Who makes the first move? - Maury Brown update
by bstair on May 18, 2010 9:53 AM CDT
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The latest on the Rangers sale
Maury Brown with thoughts on the sale process and basically boiling it down to:
Who would the lenders force into bankruptcy, the Rangers or HSG? HSG makes more sense from his perspective thus forcing the sale of all their interests including the Stars.
And who makes the first move Selig and MLB or the lenders? The lenders are said to already have the bankruptcy paperwork drawn up.
My thoughts... Bud needs to act at the next moment the talks break down or Monarch digs in their heels. The lenders then file a bankruptcy against HSG to recoup the losses on the Rangers sale by forcing the Stars sale. Then they sue Hicks to try and force the sale of some of the Ballpark land to recoup costs. I'm no lawyer so I don't know if the back end of that works at all. If I'm Bud I sit down with the creditors and agree to burn Hicks in all of this but state that as commissioner you have to protect the Rangers and baseball.
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burn Hicks
you should have put that first and just kept typing it over and over until it happened.
"Anyone that isn't pro-choice never met you" ~Brian Thomas on Seth...
from the gulf
too soon?
"Josey drives to games??? I always assumed he rides in on his high horse" jam0152
"dirkatron has his own evaluation metric: rapes above replacement." AJM
Selig
“I’m concerned about the length of time it’s taken. I’m concerned for the franchise, for their fans.”
Go Rice Owls!
Why does this not exactly fill my penis with a whole lot of confidence?
Fucking Budford… he’s really, really bad. m
The 40 trumps all!
Mention my name at checkout to get 20% off at www.InflatableSexClowns.com!!!
by thedirkatron on May 18, 2010 10:57 AM CDT up reply actions
Pull the trigger Bud!
Just pull the damn trigger!
MLB
I strongly suspect the league isn’t “pulling the trigger” because it has significant concerns about whether it would prevail in a legal battle fought before a bankruptcy court whose primary obligation is to protect the creditors.
by Darrell McKown on May 18, 2010 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions
law of unintended consequences
What what you wish for. No one wins in a prolonged legal fight, except the lawyers.
hmmm
I typed “be careful what you wish for” but something happened to the first part of that.
it went all nuts on you
"Josey drives to games??? I always assumed he rides in on his high horse" jam0152
"dirkatron has his own evaluation metric: rapes above replacement." AJM
Could be crazy
But as I am reading that article, now and then the words move around. I’m pretty sure it’s actually happening.
It is really happening.
The body section of the blog is fluctuating between wide and narrow, and it’s affecting the word wrap. My browser?
by Black Francis on May 18, 2010 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions
It's a symbol
of Bud’s wavering on pulling the trigger.
Ceterum censeo, Ron Washington esse delendam
Bud is Voldermort
"Josey drives to games??? I always assumed he rides in on his high horse" jam0152
"dirkatron has his own evaluation metric: rapes above replacement." AJM
I think he's more like Magneto.
And we are in X2: X Men United. We need his help even though we know he is evil.
I like this one better, for some reason I've removed the X Men movies from my memory
much like Spiderman 2 & 3
"Josey drives to games??? I always assumed he rides in on his high horse" jam0152
"dirkatron has his own evaluation metric: rapes above replacement." AJM
Land
The creditors could assert, in bankruptcy, that the allocation of value between the team and land isn’t appropriate, and the court could require a valuation separate from what was in the current sales agreement.
by Darrell McKown on May 18, 2010 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions
perhaps...
but wouldn’t that have established that whatever they paid for the land was market value… so they would need more from the team?
Paraphrasing JD
Our offensive approach can be maddening sometimes. You face a guy like Brandon Morrow who walks 6/7 per nine, and he looks like Greg Maddux against you.
Noticed last night
Up a run late in the game, Borbon comes up with no one on and I believe leading off an inning. Kazmir, known for being wild, on the mound. And Borbon swings at the first pitch and hits a bouncer back to the mound. I don’t care what his numbers say or if he had 2 hits last night, his approach is TERRIBLE…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
"Hello Win Column!!!"
by Arlington Stadium Legend on May 18, 2010 12:46 PM CDT up reply actions
Agreed
To me, that’s the surest sign that he needs to go down a reset things. No way a guy who is struggling should be up there hacking like that. At least take a pitch to get ‘settled in’ at the plate.
The Texas Rangers have been synonymous with explosive firepower ever since they emptied 130 rounds into Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. - Alyssa Milano
I'm willing to wait a bit
to see if he can start getting enough hits to the point where he can calm down a bit on the hacking. He’s hitting .289 in May so far so that could help jumpstart things for him, even though it is a very empty .289. If not, I agree that he needs to be sent down because he is handling a slump the exact opposite of how guys like Murphy and Hamilton have handled slumps. Murphy last year and Hamilton this year both started off slow and just became much more patient hitters while not hitting which helped them bust out of it and have great seasons still (Hamilton of course still has some time left before that’s definitive).
