is that he is accustomed to working in areas with things change faster and significant improvements can be made quickly: the computer/software business especially in the dot.com days, the NBA, television. He would certainly be an interesting owner and we would probably be reading and writing a lot about him, but I worry that he would get impatient and try to change the team too quickly with disastrous results; think Ned’s early moves to the nth power.

Totally agree with you, Kelly, on several of the points. Both you and Phil have correctly pointed out the many improvements the McCourts have made to the stadium itself. We may get critical about the delays – financing problems in the recession? – but the results so far have been positive.

Given what we’ve seen over the past few years- trading Santana instead of (allegedly) giving up a mere $2 million, not having a SINGLE one of our emerging stars signed to a deal- I’d rather err on the side of overindulgence, at least to a point.

To tell you the truth, that angle seems kind of overblown anyway, even when talking about the Yankees. Yeah, they certainly did a number this year by signing THREE type A signings (how they got away with that and only have to give up two measley draft picks is beyond me, but that’s a whole other topic), but let’s be honest- it worked! Also, they do manage to lock in their marquee players- Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Cano, etc.. And say what you will about the Steinbrenners, but the fact that they sign their homegrown players to long deals without making excuses is a GOOD thing, and I hope that the Dodgers’ owners- whomever they may be- emulate that, and SOON.

The Yankees lost three draft picks for their three Type A signings:
Michael Trout (Angels-1) – Pick from Yankees as compensation for Free Agent Mark Teixeira
Maxwell Walla (Brewers-2) – Pick from Yankees as compensation for Free Agent C.C. Sabathia
Jacob Marisnick (Blue Jays-3) – Pick from Yankees as compensation for Free Agent A.J. Burnett

The Brewers and the Blue Jays really got screwed on the compensation.

And he didn’t want to trade Dirk for Shaq. However with no salary cap he could just buy everyone, screw trading with logic.

I’m beginning to be convinced me hiring someone with tons of cash they want to blow would be the way to go.

Cuban earned his money by starting a technology business first and then selling it to someone else at its peak value. Dallas is really the first business he has been running long term.

In answer to the poll, I didn’t see an option I agree with, I think Cuban has been a negative in that he likes being the center of attention, would value his opinion more than anyone else (including those who know more about the sport) and is clearly a megalomaniac, but he sincerely wants to win. His sincere desire to win provided the financing to turn Dallas around, and while his antics may be tiresome, I think it was an overall positive for Dallas who was in trouble. The Dodgers are not in trouble and never have been since they’ve been in LA, so really I think a team like Pittsburgh would be a better fit for him. Taking a guess, he would be an improvement over current ownership, but I still have better dream owners (Eli Broad, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, etc.).

Choice #1. Eli Broad
#2. Mark Cuban

from the McCourts. I like his energy, baseball may be a bit of a reach for him in terms of style. However, he has shown a huge interest in taking care of his players and increasing the fan experience for the Mavs. Withouth Cuban, they were not much, but since they have at least become contenders. It won’t take too much more for the Dodgers to get over the top, but they need a chance to compete.