The topic du jour in the Cubs Blogosphere is the Passan "hit" piece on the Cubs. To whit:
Let’s be clear on some things: no one could, or should, argue that it isn’t deeply disappointing that the Cubs are where they are right now, in terms of big league competitiveness. We’re five years removed from the last relevant Cubs team, and a sub-$100 million payroll is, yes, a little ridiculous. But, outside of a throwaway line or two without explanation, Passan doesn’t seem to entertain the realities of the Cubs’ financial limitations right now (restrictive loan covenants that artificially depress spending, significant debt service payments, significant revenue-sharing obligations, delayed renovation, etc.).
The real question is "Should the Cubs spend this money?" or more specifically, "Should the Cubs build through free agency?"
Sahadev's tweet (seriously #PaySahadev):
If payroll stays @ $78M, can't disagree w much of what @JeffPassan writes here. Last graf I wholeheartedly agree w/ http://t.co/M2K9SohtUf
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) January 10, 2014
I think there's a whole lot of truth in Passan's article, which I'll now take piece by piece.
The first choice bit is the Estimated 2014 Opening Day Payroll; it's $78 million, or 22 MM shy of last year. The $78 million mark would put the Cubs at 26th of 30 teams in baseball for next year. It's a necessary caveat at this point to say that the offseason isn't close to over; the Cubs could add Tanaka, or Garza, or Jimenez, or Santana (please don't). However, even if they added Tanaka to a $15 million AAV contract, they'd still be under Cincinnati or Kansas City, as Passan notes. Here's a handy list:
| Tm | Dollars/person |
| NYY | $75.0230 |
| LAD | $67.8935 |
| BOS | $62.7990 |
| CLE | $55.5286 |
| PHI | $50.0796 |
| DET | $50.0769 |
| KCR | $49.9363 |
| TOR | $49.0892 |
| TBR | $47.1188 |
| CHW | $46.0310 |
| SEA | $44.7828 |
| TEX | $43.5083 |
| BAL | $42.7698 |
| CIN | $42.6376 |
| PIT | $42.6278 |
| WSN | $42.2264 |
| SFG | $41.5082 |
| OAK | $38.3794 |
| ATL | $37.5170 |
| ARI | $37.5027 |
| LAA | $37.2685 |
| MIL | $34.1570 |
| STL | $33.4097 |
| NYM | $32.3366 |
| SDP | $29.7521 |
| COL | $26.4039 |
| MIN | $25.4445 |
| CHC | $23.3276 |
| MIA | $15.6096 |
| HOU | $8.8822 |
This is how many dollars each team spent per paid attendant. As you can see, the Cubs are piss-poor by this metric, almost the worst in the league. Look at the luminaries the Cubs find themselves among; a collection of more-or-less the most disfunctional teams in baseball.
Other bloggers will tell you that the primary goal of the Cubs is to win a World Series; any perceived move that carries you further from that goal is a poor one. Furthermore, "true Cubs fans" should have the same goal; we should suffer through the same trials and tribulations that the team does. That is quite simply horseshit. This is a losing proposition for anyone who considers themselves a fan of the team. If the Cubs win the World Series, we don't get a share. It will be an awesome feeling for any Cubs fan, of course, but that moment is fleeting. On the other hand, who hasn't felt these lean times over the past 5 years? I assure you that ticket prices have NOT reflected our diminished expectations (though ask anyone who has attended the games if the butts in the seats have spoken). The grim reality of baseball (and any sport, really), is that only one team wins every year. It's usually not your team. To assign all of your hopes and dreams to one relatively unlikely event is a sure recipe for sadness.
Instead, I want a team that actually spends money in an effort to be competitive nearly every year. The truth of the matter is that I'll trade away a chunk of the already low chance that we win the World Series eventually for a watchable team now. It isn't like the Cubs current stance has guaranteed us anything in the future; it hasn't. It's given us a bunch of shiny prospects who have the same WAR in the major leagues as I do. I'm not trying to say that "progress" towards the ultimate goal of winning a World Series hasn't been made. I AM saying it's not nearly as much progress as most people think.
Let's move on to the next part of Jeff's article.
