Around the trade deadline, when the owner of the Chicago Cubs Tom Ricketts leave a man who just shot his team to run one of the highlights of the season, Cubs officials spread the word Alfonso Soriano (notes) can be done, and eat a lot of money if you want. One of those distributing information was Jim Hendry, GM outgoing and paralyze the contract issuer to Soriano.
No bit of the team, of course, not even with the Cubs offer more than half of the back 54 million dollars over the last three seasons of his eight-year juggernaut. And the moments leading up to the deadline to better encapsulate the descent of the Cubs in the futility of recent years and concerns about the coming home. Any GM who botch a monster contract that evil (and complete with a few others) deserve to be fired, and each owner holding a can of GM on board for a memorable time, deserves to be questioned.
Hendry misdeeds are well documented. It flourished in the beginning of his mandate, gave almost a World Series appearance, became aggressive in free agency after the fall short bombed and rode a wave of its line of wastewater own unemployment. He will find work. He will succeed. Just did not have in Chicago, like everyone else who had the title last season's 103.
Ricketts, however, remains a mystery more than two years after his family bought the Cubs $ 845 million. He wants to turn the Red Sox Cubs in the Midwest, a bold - and, better still possible - plan that would require a review of Wrigley Field the same way Boston Fenway Park and create tens of millions, and possibly more in the new flows annual revenue.
How do you want to do is the concern. Crain Chicago reported this week that Ricketts met with the mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel in the use of up to $ 200 million in public funds for the renovation of Wrigley. Ricketts tried to convince the former mayor Richard M. Daley's commitment to it, said no. Emanuel, said Crain, is much more enthusiastic about the idea and propose to the state legislature later this year.
Unlike the Florida Marlins and Chicago White Sox, who have received public money to fund their stadium after threatening to move elsewhere, the Cubs are not going anywhere. With zero debt, Ricketts essentially asking taxpayers to pay for the competitiveness of your team. The Cubs have sapped most of their existing revenue streams and raised ticket prices to the maximum (53 dollars on average, greater than all the teams, but the Yankees and Red Sox). A bigger, better, Wrigley would create jobs, of course, but not enough to offset the $ 200 million, and the rest of the profits go directly into the coffers of the Cubs.
Public financing of stadiums is a waste increased, in a unilateral way, only to say that should inspire politicians to publicly criticize the owners suggest. Instead, bend, jock-sniffer pictures of conspiracy spineless of them concerned about their constituents to bring them powerless dares to mess with the institution as the Cubs. So stadiums have been built in the possession of the boom as MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. This Ricketts hopes to determine its properties.
And if it works, it will be to overcome the mistakes Hendry, whose top three - Soriano a $ 136 million, Carlos Zambrano (notes) of $ 91.5 million and Milton Bradley (notes) to 30 million dollars - the cost of more than a quarter of a billion dollars, enough to cover the money Ricketts wants the city and some old-style to spare.
With a new and better management of Wrigley, the Cubs quickly could make the big three - the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies - in a Big Four. The condition of these puppies is ugly. Next year will not be much better, not with a core of young Starlin Castro (notes) and ... uh ... hum.
There are pieces (Matt Garza (notes)) and parts (Marlon Byrd (notes)) with a certain value. Soriano and Zambrano, who has a year of more than 18 million dollars is the price of zircon diamond. Still makes no sense that Hendry was hooked on free agents-to-be Carlos Pena and Reed Johnson (notes) at maturity, and his excuse - he wanted the new GM agreement with them - especially considering rings hollow trade-August are almost impossible to do and his successor is Randy Bush, who became the right arm.
Logic Ricketts was back, too. He said he kept on board to ensure Hendry drafted players signed ... as they wanted, regardless of who has been genetically modified. And certainly the new GM, as Ricketts said he wanted to have a better understanding of statistical measures that the Scouts have cared that Hendry Born Pena and Johnson has no value for 2012 and forth like a Cubs any prospect perspective, perhaps.
Whoever takes the job will inherit a potential gold mine, especially if Ricketts managed to convince hundreds of millions of dollars Emanuel are better off rewarding the rich men that fixing schools or to reduce violence or doing something else ( do not fall for charlatans who use them-all-public-money-is-the same argument, there is nothing more than spin). It is one of the best concerts in sport, resources, combined with the promise to the deification of the new GM actually win the World Series.
It 'still a good concert without a new stadium, until someone is running an intelligent look. Hendry, at the end, it was not so wise. Public executions on Friday, Ricketts preached that Hendry was dissatisfied with the Cubs, "a culture of responsibility". He was not wrong. Go win a championship without a century, and nine years is more than just a jolt for GM.
Ricketts Hendry thanked for his years of service and commended him for three weeks of work after his July 22 shooting. Both parties now move forward, Hendry is a scouting somewhere, the Cubs new leadership group, and hope to begin renovated Wrigley.
The paradox is obvious: even if it's bad for the people of Chicago, a public restaurant is excellent Wrigley for the Cubs. The future of the team vs. a mega-have depends on it. The same applies to the question of whether Tom Ricketts is the best thing for the Cubs and Jim Hendry just another in the suite owners.
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