Mark Attanasio to the Dodgers?

[Warning Track Power]

Dodgers taken over by MLB.

 

My god what a terrible nightmare (about 8 tweets down) this would be for us, save someone with gobs of money like Mark Cuban buying the Brewers. I can very easily imagine Mr. Attanasio going after his hometown Dodgers and what a terrible loss it would be for the Brewers. I know he would try his best to ensure we would be sold to someone that they would make every effort to remain a competitive team, but promises only go so far.

 

I hope Olney's tweet is merely speculative but I know there have been whispers of this in the past.

[bjkrautk]

I'm just hoping he appoints WS-P as the league representative overseeing Dodgers operations....because, honestly, how much fun would that be to watch?

[Warning Track Power]

I'm just hoping he appoints WS-P as the league representative overseeing Dodgers operations....because, honestly, how much fun would that be to watch?

I didn't have a lot of fun the first time she held a position like that.

 

 

[The Truth]

Just so long as the Selig family has nothing to do with the Brewers I think/hope we'd be OK

[WestSideWillie]

With the Dodgers in limbo---Attanasio's LA group will move to buy the Dodgers, sell the Brewers to former Brewers

owner John Canning, Jr, of Chicago's Madison Dearborn Partners Investment group. This was done with the

Expos-Marlins-Red Sox owners, selling and switching franchises. Dodgers now train in Arizona, too, making

it more attractive to a West Coast buying group. Beyer, Chapus, Stern, Ressler, all west coast people--Dodgers

or Brewers? These guys make a living selling high and buying low, Brewers have doubled in value since the purchase---

Dodgers are rock bottom right now and the Brewers? Lets see, the Expos were sold by Loria to MLB so he could buy the Marlins from John Henry and Tom Werner who in turn bought the Red Sox. No brainer, its been done before. Plus Canning's group was

vetted when they tried to buy the Cubbies.

[Invader3K]

With the Dodgers in limbo---Attanasio's LA group will move to buy the Dodgers, sell the Brewers to former Brewers

owner John Canning, Jr, of Chicago's Madison Dearborn Partners Investment group. This was done with the

Expos-Marlins-Red Sox owners, selling and switching franchises. Dodgers now train in Arizona, too, making

it more attractive to a West Coast buying group. Beyer, Chapus, Stern, Ressler, all west coast people--Dodgers

or Brewers? These guys make a living selling high and buying low, Brewers have doubled in value since the purchase---

Dodgers are rock bottom right now and the Brewers? Lets see, the Expos were sold by Loria to MLB so he could buy the Marlins from John Henry and Tom Werner who in turn bought the Red Sox. No brainer, its been done before. Plus Canning's group was

vetted when they tried to buy the Cubbies.

Oh geez, you're back with your conspiracy theories again.

[RockCoCougars]

No to Canning. I don't want any Chicago interests owning the Brewers after what happened with the Braves. Hopefully Attanasio is well-entrenched here and happy with the new stadium and attendance. I'm assuming that the Dodger franchise is drowning in debt as well.

[bjkrautk]

I'm just hoping he appoints WS-P as the league representative overseeing Dodgers operations....because, honestly, how much fun would that be to watch?

I didn't have a lot of fun the first time she held a position like that.

 

The fun comes from not being a fan of the Dodgers.

 

 

I'll admit, the Expos-Marlins exchange came to mind after thinking about this thread, but the inherent assumption is that the local ownership group is still capable of re-forming, not to mention having sufficient funds to buy the club at a value that's substantially greater than when they were competing with Mark A. when the Seligs sold the franchise.

 

 

[WestSideWillie]

especially now that the Dodgers train in AZ, rather than FL. Also, I have been

hanging around the Kloppy campaign so that got my conspiracy juices going

once again. Also no Cuban no Gilbert no Chance.

Curious, who will run the Dodgers for MLB--Stan Kasten is my bet.

[Invader3K]

I really doubt Attanasio is going to be looking to sell the Brewers, at least quite yet. Attendance is high, media revenues are supposedly going up (new TV contract kicking in soon). Team looks to be in contention for hopefully a couple more seasons...no reason for him to sell right now.

[TheCrew07]

I'd be okay with Mark A. moving on, I'm sure I don't have to elaborate as to why given my posting history. A new owner definitely could be worse, no doubt... then again maybe the Brewers will make the WS in the next 2 years and I'll then I'll have to eat a tasty serving of crow.

 

I disagree about the timing being wrong, this would be the time to sell, the Brewers have been restored to legitimacy, at least for the time being... he would be selling high after buying low.

[owbc]

There's no way Mark A. sells the Brewers. 0% chance. Zilch.

 

MLB franchises are not like company stock that gets traded. The Attanasio family has fully invested themselves into not just the Brewers, but into the state of Wisconsin. They literally just finished a new house in Wisconsin. They have invested heavily in the ballpark for the long run. They have developed connections through greatly expanding Brewers charities. This isn't superficial stuff, it is a legitimate commitment to the Brewers and it seems crazy to just sell it off for a profit after all that work. The Brewers are not an investment, they are a huge part of Mark's life.

 

Will there be some pressure (or at least talk) from Mark A's group about buying the Dodgers? Of course. But would they even want them? They have an outdated stadium--some repairs have been done but it has none of the smaller touches that have been slowly added to Miller Park since Mark took over. They have some serious issues with security in the parking lot which will scare some people away from going to games. They have a fan base notorious for coming in the 3rd inning and leaving in the 7th. Sure they have decent revenue numbers because of TV and merchandising and so on, but they have none of the small things that make the Brewers so special.

