George Steinbrenner aside, the typical MLB franchise owner is a rich man who makes a habit of staying out of the limelight.Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who has expressed strong interest in purchasing the Chicago Cubs, is not that man.
Sure, Cuban has the assets, estimated at $2.3 billion. For those of you scoring at home, that's a cool billion more than Texas Rangers' owner Tom Hicks, who in 2000 cracked open his piggy bank to sign Alex Rodriguez.
No, money isn't the problem. With Cuban, it's this uneasy fear that he will somehow rock the boat, that adding him to the mix might trigger some sort of tectonic activity deep below the surface of Bud Selig's office in New York City.
In short, Cuban is a mover and a shaker: precisely what the Cubs and the game of baseball needs, but exactly the type of owner that keeps Selig up at night. Cuban's mouth and antics as an NBA owner have earned him over $1.5 million in fines, and heaven only knows what he would do if given the keys to a big league team and open access to a microphone at Wrigley Field.
As it turns out, Selig may have nothing to worry about. Purchasing an MLB franchise is a long and drawn-out process, and Selig and his cohorts may well have enough power to strong-arm Cuban out of the running.
But rest assured that Cuban will fight back and press on with his campaign. Cuban has professed his desire to become a bleacher bum at the friendly confines, and once Cuban gets his mind set on something, it's hard to change it.
2 comments:
As a Cubs fan, all I can say is bring him on. I'm guessing there would be times he would annoy me or get in the way a bit, but the efforts to bring in a champion will far supercede that.
I would love to see Cuban running an MLB franchise... that would be pretty awesome.
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