MLB Franchise Notes: Tribune Close To Selecting Winning Cubs Bid

Tribune Co. Could Select Winning Cubs Bid Within Week To 10 Days

BEHIND THE MOVE: In Phoenix, Nick Piecoro wrote of Jeff Moorad's decision to pursue ownership of the Padres and consequently resign as D'Backs General Partner & CEO, "He's a southern California guy. He has had a home in Newport Beach since 1981. His family, in particular -- he has a wife and three sons -- was said to be hoping to return there. Moorad looked into buying the Dodgers before the McCourts did. It doesn’t look like the Angels will be changing hands anytime soon. This might have been his only chance in the near future to return to southern California in this capacity. Another thing, people who know him believe there was motivation to be the guy in charge, to actually be considered the owner of a major league baseball team. When you ask who owns the Diamondbacks, the answer was [Managing General Partner] Ken Kendrick more than it was Jeff Moorad." Piecoro wrote of Moorad's legacy with the D'Backs, "Say what you will about some of the player-personnel moves to which Moorad has been linked, but he was instrumental, along with Kendrick, in maneuvering the club into a more-sound financial place than it was when he arrived. They’re losing someone renowned for being an excellent negotiator and deal-maker, someone who knew just about everyone in the game and who had a significant financial stake in the team." Piecoro added D'Backs Exec VP & COO Tom Garfinkel, with whom Moorad co-owns Hall of Fame Racing, is the "most likely person Moorad would want to take to San Diego" (AZCENTRAL.com, 1/5).

TIPPING HIS CAP: In Pittsburgh, Dejan Kovacevic reported Pirates President Frank Coonelly has "made clear that he would back [MLB Commissioner Bud] Selig should the sport pursue a cap in its next labor negotiations in 2011." Coonelly Friday said, "I continue to believe a salary cap is an economic system that works for a sports league as a whole, the individual clubs and, because of the growth it can promote for the league, the players. As a result, yes, the Pirates would support an effort by the commissioner's office to secure a salary cap in collective bargaining." Coonelly "stressed that, while the Pirates support a cap, they have no intention of blaming the current system for whatever ails them" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/4).

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