Open Letter to the Chicago Cubs

[YearofDaCubs]

One thing that was not mentioned is that MacPhail has stated he would never pony up to pay for the top free agents available. That's not exactly the type of philosophy which is condusive to winning baseball.

[Shilzzz]

Pretty much the only thing you can fault the Trib for is not making front office changes. Not being cheap, not turning a profit, or anything else related to money.

 

:shock:

 

Really? How about faulting them for being incompetent as owners?

 

Again, aside from not removing any or all of the MacPhail/Hendry/Baker trio, you can't fault the Trib. They put up a good payroll and don't threaten to slash it if the team falters. They financed the addition to Wrigley. Getting mad at them for being the greedy corporation is misguided.

 

i don't care about their greed(well i do, but that's a whole nother discussion), but if not removing MacPhail/Hendry/Baker is on their shoulders, then what is not?

[scs_paradise]

Pretty much the only thing you can fault the Trib for is not making front office changes. Not being cheap, not turning a profit, or anything else related to money.

 

:shock:

 

Really? How about faulting them for being incompetent as owners?

 

Again, aside from not removing any or all of the MacPhail/Hendry/Baker trio, you can't fault the Trib. They put up a good payroll and don't threaten to slash it if the team falters. They financed the addition to Wrigley. Getting mad at them for being the greedy corporation is misguided.

 

i don't care about their greed(well i do, but that's a whole nother discussion), but if not removing MacPhail/Hendry/Baker is on their shoulders, then what is not?

 

Only removing MacPhail is on their shoulders. It would be rare for a corporate owner to remove anyone except the guy they've chosen to run the team. And there are many very good possible reasons they haven't removed him including the one mentioned above about devalueing the asset by making it look like the management struture is in chaos.

[waffle]

It's tough being a cubs fan, but this year particularly.

 

We have, what, the 5th highest payroll?

We have a manager who ALWAYS seems one step behind both in terms of player personnel as well as on the field.

We have a bunch of players who seem to have NO FIRE AT ALL.

We rarely win games via fundemental baseball (defense and created runs) which makes for BORING BASEBALL

We have a GM who makes moves that are obviously cases of wishful thinking to everyone but him

We have shown little inclination to try to consistenly develop talent

We have a pitching staff in total disarray.

 

I would rather watch a team like the Marlins, full of kids that show effort and fire on a daily basis than this group.

 

This is not an entertaining team in ANY WAY. At least if we play the kids we can hope and dream that they will develop over time. But with this management there is always this feeling that they will lose patience too early and instead sign some journeyman vet.

 

I have been following the cubs for many many many years now, and this edition is pretty much the least interesting to watch of any I can remember.

 

Is it college basketball season yet?

[waffle]

I mean, shouldn't we at least enjoy watching the friggin games????

 

How did they manage to extract that?

 

That I would rather watch a game between almost any 2 teams in the league than I would one involving my cubs?

 

It hurts. It's like finding out your son has been stealing. It leaves you feeling sad and empty. This stuff matters.

[Soul]

Pretty much the only thing you can fault the Trib for is not making front office changes. Not being cheap, not turning a profit, or anything else related to money.

 

:shock:

 

Really? How about faulting them for being incompetent as owners?

 

Again, aside from not removing any or all of the MacPhail/Hendry/Baker trio, you can't fault the Trib. They put up a good payroll and don't threaten to slash it if the team falters. They financed the addition to Wrigley. Getting mad at them for being the greedy corporation is misguided.

 

Sadly it's not. The Trib was making an insane profit for years while under spending. Over the last two years they have jacked up ticket prices , added seats, and more advertising all while keeping the payroll the same. Can you imagine the money the Trib would rake in if the Cubs won the World Series? For them to have Andy MacPhail at the top this long means they do not care about winning. It's time for them to sale its a shame see how low this team has fallen.

 

In the end, they are supposed to keep a profit. They've done what an owner should do financially, especially for one that's a publically owned company. Say what you want about not getting rid of management, I agree, but when it comes to money they are holding up their end.

