5/31 Cubs (Wells) @ Pirates (Ohlendorf) 12:35 WGNTV

[UMFan83]

So we went over .500 against our impossible schedule, and then get a series against the Pirates and it's back to sucking it up.

[Tryptamine]

Theriot has become absolutely useless.

[SouthSideRyan]

Blackhawks fans not going to games didn't make them better, Bill Wirtz dying did.

[illiniguy]

That 9th inning was all kinds of fail.

 

Soriano fought off a walk.

Lou pinch hit for Soto, an obp machine.

Castro gets on, but can't steal because Theriot swings at everything.

Theriot hitting instead of Colvin in that spot.

 

We deserve to lose.

[BigSlick]

I am looking at the team stats, and I have no idea why this team is so poor offensively. Slightly worse than average sure, but this team looks awful out there at times. 3 hit by the Pirates?

having pretty bad luck with RISP and having extraordinary blackholes instead of 'regular' black holes

 

a .500 OPS is really much much much worse than 650-700 OPS from a slumping Aramis if he could just advance his ability to "really bad" instead of "monumentally awful" we'd be much better

 

Derrek Lee sucks, Theriot refuses to walk or hit for extra bases, Byrd doesn't walk and is slumping with Castro now

 

I dunno I guess the devil is in the details here

 

Soriano is having a good year. :)

[Ivy.n.Denver]

I just cancelled my MLB.TV subscription

 

I don't even get mad any more about this, I'm just bored with them

[Schwarber Fan]

I just cancelled my MLB.TV subscription

 

I don't even get mad any more about this, I'm just bored with them

 

In fairness, PNC Park and its fans on an overcast day would make a world series game look boring.

 

But yeah, this team sucks.

[J.R.]

Just .500 versus the sack of [expletive] that is Pitt would change the face of this season.

[UMFan83]

What was the purpose of Xavier Nady pinch hitting against a right handed pitcher? If the Cubs lose 3 straight to this team again, Piniella better be fired. If not, Ricketts and his family will have a big F on their report card for this year. Yeah Tom, lets worry about bathrooms, Toyota signs and buying a rooftop. Does he realize the only "tradition" of Wrigley Field is one of losing?

 

What the hell is Ricketts going to do?

 

Also just so you know, Ricketts didn't have to choose between fixing the bathrooms or spending more money on the team. He is the owner, so he has to worry about all areas of the team even if winning is his #1 priority.

When there are so many problems with the product on the field, he looks like an idiot constantly worrying about the ballpark and the "fan experience." Winning cures all. Cub fans need to treat this organization like the Blackhawk fans treated it...quit going to games, quit buying merchandise and quit watching/listening.

 

As a fan, I am sick of hearing Ricketts talk about winning yet nothing changes in relation to the baseball operations. Piniella should be fired today. You can't fire 25 players, but Lou can go. Again, one run in 4 of the last 5 games and he basically does nothing to shake things up.

 

Ricketts has been the owner for 6 months, what do you expect to happen in 6 months? He's never run a baseball team before, and he is just getting his feet wet here. He needs time to evaluate everything in the organization before going around firing people and making radical changes. After such a short amount of time, there is no way any of us fans really know how Ricketts is going to run the team long term. By the end of this offseason, it will begin to look clear, and by the next offseason we'll have a pretty good idea of how this team will be run and at that point we can judge how much he wants to win or how capable that is in his hands. I know losing is frustrating, but if you honestly thought we had a good shot of winning the WS this year no matter what we did, unless a lot of pieces fell perfectly into place, then you need to lower your expectations a bit. I completely agree we should be contending every year with our resources, but the blame is not on Ricketts, its on the general manager of this club.

[gflore34]

What was the purpose of Xavier Nady pinch hitting against a right handed pitcher? If the Cubs lose 3 straight to this team again, Piniella better be fired. If not, Ricketts and his family will have a big F on their report card for this year. Yeah Tom, lets worry about bathrooms, Toyota signs and buying a rooftop. Does he realize the only "tradition" of Wrigley Field is one of losing?

 

What the hell is Ricketts going to do?

 

Also just so you know, Ricketts didn't have to choose between fixing the bathrooms or spending more money on the team. He is the owner, so he has to worry about all areas of the team even if winning is his #1 priority.

When there are so many problems with the product on the field, he looks like an idiot constantly worrying about the ballpark and the "fan experience." Winning cures all. Cub fans need to treat this organization like the Blackhawk fans treated it...quit going to games, quit buying merchandise and quit watching/listening.

 

As a fan, I am sick of hearing Ricketts talk about winning yet nothing changes in relation to the baseball operations. Piniella should be fired today. You can't fire 25 players, but Lou can go. Again, one run in 4 of the last 5 games and he basically does nothing to shake things up.

