Mookie4ever wrote:If Cuban wanted to buy and the current ownership wanted to sell to him, I'm not sure that there's much that MLB could do about it.
Yeah, but doesn't MLB have to approve the sale of any team to any prospective owner? I thought a few years back they wouldn't let someone buy a team for whatever reason...
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Mookie4ever wrote:If Cuban wanted to buy and the current ownership wanted to sell to him, I'm not sure that there's much that MLB could do about it.
Yeah, but doesn't MLB have to approve the sale of any team to any prospective owner? I thought a few years back they wouldn't let someone buy a team for whatever reason...
you are correct ..
There have been instances of people with the financial resources to buy a team that have not been approved by the laegue.
Cuban is a Pittsburgh native and (from what I hear) would only be interested in owning the Pirates. He also inquired a few years ago about buying the Penguins, before Lemieux bought the team.
As a Pirates fan, the news that they wouldn't sell to him really depressed me. The main shareholder is a guy from West Virginia that is, by all accounts, kind of a bizarre guy. He's really the one that doesn't want to sell.
The team is definitely making money right now (helped of course by the coming all-star game), and I think the owners are more concerned with that than they are with winning...which sucks.
This guys loves his teams. I'd be curious to see what he does with a sports team he owns that doesn't have a salary cap.
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"I think one of the reasons McClatchy won't sell is, that if you can deal with the abuse that goes with losing, you can make $15 million or $20 million a year," he said on Patrick's show, mentioning figures that McClatchy has disputed as the Pirates' profit. "Would you put up with the abuse for $15 million or $20 million a year? ...
"Not me. Oh, no. I'd have to win. Winning vs. losing money, I'd take winning every time."
Cuban said he will lose some money with the Mavericks this season but is getting closer to breaking even.
"It's a simple equation," he wrote in his e-mail. "Running a team to break even vs. running it to make $15 million or $20 million means a lot more money for player development and players."
i LOVE it. keep stuff like that coming. let's get michael keaton back in the mix, as well ...
I like Cuban. I don't see why his outspokeness is such a drawback. He is certainly open to experimentation as well. Avery Johnson as coach is proving to be wise, as was the Dirk draft pick, and he learned his lesson apparently with stacking the team with a bunch of run and gun types.
I think MLB could really use someone with his youth, enthusiasm and acumen. Its not like he is some old money loser, he was wise enough to sell hsi internet assets before it crashed.
I hope for the Pirates' sake that Cuban can pull off buying a team. Mark Cuban can by my team any day. Just look at what he has done with the Mavericks. I know that baseball is different than basketball, obviously, but he's a very smart guy and would do what it takes to put a winning team on the field.
Which is more than the current 'Burgh ownership can say...
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by Mercer Boy » Sat Nov 12, 2005 8:48 am 
