Bud Selig siding AGAINST Cubs on stadium deal

Add Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to the list of opposition to the tax plan to help Mesa, Arizona keep the Cubs in Mesa for spring trainings to come.

As you are probably well aware, there is a bill being proposed to, among other things, add a tax to all Arizona spring training tickets to fund an $84 million new spring training stadium for the Cubs.  The Cubs are the biggest draw to Arizona spring training.  Mesa is therefore desparate to keep the Cubs and the new stadium is needed to do just that. 

The White Sox are the most vocal opponent to the new tax but by far not the only ones.  Many other teams that spend their springs in Arizona oppose the bill.  But now, Bud Selig, the current MLB Commissioner, has voiced his opposition to the new tax. 

Selig's office has hired Arizona attorney Pat Ray to oppose the tax.  No word yet what impact Selig's opposition will have on the Arizona legislature that is considering the new tax.

More on the Cubs Cactus League stadium

The Phoenix Business Journal reports on the Cubs Cactus League stadium controversy -

The plan to build an $84 million Cactus League stadium for the Chicago Cubs in Mesa is facing plenty of criticism. A stadium financing measure at the Arizona Legislature could raise rental car taxes in Maricopa County and impose a first-of-its-kind ticket charge on all Cactus League games.
The Chicago White Sox and Arizona Dia­mond­backs oppose the ticket fee proposal, which is backed by Mesa Mayor Scott Smith and state legislators.
The Cubs have threatened to move to the Grapefruit League in Florida unless a new stadium is built for them.
The Cubs stadium plan has the backing of Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, the tourism industry and some key state lawmakers. But four other Cactus League teams — the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland A’s, Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox — say it would be unfair to tax all Cactus League tickets to pay for the Cubs ballpark. That portion of the plan must be approved by the Legislature.

This isn’t the first stadium financing battle in the Valley. It took years for the Arizona Cardinals to get a new stadium funded and built. And a disgruntled resident shot Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox in 1997 over raising the county’s sales tax to help pay for Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks

Two more Cactus League teams come out against Cubs' tax

The Oakland A's and the Texas Rangers join the growing list of Cactus League teams who oppose the proposed surcharge to be added to the price of all Cactus League spring training tickets to finance a new park for the Cubs. 

“The Rangers join the other clubs in the Cactus League in being opposed to this proposed legislation. It would result in higher ticket prices for games in Surprise, which is certainly neither in our fans nor the Rangers’ best interest. We hope that the Cubs will stay in Arizona but not at the expense of Rangers’ fans,” said Rangers vice president John Blake.


“We are opposed to a ticket surcharge on tickets for games played at Phoenix Muni,” said A’s spokesman Bob Rose.


The A's and Rangers join the Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks in opposing the bill.

Mesa Mayor blasting White Sox for opposing tax to build new Cubs park

From http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/ - 

The battle over whether Cactus League teams should be forced to charge extra for tickets to help fund a new spring training facility for the Cubs is starting to get ugly.

In an interview with the Arizona Republic, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith criticized White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf for his opposition to the proposed surcharge, which is expected to be introduced into legislation Monday.

Smith said the proposed surcharge -- the "Cubs tax" -- would not affect "current revenue streams" for the other 13 teams that train in the Cactus League. He then noted that Reinsdorf's Sox left Tucson for a publicly funded spring training complex in Glendale, Ariz.

"Is this the same Jerry Reinsdorf that skipped out on Pima County taxpayers who had spent tens of millions of dollars to provide him with a taxpayer-funded stadium, to come to Glendale, where Maricopa County taxpayers provided him a Taj Mahal spring-training facility?" Smith said.

Smith also said Reinsdorf's White Sox play in a publicly funded ballpark in Chicago, and that Reinsdorf looked into buying the Phoenix Coyotoes, who play in a publicly funded facility in Glendale.
"The irony is delicious," Smith said.

Arizona president Derrick Hall told the Republic that the other 13 teams in the Cactus League "feel the same way" about helping to subsidize the Cubs' ballpark in Mesa.

CUBS: "Tax is not our issue"

The following is from Bruce Levine at ESPN -

The Chicago Cubs' response to critical comments made by White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf about a possible Cactus League tax on all baseball tickets sold is no response at all.
"This is not our issue," Cubs president Crane Kenney said. "This is an issue for the state of Arizona to represent."
Arizona at this point has committed to a ticket amusement charge, however they are considering that as part of the way to fund the $85 million needed to build a new Cubs compex in east Mesa. The state is looking at many ways to try to raise funds, including adding a rental car tax. The Cubs as well as the other 14 teams training in Arizona would be subject to a ticket tariff if that is the direction the state decides to go.
Reinsdorf told the Phoenix Business Journal that the White Sox are opposed to a tariff on Cactus League games.
The Cubs and Arizona hope the new site will be ready by 2013. The Cubs will continue to spend spring training at HoHoKam Park and Fitch Field, their minor-league complex until the project is completed.

