Some Quick Cubs Thoughts

There are a few things going on in the Cubs world this week that deserve mentioning:

• Greg Maddux is retiring. Maddux was one of the great Cubs pitchers of all-time, unfortunately mismanagement by the Chicago Cubs organization led to Maddux leaving for the larger part of his career. I'm not sure what the logic was behind allowing the Mad-Dog to go to Atlanta for all those years, but either way I will always consider him one of my favorite players. He never had the power or nasty stuff that other pitchers had, but he always got it done with possible the best ability to locate a pitch I have ever seen. A funny guy and a great pitcher, you will be missed Greg. I bet he would make a great pitching coach.


• Ron Santo hears from the Hall of Fame today. If he gets the call and gets in it will end one of the most mysterious and unfair omissions from the Hall. There are 19 3rd basemen in the Hall. Of those, Santo is statistically better than more than half of them. Assuming you only compare him to the HOFers of his generation, Brooks Robinson and Harmon Killebrew, he was as effective if not more than those guys, at least by the numbers. In terms of character, I don't need to say much except to acknowledge his courage in battling diabetes and the loss of his legs, his love for the Cubs and devotion to the sport well after his playing days ended, and all the charity and community work he has done for Chicago. Let this man in!


• The Peavy rumor mill has been swirling all fall/winter and doesn't look to stop anytime soon. I haven't addressed it much here because the news ranges from "the Cubs might still be interested in Peavy" to "the Cubs are still interested in Peavy". With no deal being made and no big breakthroughs on this front, it seems pointless to keep reporting. Just as an update though, it appears the Cubs are really the only team left on Peavy's wishlist that seem to have any interest in him. It is unlikely a deal will happen at the winter meetings, however, since the Cubs priority right now is acquiring a left-handed bat.


• The other reason the Peavy deal is not likely to happen is that it looks like Sam Zell may be headed for a fall (a la Gordon Gekko). The Tribune is preparing for the possibility of filing for bankruptcy. Obviously taking on a huge contract like Peavy's would have to be approved by Tribune ownership and that seems unlikely until the financial situation is settled.
  

Crazy Cuban in Trouble With SEC For Insider Trading

It looks like Mark Cuban's bid to buy the Cubs may have hit a major road block:

Mamma.com is some sort of lame search engine that no one has ever used ever. Way back in 2004, Cuban made a sizeable investment in the company that made him its largest shareholder. (About 600,000 shares.) Later that year, Mamma decided to raise cash using something called PIPE financing. This would essentially create more shares for the public to buy, which raises cash for the company to use, but reduces the value of all existing shares.

The company called Cuban in for a meeting and told him what they were planning. (The hope was that he would buy many of these new shares, in order to maintain his investment and interest in the company.) This is totally allowed, but only with the understanding that any information the person is given must be kept confidential and they may not act on that information until it is revealed to the general public. The CEO of Mamma and others involved in the situation say that Cuban was well aware that the information was confidential and that he would not be able to act on it. This is allegedly well-documented, too.

Cuban did not approve of the PIPE strategy and wanted out. However, once the PIPE was announced the value of his shares would have gone down no matter what, so he instructed his broker to sell all of his shares immediately, which he did. By selling the shares before the announcement was made (and before the price could drop) he saved himself about $750,000. Cuban's reported net worth is a little over $2 billion.

If the allegations are true, this is textbook insider trading. The SEC has charged him with a civil complaint and if he is found guilty, he would likely have to forfeit the profits from the trades, plus pay a penalty which can be up to three times that amount. Also, if his actions can be shown to have hurt other investors, he can face additional penalties that can skyrocket depending on how much damage was allegedly done.

At the moment, this is only a civil action and not a criminal action, which means he will not face jail time. That could change in the future, but it is unlikely unless some new information comes to light. The most famous insider trading case in recent memory is Martha Stewart, but remember—she did not go to jail for trading. She went to jail for obstruction of justice and conspiracy, because she lied to federal investigators about the case.

And just in case anyone is wondering how this is related to the sale of the Cubs, I was informed by a reliable source this morning (some old crazy guy in the booth next to me at Lou Mitchell's) that his daughter works for the Tribune and the Tribune purposely leaked this information about Cuban to take him out of the running to buy the Cubs. I don't know how likely that is, but either way it doesn't look good for people hoping Cuban would be the next owner.

Somewhere, Sam Zell is menacingly cackling in a smoky back room.

Today's Links

• Sam Zell might be in trouble. You know how the economy sucks right now? Yeah that might effect Zell's ownership of the Cubs (he borrowed heavily to make the purchase).
• The Brewers have some idiotic fans. I don't know if they should be ashamed or proud of these photos...
  
• God explains Week 5. Trust me these are hilarious.
• Javy Vazquez sucks, but how easy will it be for Kenny Williams to get rid of him?
  
