When the Ricketts family first took over the Cubs, some of the first words out of their mouths were expressions of unbridled love of Wrigley Field. They were going to win and they were going to win in Wrigley Field. That was their story. Tom went around telling anybody who would listen that he once lived across the street from Wrigley. …
Joe Didn't Help Anything, But Tom Ricketts Has Screwed Himself
Joe Ricketts has had next to nothing to do with the Cubs since the Ricketts won the right to become the sole bidders on the team way back in 2009. He's the money guy. That's it. He has said as much publicly. He doesn't give a damn about the Cubs or baseball. He funded the purchase of the team because …
We Are Shocked…SHOCKED!… To Learn Tom Tunney is in the Rooftop Owners' Pockets
In today's edition of Obviously Obvious Item of the Day, the Sun-Times has come right out and quantified what everybody familiar with the Cubs' relationship with Chicago's 44th Ward has known all along: Alderman Tom Tunney gets a tremendous amount of financial backing from the good people who own the rooftops across from Wrigley. It is also no secret that …
Cubs Dynamic Pricing Probably Not As Dynamic As They’d Like
I've been keeping an eye on the Cubs' bleacher ticket prices for a little over a week now because I got curious about how their dynamic pricing model is actually working out for them. Previously, I had hypothesized that overall revenues would not be taking so much of a hit, because the Cubs would be selling some high profile games …
Looking Back on Opening Day
Yesterday was my 15th straight Opening Day, and if I recall correctly, the 15th straight year I have frozen my ass off at Wrigley Field for the first game of the year. To be fair, I'm sure there has been a somewhat warm Opening Day among those 15 years, but I sure as hell can't remember when they happened. Yesterday …
Daily Facepalm 3.1.12 – Expanded playoffs edition
Expanded playoffs have arrived I thought this had already been decided, but the extra wild card has been approved. I'm kind of surprised that MLB would do this so close to the start of the season. Given the glacial pace at which MLB moved, I figured they had just decided that they were going to do it at some point, …
Cubs Want to Get PAID For the Rights to Televise Them Lose Games
I've been a bit distracted lately as I've been thinking about cats again, but as we all know (I'm assuming), Spring Training is here! With the bunting tournament in full half-swing and Kerry Wood drilling Castro on the wrist today, we're starting to see news on a more regular basis coming from the beat reporters. I am, of course, using …
Daily Facepalm Returns with a Fiery Vengeance
Cubs and Matt Garza Agree to Terms It's no longterm contract extension, but the Cubs are tweeting that they've agreed to terms for 2012 with Matt Garza, thereby sticking it to the arbitor. Hurrah. #Cubs and RHP Matt Garza have agreed to terms on a 2012 contract, thus avoiding salary arbitration. — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) February 3, 2012 …
Cubs’ Training Facility in Dominican Republic Looks Freakin’ Sweet
Tom Ricketts keeps making it harder and harder to mock him. I mean, he pretty much shut us all up when he went out and hired away the top baseball executive available (and one of the top guys alive) to pull the team out of its nosedive into the ground. He's showing that he understands the concept of a sunk …
When Theo Met Carlos: A Cubs Story [Kindle Edition]
“We met today at his request,” Epstein said. “It went well. He expressed a strong desire to be a Cub (again) and an even stronger desire to have a strong 2012 season. He’s in great shape. He’s working out twice a day, pitching down in Venezuela. I told him that we’d let him earn his right back to being a …