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
"I am one of the biggest Texas Ranger fans out there but I'm also one of the smartest. Deal with it."
-The Outlaw
That's far from the first time I've seen that either
Borbon seems to have completely lost any ability to work a count. By now the coaching staff at least should have recognized that and had the take sign on to start off many of his AB’s in important situations.
I hope
we dont fall asleep against the lowly orioles because they suck and they are looking forward to big crowds against the cubs… seems like every time we play a shitty team before a big series we shit the bed… stay focused and lets play some ball over the next 3 days
by I am Neftali Feliz on May 18, 2010 1:25 PM CDT reply actions
Draft Money
Don’t know if this has been talked about, but how will this unresolved sale affect the draft? It is about three weeks away, and the Rangers have two picks. I for one am really concerned.
by Excel Hearts Choi on May 18, 2010 1:40 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
I think we can expect the Rangers
to go more conservative last year in terms of not trying to sign way-above-slot guys. They just don’t have the cheddah to do it. We saw it with Purke last year and nothing’s improved.
It seems to me something drastic would have to happen fast for new Greenberg monies to be available for the draft.
"Drinks are on me if Lewis posts >168IP and an era lower than 3.86." by RangerMad on Jan 20, 2010 12:36 PM PST
correction
…to go more conservative last THIS year…
"Drinks are on me if Lewis posts >168IP and an era lower than 3.86." by RangerMad on Jan 20, 2010 12:36 PM PST
I would assume that any hope of a decent draft budget is gone at this point
Draft is 20(?) days away now.
by LiamP on May 18, 2010 1:48 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
The draft is 20 or so days away
but you still have until August 15th to get these guys signed. And the most expensive guys, the early round picks, probably won’t start signing until that last week unless they are slot guys.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
"I am one of the biggest Texas Ranger fans out there but I'm also one of the smartest. Deal with it."
-The Outlaw
That would assume the deal's done by Aug 15th
Last time the Rangers assumed they would have money they lost their pick. I’d like to see Selig do something now since that might give the FO some assurance that money will come from somewhere.
"You promised me, Eckstein, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life, there have only been one set of prints in the sand. Why, when I have needed you most, have you not been there for me?" David Eckstein replied, "Because my little legs had gotten tired, and you were carrying me." And I looked down and saw that I was still carrying David Eckstein.
Then he grounded out weakly to second.
Well as long as they make sure to sign their 1st pick
then they can just get compensation for their 2nd pick like they did with Purke. You’re still taking a risk, but its worth the potential reward. And last year, they apparently had something like 4 million to spend on Purke when he wanted 6 million. If we have 4 million to spend again this year on a draft pick, I don’t think you’re going to run into the same problem as before about not being able to get him signed.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
"I am one of the biggest Texas Ranger fans out there but I'm also one of the smartest. Deal with it."
-The Outlaw
I feel the opposite
we have to take 1 guy in the 1st, we go for a way above slot guy on the other and rinse and repeat next year.
by corbsclinton on May 18, 2010 5:45 PM CDT up reply actions
His point
about HSG being pushed into involuntary bankruptcy makes some sense, but it would seem that if that’s what MLB thought would happen they’d have pushed the button on “the best interests of baseball” a while ago.
As far as the papers being drawn up, that’s just standard. You don’t wait for the event and then draw up the papers. You prepare for the event so you can file immediately. So I don’t think anything should be read into that.
I'd like to be a fly on the wall
When Selig has his “Donald Trump” moment, and tells BMFF Hicks, “YOU’RE FIRED!!!”
"Thats all we got? One goddamned hit?" - Harry Doyle
"You cant say god damn on the radio."- Colorman Monte
"Ehhh, who cares...nobody's listening!"- Harry Doyle
by awillis111 on May 18, 2010 2:15 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
Selig is going to go all Vince McMahon on him
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
"I am one of the biggest Texas Ranger fans out there but I'm also one of the smartest. Deal with it."
-The Outlaw
by Gdawg on May 18, 2010 2:42 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sat 2 rows behind Hicks/Nolan/Sundberg last night. Was pretty shocked Hicks was actually there.
Also had the chance to shake Nolan and Greenberg’s hand in the 6th inning. Overall it was an awesome game.
I also had the opportunity to throw my grilled bratwurst right at Hick’s face, but figured jail didn’t sound very fun at the time.
I’m really regretting I didn’t at least say something to that fat face, but I think I was in shock and awe at the time.
Nothing wrong with personal restraint.