Apparently all it takes to own one of the most storied franchises in sports history is the rich person's equivalent to a down payment on a house. When the Ricketts family bought the Cubs, Wrigley Field and an interest in the local sports network for $845 million, it put down $171 million – a hair over 20 percent – and financed the rest through a number of means. And in the half-decade since, that $674 million-plus in debt has left the Cubs in perpetual duress, acting as if they're Kansas City or Tampa Bay.
Oh, and it's worth noting the Cubs are believed to be the most profitable team in the game, too. So there is that.
It's worth mentioning that I'm not sure where Passan gets the last sentence. It's definitely possible that the Cubs are the most profitable team in the MLB by some measures, but the word itself is kinda sticky. You could be profitable by one measure (gate – payroll) and not profitable by a different one (total revenues – total expenses including debt payments or whatever the Ricketts are taking to pay down debts). If it's true that the Cubs are actually making the most money in baseball with a terrible TV agreement and a perceived lack of revenue streams (via the renovation holdups, etc.), that would be a strong indicator that our ownership is the worst in baseball as far as giving a shit about the fans. I'd strongly look into making this a Rays blog if that were the case.
All of this leads into the money shot of Passan's article, and the bolding will be mine:
All of this dovetails rather nicely with the inherited woes of Cubs fandom. It's one thing to be bad. It's another to not spend money. The marriage of the two has led to poor attendance and angry fans, and it's entirely warranted, even though Epstein and Hoyer continue to deserve the trust of the skeptics.
Absolutely true. What drives this point home is the fact that fans are expected to pay all of the costs of the previous (and this) regime's mistakes. Ticket prices are the 3rd highest in the league. Here's that list again, with a few more columns:
| Tm | Dollars/person | Avg Ticket | Difference |
| LAD | $67.8935 | 22.37 | $45.5235 |
| CLE | $55.5286 | 19.59 | $35.9386 |
| KCR | $49.9363 | 19.83 | $30.1063 |
| TBR | $47.1188 | 20.39 | $26.7288 |
| PIT | $42.6278 | 17.21 | $25.4178 |
| DET | $50.0769 | 26.36 | $23.7169 |
| NYY | $75.0230 | 51.55 | $23.4730 |
| CIN | $42.6376 | 21.35 | $21.2876 |
| TEX | $43.5083 | 22.54 | $20.9683 |
| ARI | $37.5027 | 16.89 | $20.6127 |
| ATL | $37.5170 | 17.32 | $20.1970 |
| CHW | $46.0310 | 26.05 | $19.9810 |
| BAL | $42.7698 | 23.89 | $18.8798 |
| SEA | $44.7828 | 28.45 | $16.3328 |
| OAK | $38.3794 | 22.12 | $16.2594 |
| TOR | $49.0892 | 32.98 | $16.1092 |
| SDP | $29.7521 | 15.99 | $13.7621 |
| PHI | $50.0796 | 37.42 | $12.6596 |
| SFG | $41.5082 | 30.09 | $11.4182 |
| LAA | $37.2685 | 27.54 | $9.7285 |
| BOS | $62.7990 | 53.38 | $9.4190 |
| MIL | $34.1570 | 24.95 | $9.2070 |
| NYM | $32.3366 | 25.3 | $7.0366 |
| WSN | $42.2264 | 35.24 | $6.9864 |
| COL | $26.4039 | 23.65 | $2.7539 |
| STL | $33.4097 | 33.11 | $0.2997 |
| MIN | $25.4445 | 32.59 | ($7.1455) |
| MIA | $15.6096 | 29.27 | ($13.6604) |
| HOU | $8.8822 | 30.09 | ($21.2078) |
| CHC | $23.3276 | 44.55 | ($21.2224) |
The Cubs are the WORST value in all of baseball. You pay $44.55 for a ticket, and they've spent $23.33 of that money on players in 2013. They are one of 4 teams in baseball that spend less per player than they take in ticket sales. How could one, in good conscience, recommend anyone getting into baseball to be a Cubs fan? This is the conversation right now.
"Hey, I'm really getting into baseball."
"Awesome! What's your favorite team?"
"Oh, don't have one yet."
"You should be a Cubs fan! They have a really great team in Tennessee."
"Uh… don't the Cubs play in Chicago?"
"…not really."
