Tribune selects Cubs buyer

UPDATE: Washington Post reports that Tom Ricketts has some serious ties to Wrigleyville... read on.

Tom Ricketts grew up watching the Cubs on WGN, once lived in an apartment above a bar across the street from Wrigley Field, and met his wife in the bleachers at a Cubs game.

Well-played, sir, well played. I bet he was completely sober at the time, too.


The Chicago Tribune reports that their parent company, Tribune Co., has selected Tom Ricketts as the winning bidder to buy the Chicago Cubs. The $900 million offered also includes Wrigley Field and a quarter of Comcast SportsNet.

The Ricketts family made their billion-plus fortune "building a discount brokerage brokerage in Omaha." The family's patriarch, J. Joe Ricketts, founded what later became Ameritrade Holding Corporation. The family has also independently confirmed that they have been selected to buy the team.

But the deal isn't sealed just yet.

The family will have to hammer out a final agreement with Tribune Co. and secure financing amid the worst credit markets since the Depression. Once a contract is inked, the deal must be approved by 23 of Major League Baseball's 30 owners. Cubs officials have said they hope to have the new owners in place by the start of the season in April.

Paul Sullivan talks about the future/upgrading of Wrigley Field

Rick Morrissey gives the Ricketts family some advice.

And a Tribune reporter gets the voice of the fans. Shockingly, they say don't tear down Wrigley Field and spend money getting better players.

Blanco, Harden, and a Closer Competition

Catcher Henry Blanco has signed with the Padres,

Rich Harden's shoulder will keep him from representing Team Canada in the WBC,

The Tribune Co. has picked a favorite to buy the Cubs - but no one knows who it is,

and Lou Pinella hasn't named Carlos Marmol the closer yet.

It would seem logical that Marmol would inherit the role.

Not so fast, Lou Piniella says.

The Cubs acquired Kevin Gregg from Florida this offseason, and Piniella doesn't want to declare Marmol the closer until he sees both pitchers this spring.

"Let them compete," Piniella said. "I feel comfortable with Marmol, there's no question. But we traded for this other young man, and he was a closer over there with success. Give him a chance, too."

Sale "close?"

Cubs.com is reporting the Tribune Company is "close" to selecting the winning bid for Cubs ownership.

From the article (emphasis mine):

The Chicago Tribune reported on Tuesday that the company had been evaluating bids since early December and could make a decision within a week to 10 days.

The three prospective buyers include Chicago real estate investor Hersch Klaff; the Ricketts family, founders of online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.; and a group led by Marc Utay, a New York-based private equity investor.

The buyer would still have to be approved by a three-quarters vote of baseball owners. A bankruptcy judge also may have a say in the process because the Tribune Co. filed for Chapter 11 protection on Dec. 8. The Cubs were not included in that filing.

I just hope the sale gets done, and the organization is in good, capable hands.

Santo misses Hall again, Cubs to be sold before Spring Training, and the Professor retires

Ron Santo received the highest number of post-1942 votes from the Veteran's Committee, but still fell 9 votes short of the 75% needed for election. Out of the 64 votes, Santo received 39 (60.9 %), needing 48. Nine votes out of 64, or 14%, is a significant amount, and he doesn't have the ability to do anything to improve his chances of getting in. If Buck O'Neil couldn't get the sympathy vote, I'm sorry to say Ron Santo's not going to get the call in his lifetime.


The Cubs want to get the sale finalized by Spring Training, but the fact is Hendry is going to be handcuffed in free agency by not having the ability to add payroll.

The bidders are aware of the team's 2009 budget. If Hendry wants to add significant money to the payroll, he will have to make room by trading players currently on the roster.

Greg Maddux is expected to retire today, and there's no doubt he will be in the Hall. The only relevant questions are: is he a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, and whose team will he choose to represent himself?

Personally, I don't think there's anyone pitching more deserving of the first-ballot Hall honor, especially considering the disgraceful legacy of Roger Clemens. Maddux was never the biggest or overpowered anybody, but he pitched his entire career the right way, and will leave the game with 355 wins, 3,371 K's (against only 999 walks), 4 Cy Young awards and a lifetime ERA of 3.16.

I also think that, despite the fact he started his career as a Cub (1986-1992), and returned from 2004-2006 (winning #300 and pitching his 3,000th K during that span), there's little chance he goes into Cooperstown as anything but an Atlanta Brave. Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz pitched in Atlanta together for more than a decade, and he won a World Series there. He was always a class act and a true role model, and the game will miss him.