Did Hicks stay the whole game? The game I was at last week (the 13 inning loss), Hicks left after about 6. Very poor.
Probably needed to go back and rifle through the seat cushions in the locker room....
The Texas Rangers have been synonymous with explosive firepower ever since they emptied 130 rounds into Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. - Alyssa Milano
by bking on May 18, 2010 3:22 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
He stayed up until the 6th inning.
There was one older chubby guy that sat inbetween Hicks and Sundberg the entire game.
I’m still tryiing to figure out who in the hell it was.
by lost in space on May 18, 2010 4:11 PM CDT up reply actions
The problem is.....
they will force everything into bankruptcy…..including the Ranger’s. It might end up with the bankruptcy judge opening the bidding back up & Crane or someone else offering more than Greenberg’s group, then what?
The same (nearly) just happened to the Indians (who own WinStar) on their Lone Star Park bid in Magna’s bankruptcy. They ‘won’ the bid at $27M, but then it was told to the judge that another group (Penn National gaming) was willing to pay in excess of $40M……since the judge is ‘tasked’ with getting as much as possible for the assets, he reopened the bid and a month later, the Indians won out again, but at a figure of $47.8M (pissed off Indians, I’m sure).
The point is the judge can do just about anything he wants in the interest of maximizing the assets….and the Ranger’s are part of the assets. It could get ugly & long!
I call BS on this.
I’ve read in several places that this isn’t a very realistic possibility.
AL West
Oakland 90-72
LAAA 88-74
Texas 83-79
Seattle 77-85
By: Josey Wales
Never underestimate what weirdness can happen once a judge is involved..
Some of them are the closest thing to God on Earth – just ask them.
The Texas Rangers have been synonymous with explosive firepower ever since they emptied 130 rounds into Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. - Alyssa Milano
The judge can't just eliminate the agreement between the Rangers and MLB just because he feels like it
You can only invalidate contracts for certain reasons. I’m sure MLB makes sure this stuff is up to stuff technically (supported by consideration, both parties have capacity (not sure on Hicks anymore, heh), not executed under duress, fraud, etc.).
The one wild card is if the contract between the Rangers and MLB is deemed contrary to public policy. For example, if an employer requires all employees to agree they will never file a workers’ comp claim, that could be contrary to public policy. Here, we’re dealing with basically a monopoly the enjoys some anti-trust exemption. MLB’s basically an odd entity to begin with so there might be something there.
"You promised me, Eckstein, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life, there have only been one set of prints in the sand. Why, when I have needed you most, have you not been there for me?" David Eckstein replied, "Because my little legs had gotten tired, and you were carrying me." And I looked down and saw that I was still carrying David Eckstein.
Then he grounded out weakly to second.
That's the $XMM question
Say I go to buy a car and when I go to get a loan for and show the bank a contract I signed with a friend stating I agreed he could buy the car for $1,000 sometime in the future (assume the bank gives me the $15,000 loan). Fast forward two years when I declare bankruptcy. Bank claims they’re owed $10,000 on the car and they want to take it to sell it. My friend says no, I get to buy it for $1,000 and you can go after him (me) for the other $9,000. Does the judge enforce my friend’s prior contract (that the bank knew about before they made the loan) or say it doesn’t exist since you shouldn’t sell the car for that little? In my mind it’s the bank’s fault for making the loan in the first place knowing the risks.
Here’s the other thing – why is Monarch threatening that no one will loan money to MLB clubs if they thought they could easily reopen the bidding process and get more money? They know their arguments bullshit which is why they’re posturing on this issue.
"You promised me, Eckstein, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life, there have only been one set of prints in the sand. Why, when I have needed you most, have you not been there for me?" David Eckstein replied, "Because my little legs had gotten tired, and you were carrying me." And I looked down and saw that I was still carrying David Eckstein.
Then he grounded out weakly to second.
I'm confused, what kind of car do you have?
Can I buy it for $1000?
per TR
Garko clears waivers and is outrighted to AAA. Open roster spot on the 40 now.
Maybe he can go down there and get his swing back
and help us later in the year
by death of the cool on May 18, 2010 5:21 PM CDT up reply actions
First Move? - Selig, Sale, Bettman, Stars, HSG
Selig will not utilize the “best interest” trump card, not yet. Not until either Gary Bettman (NHL commissioner) is in lock-step with Selig or Hicks (for HSG) has a buyer in queue for the Stars. For Selig to play that trump card at this moment would cause the Stars to lose further value (already a team on the slide) and hand-cuff Selig in the future.
The Dallas Stars are tied to the same debt as the Rangers through HSG. If Selig were to play the trump card now, the 40 lenders holding liens on the Rangers and Stars would file involuntary bankruptcy against both teams. For the Rangers, it would be of less importance than the Stars.