"Well, I was looking at tickets for the Cubs/Cardinals game and they are like $55 bucks for the shittiest seats in the house. Why is it so expensive?"
"Well, for starters they have ivy on the walls, but you can't touch it or interact with it any way. Also, you get to pee in a troth, so that's cool. As you walk up to your seat, you might even catch a glimpse of the majestic nets that catch falling concrete!"
"So why do you like this team again?"
"Have you seen Darwin Barney's defense? That dude is awesome."
"So you pay $45 a ticket to watch a dude play defense? Can he at least hit?"
"He got on base almost 30 percent of the time last year!"
(a short aside: I'm not convinced that Barney's sudden historic fielding outburst isn't mostly due to Dale Sveum's positioning. I would almost expect a regression to more sane numbers during the Renteria era.)
I really do get the argument that it doesn't make sense to throw good money after bad, like that's the only way the Cubs could spend money. Again, that's just changing the narrative here. You can spend money in a smart way – for instance, signing a reliever from Japan, and a few swing guys who can benefit from a change to the NL. Maybe you sign a guy with a harsh platoon and play him in right field, take a chance on a TJS recovery dude. You could be fringe-competitive, and tear it down and spin those guys for actual prospects if it doesn't work out. Mostly though, people watch baseball to be entertained. They don't watch it to see "rebuiliding" unless they are masochistic or under the teams' employ. Take special meaning to that sentence, because I mean it in two ways. People aren't interested in seeing a team that not only hasn't been competitive in 5 years, but also hasn't tried to be competitive for this year. If they aren't interested, they don't attend (and pay the exorbitant, "perennial contender" prices that the Cubs charge for their product). It's also an insane argument to contend that the Cubs have to charge that price because they are in a big city; the Sox charged $18 less a ticket (and still managed to spend twice as much per person in the stands), the Mets spent $19 less, and the Dodgers (the DODGERS!) charged a little more than half of what the Cubs did.
Here is my "we can be hopeful for the future while critical of the present" paragraph. And it really is true. Epstein and Hoyer have been given a bad hand and they've played it admirably. We knew going into this regime that they would be mum on their financial resources; it makes sense both as a tactic and cover. I take our GM at his word when he says there are some financial constraints unique to this team (though I wonder where those constraints were in previous regimes, and I also question the ability of our ownership to extricate themselves from those constraints). The front office has produced a great farm system; however, even that is the eventual outcome of having back-to-back-to-back (soon to be back-to-back-to-back-to-back) top 10 picks, and our Sickels top 20 list looks like the following:
1. Javier Baez – high 1st round pick/inherited prospect from previous regime
2. Kris Bryant – high 1st round pick
3. Albert Almora – high 1st round pick
4. Jorge Soler – high $ IFA signing
5. C.J. Edwards – top trade piece in Garza trade (good job!)
6. Arismendy Alcantara – inherited prospect from previous regime
7. Pierce Johnson – 1st round pick
8. Jeimer Candelario – inherited prospect from previous regime
9. Dan Vogelbach – inherited prospect from previous regime (EDIT: fixed this).
10. Christian Villaneuva – top trade piece in Dempster trade (good job!)
11. Arodys Vizcaino – top trade piece in Maholm trade (good job!)
12. Mike Olt – middle trade piece in Garza trade (good job!)
13. Neil Ramirez – middle trade piece in Garza trade (good job!)
14. Matt Szczur – inherited prospect from previous regime
15. Josh Vitters – inherited prospect from previous regime
16. Kyle Hendricks – bottom trade piece in Dempster trade (good job!)
17. Corey Black – top trade piece in Soriano trade (good job!)
18. Rob Zastryzny – mid (I consider anything not in Top 50 picks middle) level pick (good job!)
19. Ivan Pineyro – top trade piece in Hairston trade (god job!)
20. Paul Blackburn – mid level pick (good job!)
As you can see, the top of the list hasn't exactly been made by wheeling and dealing. I do give credit for "hitting" on Bryant and Almora, though it's harder and harder to miss with the 6th overall and 2nd overall picks (it's prudent to note that the next player of same position taken in each draft is Courtney Hawkins (bust) and Colin Moran (who knows yet)).
