The Cubs did everything they could to throw away yesterday’s game in Los Angeles, but the umpires wouldn’t allow it.
A bad throw by Ryan Theriot pulled Mike Fontenot off of second base on a force out, but the umpire called the runner out anyway. Don’t these types of calls usually go against the Cubs?
Then, with runners on first and third, Theriot loses a pop-up in the sun and makes a wild throw to the plate which allows the Dodgers to take a 2-1 lead. But wait, the umpires come to the rescue again. The third base umpire says that he called time before the pitch and the Cubs get a do over. This time, the batter hits into a DP and the inning is over. The season is saved (not).
The Cubs won the game 3-1 and ended their West Coast road trip with a 2-5 record. After a day off today, the Cubs will take on the Nationals for a three game set starting Tuesday.
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The paperwork is signed and the Ricketts family is on their way to owning the Cubs. But how much did they pay for the priviledge. Originally, the sale was supposed to be around $1 billion (with a b). Then, the Rickett’s had the high bid at $900 million. After a dispute over the value of the TV rights, the offer was lowered to $845 million. Now, according to this article in the Chicago Tribune, the final price the parties settled on is $800 million.
Why the steep drop in price? According to an article I read that I can’t find now, the sale could have closed fairly quickly and easily if Sam Zell had not tried to pawn off Wrigley Field to the State of Illinois. While he was trying to make a couple of extra bucks, the credit markets collapsed making it more difficult for the Rickettses to obtain financing. The value of the deal also shrank along with the shrinking economy, ultimately costing Zell (and his creditors) about $100 million.
Dave Kaplan also weighed in on his thoughts on the sale. I’m pretty sure that he is incorrect when he says that the Cubs have to file for bankruptcy before the deal can get done.
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“Lovable” Lou Piniella says he’ll be back in 2010 to lead the Cubs to victory, or wherever they decide to go. Gordon Wittenmyer has the scoop.
In another article, Wittenmyer says the players are happy to hear that Piniella will be returning. Alfonso Soriano is especially happy. He should be. Lou keeps trotting him out there everyday even though he hasn’t hit this year.
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The next issue to be dealt with is whether or not Jim Hendry will be returning. Aramis Ramirez says that Hendry is doing a good job and should come back, but others aren’t so sure. Some people are calling for Hendry’s head after he took a 2008 playoff team and turned them into a 2009 also-ran. Others are saying that crane Kenney will be the first casualty of the new owners. Reports are that The Rickettses have already spoken to seasoned baseball people (like Sandy Alderson) to come in and take over the reigns from Kenney.
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Richard Justice at the Houston Chronicle is one of my favorite sports writers. He says that the Astros have two choices moving forward. They can either open their wallet and spend the money necessary to build a winner in 2010, thus arttracting fans to the ballpark, or they can tighten the purse strings and drive people away. Neither option is likely very attractive to the Astros owner.