But the Stars are not far enough along in the sale process (and the process is even more complicated in the NHL) to prevent the courts from ruling in favor of the 40 lenders – essentially turning the Stars over to the lenders. That would take the sale process out of the hockey league’s supervision.
Selig will not let that happen to another league, even though it isn’t his own. For Selig to do that, it would compromise his league’s legal footing once the smoke clears after the Stars are dragged through the courts and the sale is out of the hands of the NHL. It would set terrible precedents for leagues in the future, including MLB.
Bottom line, until a buyer for the Stars is essentially in the same position that Chuck Greenberg is (deal hammered out and ready to pay), Selig will not act under the “best interest” clause.
Selig acting now might seem like it’s in the best interests of baseball, but the future ramifications to baseball would not be in baseball’s best interests.
The first move will be for HSG, under Bettman’s supervision, to find a Chuck Greenberg for the Stars.
FuckFace is the new official nickname of Michael Young. - lonestarJon
this has to be bullshit
There has been virtually no movement on the sale of the stars, and probably won’t be for months. Hicks hasn’t even started receiving offers for them, and very likely they won’t be able to clear the debt owed on them. Selig’s saber rattling makes it sound like he’s going to push the sale through NOW, and he really should. If Greenberg has control of the team before the draft, then our braintrust can control who we draft and whether we go with signability picks or take a guy who has leverage to command over slot money. Greenberg has been wisely silent on the issue, but he has to be putting pressure on Selig to force through the sale, since even if HSG goes into involuntary bankruptcy, its unlikely a judge will reverse the sale. Now, a TRO could be bad all around, but if I’m Hicks, I call for a hearing on the TRO and put Nolan Ryan on the stand to say, “All I want is whats best for the good people of Texas, and the wonderful fans of the Texas Rangers” in that South Texas drawl of his. I’d also make sure there’s a camera crew in the room during the hearing (make it a real circus) and watch Monarch and the creditors get hammered.
As far as the value of the Stars, thats based more on the health of the NHL at this point, as the Stars have some on-the field issues, and would probably benefit from the infusion of capital (or the retiring of some debt) which the rest of the sale proceeds would incur.
Oh my god! What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?
-Wash
Yes, agreed. What follows after "this has to be bullshit" is, indeed, bullshit.
Your looking at this through Rangers-fan-colored glasses. Selig’s not doing that. Try looking at it from a businessman’s point of view. After all, baseball is a business and any course that will compromise that business will not be taken.
FuckFace is the new official nickname of Michael Young. - lonestarJon
Nah, other than the concerns for the Stars..
None of that is of any major concern. MLB is not in ANY danger of having their legal footing on this “compromised”. The franchise agreement was in place prior to any lender getting involved with HSG, and legally all lenders are expected to be aware of (and bound by) its terms. So, since both the NHL and MLB have franchise agreements that grant them approval rights over any prospective buyer, their legal standing isn’t in any jeopardy that I can see.
Now, does this negatively impact the sale of the Stars? Perhaps, but no moreso than they would be impacted when the lenders line up for round two of this whenever their sale takes its natural course.
Yeah, I’m betting that the lenders will force IBR should Selig act, but that may be what is needed to break the stalemate at this point. And yes, a TRO will be requested to block the sale to Greenberg, but I bet it gets a fast-track hearing and is dismissed in fairly short order due to the franchise agreement and existing sales agreement. However this shakes out short of everyone agreeing to stop cutting off their own noses, it’s going to last through the draft and most likely impact our efforts there, and that’s the biggest worry right now for me. The best thing MLB could do right now is make clear what the Rangers’ draft budget might be, thereby neutering any leverage that the lenders think they hold over that impending deadline.
The Texas Rangers have been synonymous with explosive firepower ever since they emptied 130 rounds into Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. - Alyssa Milano
I can't imagine
that the draft is some sort of leverage that the lenders are using. I doubt they even care.
Then what could possibly be their motive for threatening IBR??
They can’t hope to improve their slice of the pie by doing so, unless they honestly beleive that the court would throw the sale back open to all bidders. And I just don’t see that happening with the franchise agreement and right-of-refusal working in MLB’s favor.
The Texas Rangers have been synonymous with explosive firepower ever since they emptied 130 rounds into Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. - Alyssa Milano
I want to see a fight between Tom Hicks and Kimbo Slice NOW!!!! Fucking STAT!!!!
and getting knocked out doesn’t end the match…..it has to last longer than 2 seconds…..not to the death or anything, but atleast 5 cunt punts have to be involved….
To the pain....
The Texas Rangers have been synonymous with explosive firepower ever since they emptied 130 rounds into Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. - Alyssa Milano
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