In the meantime, the Cubs have a chance to be really, really bad, especially if they can't come to terms on an extension with Jeff Samardzija and trade him, and even more especially if Edwin Jackson's $52 million deal goes as poorly in its second year as it did its first. Absent those, they're still a mess. That's what happens when a Chicago team tries to act like it's from Tampa.
One day, I'm hopeful that the narrative will shift away from this incredible, dangerous notion that Championships Uber Alles. I don't watch the Cubs because I want them to win a World Series (at least not primarily). If I wanted to see a team win the World Series, I'd be a Yankees fan. Instead, I'm a a Cubs fan for a bunch of reasons; geographical proximity, familial loyalty, sadomasochism chief among them. Being a Cubs fan is more fun when the Cubs are good, or at least trying be to be good. Everything else is secondary.
Are the Cubs fun to you right now? 29th sounds about right.
Yeah, I agree. I see incremental improvement, but no real sign this team is about to take the giant step forward necessary to contend annually. Signing Tanaka will help that. The team currently has no pitching in the minor leagues above a potential number 2 or 3 starter. My hope is that they sign Tanaka and Samardzija. Both will help in achieving their goal and both will help in making this team watchable day in and day out. Right now, they’re just not even watchable.
I know I’ll find a lot more enjoyment in my life with a Cubs team that is interesting and competitive, but doesn’t win and one that sucks ass for 7 years at a time and then wins a championship. Ask the Marlins fans how much life sucks to be a fan of that team. Mostly though, I just want to watch a good team right now and would happily trade away the small chance they win one in 5 years for a competitive team now.
dmick89Quote Reply
(dying laughing) at this:
dmick89Quote Reply
If you read every word, you would have seen this from me in the comments last thread.
http://www.forbes.com/teams/chicago-cubs/
This states we are 4th. Not sure if this was his source though.
WaLiQuote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
ftfy
WaLiQuote Reply
Vogelbach was another inherited pick (from the same draft as Baez).
dmick89Quote Reply
Great write-up. Love the comparison between ticket costs and money spent per attendant. You should tweet that to the Cubs or something.
WaLiQuote Reply
I’m not really looking forward to the baseball season. There, I said it.
joshQuote Reply
WaLi wrote:
Yeah, I’m sure they’ll give a shit.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
@ Smokestack Lightning:
They’ll probably pat themselves on the back.
dmick89Quote Reply
This has been a tangled issue for me, as I can see the points and wisdom behind both POVs. For me, the most troublesome thing about the Cubs continuing to punt seasons (besides the whole miserable losing thing) and build almost strictly from within is that at the moment they’re not diversifying the risk. It’s all on our top prospects to come through in a big way right now, and as we all know, the odds of that actually happening are not great.
But at the same time, I can’t get too pissed that the Cubs didn’t outbid the Mariners, Yankees, or Rangers and vastly overpay for players whose short term value would likely max out at making the big league team sort-of watchable, and who could just as likely end up being a serious drag on the team’s ability to contend over the long term.
Like I said, it’s tangled, and I’m glad I’m not Theo or Jed right now.
.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning wrote:
(dying laughing) I mean to more rile up the meatheads than the Cubs caring about it.
WaLiQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning wrote:
I don’t disagree, but I feel like we’ve been making that argument for several years now. At some point, they are going to have to spend and take these risks. Had they taken a risk or two last year, or the year before, it’s not as much of a risk to spend now. As you say, they’re counting on the least reliable group to produce and I think that’s problematic.
It gets harder and harder to justify spending big dollars when you haven’t done so previously. It will be great to have that money if some of the prospects hit, but even the ones who do are unlikely to be as good as we’re thinking. The truth is that Javier Baez would be a success story for the Cubs if he turned in 6 league average seasons.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
Like You CareQuote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
MB, I dvr’d it. I’m looking forward to that show.
MuckerQuote Reply
Ryno, we had our first full pads practice of the year yesterday. We’ve been rained out the past 2 weekends and have been in Gold’s gym doing agility and conditioning drills. That shit has given me shin splints so I wasn’t at 100% yesterday. But all went well, we did some individual drills then some one on ones and two on twos and then a full O vs D at the end of practice where the D prevailed. I did pretty well in the one on ones considering I couldn’t really generate much power from my lower legs but I was really struggling in the full team drill to just get into my 3 point stance at the end of practice. My shins are killing me today so I hope I can go this weekend. But some of the boys were hitting out there and it’s great to get back into it.
