Filed:October 30th, 2009
Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts
And with one 20 minute press conference this morning, a historic event has come and gone, with the Ricketts family officially announced as the Cubs owners.
The new group, fronted by Tom, with a board led by family members Peter, Todd, and Laura, promised first and foremost a World Series championship, and a legitimate commitment to establishing a perennial contender. In fact, Tom stated that the key to bringing a winner to Chicago was putting a playoff caliber team on the field every year, and his goal was to make sure that this happened.
Further, Ricketts went on to state that in his opinion, the incoming talent alone for next season was enough to not only be playoff caliber, but to carry the team into the World Series. I'll stop here, and give you a moment to collect yourself after that. Me takes this as a sign to don't look for any significant signings this off-season, with this statement as cover to help hide the financial strains that the purchase of the team put on the family.
And how are the Cubs going to create this winner? Amongst some of his finer points were:
1) A legitimate commitment to hiring both the best on-field and front office personnel.
2) Improvements to Wrigley Field, immediately by improving the game-day experience, and long-term with improvements to the stadium conditions, and the addition of the triangle building.
3) Increase in payroll for next season, albeit with "slight" increases in ticket prices to fund it.
4) Promising to leave the baseball decisions up to the front office people, giving them the leeway to make the required decisions for the ball club.
And what he won't do? Well, he won't be hiring a baseball man to head to the team, making a commitment to both Jim Hendry and Crane Kenney, at least for the 2010 season.
And while the family expects to be active owners, they won't be puling Jeffrey Loria moves, disrupting the team in the process. Most importantly, they won't be committed to profit margin above all else, stating a willingness to not only spend, but reinvest profits willingly and aggressively, with a long-term view. Great news for those who still remember the dollars above all else initial years of the Tribune ownership.
It was a good first day. These are definitely fans, they definitely understand baseball, and understand the magnitude of their purchase. Coupled with Tom's deft sidestepping of a hypothetical question about eating cash on contract **cough, Milton Bradley, cough, cough **, and this was a pretty good introduction to the masses.
Especially after watching this conference, I stand by the notion that 2010 looks lean, but I’m convinced even more now that the Cubs long-term future looks pretty bright.
And for those of you looking for additional coverage, NPR will be doing an extended interview with Tom tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. You can find the details and podcast at www.npr.org.
Filed:October 22nd, 2009
Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo (Courtesy:MLB.com)
Sigh. After the lost season for the Cubs, I could have easily stayed away until the organizational meetings next month. But when someone delivers you a gift, such as the Cubs in signing Rudy Jaramillo to serve as the new hitting instructor, you're obligated to say "Thank you!".
Say it with me now. A hitting coach is now a panacea. A hitting coach is not a savior. A hitting coach is often only as good as the talent that he has to work with.
Okay, now that we have gotten this out of the way, here's what signing Jaramillo is though, in my opinion. First, it's an excellent organizational move that puts one of the league best coaching talents on to a Cubs staff that continues to be one of the best in the business. And as important as the accolades that you'll hear about are: excellent communicator, record number of 800-run seasons under his tenure in Texas, virtually unprecedented Silver Sluggers awards, among others, is the fact that this is a guy known and respected for taking average talent, and maximizing their abilities.
Need an example? Look no further than Mark DeRosa, a good glove, no-hit infielder before arriving in Texas, who after working with Jaramillo for two seasons, became the solid everyday player that we know today.
Or Marlon Byrd, he of the career sub-.700 OPS before hooking on with the Rangers. He's since found both power and plate discipline, enjoying three straight .800-plus OPS seasons with the Rangers.
Hell, even Andruw Jones resembles a passable player again after only a season working with Rudy.
I could go on, but you get the idea. You'll hear some of the critics, who'll say that the strikeouts on Jaramillo squads are a major shortcoming, and that the bandbox nature of Rangers Ballpark puffs up his accolades, but this is still someone regarded as the finest hitting coach since Walt Hriniak. And he's with your favorite team now.
