Baseball. Blogging. Whenever.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Sam Zell’s Nightmare Continues


The Tribune Company could be heading for bankruptcy:

The Tribune Company, which is in danger of falling below the cash flow required under its bonds, is trying to negotiate new terms with its creditors and has hired advisers for a possible bankruptcy filing, according to people briefed on the matter . . .

. . . Tribune has been trying to sell the Chicago Cubs baseball team; the team’s stadium, Wrigley Field; and the company’s share in a regional cable sports network. Such a deal, which could bring the company more than $1 billion, has been a crucial part of its strategy since last year.

I'm guessing Jim Hendry knew this, which would explain the decision to not go after Peavy. After all, if they had done the deal and then filed for Chapter 11, a bankruptcy trustee would have to take possession of Josh Vitters, who would be legally classified as a preference, after which he would be divided up and distributed to the Trib's creditors in proportion to the outstanding debts each is owed.

Nasty business, bankruptcy.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 5:35am (11) Comments

Dye-Bailey


I'm not that good at handicapping trades right after they happened -- I'm really more of a hindsight guy -- but my sense of this is that the Reds may have gotten the better end of the Homer Bailey for Jermaine Dye deal.

This may sound surprising in that, generally speaking, trading a 22 year-old pitching prospect for an aging corner guy with a dreadful glove usually constitutes malpractice. I've seen a lot of Homer Bailey, however, and my gut is that he's about to fall into the abyss. He's a putative power pitcher whose fastball has slowed down, who hasn't made any adjustments or developed a credible third pitch, and who, based on his reaction to being sent down the past couple of years, seems to have some attitude problems. Could he turn it around with the change of scenery and turn into Curt Schilling or something? Sure, I suppose anything is possible and, hey, the guy is only 22. But I'm just kind of going with my gut on this one, and my gut tells me that he's going to bop around for the next four or five years, disappointing wherever he goes, and making people scratch their heads and wonder why in the hell he never took off.

Dye? Not exactly someone who the Reds are going to build around, but he's a useful bat at the very least, and if he can tear it up in the first half, he could be a useful trade chit for the Reds to send to a playoff contender desperate for an extra bat.

UPDATE: Now a bunch of people are saying that the deal isn't going down after all.

Man, I hate the Winter Meetings.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 12:05am (4) Comments

<< Newer Posts