Comments on: MLB owners approve sale of Padres

By: ninjasports

ninjasports — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:02:29 +0000

By: gloccamorra

gloccamorra — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:14:44 +0000

The farm was rated highly before the season because of Alonso, Grandal and Boxberger from the Reds trade and pitchers Kelly, Erlin and Wieland from the Red Sox and Rangers.

Alonso and Grandal are now starters, Boxberger is in the ML bullpen, Kelly and Erlin spent most of their minor league season on the DL, and Wieland who was called up earlier, has had TJ surgery. The farm rating will take a hit next Spring due to the lack of ML ready high minors prospects.

With the extensions and coming arbitration, the payroll is due to increase from $55 million to $65 million, with no additions considered. That’s still lower than the median payroll that’s approaching $90 million, but there may be room for some addition through trades/FA signings. The team since June 29th is 24-17, with a makeshift rotation. With injured starters coming back, it might be a competitive team already.

By: cosanostra71

cosanostra71 — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 21:16:41 +0000

Dodgers/Angels are in different TV markets. Dodgers and Angels are both on Fox Sports West/PrimeTicket. I can’t remember if the channel the Padres play on is called Fox Sports SouthWest or Fox Sports San Diego, but it is a different.

By: gloccamorra

gloccamorra — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 20:52:29 +0000

The actual dollars aren’t that high. The failed Moorad purchase was for $500 million total, but included over $200 million in assumed debt. The actual dollars changing hands was $294 million. The O’Malley group is assuming debt too, and the $200 million Fox payment was likely a wash, with the money on account with the Padres to spend. MLB wouldn’t let Moorad take the money out, and wouldn’t let Moores do it either – but he was allowed to add $200 million to the price. That was the wash – pay $200 million for the club, and get $200 million in Padres accounts.

Ron Fowler is the principal owner and chairman, and he was the replacement for Moorad representing the group that already owned 49.32% of the club. The fact that he’s in charge may indicate that the Moorad group, minus Moorad, held onto their half and added enough to get majority control. They just added the O’Malley group to buy out the rest of John Moores’ stake, probably less than $300 million, and having the O’Malleys’ mystique fronting the group likely assured approval.

By: lanzurrah

lanzurrah — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:28:16 +0000

Awesome… Looking forward to the O’Malleys running a baseball franchise again. Pads should be in great shape the next couple of years. #1 to #3 farm system depending on where you look, and a payroll that will drastically increase from the lowest in baseball.

By: AlohaMrHand

AlohaMrHand — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:15:12 +0000

first order of business is to bring back those uniforms that make them look like fried eggs.

By: Detroit Michael

Detroit Michael — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:13:52 +0000

I’m surprised the owners had time to approve the Padres’ sale considering they have all been working 24/7 to solve the Athletics’ situation.

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:46:54 +0000

The Padres are a good example of the potential upward trajectory-from a business standpoint-of the Rays.

San Diego is a combination of a retirement and tourist destination, with a strong industry base in defense and biotech. What the Padres did in citing their stadium was to capture the tourist crowd while making it accessible to the locals.

If/when the Rays get free of their entombment at the only stadium worse than the Mausoleum, a move to Tampa or Orlando to capture the tourists while retaining a base of local fans could, if well executed, significantly bump attendance and TV revenue. Couple that with their superlative player development, that would make for a very bright future.

In San Diego, if this ownership group proves stable, the team may, in 5-7 years, be regularly playing meaningful games late in the year. It is a pitchers park (big outfield, heavy air) so the first order of business is to develop some quality pitching.

By: makeham98

makeham98 — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:28:37 +0000

Not knowing the truth to the numbers being thrown around, but how can they ever make money on a purchase price that high? Where will the revenue come from to support it? Tv has to be limited by the Dodgers and Angels.

Other than on eventual resale, but what does thst allow them to compete with in the meantime? All teams are not created equal.

By: rcali

rcali — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:23:22 +0000

Free at last, Free at last, Padre fans you are free at last from terrible ownership with at least a hope for improvement.

By: icanspeel

icanspeel — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:18:53 +0000

Yay finally official, no more lame duck owner. It’s hard to say how the new owners will be, but the bar isn’t very high after Moores got rid of most of the salaries and stopped investing in the team. Not to jinx it, but it’d be hard for the new owners to do any worse.