Future For Ownership

[SoxSport]

The first thing they need to do is give their prospects a decent look. Guys like Gomez and Iggy and Ciriaco and maybe a few others. Iggy still hasn't played SS yet, and that is a black mark against Cherington. Aviles should not be holding anybody back, at this point. They could have a very good defensive infield with Iggy at SS, MBrooks at 3B and Loney at 1B. The outfield looks fine. The big problem remains the pitching--and the way they manage the pitching.

[SouthieFanatic]

The first thing they need to do is give their prospects a decent look. Guys like Gomez and Iggy and Ciriaco and maybe a few others. Iggy still hasn't played SS yet, and that is a black mark against Cherington. Aviles should not be holding anybody back, at this point. They could have a very good defensive infield with Iggy at SS, MBrooks at 3B and Loney at 1B. The outfield looks fine. The big problem remains the pitching--and the way they manage the pitching.

 

Ciriaco shouldn't hold anyone back either. Not very high on 26 year old rookies

[RedSoxNC84]

Ciriaco shouldn't hold anyone back either. Not very high on 26 year old rookies

 

Platoon at SS it is then

[SouthieFanatic]

Platoon at SS it is then

 

I could live with that

[VA Sox Fan]

Please! Let this be true!

 

 

Boston Red Sox Could Be on the Block

 

By Charlie Gasparino

Charlie Breaks It

Published September 13, 2012

FOXBusiness

REUTERS The owners of the Boston Red Sox are mulling a potential sale of the storied baseball franchise, and have even begun quietly shopping the team to potential buyers, the FOX Business Network has learned.

 

The team is owned by the Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the English football team Liverpool FC. While no final decision has been made about a potential sale, and the talks appear to be in the early stages, executives at Fenway Sports are debating whether they have the financial resources to run both teams, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

 

The Red Sox have publicly denied that they are for sale. Reached Thursday, a spokesperson for the team said of the potential sale that “there is no truth to that rumor.” However, there has been talk for some time that the team is informally gauging interest in the club.

 

The price tag eyed for any potential sale would be a steep one, according to people who have spoke with Red Sox management: $1.3 billion. Forbes cites the value of the Red Sox at around $1 billion.

 

Financier John Henry is the principle owner of Fenway Sports, which bought the Red Sox in 2002 and produced immediate results, winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007. But the last two seasons have been dismal ones for the team, plagued by injuries and overpaid talent.

 

Recently, the team unloaded a slew of underperforming players, saving as much as $250 million through 2018.

 

Also likely weighing on the consideration to sell the team is the poor performance of Henry’s investment company, John Henry & Co. this year, these people say. The firm, which specializes in the futures market, has had a volatile year, with funds such as his Global Analytics losing nearly 16% this year, according to the company’s website.

 

But according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, the biggest challenge for Henry is running two expensive sports franchises. Fenway Sports purchased the Liverpool team for $476 million in 2010, and has been widely criticized for overpaying for players who have under-delivered.

 

In fact, Henry recently wrote an open letter to Liverpool fans, vowing not to overspend on talent in the future, but stating his commitment to keeping the team.

 

By weighing a sale of the Red Sox, Henry could devote more resources to the Liverpool team. Also, unloading Liverpool is considered more difficult compared with a franchise with the name recognition of the Red Sox, despite its lousy 2012 season.

 

Fenway also owns 80% of the New England Sports Network, where the Red Sox games are aired, as well as the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. It's unclear how the sports network would factor into any deal.

 

In fact, people close to executives inside Fenway say management has been increasingly focused not on the Red Sox, but on the future of the Liverpool team.

 

If NESN was included in a full auction of the Red Sox, the ball club could fetch $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion, said one person intimately involved in financing sports deals.

 

"The Red Sox are one of the premier franchises in all of sports. I don’t think it would be very hard to sell the team. You would have many, many bidders," the source said.

 

In addition to saving on payroll, the fire sale of Red Sox talent earlier this season also makes the franchise a "more attractive asset," allowing a new owner to "recast the team the way he wants," the source said.

 

Matt Egan contributed to this story.

[VA Sox Fan]

Please! Let this be true!

 

 

Boston Red Sox Could Be on the Block

 

By Charlie Gasparino

Charlie Breaks It

Published September 13, 2012

FOXBusiness

REUTERS The owners of the Boston Red Sox are mulling a potential sale of the storied baseball franchise, and have even begun quietly shopping the team to potential buyers, the FOX Business Network has learned.

 

The team is owned by the Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the English football team Liverpool FC. While no final decision has been made about a potential sale, and the talks appear to be in the early stages, executives at Fenway Sports are debating whether they have the financial resources to run both teams, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

 

The Red Sox have publicly denied that they are for sale. Reached Thursday, a spokesperson for the team said of the potential sale that “there is no truth to that rumor.” However, there has been talk for some time that the team is informally gauging interest in the club.

