have a good farm system, good coaching you not only have a chance to win once, but a chance to have a dynasty. Then after you win and find the right chemistry, you spend like 120 million to keep it all together. Like those darn southsiders.

A new owner like Cuban would be great...This
year's team has no chemistry, too many bench players starting, and nobody looks like they want to be here...Our three best starters are Zambrano, Maddux, and Marshall, which would be great if Wood and Prior were also contributing...Instead we've had guys like Glendon Rusch and Jerome Williams starting, and that Korean kid, and Novoa...No wonder they suck. And our best hitter lately has been the guy everyone loves to boo, Jacque Jones. All I can say is, the current regime,
and most of the current roster, needs to go. In '03
two of the guys who gave us a spark, Randall Simon and Kenny Lofton, were shown the door after just half a
season, and Matt Stairs wasn't around long either...I can't recall if he was here in '03 or left before that. In any case, the '03 team had players with personality who had fun playing, while also playing well together; this is no longer the case.

Sorry guys, you all need to wake up and smell the coffee. Just as quickly as the rumors spread that Cuban MIGHT be looking into purchasing the club, Cubs brass quickly shot down the idea. It ain't gonna happen. Even so, how much do you think the asking price would be? It'd be at least 800 million dollars....something absolutely ridiculous. That's because whoever owns that team is gonna be livin LARGE due to the fact that they can field a team that can lose 90 games a year on average and still pack the place every homestand. Also bear in mind that wrigley is surrounded by 100 bars and most of the fans in attendance don't even know what an RBI is. Baseball doesn't come first in Wrigleyvile. The Cubs should relocate to Alaska or Hawaii. Get them FAR away from here....they SUCK and they're an embarassment to our city. I hope the Devil Rays win a world series title before the cubs ever do...and at this rate, that might actually happen.

Going along the lines of what Josh said about China Doll #1 Kerry Wood and China Doll #2 Mark Prior, management needs to dump both guys in the offseason. Let's face the facts, the year is a complete wash so why not dangle our two "Aces" out there as trade bait and start rebuilding. Wood just went back on the DL...pfft. He says it's not cuz he's injured. Well what in the heck do you go on the DL for if you're not injured?!!? You know what I think? I think Wood knows he sucks and now that he has had some bad outings, he doesn't have the guts to stick it out so he makes up a story about his body hurting him somewhere. Talk about a waste of 12 million dollars! Wouldn't it be nice if we could all collect an enormous paycheck and do absolutely NOTHING for it? Dump him before he runs out of body parts...

...btw, I know this didn't follow the overall topic of the blog, but I had to vent. Here, bring in Cuban and maybe we'll see a change in our fortunes over the next few years.

Going along the lines of what Josh said about China Doll #1 Kerry Wood and China Doll #2 Mark Prior, management needs to dump both guys in the offseason. Let's face the facts, the year is a complete wash so why not dangle our two "Aces" out there as trade bait and start rebuilding. Wood just went back on the DL...pfft. He says it's not cuz he's injured. Well what in the heck do you go on the DL for if you're not injured?!!? You know what I think? I think Wood knows he sucks and now that he has had some bad outings, he doesn't have the guts to stick it out so he makes up a story about his body hurting him somewhere. Talk about a waste of 12 million dollars! Wouldn't it be nice if we could all collect an enormous paycheck and do absolutely NOTHING for it? Dump him before he runs out of body parts...

...btw, I know this didn't follow the overall topic of the blog, but I had to vent. Here, bring in Cuban and maybe we'll see a change in our fortunes over the next few years.

To think the Sox almost went to Florida. remember that?
If the trib spent 40 million a year on this team everyone's arguement would hold water.
Cubs are making a turnaround and soon enough everyone will be saying what a great job the coach did, or what a great job Hendry or the tribune. When it comes down to the players. When it comes down to Pierre, Ramirez, Perez, all playing to their potential. And all the damn wounded players that are coming back.