 

Ricketts has been the owner for 6 months, what do you expect to happen in 6 months? He's never run a baseball team before, and he is just getting his feet wet here. He needs time to evaluate everything in the organization before going around firing people and making radical changes. After such a short amount of time, there is no way any of us fans really know how Ricketts is going to run the team long term. By the end of this offseason, it will begin to look clear, and by the next offseason we'll have a pretty good idea of how this team will be run and at that point we can judge how much he wants to win or how capable that is in his hands. I know losing is frustrating, but if you honestly thought we had a good shot of winning the WS this year no matter what we did, unless a lot of pieces fell perfectly into place, then you need to lower your expectations a bit. I completely agree we should be contending every year with our resources, but the blame is not on Ricketts, its on the general manager of this club.

 

Beyond a doubt, given the payroll, one could make a case this Cub team is one of the most poorly constructed, if not the worst, in the history of Baseball.

[Ballgame64]

Ricketts has had 3 years to evaluate things. The second they decided to enter the bidding for the team, I would think they were consulting with baseball people who had been successful building an organization. My gosh, did they only consult with Crane Kenney? Come on, quit making excuses for them. You don't just write a check on Monday for $845 million and take over the team on Tuesday. Each ownership group was asked to OK an extension for Jim Hendry, so it is not like they haven't been involved with the team before they officially took over the day-to-day control of the team.

 

In public, Ricketts says the right things about winning, but what are they doing to improve the team? I didn't expect them to come in with an open checkbook, but to keep Crane Kenney as President. That is ridiculous. Remember, Tom Ricketts himself has said numerous times, Hendry makes the call on the manager. So just what is Ricketts going to do about the product on the field, if he lets the same people run the baseball side of this business?

[Andy]

Ryan Theriot is absolute [expletive] garbage and there is no reason he should play ahead of Mike Fontenot for the foreseeable future. (I know he didn't play ahead of him today)

 

And if Tyler Colvin isn't in the lineup against the next righty we face...God, we are managed by such an inept senile old moron.

[RedFlash]

Same stuff, different day.

 

This team is very similar to last yrs team, in the since that you feel like a big hot arse streak is coming. But the problem is....that hot streak never came in 2009 and it is very likely won't happen this yr.

 

So....2011 is the year......right?

 

 

Prolly not.

[SouthSideRyan]

Crane Kenney has virtually nothing to do with the on field product

[Little Slide Rooter]

Castro has been w of maybe 3 semi consistant hitters on this team, so is it really wise to keep burying him at the 8 spot? Not that it matters considering how worthless the majority of this lineup is.

[Sammy Sofa]

And if Tyler Colvin isn't in the lineup against the next righty we face...God, we are managed by such an inept senile old moron.

 

Over which OF?

[bleedingblue]

 

In public, Ricketts says the right things about winning, but what are they doing to improve the team? I didn't expect them to come in with an open checkbook, but to keep Crane Kenney as President. That is ridiculous. Remember, Tom Ricketts himself has said numerous times, Hendry makes the call on the manager. So just what is Ricketts going to do about the product on the field, if he lets the same people run the baseball side of this business?

 

If Cubs fans stop going to Wrigley, he'll have no choice.

[Sammy Sofa]

 

In public, Ricketts says the right things about winning, but what are they doing to improve the team? I didn't expect them to come in with an open checkbook, but to keep Crane Kenney as President. That is ridiculous. Remember, Tom Ricketts himself has said numerous times, Hendry makes the call on the manager. So just what is Ricketts going to do about the product on the field, if he lets the same people run the baseball side of this business?

 

If Cubs fans stop going to Wrigley, he'll have no choice.

 

He has little choice this year. People aren't going to come out and spend more money just because he fires Hendry and/or Lou during the season. The actual team this year really can't be improved significantly unless the money is there or they're stupidly willing to start trading off their decent prospects.

[Andy]

And if Tyler Colvin isn't in the lineup against the next righty we face...God, we are managed by such an inept senile old moron.

 

Over which OF?

How 'bout the one who basically hasn't been hitting for 2 straight weeks or more?

[Sammy Sofa]

And if Tyler Colvin isn't in the lineup against the next righty we face...God, we are managed by such an inept senile old moron.

 

Over which OF?

How 'bout the one who basically hasn't been hitting for 2 straight weeks or more?

 

If it's just a spot start, fine, but it's not the best idea to push it further than that. Even with the slump Byrd is much more valuable out there because of his defense compared to Colvin.

[jersey cubs fan]

In public, Ricketts says the right things about winning, but what are they doing to improve the team? I didn't expect them to come in with an open checkbook, but to keep Crane Kenney as President. That is ridiculous. Remember, Tom Ricketts himself has said numerous times, Hendry makes the call on the manager. So just what is Ricketts going to do about the product on the field, if he lets the same people run the baseball side of this business?

