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Astros file lawsuit against former owner and media company - which Astros are partial owners - alleging that value of regional TV networks were misrepresented.
Story includes an interesting quote by Crane, "I did not buy this team to have a low payroll and be mediocre." No Jim, you purchased the team, traded or cut all MLB talent from the squad and now are hoping that some time in the near future your team may improve to the point it's mediocre.
My understanding of the Astros' situation is that the regional TV network has filed for bankruptcy partially due to the onerous contract with the Astros. The expectation was that the regional TV network would be expanded into more Houston area homes with the Astros acting as a significant draw for the expansion. Fans didn't care to see a team that loses 100 games so expansion stalled / failed. Now the media company has filed bankruptcy to get out of the contracts potentially tanking how Crane was making cash.
Astros situation differs significantly from the Cubs situation but there are some parallels. The WGN Radio contract is similar to the Comcast SportsNet Houston contract. WGN Radio is attempting to renegotiate the deal which was signed when the Cubs popularity was near its zenith and no grossly overpays - $10 MM - for the audience that it attracts. A significant difference is that the Comcast SportsNet Houston deal pays the Astros for the expected number of homes which never materialized. As the Cubs are looking to greatly expand their TV deals in the near future - WGN deal expires in 2014 and Comcast deal expires in 2019 - examples of deals gone bad may hamper their efforts to enhance revenue in future media deals.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/100202...-companies
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Any chance Peralta is right back on the juice once he gets to St. Louis?
I got nothin'.
Andy
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Quote:Any chance Peralta is right back on the juice once he gets to St. Louis?
St Louis and PEDs? Why would someone ever make that connection?
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Until the Astros fanbase (regional, forget national as it isn't even close) even remotely approaches that of the Cubs even for equally bad teams at the moment (the Astros don't come close to the Cubs TV/radio ratings or attendance), trying to draw parallels to Crane's situation doesn't make sense.
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I don't follow the logic of signing these guys to such high dollar contracts. Peralta has had a few good years with a several shitty seasons peppered in there. He's already been hit with a PED suspension. So the Cardinals give him a 4 year deal averaging over $12M a season. Chris Young stinks up the joint for a very good (and saber-centric) club in Oakland and signs with the Mets for $7.5M a season.
On one hand, we're telling baseball players that they shouldn't used PEDs, but if they do, and get caught, just take your suspension and we'll pay you around twice as much once you get back. Additionally, you can suck all but 2 years of your career, but if you have perceived potential, we'll give you a ton of money.
I got nothin'.
Andy
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Forgot where I read it, but
Quote:I don't follow the logic of signing these guys to such high dollar contracts. Peralta has had a few good years with a several shitty seasons peppered in there. He's already been hit with a PED suspension. So the Cardinals give him a 4 year deal averaging over $12M a season. Chris Young stinks up the joint for a very good (and saber-centric) club in Oakland and signs with the Mets for $7.5M a season.
On one hand, we're telling baseball players that they shouldn't used PEDs, but if they do, and get caught, just take your suspension and we'll pay you around twice as much once you get back. Additionally, you can suck all but 2 years of your career, but if you have perceived potential, we'll give you a ton of money.
Forgot where I read it, but the MLB players' association is supposedly going to press for harsher PED penalties for this very reason.
I'm glad the Cards signed Peralta. It has all the makings of a bad contract...32-year-old coming off a PED suspension. Paying $12 million per year for the decline years, etc.
But since he signed with the Cards, he's probably going to win the triple crown.
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He'll probably learn how to do a perfect backflip and then go on to become the greatest SS the game has ever known.
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The Yankees system in general is really what pisses me off the most. They spend money like rich kids bragging on Reddit. I really hope McCann gets hurt in the first week. That would make my day.
"The big dog walks late." - PcB
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Ted Lilly to retire.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/11/te...etire.html
He mentions his time in Chicago as the best period of his career. Sucks that he had to be forced into retirement though.
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I will always have a soft spot for Theodore Roosevelt Lilly.
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Hughes signs with the Twins for 3yrs/$24m. Not a lot for a 27 year-old, but I still think he sucks no matter what his advanced stats say. He just looks like he's destined for the pen.
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Quote:Hughes signs with the Twins for 3yrs/$24m. Not a lot for a 27 year-old, but I still think he sucks no matter what his advanced stats say. He just looks like he's destined for the pen.
Coupled with the Nolasco signing, it appears the Twins are taking a page out of the Cubs small market team playbook and signing up damaged / under performing pitchers from the bargain bin in hopes of finding a diamond in the rough.
Agree with Rok's assessment on Hughes. The guy had great publicity but didn't live up to the hype of being the pitching prospect for the Yankees.
It will be interesting to see if the Cubs' brain trust is able to ferret out this year's version of Feldman or Malholm type pitcher from the bargain basement.
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Yeah, problem is there don't appear to be many of those types available. Maybe they re-sign Baker to another one year deal? Kazmir?
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And the Nats have reportedly acquired Fister from the Tiggers (no idea what the return is yet). I guess that means Porcello is no longer on the market, so put those rumors to bed.
EDIT: The return is fairly shitty. Makes little sense.
https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/...5208687616
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Quote:And the Nats have reportedly acquired Fister from the Tiggers (no idea what the return is yet). I guess that means Porcello is no longer on the market, so put those rumors to bed.
EDIT: The return is fairly shitty. Makes little sense.
https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/...5208687616
As a Tigers fan, I'm not happy.
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