Come To Think Of It...Mark Cuban Blog Dispels Reputation As Maverick Spender

The Maverick Speaks

One thing that stood out to me when reading Mark Cuban's personal blog at blogmaverick.com is that us Cubs fans may have had it all wrong. Perhaps Cuban's reputation has preceded himself.

While it hardly matters anymore, now that we know that Cuban is not one of the finalists to purchase the Chicago Cubs, it is interesting that the very thing us Cubs fans liked about his potential ownership may have been fabricated all along.

The myth dispelled by Cuban himself is that he would have stopped at nothing to make the Cubs a winner. In fact, Cuban insisted he would not spend anywhere near what the Yankees and Red Sox payrolls are expected to be. That, unlike his early days as owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks basketball team, he would not be among the first tier of team payroll if owner of the Cubs.

He did stress that he would instead put resources into scouting and player development, so that the Cubs could build from within. Which is a solid strategy, by the way.

Cuban indicated that the teams in the American League were not his primary rivals and since the National League, and especially the Cubs division, did not spend wildly, he did not see a need to do so either, in order to be competitive.

"My plans were to spend to win, not to spend for spending’s sake.  IMHO, the money I could save being in the 2nd tier of payroll could be invested in scouting and development," Cuban said in his blog.

He did go on to suggest that, despite having a "good relationship" with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, it was in the Sox best interest for things to stay business as usual. Cuban said that, as owner of the Cubs, he would not be willing to pay such an exorbitant price for the team while playing on a level playing field as the Sox.

Cuban surmised that, since the Cubs had better television ratings, and were the more popular team, he would not be willing to continue the Cubs current practice of splitting the revenue money from Comcast and WGN evenly. He went on to say that he would do whatever it took, even if it was even if it was "at the expense of the White Sox."

Let's face it, the stars were never aligned from the beginning. Mark is a businessman, first and foremost. The man ain't no dummy. But it's still too bad, because, in my opinion, he would have made a great owner of the Cubs. First impressions are a difficult thing to overcome, come to think of it.

The Milton Bradley Sweepstakes

Here's my thoughts on the Cubs acquisition of outfielder Milton Bradley. While I understand the risks involved, and there are plenty, I also see Cubs GM Jim Hendry rolling the dice and trying to go for it again this year, and so I can't help but approve of the deal, despite its many flaws.

Sure, Bradley has only once played in more than 126 games, and has been disabled eight times. And sure, he has had his troubless off the field. Oh and yes, Texas is a hitters paradise. And I know, he actually hit better from the right side and at home. And he is coming off of his best offensive season, the only year in which he hit more than 20 homers or drove in more than 70 runs. And sure, he is, at best, an average defensive outfielder. But...wait, was I trying to make a point here?

Oh yes, now I remember. It's a gamble, but it's about time the Cubs took a chance. I feel they need his fire, his intensity, his on-base percentage, and of course, his big bat. Perhaps he'll light a fire under the sleepy Derrek Lee and the often disinterested Aramis Ramirez.

Oh, and wait until he sees that cute little bunny hop that Soriano displays when catching a ball? I'd love to see the dugout confrontation the first time he drops one of those. I would expect Bradley to have a thing or two to say to Mr. Soriano about showboating, which Bradley is said to absolutely despise. The man is no-nonsence.

I feel the key to Bradley's success is his health, of course, but also how comfortable Lou Piniella makes him. Lou is known to rub people the wrong way at times. Bradely is said to be okay as along as he doesn't feel disrepected. Which he shouldn't, as long as he performs, come to think of it.