Mark Cuban - New Owner of Cubs?

As many are already aware, Mark Cuban has filed an application to purchase the Chicago Cubs organization. If you aren't, well... you've just been informed. I must say that this is some great news for Cubs fans. For those who do not know who Mark Cuban is, he currently owns the Dallas Mavericks NBA franchise, and is probably by far the most involved owner in professional sports. He is a sports fan first, and understands that a winning team will take care of the business bottom line.

For the Cubs, this would be a considerable change of pace. Ownership hasn't cared about fielding a championship team in a long time, evidenced by the 99 year drought. The Tribune Co. has never cared much about the Cubs winning, until recently, now that they are selling the team (probably the reason Jim Hendry was able to spend so much this offseason on the likes of Alfonso Soriano) and want to increase the teams value. Wrigley always manages to sell out despite the team's performance, which means Tribune is getting their money either way, so they might as well increase their margin by cutting player salaries.

If Cuban takes over the Cubs, I can almost guarantee that they will become the National League version of the Yankees. Spending will be rampant. After 99+ years without a World Series, the Cubs could break the streak with multiple titles even. I'm not a believer in the "curse" BS that everyone likes to mention. It's a cute story for the Cubs, but the reality is that they've never had the front office to put together a solid team. This year they look to have busted out of that mold, and if Cuban takes over, it could be permanent. Hey, the guy even has "C-U-B" in his name...

Now the probability of Cuban actually buying the Cubs is fairly remote. Another potential bidder is John Canning, who heads a private equity firm that owns part of the Milwaukee Brewers. For those that don't know, Bud Selig has strong ties to the Brewers, and apparently he is friends with Canning. Selig, as the commissioner of baseball, has been known to favor his friends. Since he can pretty much tell Cuban "no," it seems pretty unlikely that Cuban will actually buy the team.

I've been hoping for a World Series for 22 years (well maybe more like 17 or so when I was old enough to understand baseball), so I will hold out hope for Cuban taking over, despite knowing it probably won't happen.

Hopefully I get to use the broom today as the Cubs go for the sweep over the Astros today. 3.5 back in the Central!

Until next time...