Jeb Bush 'confident' bid to buy Marlins will succeed

The Miami Marlins-Jeb Bush saga continued this week, with the former governor of Florida saying he's "confident" his efforts to purchase the baseball team will succeed.

Bush told the New York Post's Josh Kosman that his group hopes to become the exclusive bidder once the auction is completed.

The latest statement comes a week after news broke that the Marlins and the bidding group led by Bush and New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter had a deal in place to purchase the team - pending league approval - for $1.3 billion, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

That deal never materialized - at least not immediately - so Bush and Jeter were forced to refute the report, telling Kosman and Ken Davidoff of the Post that the sum was inaccurate.

According to Kosman's new information though, Bush seems much more optimistic about the financials and "is hoping to learn sooner rather than later" if his group is the winning bidder. Furthermore, Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal is reporting that Bush and Jeter have raised all necessary funds, and that the $1.3-billion value of the team will be offset by debt the Marlins are carrying.