MuckerQuote Reply
I don’t agree with Passan at all really. All the high-end free agents the last two offseasons were overpaid by teams that were currently competing. Anyone who looked at the Red Sox signings last offseason would give a collective “meh”. The Red Sox are the exception, not the rule, but it shows you can build without the big names. The only player the Cubs truly missed out on is Yu Darvish (maybe Adrian Beltre?).
Look at the 2012 free agents: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/2012-mlb-ultimate-free-agent-tracker.html
2011: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011-mlb-free-agents (sort by “Amount”)
Meanwhile, I think some of you are also underestimating how horrible of shape the farm was in. IIRC, BA had the Cubs somewhere in the 20-25 range with the top prospects being Brett Jackson, Josh Vitters, and Trey McNutt. Looking back, I think we can agree it was a case of average prospects in a shitty system made them look better.
So spend when no help is on the way? If so, who should they have spent on?
JonKneeVQuote Reply
josh wrote:
Agreed.
EdwinQuote Reply
@ JonKneeV:
I mostly agree, though FWIW we always knew that $WAR would go up due to the TV deals and the changes to draft bonuses.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
Ibuprofen is your friend.
That’s awesome that you’re getting back onto the field, though. Don’t let the pain hold you back. Just remember that you have a finite number of snaps left.
I always thought flag football was lame until my second year in college. I missed it so much that I joined an intramural team. Playing CB against the frat boys was ridiculously easy when I was only a year removed from playing. Press man all day just so I could shove those dickheads every snap.
I also played QB, and it made me wish I had pushed more to play that in high school. Plus, as I’ve said, it gave me a better perspective on playing the position. There is so much information to process all the time that it’s no wonder it’s the hardest position to scout/play. Pre-snap, you have to identify pressure and coverage. Afterward, you have to take another look at the pressure and go through your progressions (while possibly dropping back). That’s why footwork, mechanics and a quick release are so important in a QB prospect.
Like You CareQuote Reply
back to the phone conversation…
does anyone have a blackberry? i currrently have a droid4 which needs to be retired soon. i really want a physical keyboard and the blackberry q10 looks like the only decent phone that still comes with a physical keyboard. i know that bb doesn’t have much in the way of apps but i really don’t use apps that much anyway. all i care about is that the phone is good for email and has a very fast browser.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Who do you have for a carrier? There are a few QWERTY phones for Verizon/Sprint, but with ATT &TMo you’ll be a little hard pressed.
Are you looking to buy outright? Or is this going to be an upgrade on a contract?
AkabariQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
I think 424 has one, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him mention in the past needing a physical keyboard.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
My question to you is why do you need a physical keyboard? Do you just like having buttons to press? Nowadays the touch keyboard is pretty intuitive especially with spelling errors. The iPhone also has very good dictation, so you can speak into the phone and it will type for you (helpful for avoiding texting and driving).
JonKneeVQuote Reply
@ Like You Care:
Yeah I’ve been taking some pain relievers. I’ve been icing them too. The plyometric drills on the hard surface is what’s doing it. I can’t do that shit anymore. But I didn’t quit. Even when I wanted to I grit my teeth and got through it. I’m paying for it today, but hey, at least I’m not a pussy.
I love flag football. Our flag football is full contact but we just can’t tackle so we can blind side block and we can man handle our guys. I was completly dominating in flag football. There was one guy who I couldn’t get past and I later found out he played Div 1. He was like trying to move a fire hydrant. But man it’s fun just seeing that look in a guy’s eyes when he knows he can’t block you.
So true about QB. That’s why I like Peyton so much. There is no better QB in history than Peyton at pre-snap reads. He’s like having an extra OC on the field.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
I think Peyton is the OC.
Our flag football was similar. You could block and hit, but your hands had to be behind your back. On one kick return, I got ahead of the returner and saw a guy closing in from behind. I ran right at the guy with my hands behind my back and leveled him. Perfect and legal, but they threw me out of the game. Incidentally, that was my last flag football game.