• Gordon injures toe, ankle. Noah still out with poked eye.
• A Cubs fan is selling his loyalty on eBay. I'm not gonna hold it against him.
• The good, the bad, and the ugly from the Bears-Lions game. Lets just say the good outweighed the bad this week.
• Marmol got in a car accident? Will nothing go right? At least he seems ok.
  

Sam Zell=Gordon Gecko; Except For The Part Where He Bankrupts The Tribune

Maybe the Gordon Gecko comparison was premature. Zell is more of a Lex Luthor type.

Well Sam Zell is at it again. This time the real estate mogul is being sued by shareholders from the Chicago Tribune. The complaint alleges that:

"...since completing his takeover of the Tribune Company last December, Zell’s actions and public statements have damaged the reputation and business of the company. According to the complaint, through both the structure of his takeover and his subsequent conduct, Zell has diminished the value of the employee-owned company to benefit himself and his fellow board members."

A bad businessman and a dick? Sounds like a real American hero. It's hard to stay mad at this guy considering how the Cubs are doing. On the other hand, he has nothing to do with the current incarnation of this team. According to sources he is even trying to bring NQTC favorite Jay Mariotti on board at the Tribune. Gross. What a douche this guy is. Thanks to Ethan for the link.
Let's just say this plays right into the theory over at Cuban and The Cubs that Zell is not exactly an angel. They really hate this guy, by the way.

Weekend Quick Hits

Hey everyone. I was swamped at work yesterday and didn't get to read or post anything really. I'm literally reading everything from yesterday and this morning and I'm just going to throw a long list of links at you. Feel free to take a look if you're bored or whatever. I know there's minor league football today, which captivates our friend StevieY19, but for the rest of us on this rainy Saturday:

• A list of 7 athletes who called their shots. It's ok I guess, but Lloyd Lee asked me to post it, and we all submit to the will of the Asian one.
• Z's start pushed back to Sunday because of Ike. He says his arm is feeling better.
• Sox game rained out last night. Doubleheader today.
• What's wrong with Derrek Lee? His OPS in August was .787 and is only .692 this month. The Cubs are going to need him down the stretch, especially with Lou stubbornly insisting he continue to hit in the 3 hole.
• Sox win coin flip for home field in the event of a one game playoff with Minnesota.
• A good by-the-numbers analysis of the 1984 draft. I sure as hell wouldn't take that skinny kid from North Carolina. He can't even make a jumper! Lets just say they don't think passing on MJ was a good call.
• Bulls-Spurs trade? This site makes a decent argument for it.
  
• If you are looking for something to blame for the O-line's problems (they were pretty good Sunday if you ask me) Luol's Dong thinks John St. Clair should be thrown under the bus.
  
• Our friends over at Cuban and the Cubs are furious after reports that Cuban is only in the bidding for the Cubs to drive up the price for his "buddy" Sam Zell. Deadspin is calling it a blog war. Don't be mad guys, Chi-ball is unreliable anyways.
• I guess that's the end for Joe Crede as a White Sox player. He will always be my pick to click in my heart though.
• The Sun-Times thinks the Sox need 10 wins to make the playoffs. I think it's even less than that, but either way they are going to be limping in against some tough competition if they do make it.

Today's Links--Back on Track Edition

• Some sort of crappy Cubs 100 years garbage on ESPN. Some of the interviews are ok I guess.
• Ok this is nitpicking, but remember when the Cubs were winning without giving me indigestion? Oh well, at least they won.
  
• Zambrano is on schedule to start tomorrow. He needs to get in a rhythm down the stretch here. (**UPDATE: Without games on Friday and Saturday due to Ike, how will the rotation be stacked up?)
  
• Wow. A convincing majority of Bulls fans don't think the organization will start Derrick Rose. I don't know if they should, but how often does a number 1 pick not start?
• Ogunleye named NFL defensive player of the week award for week 1. Sweet.
• Sox lose. What a shitty time to run into the Blue Jays.
  
• Since everyone either hates and/or is sick of Jay Mariotti, I'll keep this in the links and not give it its own post. Apparently Mariotti is going to be writing for the Tribune within the week. Fuck Mariotti. Your move Ozzie. Apparently there is some rumbling that Sam Zell is behind this move.
  
• British people piss me off a lot. For instance, now some bloke is claiming baseball started in England instead of America. Hogwash!
  

Sam Zell=Gordon Gekko?

There is no actual quote here, but if you listen to the audio, it appears that Zell is selling the Cubs as part of some sort of tax dodging scheme.

Apparently Zell makes more money if the sale of the Cubs is a highly-leveraged transaction. I'm not an economics major, but I'm pretty sure that means whoever buys the Cubs will have a lot of loans to pay back. That can't be good for the future of the team. I mean, would you trust this guy if he tried to sell you something? Look at him, he looks like some sort of evil wizard.