White Sox and Diamondbacks trying to block Cubs deal with Mesa

From the Phoenix Business Journal -

The Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks oppose a plan to have the entire Cactus League bankroll the $84 million stadium being built in Mesa for the Chicago Cubs.
Arizona lawmakers are crafting plans that could impose new ticket charges on all Cactus League games and raise rental car taxes Valleywide to help pay for the Cubs’ new spring training complex.
Cactus League President Robert Brinton said ticket surcharges previously have been used by specific cities to fund baseball stadiums within their jurisdictions, but this is the first time a leaguewide fee could be imposed for one project. In a nutshell, the D-backs, Sox and spring training fans Valleywide would help foot the bill for Mesa to build a 15,000-seat stadium for the Cubs.
“We’re opposed,” said White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
He said other teams and their fans did not finance development of the new White Sox stadium in Glendale, and he thinks it’s unfair to have other teams pay for the Cubs complex in Mesa. The Sox share the new Camelback Ranch stadium with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
D-backs President Derrick Hall also doesn’t like the idea of leaguewide ticket surcharges to benefit the Cubs.
“We want the Cubs to stay here badly, but not at the expense of our fans,” Hall said. “I’ve heard the argument that the other teams should be willing to because of the visiting crowds that the Cubs bring to their games. They do draw well, as do we, yet we were creative in our search for a new site to identify a partner willing to finance the entire project without public dollars.”
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is building a new spring training stadium east of Scottsdale for the D-backs and the Colorado Rockies. The tribe is taking a $23 million loan backed by federal stimulus money to help fund that $100 million project. The tribe, which operates two casinos, is paying for the remainder of the new complex.
Cactus League tickets this year range between $4 and $45 per game.
TO THEIR BENEFIT

Brinton said the Cubs are a linchpin of the Cactus League, and he supports the ticket surcharge idea as well as raising car rental rates. The Cubs are the biggest draw in the Cactus League, with more than 203,000 fans attending its spring training games in 2009. The team’s owners, the Ricketts family, threatened to move to Naples, Fla., to play in the Grapefruit League unless Mesa built a new ballpark to replace the aging Hohokam Stadium.
Arizona House Majority Leader John McComish, R-Ahwatukee, is formulating a financing bill for the Cubs. McComish said he is looking at options to pay for the new stadium, including ticket surcharges and increased taxes on hotels and car rentals. He hasn’t finalized the bill, but said it could be introduced soon. It has not been determined how much the surcharge would be.
The Phoenix area already has high car rental taxes, with current rates totaling 18.53 percent.
McComish understands the skepticism from other teams, but he pointed out that the Cubs have a substantial regional economic impact and draw fans to other Cactus League parks.
“When the other teams play the Cubs, they sell out. It’s to their benefit,” he said.
McComish said he’s looking at long-term revenue streams to help the entire league, not just the Cubs.
Keeping the Cubs in Mesa has the backing of key lawmakers, including House Speaker Kirk Adams, R-Mesa. Adams confirmed that ticket surcharges and car rental tax increases could be part of the Cubs package.
“The Cubs are a $138 million impact on the economy annually,” Adams said.
BAD TIMING

Legislators also may face criticism if they fast-track taxes for the Cubs as they cut education and social welfare programs in the face of a multibillion-dollar deficit.
“It’s a tough climate to be making those kind of promises,” said Gretchen Jacobs, president of Arizona Governmental Affairs, a lobbying firm in Phoenix.
Mesa City Manager Chris Brady said in addition to ticket surcharges and higher car rental taxes, Mesa voters will be asked to approve bond money as well as infrastructure and services spending for the new complex. Brady said tentative plans call for two-thirds of the $84 million to come from regional sources and one-third from the city. That translates into a split of $56 million to $28 million. McComish said the split could be more even.

Quote from La Russa

Not that we want him - but here's what La Russa was quoted as saying about whether he would ever manage the Cubs:
"You've got a double-headed whammy there. I have a lot of friends and fans that I'm close to with the White Sox. And you know White Sox and Cubs, they don't mix. I've got friends and fans that I'm close to in St. Louis, and the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cubs don't mix. So I think if there is one place that I don't fit, just because of my past, it would be the Chicago Cubs."

Of course, this is the same bone head that thinks Mark McGwire will make a good hitting coach.  Did I miss something or did Mark McGwire never have a good batting average?  McGwire was simply a power hitter and an artificially induced one at that.  Power hitters are not good hitting coaches since you can't teach power.  Hitting is what you can teach.  But you need a hitter to do it.  Or someone who understands contact hitting, something Mark McGwire apparently doesn't.

Former Cub Aaron Miles headed back to the NL Central

Former Cub Aaron Miles is heading to Cincinnati along with a player to be named later.  In exchange, the Oakland A's are receiving outfielder Willy Taveras and utility man Adam Rosales.

Miles played in just 74 games for the Cubs last year, who traded him to the A's at the end of the season.  Miles' limited appearances were primarily to due to injuries to his throwing shoulder and elbow.

Miles is a career .282 hitter, having played for the Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals and Cubs. In 2008, he hit a career-high .317 in 134 games.

Miles was a member of the Cardinals' 2006 World Series championship club.  A true utility man, Miles has played every defensive position except first base and catcher.  Miles has even made three appearances as a pitcher.

Dodgers close to deal with Reed Johnson

Reed Johnson's blog, which I enjoyed last season, may not be coming back since it appears that Johnson's not going to a Cubbie next year.  This is not unexpected with the signing of Xavier Nady as the Cubs fourth outfielder.

Now it is being reported that the Dodgers are close to reaching a deal to bring Reed Johnson to L.A. to be their fourth outfielder.  No word as to how much the deal may be worth to Johnson.

Johnson batted .255 with four home runs and 22 runs batted in last year in a season in which he sat out nearly two months because of a broken foot.  Part of Johnson's value is that he can play all three outfield positions.



The opening for Johnson to potentially be the Dodger's fourth outfielder came when the Dodgers traded another former Cub Juan Pierre to the White Sox.