AOL/Time Warner has put the Braves up for Sale

The thing that make a braves fan very mad more then anything is the fact that AOL won't let Schuerholz keep our own FA it make us so sick that we make a trade and get a very good player but we can't keep him ones he become a FA.Believe it or not but i believe that if the brave don't make the playoff for 1year .The next year after that you will see all the fan show up for games as well as playoff game. We have area that must be fix but we can't adders this area. Like this off-season every brave’s fan know that our bullpen must get much better then it was last year. Every braves know that we need a closer but do to AOL we won’t have a TOP closer our bullpen will be much worst then this last year. And this all do to AOL.The braves would have won the WS last year and year before if we had a very good pen .Why did you think that we lost to Astro is because our Pen suck big time last year and could not keep the lead

 

no matter what you feel, i DOUBT the Braves are heading down the Marlins route (a la firesale)

 

Well I hope it's not that severe, but it could end up being a small camp fire.

 

Nah, there was actually a healthy amount of interest in Delgado, but a lot of teams didn't have room to take on his massive salary (that the Marlins signed him to only last off-season). He's still a dangerous hitter and could have been awesome in a better ballpark, but Shea isn't that much of an improvement from Pro Player.

 

I'm pretty sure Atlanta has A. Jones under contract for 2006 and 2007.13 million for 2006......13.5 million for 2007.

 

DUKESUCKGOUNC


Your a UNC fan but everyone calls you Dukey..

nevermind... i cant even try to figure you out..

 

Well i am not so sure about this.If you read some of the braves site on the internet you can see that the braves player won't come out and say it but you can sure feel that they would like someone to buy the braves from AOL

 

Yes i am a Big UNC fan yes i Don't like DUKE.But do to the fact that my name was so long Dukesuckgounc i had to short the name even if anyone here call me dukey they all know that i like Unc and i don't like Duke

 

Update on The sale of the Braves



Buyers calling on Braves

By TIM TUCKER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/18/05
The news that Time Warner is exploring a possible sale of the Braves and Turner South has generated quick and considerable interest from potential buyers, according to the investment banker handling the case.

"The phones have been ringing off the hook," said Steve Greenberg, a managing director of New York investment banking firm Allen & Co.

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Asked to quantify the interest, he said: "Let's just say many, many calls."

He would not reveal who had called, saying he never discloses "who may or may not" be interested in a deal. He said there have been no negotiations or in-depth conversations with any interested parties because the matter remains in the exploratory and strategic-assessment stage.

"We've just begun, and I'm going to have a much better idea right after the first of the year what the process will be," Greenberg said. "We're just exploring options with Time Warner, and it's a little premature for us to lay out a process. But I expect right after [the holidays] to know."

Time Warner said on Tuesday that it had retained Allen & Co. to explore a possible sale of regional cable network Turner South and the Braves.

Greenberg, 57, specializes in sports and media deals and has an interesting personal history.

The son of baseball Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, he is a former deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball. He also is co-founder of two cable networks, Classic Sports Network (now ESPN Classic) and College Sports TV (recently sold to CBS).

At Allen & Co. since 2002, Greenberg recently handled the sales of baseball's Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds.

He said he's not surprised by the flurry of interest in the Braves.

"Frankly, the Braves are among the elite teams in baseball," he said. "And baseball is a very hot property these days. The sale in Washington is, I think, emblematic of that."

Eight groups are bidding to buy the Washington Nationals from Major League Baseball, which put a $450 million price tag on the team.

Greenberg said baseball is "on the upswing" for a number of reasons.

"No. 1, record attendance two years running. No. 2, a big uptick in national televison [revenue] in the recently signed ESPN deal, a 50 percent increase over the prior deal. No. 3, the most vibrant Internet property in sports. No. 4, labor peace for the longest period of time that baseball has known. And No. 5, changes in the economic system . . . which just make for healthier teams."

Asked if the Braves bring added value to the table, he said: "You mean, other than 14 consecutive division titles?"

Noting that his father was the general manager of the Cleveland Indians when he was growing up - an era in which the Yankees dominated - Greenberg said: "I know what a dynasty is, and there has never been anything like this - 14 consecutive division titles in the era of free agency and the draft, [an era] which makes it harder to keep winning than before.

"If you consider the fact that most people who buy baseball teams do it because they love the game and are competitive and like to win," he said, "the Atlanta Braves are the ultimate winner in terms of regular-season play. And that's really all you can control.

"Pretty good management, too, Bobby Cox and John Schuerholz," he added.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank released a statement on Wednesday that said he had been informed of the "potential opportunity" to buy the Braves. Greenberg wouldn't say whether he had spoken to Blank or any other specific party.

Greenberg also was retained by Time Warner in 2003, when the company briefly had the Braves up for sale. It then removed the team from the market upon unloading the Hawks and Thrashers.

 

Yes....the Braves have A. Jones for at least two more years.Jones can not play for another team til 2008 unless the Braves trade him.