Lip Man 1 Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 According to Bruce Levine and the Score tonight, the Cubs have decided to form their own TV Network in October 2019. They have hired Mike McCarthy to oversee it. He ran the MSG Network and the St. Louis Blues. The story said the Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks have hired Phil Bedella to help run their next regional sports network. He was the former G.M. of Comcast Sports Chicago. Sounds like those three are going to stay untied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptatc Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 1 hour ago, Lip Man 1 said: According to Bruce Levine and the Score tonight, the Cubs have decided to form their own TV Network in October 2019. They have hired Mike McCarthy to oversee it. He ran the MSG Network and the St. Louis Blues. The story said the Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks have hired Phil Bedella to help run their next regional sports network. He was the former G.M. of Comcast Sports Chicago. Sounds like those three are going to stay untied. United or untied? Two very different scenarios. I assume you mean United by the context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 Hopefully they repeat the same mistakes as Houston and LA and piss off their fan base and lose viewers because their providers no longer carry the channel the team is on. Seeing as Comcast/NBC is losing the Cubs you KNOW they are going to play hardball over carrier fees. That is a big chunk of local viewers, even if Dish picks the up right away, which isn't a given. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Abreu Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 So the Sox, Bulls, and Hawks are forming a new network independent of NBC Sports? Or am I misinterpreting Levine's reporting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footlongcomiskeydog Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 The rich just keep on getting richer. Didn't the Dodgers get like 8 billion dollars or something ridiculous like that a few years back? I imagine that the Cubs will get at least half of that. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if they sign both Machado and Harper in the offseason. For some, money truly does grow on trees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUSTgottaBELIEVE Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 1 hour ago, footlongcomiskeydog said: The rich just keep on getting richer. Didn't the Dodgers get like 8 billion dollars or something ridiculous like that a few years back? I imagine that the Cubs will get at least half of that. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if they sign both Machado and Harper in the offseason. For some, money truly does grow on trees. That would completely shock me. They already have the 4th highest team payroll in MLB this season and over $100MM+ in payroll commitments to just 6 players in 2019 and 2020, 3 of which are untradeable (Darvish, Heyward, and Chatwood). Plus a number of guys entering arbitration that will command big money - Bryant, Hendricks, Russell, Baez, Contreras, etc. Quite frankly, I'd be shocked if they signed one of those two guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted August 28, 2018 Author Share Posted August 28, 2018 12 hours ago, ptatc said: United or untied? Two very different scenarios. I assume you mean United by the context. You are right, sorry I didn't catch the spelling issue. The three will stay united in a network it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted August 28, 2018 Author Share Posted August 28, 2018 1 minute ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said: That would completely shock me. They already have the 4th highest team payroll in MLB this season and over $100MM+ in payroll commitments to just 6 players in 2019 and 2020, 3 of which are untradeable (Darvish, Heyward, and Chatwood). Plus a number of guys entering arbitration that will command big money - Bryant, Hendricks, Russell, Baez, Contreras, etc. Quite frankly, I'd be shocked if they signed one of those two guys. Remember the luxury tax issue could come into play if they did that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted August 28, 2018 Author Share Posted August 28, 2018 2 hours ago, Jose Abreu said: So the Sox, Bulls, and Hawks are forming a new network independent of NBC Sports? Or am I misinterpreting Levine's reporting It sounds to me like they are staying together and wll "probably" return to NBC Sports Chicago but are keeping their options open just in case. (Although basically they have no where else to go unless they started their own network which I doubt.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUSTgottaBELIEVE Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 4 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said: Remember the luxury tax issue could come into play if they did that as well. Absolutely. They are already going to have luxury tax issues over the next few years with the team as currently constructed. Those Heyward and Darvish contracts start to become a real problem when trying to stay below luxury tax levels. With the way Hamels is pitching, don't they almost have to pick up his $20MM option next year as well? I'd think so if he carries his recent performance into October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footlongcomiskeydog Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 3 hours ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said: Absolutely. They are already going to have luxury tax issues over the next few years with the team as currently constructed. Those Heyward and Darvish contracts start to become a real problem when trying to stay below luxury tax levels. With the way Hamels is pitching, don't they almost have to pick up his $20MM option next year as well? I'd think so if he carries his recent performance into October. The luxury tax penalty will be peanuts compared to the new revenue generated by having their own network. They will definitely go hard after Machado and Harper. Money is not an issue on the North Side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUSTgottaBELIEVE Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 20 minutes ago, footlongcomiskeydog said: The luxury tax penalty will be peanuts compared to the new revenue generated by having their own network. They will definitely go hard after Machado and Harper. Money is not an issue on the North Side. False. Money is an issue for every owner at some point. Even money-is-no-object franchises NYY and LAD made a conscious effort this season to stay below the luxury tax threshold to minimize the impacts of major FA signings this coming winter. It will be a deterrent for the north side as well when you consider their future obligations. The Darvish and Hayward signings really hurt and will limit their flexibility a great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted August 29, 2018 Author Share Posted August 29, 2018 6 hours ago, footlongcomiskeydog said: The luxury tax penalty will be peanuts compared to the new revenue generated by having their own network. In theory you are right but we'll see what happens. Many are claiming the RSN rights bubble is about to burst because of cord cutting and other options. I'm sure the Cubs have researched and calculated the risks involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptatc Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 7 hours ago, footlongcomiskeydog said: The luxury tax penalty will be peanuts compared to the new revenue generated by having their own network. They will definitely go hard after Machado and Harper. Money is not an issue on the North Side. There is absolutely no way that any team signs both. The penalties would be crippling after a couple of years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiliIrishHammock24 Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 2 hours ago, ptatc said: There is absolutely no way that any team signs both. The penalties would be crippling after a couple of years And if I am not mistaken, it's not just a monetary fee. You start losing draft picks, I believe, starting with your 1st Rounder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptatc Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 8 hours ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said: And if I am not mistaken, it's not just a monetary fee. You start losing draft picks, I believe, starting with your 1st Rounder. Correct. This is what I meant by penalties, all inclusive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Sacamano Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 (edited) 11 hours ago, ptatc said: There is absolutely no way that any team signs both. The penalties would be crippling after a couple of years I don't think it was implied that they would try to land both. Just that they try for both in hopes of landing one at any cost. Example: stay in talks with each. If Harper signs somewhere else first, go harder after Machado and vice versa. Edited August 29, 2018 by soxfan2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Chappas Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 The cubs don't need either. They need pitching and will most likely pick up Hamels option and resign Murphy. What do they get back trading Almora, Schwarber or Russell? Kaplan says that the tax penalties do not impact them as they are a cash cow but I would have to guess they would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 21 hours ago, footlongcomiskeydog said: The luxury tax penalty will be peanuts compared to the new revenue generated by having their own network. They will definitely go hard after Machado and Harper. Money is not an issue on the North Side. Actually money has been an issue up north, mostly related to the debt payments surrounding the financing of the team with the Rickett's purchase. That is why they took on new minority share owners in the last few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Chappas Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 3 hours ago, southsider2k5 said: Actually money has been an issue up north, mostly related to the debt payments surrounding the financing of the team with the Rickett's purchase. That is why they took on new minority share owners in the last few years. I always thought that would be the case but the spending on the team and on the ballpark has not slowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananarchy Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 On 8/29/2018 at 11:09 AM, Harry Chappas said: The cubs don't need either. They need pitching and will most likely pick up Hamels option and resign Murphy. What do they get back trading Almora, Schwarber or Russell? Kaplan says that the tax penalties do not impact them as they are a cash cow but I would have to guess they would. You listened to Kaplan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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