This is Dorf...not Reinsdorf. It's hard to tell the difference sometimes
Dear Jerry Reisdorf,
I hate the White Sox.
I hate them more than any other team except the Cardinals.
So last week when it was reported that you, the emperor of the South Side Crybabies, have been very vocally against the "Cubs tax" to help build a new spring training facility in Mesa for the Cubs, I just started to go nuts.
The White Sox have been able to take advantage of the financial success of the Cubs for years now.
Let's start with the new spring training facility the White Sox moved into last year at the Camelback Ranch. This is probably the best spring training facility in baseball right now. How were the Sox able to get such a nice place? Hmm....well it seems to me it was pretty much due to the money that the Cubs bring in to Arizona during the spring. Would the White Sox have been able to get a facility built like that in Florida? Hell no. Heck, you bolted Tuscon so you could be closer to the Cubs, leaving Tuscon with a ridiculous amount of debt associated with the facility that they built for you to draw the Sox away from Sarasota.
And let's talk about Comcast Sports Net...a cable channel that has ownership split between the Cubs, Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks. In reality, your ownership groups own 50% of that cable network...a cable network that basically lives off the profits that the Cubs make for it. Oh, your welcome, Jerry. You get almost 50% of those profits. The Cubs only 25%. It will be wonderful to see you bitch and moan when the Cubs go off and form their own network.
I'm sure you are overjoyed at the fact the Cubs have increased ticket prices so much this year...that will sure make it easy for you to do the same at your nice completely publicly financed ballpark...which is being paid for by a hotel tax. Oh, and might I mention the fact that a number of conventions have decided to leave Chicago due to the fact that costs are too high? One of the reasons for those costs being too high is that tax that helped build your ballpark. And after you got your ballpark...it wasn't good enough because instead of using a ballpark design that could have help usher in a new era in ballpark construction (Armour Field) you decided to build a monstrosity that was almost universally panned. And when it became apparent that your ballpark was a disaster, you held the Bears ransom in order to have part of the deal for their new stadium include provisions to fix your ballpark.
And speaking of which, I haven't spoken to the people of St. Petersburg lately...but I'm sure they are glad they finally got someone to play in the Suncoast Dome that they build for you.
I'm looking forward to seeing you start to whine around the renovations to Wrigley Field and trying to block the Cubs from getting the All-Star game in 2014.
So Jerry, when you get upset about a $1 surcharge on spring training tickets in the Cactus League...you can just go to hell. Besides...it is mostly Cubs fans that buy those tickets anyway.
Most fans want the Cubs to stay in Mesa...but I have the urge to tell the Cubs to move to Florida just to spite you.
Jerry, I'd say go to hell...but Comiskey Park is already located in a worse place than that...so just go screw yourself.
Love,
-Doc