 

The price tag eyed for any potential sale would be a steep one, according to people who have spoke with Red Sox management: $1.3 billion. Forbes cites the value of the Red Sox at around $1 billion.

 

Financier John Henry is the principle owner of Fenway Sports, which bought the Red Sox in 2002 and produced immediate results, winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007. But the last two seasons have been dismal ones for the team, plagued by injuries and overpaid talent.

 

Recently, the team unloaded a slew of underperforming players, saving as much as $250 million through 2018.

 

Also likely weighing on the consideration to sell the team is the poor performance of Henry’s investment company, John Henry & Co. this year, these people say. The firm, which specializes in the futures market, has had a volatile year, with funds such as his Global Analytics losing nearly 16% this year, according to the company’s website.

 

But according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, the biggest challenge for Henry is running two expensive sports franchises. Fenway Sports purchased the Liverpool team for $476 million in 2010, and has been widely criticized for overpaying for players who have under-delivered.

 

In fact, Henry recently wrote an open letter to Liverpool fans, vowing not to overspend on talent in the future, but stating his commitment to keeping the team.

 

By weighing a sale of the Red Sox, Henry could devote more resources to the Liverpool team. Also, unloading Liverpool is considered more difficult compared with a franchise with the name recognition of the Red Sox, despite its lousy 2012 season.

 

Fenway also owns 80% of the New England Sports Network, where the Red Sox games are aired, as well as the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. It's unclear how the sports network would factor into any deal.

 

In fact, people close to executives inside Fenway say management has been increasingly focused not on the Red Sox, but on the future of the Liverpool team.

 

If NESN was included in a full auction of the Red Sox, the ball club could fetch $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion, said one person intimately involved in financing sports deals.

 

"The Red Sox are one of the premier franchises in all of sports. I don’t think it would be very hard to sell the team. You would have many, many bidders," the source said.

 

In addition to saving on payroll, the fire sale of Red Sox talent earlier this season also makes the franchise a "more attractive asset," allowing a new owner to "recast the team the way he wants," the source said.

 

Matt Egan contributed to this story.

[DirtDog]

whoa

[a700hitter]

And now the mega trade makes sense. They were trimming expenses to make the balance sheet look more attractive. It was not done for payroll flexibility to rebuild the roster. Hopefully, they will sell quickly and get an ownership group in here that does more than pay lip service to winning.

[ibot2much]

I think holding on to the RS was a goal through the 100th year of Fenway.....huge money was put into the team so that the RS may have gotten the WS rings for the 2010 season to complete the celebration.

 

Now I wonder if keeping below the Luxury tax is important in order to make the team more sellable.

 

These guys has owned teams previously and then moved on....why would the RS be any different for them?

 

I posted this in January...some people agreed and some didn't to varying degrees. It is really funny that the movement of their quarter of billion in player debt sort of plays into the concern for the luxury tax........

 

The point that they would keep the RS as long as the team made money may be an issue now with fans showing their anger at the ownership and not buying the tickets. I did read that the season ticket holders who could always count of getting their money back for tickets they personally could not use have not been able to sell those tickets as readily in the past few months. Will they have all those same loyal season ticket holders buying next year?

[Bellhorn04]

And now the mega trade makes sense. They were trimming expenses to make the balance sheet look more attractive. It was not done for payroll flexibility to rebuild the roster. Hopefully, they will sell quickly and get an ownership group in here that does more than pay lip service to winning.

 

Kind of strange that Luccino went on record to deny this already.

[VA Sox Fan]

Who to believe?

 

 

John Henry: Red Sox are not for sale

 

Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff September 13, 2012 12:21 PM

 

 

Here is what John Henry said just now about the report that the Red Sox are up for sale:

 

"A sale of any kind is so far from our thinking it hasn't even come up apart from technical planning issues involving death or disability. This report is completely without foundation.

 

"Regarding unnamed sources: Any sale discussions that may have taken place were missing three key people — Larry [Lucchino], Tom [Werner] and me. The Sox and any of the other components of FSG are not for sale and will not be for the foreseeable future."

[ibot2much]

I wasn't crazy about the ownership's role in the meeting in NY....they outright lied then...it was just the regular meeting we have a couple of times a year.....not true then, and now???

[VA Sox Fan]

I wasn't crazy about the ownership's role in the meeting in NY....they outright lied then...it was just the regular meeting we have a cople of times a year.....not true then, and now???

 

Nothing would surprise me at this point.

[a700hitter]

They have created some mess for themselves.

[Bellhorn04]

They have created some mess for themselves.