 

Plus, despite the debt problems the Dodgers are still worth way more that the Brewers. So he's going to need to come up with a few hundred million somewhere unless Bud gives him an easy deal.

 

I do not think the Loria case applies. Evidence suggests that Loria prefers profit over wins, which clearly does not apply to the Attanasios.

[TooLiveBrew]

There's no way Mark A. sells the Brewers. 0% chance. Zilch.

 

I wouldn't go nearly that far. I'd agree it's more likely his group wouldn't sell, but it's certainly not a 0% chance.

[JJHardy7]

I second TLB's comments. If Mark A. is a Dodger fan, then it can't be 0%. I don't know if finishing a house with a guy of Mark's wealth means all that much.

 

Now would be the ideal time to sell the Brewers. Hopefully that doesn't happen, but you couldn't fault/blame him either. Hopefully rumors are put to rest soon.

[Flood Pants]

I disagree about the timing being wrong, this would be the time to sell, the Brewers have been restored to legitimacy, at least for the time being... he would be selling high after buying low.

I don't think the Brewers would be sold, but I do agree that from a business standpoint, this would be a good time to do it. So let's continue having a little fun with conspiracy. Add to the above list the fact that the team has little dead weight on the payroll. There's few contracts that last more than a season or two, and the few that do (Braun, Gallardo, Weeks) are very trade-able (barring injury). Meaning that, Attanasio could easily trim the payroll to make the sale easier.

[BrewCrewForever]

If I remember correctly, Attanasio is NOT a Dodgers fan. He is a Yankees fan. His only tie to LA is that he lives out there because his business is there.

[dlk9s]

JJHardy7 wrote:

 

I don't know if finishing a house with a guy of Mark's wealth means all that much.

If there's a bowling alley in the house, it would be pretty hard to just up and leave.

[Menace II Sobriety]

JJHardy7 wrote:

 

I don't know if finishing a house with a guy of Mark's wealth means all that much.

If there's a bowling alley in the house, it would be pretty hard to just up and leave.

If you remember there was a link to his house in CA being for sale a few years ago, the basketball court he owned next to the house was going for 12 million (just for the court).

 

Also I agree that this would be the perfect time for him to sell the team if he so chose. As stated his investment has doubled in value that is all you can ask for in any investment. For people saying that he is too invested in the community he did all of that in order to increase the perception, recognition, get his son's band in Summerfest, and increase the value of the team. He is a money manager he takes things, makes them more valuable, and sells them.

 

 

I do not know if that is what is going on here but if I lived in CA, I would rather own a company in CA than in WI. I like him as the owner and hope this is not the case but it is possible.

[Invader3K]

I still think this is a completely fan/media generated idea. Attanasio has been a great owner and I hope he retains the Brewers for a long time.

[jeffy]

If you remember there was a link to his house in CA being for sale a few years ago, the basketball court he owned next to the house was going for 12 million (just for the court).

 

 

He seems to be asking way too much for the property, about 10X what he paid for it in 1999: http://www.zillow.com/hom...-CA-90265/20557703_zpid/

 

Maybe he'd do the same with the Brewers and not be able to sell, just because no one will pay him 10X what he bought for http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif.

[jeffy]

J-S Brewers blog now has link to this actual newspaper article:

http://www.latimes.com/sp...20110421,0,5008259.story

 

Selig generally prefers that owners live in the community in which a team plays and that they have some familiarity with Major League Baseball. The two parties most often mentioned as interested buyers, each of whom lives in Los Angeles, are Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and Chicago White Sox executive Dennis Gilbert.

 

 

Mark A buys Dodgers, sells his stake in Brewers to retiring commissioner??? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

[DuWayne Steurer]

I read the whole article. That situation is a ghastly mess. I can't see someone being real eager to jump in on that.

[endaround]

Obviously they are going to put Mark Attanasio in LA as a big incentive to get Fielder to sign with the Dodgers in order to get a marquee player in the LA market. Or this isn't the NBA and more likely baseball took over to avoid having the Dodgers go into bankruptcy court where some used car salesman could buy them or something.

[JohnBriggs12]

No to Canning. I don't want any Chicago interests owning the Brewers after what happened with the Braves. Hopefully Attanasio is well-entrenched here and happy with the new stadium and attendance. I'm assuming that the Dodger franchise is drowning in debt as well.

Canning has already had a piece of the Brewers. Selig was there at the time. There's no way he would let that happen again. It's not like the 60's when the Cubs didn't draw flies and many Braves fans had once been Cub fans prompting Wrigley to feel squeezed.

 

What happened to the Braves was orchestrated by then Cubs owner PK Wrigley. The guys who bought the Braves in 1963 were neighbors of Wrigley. Wrigley first had them buy minority interest in the White Sox to get them out of Chicago. When they couldn't wrest controlling interest in the Sox, he had them bid on the Braves once Perini put them on the market. It was all done with the intent to get the Braves out of Milwaukee and expand the Cub market back to it's pre Brave days. Unfortunately it worked, and many duped Brave fans blindly switched loyalty back to the Cubs.

[greeg35]

No truth to it per this article, of course, what else are they going to say? I tend to believe he is staying put.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/120347429.html