Like You CareQuote Reply
@ JonKneeV:
Swipe keyboard.
Like You CareQuote Reply
The physical keyboard is what I’ve always hated about the Blackberry.
I can see how people might have gotten dependent on it back in the day, if they were heavy users.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Like You Care:
Another great reason to jailbreak iPhones.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ JonKneeV:
If all of them were overpaid then we are undervaluing them. They can’t all be over or underpaid.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
Yessir. Swipe is second ONLY to the full-size QWERTY keyboard.
Like You CareQuote Reply
Akabari wrote:
verizon. the only qwerty phone that i saw other than my current one and the blackberry was the pantech marauder which has pretty shitty reviews/specs.
JonKneeV wrote:
yeah that’s kind of what everyone says. i just really fucking hate touchscreens. i have tried many times to get used to them since i know that they will be the only option at some point and i just can’t do it. don’t know how to explain it other than i have a mental block or something that makes me really fucking despise touch keyboards.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo wrote:
but i wouldn’t really hesitate to switch. and it will probably be an upgrade on a contract but i wouldn’t mind an outright purchase if the price made sense.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ Like You Care:
I saw this yesterday http://www.idownloadblog.com/2014/01/12/type-up-to-120-wpm-keyboard/
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Smokestack Lightning:
(dying laughing)
GBTSQuote Reply
(dying laughing), I think the Cubs just topped “It’s a Way of Life”
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
That’s pretty cool, though I doubt I’d ever get the hang of that.
Like You CareQuote Reply
@ Like You Care:
You made a legal hit and you got tossed? Were you playing in the NFL? haha
Hands behind your back? That sounds pretty lame.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
I asked the ref what was wrong with my block and he said it was unnecessary roughness. To be fair, it looked pretty bad. But still, there was no rule about blocking people too hard.
Like You CareQuote Reply
Like You Care wrote:
GBTSQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
That’s a joke, right?
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Like You Care:
Same thought I had and I don’t do enough on my phone that would encourage me to figure it out.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Like You Care:
Then they should just make the rules that you can’t hit guys at all. You can’t say it’s full contact with hands behind the back and then punish someone for following the rules.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
Nope.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Wow. Whose brilliant idea was this?
dmick89Quote Reply
Fuck that. Fucking Christ. I hate this team.
joshQuote Reply
The Cubs won’t get anyone good this offseason, but at least they got a mascot. Is that the fucking bullshit we’re being sold here?
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
The same marketing team that brought you “It’s a Way of Life” and “Committed”
BerseliusQuote Reply
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140113&content_id=66536324&vkey=news_chc&c_id=chc&tcid=tw_article_66536324
joshQuote Reply
josh wrote:
Yeah, I kinda agree. Unreal.
dmick89Quote Reply
No intelligent grown up will like the team so let’s attract all the dumbasses and unlucky children by adding a cute lovable mascot.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Berselius:
They just don’t learn. Ever.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
That’s been my argument. They aren’t overpaid, the price is going up. It’s the new reality.
joshQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
FACT: It’s a lot cheaper to pay a cartoonist than a right fielder.
Ugh.
joshQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
Gross.
Like You CareQuote Reply
I hate this.
EdwinQuote Reply
Mucker wrote:
wut?
NFLQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
I actually agree. Touchscreens are just okay to me. For doing lots of writing, I can’t use them. They are fairly accurate, but the inaccuracies tend to be hugely annoying, to me. Maybe I use too many big words.
joshQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo wrote:
Like You CareQuote Reply
@ josh:
I’m talking full-size keyboards though. You get the small ones and they all suck for more than a quick text.
joshQuote Reply
I was hoping the Cubs would go with Pit Pat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uco5Ed-5y2U
EdwinQuote Reply
A fucking mascot. (dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
I was going to say that this is a good move if only because the backlash is going to be hilarious, but you guys have kind of beaten me to it.
