Puck News: Orioles sold to Rubenstein

[CaptainRedbeard]

53 minutes ago, interloper said:

Right now some places are saying next week (really only MLBTR), but most are saying it'll be the next owners' meeting in the summer. Both seem roughly as likely to me. On the one hand, this has clearly been in the works for some time and the vetting process may already basically be done. On the other hand, it's old billionaires and everything could take forever. 

I wonder if that was a mistake by MLBTR? They are a news aggregator and I don’t think any reporters have said it will be a formal vote next week. I know some have said it will be discussed next week, but that’s not the same thing. There’s a big difference in terms of whether Rubenstein will officially become the control person at this tail end of the offseason (while Snell and Montgomery and potentially Cease are still available) and over Spring Training (which is when many long term extensions are negotiated after teams shift focus), or by mid-summer. 

[Just Regular]

A google finds a Baltimore Sun report saying Rubenstein $3.7B to Steve Cohen $19.8B for compare/contrast purposes, and another google for Forbes estimates pegs Bloomberg at $96.3B

Quick and dirty that is a ~5X at each level of these Billy-ionaire Goats Gruff.

I don't spy the sometimes wished for Mark Cuban anywhere in the below link that today appears to go 275-deep down to ~$8B.

https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#9d8c1ec3d788

[Gurgi]

Funnest thing about this whole day is that Jackson Holiday actually liked the breaking story that Angelos was selling the Orioles.  

I imagine the kids on the team are aware of the Angelos reputation.  If we have any chance to sign these guys having Angelos and his meddling cronies gone is going to be a big help.  

[Going Underground]

55 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

Fun to see Kurt Schmoke get a WSJ mention.     A City and Yale man, he can perhaps provide Rubenstein and Elias some breaking the ice conversation topics.

Schmoke and Rubenstein were born a few months apart, so I think fair guess they've at least known of each other since high school.

Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat!

Also Schmoke has ties to the politicians in the city and the statehouse. Could come in handy on future lease negotiations  

[jcaponio]

51 minutes ago, Remember The Alomar said:

I don't know how many people follow the Premier League, but this isn't like 777 Partners trying to buy Everton, where this is concern regarding if they actually have the finances to sustain the team. I think MLB will be very happy to have someone like Rubenstein in the fold. 

As an Oriole season ticket holder and an avid Evertonian, I resent you for bringing the stench of 777 back into my mind as I peruse this otherwise glorious thread. 

[NashLumber]

35 minutes ago, 24fps said:

Didn’t he chime in recently and mention he was on vacation or something?

He did. Was on vacation, per that post, and may still be. 

[Billy F-Face3]

12 hours ago, Gurgi said:

 Originally Posted by L54 

Baltimore is about to become the Astros

Baltimore is already ahead of where the Astros were. Samuel Basallo is basically Yordan Alvarez and no one is talking about him.

It's over. The Toronto Blue Jays as a functional franchise has ended. The Orioles are now a better version of the Astros owned by a billionaire. 100 win seasons for the next 20 years.

I'm being a bit dramatic. No I am not.

The greatest prospect in Blue Jays history was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who was talked about as a legend from day 1.

As an 18 year old Samuel Basallo was ahead of Guerrero and Juan Soto at 18. And no one is talking about him because he is like the 5th best prospect they've developed in the last 2 years.

Congratulations to the Baltimore Orioles for creating the greatest franchise ever. Congratulations to David Rubstein for buying the best group of talent ever.

The Toronto Blue will win 78 games with 90 win talent because of the division.

I have personally not had the best day, but reading this made me thoroughly smile. Thank you for that.

[One eyed Bird]

6 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

Everybody that has any level of intelligence knows John Angelos is full of Shite! And he’s a Liar ….Oops meant Lawyer. Only a politician would be dumb enough to believe he was being honest. 

 

 

 

He is  to damn dumb to be a lawyer even with Dady pulling the strings

 

 

Edited February 1 by One eyed Bird

[interloper]

12 hours ago, Gurgi said:

 Originally Posted by L54 

Baltimore is about to become the Astros

Baltimore is already ahead of where the Astros were. Samuel Basallo is basically Yordan Alvarez and no one is talking about him.

It's over. The Toronto Blue Jays as a functional franchise has ended. The Orioles are now a better version of the Astros owned by a billionaire. 100 win seasons for the next 20 years.

I'm being a bit dramatic. No I am not.

The greatest prospect in Blue Jays history was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who was talked about as a legend from day 1.

As an 18 year old Samuel Basallo was ahead of Guerrero and Juan Soto at 18. And no one is talking about him because he is like the 5th best prospect they've developed in the last 2 years.

Congratulations to the Baltimore Orioles for creating the greatest franchise ever. Congratulations to David Rubstein for buying the best group of talent ever.

The Toronto Blue will win 78 games with 90 win talent because of the division.

Delicious. Chef's kiss.