 

The team's a mess, but if this ownership sells it and NESN they could get 1.5 billion. They bought the team for 700 million. Nice capital gain.

[a700hitter]

The team's a mess, but if this ownership sells it and NESN they could get 1.5 billion. They bought the team for 700 million. Nice capital gain.

They did a good job of building value, but I think they have damaged that value in the last couple of years.

[ibot2much]

There is always talk in marketing of the "brand". The RS brand has taken quite a beating lately.

[a700hitter]

There is always talk in marketing of the "brand". The RS brand has taken quite a beating lately.

They have damaged the brand tremendously in the last 2 years. If their intent was to capitalize on the 100th year anniversary and then sell the team, they must be kicking themselves at this time. They should have sold 2 years ago when the franchise was at its highest value. TV ratings are down The secondary market for their tickets has evaporated which will reverberate to the primary market next season. There will be no rush to buy tickets next year. If they are truly looking to sell the team, they will either keep the payroll low and sell very quickly, or they will look to make one or two splashy acquisitions to gin up fan interest. Either way, they will not be looking to build for the future.

[VA Sox Fan]

My vote for a new owner would be Mark Cuban, is that wrong?

[a700hitter]

My vote for a new owner would be Mark Cuban, is that wrong?

Rush Limbaugh--- just to see the heads of liberals explode all over New England. The mass deaths that would occur in MA would help make Social Security, Medicare and Romney Care solvent.

[VA Sox Fan]

Rush Limbaugh--- just to see the heads of liberals explode all over New England. The mass deaths that would occur in MA would help make Social Security, Medicare and Romney Care solvent.

 

:lol:

[Bellhorn04]

Henry said on the M & M show it's complete horseshit...'we love this, we're in it for the long haul, I've already got more money than I'll ever need, we just signed some agreements that would prove all this if you saw them' etc. etc.

[ibot2much]

The Fox Business guy, Charlier Gasparino, who broke the story was on Felger and Mazz just now and he said that he heard their denials but still went with the story because "This is a team that's in trouble and an organization in trouble..." He then went on and mentioned Liverpool and that nobody has the kind of money to carry two teams with serious issues.

[Bellhorn04]

The Fox Business guy, Charlier Gasparino, who broke the story was on Felger and Mazz just now and he said that he heard their denials but still went with the story because "This is a team that's in trouble and an organization in trouble..." He then went on and mentioned Liverpool and that nobody has the kind of money to carry two teams with serious issues.

 

That doesn't really answer it. I doubt the Red Sox lost very much money this year, and they just offloaded a ton of payroll. I think they're only committed to about 50 million of payroll for 2013 right now. I can't see how Henry would be in financial trouble with the Sox.

 

If Henry was interested in selling I think it would be because it ain't fun anymore and it's a good time to cash in. Not because of financial trouble.

[a700hitter]

That doesn't really answer it. I doubt the Red Sox lost very much money this year, and they just offloaded a ton of payroll. I think they're only committed to about 50 million of payroll for 2013 right now. I can't see how Henry would be in financial trouble with the Sox.

 

If Henry was interested in selling I think it would be because it ain't fun anymore and it's a good time to cash in. Not because of financial trouble.

and EnRon was a 5 star stock on everyone's buy list. That was a publicly traded company with all sorts of disclosure requirements and no one saw the trouble. Relatively speaking, almost nothing is disclosed about the financial health of a baseball franchise.

[Bellhorn04]

and EnRon was a 5 star stock on everyone's buy list. That was a publicly traded company with all sorts of disclosure requirements and no one saw the trouble. Relatively speaking, almost nothing is disclosed about the financial health of a baseball franchise.

 

Fair enough, but I don't think this Charlie Gasparino guy who broke the story would know much about it either.

[a700hitter]

Fair enough, but I don't think this Charlie Gasparino guy who broke the story would know much about it either.

Agreed.

[Bellhorn04]

Gasparino says one of the things that convinced him the story was solid was the trade with the Dodgers, that whenever a team unloads that much payroll it's a sign of financial trouble. He thereby excludes the possibility that it was merely a smart baseball and financial move that should be instrumental in rebuilding the team.

[jung]

I did find it interesting that JH used the same justification for the salary dump that was used in the Scutaro salary dump "we wanted the financial flexibility so that we could utilize those resources more effectively". Are we not still waiting for them to spend the Scutaro money????

 

I would not believe a think any of them have to say. I think the most logical and likely story is that the Sox have a few feelers out just to see what kind a deal there might be out there for them.....looking at what the Dodgers brought has got to be generating some interest in seeing what the market might suggest for the Sox.

 

While I would not expect the Sox to go nuts trying to spend the money from this salary dump all at once if they really look like they are squeezing it out, I would be even more inclined to think they are considering selling.