In all seriousness, do any of you really believe that the choice to create a new mascot and the lack of on-field spending are at all related?
uncle daveQuote Reply
I blame Aisley
WaLiQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Yeah, they’re trying gimmicks because they know the team sucks goat balls.
joshQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Hiring a guy or team to make this ad campaign didn’t cost them player-level money or anything, but I think they’re basically trying to draw in fans as cheaply as possible.
joshQuote Reply
Friend’s comment on FB: “Even their new mascot looks embarrassed to be a Cubs fan.”
joshQuote Reply
I know the mascot is designed for kids, but it’s just frustrating watching the Cubs try to market themselves and sell the “Wrigley Experience” and whatever their marketing team is up to, while knowing that the Cubs are charging top dollar for a lousy product. I’d rather the Cubs have that carebear with a rain cloud on it’s chest.
EdwinQuote Reply
I’m surprised the Hope Monster didn’t get more consideration.
EdwinQuote Reply
The resemblance to the kid bear on tale spin is uncanny
WaLiQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
basically, Verizon is a little terrible for that sort of thing. If you don’t mind switching and HAVE to have a Qwerty phone, I’d recommend the Motorola Photon Q. I do some app development for clients at work on occasion so I have a ton of phones lying around, and if I had Sprint (which is who it’s for) that’s what I’d use. Has a good screen, good camera, good sized keys, and runs a pretty current version of Android. You’d have to buy it used at this point, but you could get it for pretty cheap. ($100 or less)
I was thinking about putting it on ebay, I’ll send you link if I do.
Other than that, all the Qwerty phones are going to be shit tier aimed at teens.
if not I’d recommend holding out just a bit or consider other features. My new phone, for example, is waterproof while still being a high end phone. I’ve never spilled water on any phone ever, but the thought of being protected is nice. You’re going to see more stuff like that as the amount of raw power phones can increase by diminishes.
AkabariQuote Reply
Clark the Cubbie?
That’s just sad.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
WaLi wrote:
That’s even sadder.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Did the survey respondents also request, say, winning a few fucking games?
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ josh:
It would be my hope that they’re actively trying to grow the brand at every opportunity regardless of what’s going on with the team. It seems to me that there are plenty of folks around the Cubs blogotwitterversosphere that are up in arms about this but who also scoffed at the whole “whore’s glitter” argument in opposition to transforming Wrigley based primarily on the notion that increasing revenue is vital to improving the on-field product. I don’t see any material difference between this and a giant Toyota sign in that respect. Increasing revenue is good generally for the prospects of the team, and that’s what they’re after here. It seems like it has absolutely nothing to do with the product on the field.
If folks want to argue about execution, that’s another thing entirely. The mascot sucks. He’s Poochie-level bad, and this is quickly becoming a PR nightmare for the club. But while I get the temptation for folks to project their frustrations with other aspects of how the team is run onto this particular effort, it’s a step too far to believe that this has absolutely anything to do with the on-field product. You don’t only market your team when it’s bad, and you don’t stop marketing when it’s good. Building a brand is a year-round thing under any and all circumstances.
uncle daveQuote Reply
uncle dave wrote:
He’s literally existed for like two hours.
GBTSQuote Reply
uncle dave wrote:
A 1000 times this.
Let’s take a deep breath, people. It’s a goddamned cartoon bear meant for children.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
I gotta admit, this whole thing is pretty spectacular.
uncle daveQuote Reply
Berselius wrote:
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
[img]http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120524005130/simpsons/images/3/31/Poochy_(Simpsons_Official_Site).PNG[/img]
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
WaLi wrote:
@ Akabari:
Aisley would respond, but he’s busy tweeting about cheap the Cubs are using his QWERTY keyboard on his old phone.
Meanwhile, I hear you Enrico. I dumped my old BB Torch about 1.5 yr ago for a Samsung Rugby Pro. No keypad and I’m still pretty bad at typing with it. I’ve turned auto correct off but there is the feature that suggests words after you’ve typed in a letter or two. That’s works ok for me.
Like Akabari said, some other features are worth it. The phone I have is waterproof and I’ve had it in my pocket and gotten pretty drenched in the rain. Also have dripped water on it while washing hands, etc. No problems at all. The size is smaller than my wife’s iPhone 4-something with her life-proof case but the screen is bigger. She had an Otter box case before, and it protected the phone from her touch and commands. Ha! By the time you put a protective case on an iPhone, you have a fatter phone than most waterproof-by-design phones. If my wife has speaker phone on, I get so much echo back from the case that I cut the call short–unless I’m singing my daughter to sleep–then I just try to ignore the 2-sec-delayed echo of Rainbow Connection in the key of miscellaneous.
