Well, let's examine this a little bit.
There were some very defined goals that the Ricketts family have outlined for the Cubs.
1. World class facilities
2. Build a consistent philosophy throughout the organization
3. Be good neighbors in Chicago.
4. Win a World Series
The Cubs ticket prices have gone up...and gone up rather substantially. The added revenue from these ticket sales is being estimated by some people to be about $15 million for the coming season. We know that the Cubs are doing renovations to the bathrooms and will have begun the construction of a mezzanine level between the lower and upper deck. That $15 million is going toward these things as well as improved concessions and a resurfacing of the center field scoreboard. It's a beginning...so Check 1!
Payroll, however, appears to not be increasing. And, honestly, that might not be such a bad thing.
The Cubs are stuck with some horrible contracts right now. Fukudome, Bradley, Soriano, Dempster, Zambrano, Lee and Ramirez make up a huge portion of the payroll for this team, and all of these players appear to be on the downhill side of their careers (yes..even Z is). Part of this is a general baseball problem, but these contracts were just poorly structured and the signings, in some cases, were unjustified.
So now let's analyze what has happened since the Ricketts's have taken over. They've traded away two under-performing players, (Heilman and Miles) and have been trying despirately to trade off Milton Bradley. Right now, all the Cubs have received in return have been a relief pitcher and some minor leaguers. The Cubs have also shed off Rick Harden, who was their #5 starter last year, but still commanded $7.5 million in the free agent market.
It does appear the Cubs have been starting to re-organize a bit and rebuilding their farm system and to get their payroll under control. So...Check 2?
Not so fast.
But then what are we supposed to make of the signing of John Grabow to a 2 year $7 million contract? That just doesn't seem to make any sense.
What is the game plan here? Are we trying to preserve payroll? Are we shedding contracts?
What are we to expect for a contract for a center fielder, now?
Someone give me a call to tell me what the Cubs are trying to do. Because, right now, I can't figure it out.
And if the trade for Pat Burrell does happen...then I will be completely perplexed. You could pay Bradley $9 million to not play this season, or pay both Bradley and Pat Burrell to not play this season. (because Pat Burrell CANNOT play defense. PERIOD!)
I'm not sure about #2.
Then comes point three. We have in ice rink outside of Wrigley. So Check 3.
And #4? Well, I think we need to wait for that a little longer.
If we ignore #4 for a few a decades, it seems items 1 and 3 are will in progress. But #2 appears to need a little more work. Now, I'm not saying Jim Hendry needs to go, but it is his job to get this thing straightened out. He has really has until about June of next year to really demonstrate that he has got a grip on fixing this thing...or he (and Crane Kenney) may be looking for work elsewhere.
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Ok, it's been a couple weeks since we've done this:
So the dumb-ass of the week award goes to.....
Tiger Woods? no...that's old news.
Jim Hendry? no...he actually has to be awake to win the award...
Give me your crappy pitchers...and some cheese.
Last week he signed Randy Wolfe to a 3 year $30 million contract. Then to top that off he signs LaTroy Hawkins to a two year $7.5 million deal.
Melvin is single handedly taking a franchise that has had a miraculous turnaround in recent years, and brought them back to mediocrity.
They bitch and complain about being a small market team, and they are, but they have drawn well over the league average in attendance the last two seasons, and broke 3 million for the first time last year. I know their ticket prices aren't nearly as high as the Cubs tickets are...but that is a good chunk of change, and this team seems to be wasting it on bad contracts.
Melvin appears to have taken the Jim Hendry approach to success...the problem with that is, if the Brewers start losing again, which is likely to be the case (they are not better than they were in 2009), fans will stop going to the ballpark. That doesn't happen in Chicago. Revenues will plummet.
That would result in some devistating effects for a franchise that is in one of baseball's smallest markets. But if you show a commitment to developing players, and smart acquisitions, the fans of Wisconsin will pour into that ballpark. Believe it or not, people of Wisconsin are good baseball fans. They love their Brewers...not as much as the Packers...but they do love them.
Don't screw it up, Doug Melvin. It's good for baseball for a team like the Brewers to remain competitive.
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