 

What exactly would dumping Crane Kenney have done to improve the team this year?

[Ballgame64]

In public, Ricketts says the right things about winning, but what are they doing to improve the team? I didn't expect them to come in with an open checkbook, but to keep Crane Kenney as President. That is ridiculous. Remember, Tom Ricketts himself has said numerous times, Hendry makes the call on the manager. So just what is Ricketts going to do about the product on the field, if he lets the same people run the baseball side of this business?

 

What exactly would dumping Crane Kenney have done to improve the team this year?

So having someone above Jim Hendry who actually knows baseball isn't a good idea? Maybe having someone with the stones to fire the manager who admittingly says he doesn't know what to do? $4 million per year for the manager to act like he has given up.

 

Maybe it wouldn't help improve the team this year, but keeping Kenney sure isn't helping. As a fan, all I see is the status quo and that is not good enough. If I was the head of a group trying to purchase a franchise, I would have a plan in place for changes the first day I had control of the team and improving bathrooms would not have been high on the list. A winning team is the best fan experience, the best marketing plan and the best way to grow revenues.

[jersey cubs fan]

In public, Ricketts says the right things about winning, but what are they doing to improve the team? I didn't expect them to come in with an open checkbook, but to keep Crane Kenney as President. That is ridiculous. Remember, Tom Ricketts himself has said numerous times, Hendry makes the call on the manager. So just what is Ricketts going to do about the product on the field, if he lets the same people run the baseball side of this business?

 

What exactly would dumping Crane Kenney have done to improve the team this year?

So having someone above Jim Hendry who actually knows baseball isn't a good idea? Maybe having someone with the stones to fire the manager who admittingly says he doesn't know what to do? $4 million per year for the manager to act like he has given up.

 

Maybe it wouldn't help improve the team this year, but keeping Kenney sure isn't helping. As a fan, all I see is the status quo and that is not good enough. If I was the head of a group trying to purchase a franchise, I would have a plan in place for changes the first day I had control of the team and improving bathrooms would not have been high on the list. A winning team is the best fan experience, the best marketing plan and the best way to grow revenues.

 

Kenney runs the business side of the Chicago Cubs. Could it help to have a "baseball guy" as president, who would then hire a GM? Perhaps. But what's most important is the GM, and I don't really think Kenney mades the call there. His job is to keep revenue sterams flowing.

[Sammy Sofa]

In public, Ricketts says the right things about winning, but what are they doing to improve the team? I didn't expect them to come in with an open checkbook, but to keep Crane Kenney as President. That is ridiculous. Remember, Tom Ricketts himself has said numerous times, Hendry makes the call on the manager. So just what is Ricketts going to do about the product on the field, if he lets the same people run the baseball side of this business?

 

What exactly would dumping Crane Kenney have done to improve the team this year?

So having someone above Jim Hendry who actually knows baseball isn't a good idea? Maybe having someone with the stones to fire the manager who admittingly says he doesn't know what to do? $4 million per year for the manager to act like he has given up.

 

Maybe it wouldn't help improve the team this year, but keeping Kenney sure isn't helping. As a fan, all I see is the status quo and that is not good enough. If I was the head of a group trying to purchase a franchise, I would have a plan in place for changes the first day I had control of the team and improving bathrooms would not have been high on the list. A winning team is the best fan experience, the best marketing plan and the best way to grow revenues.

 

Except it's difficult to field a winning team if one of the main avenues of revenue is a dump that's literally falling apart. Wrigley had to be and still has to be improved and renovated and its revenue streams need to be capitalized on (like through more advertising). The Ricketts don't have bottomless pockets. They need to ideally set in place what is necessary to provide them with the revenue stream which would allow them to to keep the Cubs' payroll high. Your shortsighted focus as to what you think should be their first priority would be an exceedingly foolish way to run a business that they just dropped a massive amount of money on. How do you propose they field a winning team if they don't focus right away on the areas that will bring them the money to do so?

[Ballgame64]

Maybe something changed when Ricketts took over, but Hendry reported to Kenney after McDonough left.

 

Will firing Piniella now change the fortunes of the team? There are examples of this in recent baseball history but for the most part, the talent plays to its ability over 162 games. Personally, I think Lou mailed it in last year by mid-June. And while he might have been re-energized at the beginning of this year, he looks like he has mailed it in already. When his only answers are "I don't know and what are you going to do?" even though he could actually make line-up changes but would rather watch Lee and Ramirez fail all day against the immortal Russ Ohlendorf, I think a change needs to be made.

 

Change for the sake of change isn't necessarily good, but how will the family react to 15,000 no-shows or unsold tickets come September? Last time this happened, changes were made at the Pres level and Manager level. Will those include the GM this time? In my opinion, Ricketts needs to do something to shake up this team because I don't think Hendry will.