Isn’t another advantage of jailbreaking a phone that you can keep your phone when you move to another carrier, or if you want to swap the SIM card so you can use it with an account overseas?
SVBQuote Reply
@ Akabari:
my understanding of the photon Q is that it’s pretty much the same as the droid4? a waterproof phone is intriguing. that would be a very appealing feature for me. is it the samsung rugby pro that SVB mentioned?
the big reason that i was thinking about switching to blackberry is that i assumed that since the phone is mainly designed for business-type shit, it would be much more efficient for the things that i actually care about. not sure if this is actually true though. i just don’t really give a shit about most features on any given phone. i never play games, i don’t use the camera, etc… i just want a blazing fast browser and good email/messaging capabilities. added battery life and a small profile are bonuses. anything else is unnecessary.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
this clark thing is just all-around amazing. from muskat’s article:
“Clark’s great-grandbear, Joa, was the team’s original live bear mascot back in 1916. When Joa retired to the Lincoln Park Zoo, he delighted the young bears with amazing stories.”
i love these two comments:
“Why is his hat backwards? How disrespectful to the game can we be with a mascot?”
“They should turn the hat around on the bear so you can see the cubs logo. Come on this is baseball, hats are worn forward.”
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Well the Photon Q IS pretty much the Droid 4, with slightly worse battery life.
The phone I have now is now is not the Rugby pro. Its the Sony Xperia Z. It has a bigger screen than the iPhone, but is a touch thinner, and better phone all around, imo.it’s also damn thin and light for being waterproof. And Chrome is the best mobile browser, hands down.
In terms of Blackberry being better for business…that’s what Blackberry wants you to think so they have no other grounds to market a phone on (dying laughing). And it depends on what you mean by “business shit”. I pretty much run my business through my phone most of the time (contracting work for clients) and iOS or android will work for that sort of thing. Personally I find that Google Calendar, Gmail, Chrome…etc is a much better ecosystem, especially since you can sync to your desktop much easier through your browser. I’m definitely biased between iOS and Android in terms of recommending phones and will always say Android, but I’m pretty sure that universally, people on either side will tell you that buying Blackberry or Windows phone right now is a bad idea. RIM could seriously go under anytime now and you’re stuck without updates, and no one would ever care enough to make hacks or “jailbreaks” or things to extend the life of the phone.
AkabariQuote Reply
“Your not a true baseball fan if you condone the wearing of the hat backwards. This isn’t a frat party, its professional baseball and they should act like it. Have fun playing with your beanie babies.”
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
man, people are really bent out of shape about the backwards hat.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ Akabari:
noted. thanks.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Some of it might be sarcastic blowback from some sportswriters blasting Kaepernick’s backwards hat in interviews following yesterday’s game.
BerseliusQuote Reply
Meanwhile, @clarkthecub has 3700 followers.
uncle daveQuote Reply
uncle dave wrote:
No, and I’m somewhat confused as to why this question is asked this time around. I seem to recall this site, or ACB (can’t remember when it happened) being bombarded with Cubs-related photos that had “It’s a way of life” written on them. Or the ones we did about “This is a year”. Some don’t quite understand or agree with the point of view of those who aren’t especially happy with their direction, but I don’t understand the sensitivity to any type of criticism, humorously or otherwise.
We’re talking about a mascot here. I think it’s safe to say that any person with an active brain cell left understands that it has absolutely zero impact on the quality of talent on the field. That doesn’t mean it’s not funny and it doesn’t mean I’m not going make fun of the Cubs. It’s mid-January and the biggest Cubs news this offseason is a mascot. It’s hilarious.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
One of the things that made forming this site with 424, AC and berselius so appealing to me was how we all enjoyed making fun of the Cubs.
dmick89Quote Reply
(dying laughing) @ http://deadspin.com/contest-do-something-horrible-to-the-cubs-new-perver-1500558877
WaLiQuote Reply
New fucking shit: http://obstructedview.net/commentary-and-analysis/cubs-biggest-fucking-move-of-fucking-offseason-is-a-stupid-fucking-mascot.html
Aisle424Quote Reply