| SteveU2 |
This is the new owner......
Zell's Bells could haunt Cubs
February 11, 2008
BY JAY MARIOTTI Sun-Times Columnist
Just so you know, the owner of the Cubs said ``(bleep) you'' to a female company employee last week. Just so you know, he asked workers at a staff meeting to inform him if they find good porn sites on the Internet. And, just so you know, he defended running strip-joint ads in the respectable Los Angeles Times by saying some of his best friends go to such clubs, reportedly adding, ``Everyone likes p---y. It's un-American not to like p---y.''
Sounds like Sam Zell should be sitting in the Wrigley Field bleachers every game, hanging out with tank-topped twentysomethings who want to do shots with him at the Cubby Bear. On second thought, let's not give him any ideas.
Sam Zell hasn't expressed interest in doing anything but dump the Cubs, but he could wake up one morning and change his mind, meddling with something he knows nothing about.
I'll let others decide if the 66-year-old Zell is a dirty old man, though I'd say the evidence is incontrovertible. What I want to know is if he's capable of screwing up the Cubs in, this, their 100-year anniversary without a World Series title. His stay atop the franchise hierarchy was supposed to be brief until he realized he could rape venerable Wrigley for a quick money grab, via naming rights that could leave a cheesy corporate name on a national landmark -- Menards Yards! Mr. Beef Field! -- and a possible sale of the ballpark to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. Until the ballpark issue is settled, Tribune Co. and chairman Zell can't even begin a sales process that includes showing financial books to groups of interested buyers, the actual bid auction and approval of the sale by 75 percent of Major League Baseball owners. By now, we assumed John Canning's group would own the Cubs and Mark Cuban would be raising holy hell. But with pitchers and catchers arriving Wednesday in Arizona, the season is upon us, meaning it's likely Zell will own the ballclub through the entire 2008 season.
Yikes.
``It's just really hard to predict,'' said Crane Kenney, the club's latest chairman. ``If I had a guess, it's not until midyear or the end of the season."
It's weird enough that Zell looks like the infamous Billy Goat. Now, could he be the new symbol of Cubbie doom as a second century of despair begins? So far, he hasn't expressed interest in doing anything but dump the team, but if he's as off-center as he appears, Zell could be a candidate to wake up one June morning, realize the division-leading the Cubs are the talk of the town and try his best to meddle with something he knows nothing about. Yes, he owned a small piece of the White Sox until recently but only as a investor who fed Jerry Reinsdorf's ``other people's money'' mission. Will Zell figure out he owns one of America's most popular sports teams and start viewing it as his toy? The angle is important enough that Cubs general manager Jim Hendry already is addressing it, claiming he he has freedom to spend thanks to Kenney's blessings. ``I haven't been given one bit of negative news about moving forward and acquiring good players,'' Hendry told the company's broadsheet.
Just wait. Eventually, Zell's Bells Tour of Tribune properties will make its way from newspapers to Wrigley, where he'll probably deliver the same salty speech -- filled with vulgarities and offensive references -- and flip out Cubs employees. Zell is about driving and maximizing revenues, telling an employee last week, ``I want to make enough money so that I can afford you.'' The predicted layoffs have started at Tribune newspapers, and before Zell is finished, the number of lopped-off jobs could total in the many hundreds. His motto, remember, is ``relevance, revenue and respect.'' It's not about spending enough to beat the New York Mets and win the National League pennant.
``If you have something you believe will drive additional revenue, and that carries limited risk, outline your idea and bring it to your business unit leader,'' Zell wrote in an e-mail to employees. ``You can send it to me as well.''
But the Cubs can't drive additional revenue when they're drawing more than three milion fans, selling out almost every game and topping out on broadcast rights. So can we be so certain that Zell, if the Cubs and Baltimore Orioles ever agree on terms for a Brian Roberts trade, would give it an instant rubber stamp? Might he wonder why a team with a $110 million payroll needs more? And if Lou Piniella demands a pitcher in July and Zell says no, wouldn't you love to be the pay-per-view promoter for a Zell vs. Piniella shoutdown -- with dirt-kicking, obscenity-spewing and belly-bumping not only permitted, but encouraged?
Zell may be the 52nd-wealthiest person on earth, with a net worth of $6 billion according to Forbes Magazine. But that doesn't mean the company he bought is steady. While the Cubs have no such issues as one of baseball's great cash cows, do know that Standard & Poor's Corp. has placed the Tribune Co.'s junk-rated debt on CreditWatch. That means the New York-based assessor is so concerned about the Trib's downturn in advertising revenue that it is concerned Zell may default. Hendry can argue that the Cubs did just fine last year with the franchise in sales limbo, but Zell didn't take over until December.
He's a crazy man in a crazy business. All I'm saying is, anything is possible. I suppose that includes a World Series championship, too, which would turn Zell into a Chicago sports hero after stumbling into a team he didn't want and couldn't sell quickly enough. People would clamor for him to keep the team, thinking he's the karmatic antidote to the Goat. I know, I'm being silly now.
This is the guy who, after buying Tribune Co., came out with a new employee handbook. In one section, workers are urged to ``ask your manager, supervisor, business unit head or anyone in Corporate any question you have regarding the business. Question authority and push back if you do not like the answer. You will earn respect, and not get into trouble for asking tough questions." Last week, in a meeting with Orlando Sentinel employees, staff photographer Sara Fajardo questioned Zell's revenues-first philosophy. He responded, ``You need to, in effect, help me by being a journalist that focuses on what our readers want that generates more revenue.''
Fajardo fired back. ``What readers want are puppy dogs,'' she said, meaning softer news. ``We also need to inform the community.''
So much for encouraging brassy questions in the employee handbook. ``I'm sorry, but you're giving me the classic, what I would call, journalistic arrogance by deciding that puppies don't count,'' Zell countered. ``What I'm interested in is how can we generate additional interest in our products and additional revenue so we can make our product better and better, and hopefully, we get to the point where our revenue is so significant that we can do puppies and Iraq.''
Satisified with his answer, Zell looked at the woman.
``(Bleep) you,'' he told her.
And that, Cubdom, is your new owner. |
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| welkdude |
| You can expect the White Sox Army to have a field day with this..... |
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