[sportsfan8703]

2 hours ago, TonySoprano said:

Buster Olney has already gone down memory lane

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/39429359/baltimore-orioles-sale-new-owners-david-rubenstein-peter-angelos

The turning point in his ownership seemed to occur in the summer of 1996, as an Orioles team with great expectations struggled for four months. Pat Gillick, regarded as one of the most adept general managers in baseball history, recommended to Angelos to trade away players such as Bobby Bonilla and David Wells -- and Angelos, believing he had an obligation to field a competitive team for the daily Camden Yards sellouts, rejected the idea. Lo and behold, the Orioles rallied, made the playoffs and nearly reached the World Series -- and thereafter, Angelos never really believed the advice of his baseball executives, especially not if they conflicted with his own thinly based baseball instincts. He sometimes required his general managers to wait hours for him at his law firm while he did other business -- including conversations with reporters. "The experts," he would call his executives in conversation, with more than a hint of mockery.

Gillick eventually departed, and other general managers and managers would come and go. From 1998 to 2011, the Orioles failed to reach the postseason, attendance plummeted, and even after a short stretch of revitalization under manager Buck Showalter, the franchise continued to sink in its relevance, increasingly overshadowed in the D.C.-area market by the Washington Nationals, who won the World Series in 2019.

Obviously PA was riding high after making that decision. We made the playoffs in 96 and 97. This was also after PA decided to sign Raffy and Alomar. He also made the decision to say he wouldn’t use scab replacement players. That strike got real dicey and would’ve meant the end to Ripken’s streak. The end of our run in 97 also coincided with the beginning of the Yankees dynasty. With Boston coming on too. The AL East was a monster back then with 19 games versus each team. 

Let’s say we go into full time Elias level rebuild mode in 98. That’s hard to do with Cal on the team and nightly sellouts. 

It’s easy to say Angelos sucks etc… but damn the dude did sign Raffy, Alomar, Eric Davis(check out his O’s stats), Randy Myers, Albert Belle, Surhoff, etc…. Alomar was 28. Raffy was 29. What’s the equivalent to Alomar and Raffy today?  Is Rubenstein coming in next year and signing two guys like that?

It’s good to see John Angelos go, but big Pete was full force Darth Vader in his first seasons with the money he spent. Heck, PA even brough back Eddie Murray and squashed that beef.  Didn’t Angelos help out the blue collar workers with those Asbestos settlements?

Angelos caught a lot of heat early on for spending all that money on players. Then saying he wouldn’t use scab players. The average fan wanted us to hire Rick Dempsey over Buck Showalter and make Cal GM in 2012. So yeah… Angelos sucks. John…

[ThisIsBirdland]

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2qebWhfytm8VT1PxL9xH3v?si=zuZ8lZwKQkKKINC2t7xGAw

For those curious about timing issues, Olney suggests it’s not unprecedented for incoming owners to provide direction on significant moves while in the process of finalizing a sale. I know we’re all extremely cautious about this, and I think reasonably so, but it wouldn’t be impossible for them to begin making some moves.

 

Edited February 1 by ThisIsBirdland

[Remember The Alomar]

3 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Obviously PA was riding high after making that decision. We made the playoffs in 96 and 97. This was also after PA decided to sign Raffy and Alomar. He also made the decision to say he wouldn’t use scab replacement players. That strike got real dicey and would’ve meant the end to Ripken’s streak. The end of our run in 97 also coincided with the beginning of the Yankees dynasty. With Boston coming on too. The AL East was a monster back then with 19 games versus each team. 

Let’s say we go into full time Elias level rebuild mode in 98. That’s hard to do with Cal on the team and nightly sellouts. 

It’s easy to say Angelos sucks etc… but damn the dude did sign Raffy, Alomar, Eric Davis(check out his O’s stats), Randy Myers, Albert Belle, Surhoff, etc…. Alomar was 28. Raffy was 29. What’s the equivalent to Alomar and Raffy today?  Is Rubenstein coming in next year and signing two guys like that?

It’s good to see John Angelos go, but big Pete was full force Darth Vader in his first seasons with the money he spent. Heck, PA even brough back Eddie Murray and squashed that beef.  Didn’t Angelos help out the blue collar workers with those Asbestos settlements?

Angelos caught a lot of heat early on for spending all that money on players. Then saying he wouldn’t use scab players. The average fan wanted us to hire Rick Dempsey over Buck Showalter and make Cal GM in 2012. So yeah… Angelos sucks. John…

I don't disagree with the vast majority of what you said, but 1998 to 2011 was pure hell and was almost entirely Peter's fault. That era wipes away any positive memories I have about the mid- and late-90s. 

[Sports Guy]

Apologies if this was already posted.

This statement is more intelligent, well said and honest than anything ever said by JA.

 

[Sports Guy]

LOL

[Satyr3206]

7 minutes ago, ThisIsBirdland said:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2qebWhfytm8VT1PxL9xH3v?si=zuZ8lZwKQkKKINC2t7xGAw

For those curious about timing issues, Olney suggests it’s not unprecedented for incoming owners to provide direction on significant moves while in the process of finalizing a sale. I know we’re all extremely cautious about this, and I think reasonably so, but it wouldn’t be impossible for them to begin making some moves.

 

The question is, what moves?

Influx of Money is probably good.

Messing with the Baseball Operations side is bad.

We will find out soon.