But the second, and arguably most important thing, is that this is a signal that the new ownership means to win, and will not be afraid to make smart expenditures. This level of commitment -- three year, 2.4 million dollars -- is not only somewhat unprecedented for a hitting coach, but for any coach in baseball, as they usually work under a series of one-year deals. Identifying the best, and locking them up is a move that serious people make when they're serious about winning.
The worst thing that the Ricketts family could do this first off-season is to even remotely suggest to fans that they aren't committed to winning, or refuse to spend the money indicative of the Cubs stature and media market. Cheapskate owners can taint the fan base for years, and new owners need to be especially sensitive to the microscopic inspections of their initial moves, as fans and media search for guidance. From both a baseball and PR standpoint, they hit this one out of the park.
Welcome to Chicago, Rudy. Looking forward to seeing you at the Cubs Convention.
Filed:October 4th, 2009
Wrigley Field at season's end (Cubbie Nation)
Click here for the photo gallery of this weekend's games
It's over.
The Cubs ended the 2009 season in a game that pretty much sums up the year; they got some good pitching, someone homered, and in the end, they couldn't come through in the clutch, this time losing 5-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cubs finish the season 83-78.
Yes, I said good pitching. I mean, Ryan Dempster was not terrible, even with allowing five runs in five innings. He struck out ten, was generally in the zone, and really his only mistake was with Chris Young -- never miss high with this kid -- who jacked a three-run, first pitch homer in the fourth to drive in three. Take that back, and we're having a much different conversation about the day.
And the bullpen? Flawless. The combination of Sean Marshall, Justin Berg, Aaron Heilman, and Esmailin Caridad combined to hold the DBacks scoreless the rest of the way.
There's talent there, to be sure. Rough, but existent. Maybe not Heilman though, who gave me my only bright spot of the day, watching him jump into his car outside the player's parking lot, and make a hasty exit. I'm not ashamed to say that I think the club will make an immediate improvement simply by making him and Aaron Miles disappear.
And congrats to Sam Fuld. First major league homer. First career RBI. First multi-RBI game. He's made a believer out of me. The kid can be my fifth outfielder anytime. Watching him makes me almost embarrassed that the club thought giving Joey Gathright close to a million last offseason to do the same thing was a good idea.
But this is about the season, where perception is reality, and the perception is that this team could have done much, much better. I say perception because as recently as six years ago, if you told fans that the Cubs would have three consecutive winning seasons -- a first in over 35 years -- and win a couple of divisions, it would have been a joyous notion. Today, with a triple-digit record of futility, increased tickets prices over that time, and a taste of what's possible, well, let's say that Cubbie Nation is a touch more...demanding. See Milton Bradley.
And that's the environment that the Ricketts family enters as they assume the reigns, hopefully sometime within the next month. Good luck. I've some thoughts that I'll share later in the week about what they might be best served doing, but the best thing is to ensure a transparent transfer of power leading into the organizational meetings in November, and committing to putting what is at least perceived to be a much more competitive team on the field in 2010. Anything that has the Cubs handicapped this offseason, or fielding a loser in their first year of ownership has repercussions that could last for years.
So, in the meantime while they're checking their exit interviews, player evaluations, and personnel reports in preparation, I'm going to do something I rarely have a chance to do during the season. Put down the notebook and the camera, think a little less, and just watch some games. For the record, big Yankee fan. Bigger Red Sox fan, but I've no issues with the Yankees, and I do believe that this is that special year for them. We'll see.
As such, I'm going to get a little scarce for the next month or so, and let the playoffs, well, play out. Also, begin the upgrades for Cubbie Nation, plan my trip to catch the Arizona Fall League, and start work on coverage to bring you once the free agency ofifcially begins.
In the meantime, keep your head up. Personally, I couldn't have been more sad Sunday watching the players pack up and exit Wrigley for the final time this year, almost to the point of anger. But this ain't Kansas City. Hell, it's not even the Mets. The Cubs have talent, money, and a new ownership group looking to make their mark. The Cubs will be back, and soon. Let the countdown to pitchers and catchers reporting begin.