 

Not faulting them for the money end, but their major baseball responsibility is to ensure that the team is being run by a competent and effective management team. And they are failing miserably in that area.

 

Glad they're turning a profit and all, but for fans who care about this team they're still incompetent as *baseball* owners.

[RynoRules]

Pretty much the only thing you can fault the Trib for is not making front office changes. Not being cheap, not turning a profit, or anything else related to money.

 

They've been incompetetnt since they purchased the team, and only recently began to spend in-line with their profit margin. You don't forgive years of horrendous management because of a few years of spending. Remember they are ultimately responsible for allowing MacPhail to run this team for ten years, the vast majority of which have been horrendous.

[Fro]

They're incompetent as far as fielding a winning team (but not as incompetent as the previous owners, so they got a free pass), but they're VERY, VERY competent about making truckloads of money off the team.

[Bergy92]

Hey - do you think that if I were to sue the management staff of the Chicago Cubs, I could get my $150 back that I payed for MLB extra innings so that I can watch them play? I am not asking for much, not even pain and suffering - just my stinking money back that I put out so that I can watch this terrible event take place (because they do not want to televise on WGN much anymore).

 

Maybe we could make it a class-action lawsuit - anybody in?

[Shilzzz]

Pretty much the only thing you can fault the Trib for is not making front office changes. Not being cheap, not turning a profit, or anything else related to money.

 

:shock:

 

Really? How about faulting them for being incompetent as owners?

 

Again, aside from not removing any or all of the MacPhail/Hendry/Baker trio, you can't fault the Trib. They put up a good payroll and don't threaten to slash it if the team falters. They financed the addition to Wrigley. Getting mad at them for being the greedy corporation is misguided.

 

i don't care about their greed(well i do, but that's a whole nother discussion), but if not removing MacPhail/Hendry/Baker is on their shoulders, then what is not?

 

Only removing MacPhail is on their shoulders. It would be rare for a corporate owner to remove anyone except the guy they've chosen to run the team. And there are many very good possible reasons they haven't removed him including the one mentioned above about devalueing the asset by making it look like the management struture is in chaos.

 

that's the whole point though. baker is hendry's fault, hendry is MacPhail's fault and MacPhail is the tribs fault, so following the logical line of passing the buck, the buck stops with the tribune. if MacPhail is not there, neither are hendry and baker.

[scs_paradise]

Pretty much the only thing you can fault the Trib for is not making front office changes. Not being cheap, not turning a profit, or anything else related to money.

 

:shock:

 

Really? How about faulting them for being incompetent as owners?

 

Again, aside from not removing any or all of the MacPhail/Hendry/Baker trio, you can't fault the Trib. They put up a good payroll and don't threaten to slash it if the team falters. They financed the addition to Wrigley. Getting mad at them for being the greedy corporation is misguided.

 

i don't care about their greed(well i do, but that's a whole nother discussion), but if not removing MacPhail/Hendry/Baker is on their shoulders, then what is not?

 

Only removing MacPhail is on their shoulders. It would be rare for a corporate owner to remove anyone except the guy they've chosen to run the team. And there are many very good possible reasons they haven't removed him including the one mentioned above about devalueing the asset by making it look like the management struture is in chaos.

 

that's the whole point though. baker is hendry's fault, hendry is MacPhail's fault and MacPhail is the tribs fault, so following the logical line of passing the buck, the buck stops with the tribune. if MacPhail is not there, neither are hendry and baker.

 

I've only noticed the call for MacPhail's head in the last year and a half, when the failure starts its not uncommon for it to take six months to a year to realize this is a real failure and not just a bump in the road. After that its not uncommon to give the guy who is managing the failure six months to a year to turn the failure around.

 

Now if any rumors are true that the trib is even considering selling the club you won't see anyone removed because if Hendry or MacPhail are fired it devalues the asset, in addition its likely the incoming owner will want to choose its own management team, so I wouldn't expect any change during the season to the Mgr spot and I wouldn't expect any removal of Hendry or MacPhail until the Trib has stopped selling off assests.