Attendance down

[dew1679666265]

Again, why wouldn't Ricketts have a cell phone, laptop, TV, blackberry, iPad, pager, phone in the hotel room or some other electronic device I have no idea exists but allows people to talk to each other over long distances as if they were in the same room?

 

Whatever he has, he apparently considers it inadequate as the meeting won't happen until he returns.

 

It actually wasn't inadequate because he knows about the situation and has scheduled a time to discuss it with his people. He's apparently determined there's not a pressing need to meet right now. I agree with that since Hendry/Bush (whose job it is to act) have suspended him.

 

We're playing a man down for the forseeable future whether they met this morning, right now, tomorrow, Monday or Friday.

 

Just out of curiosity, should a CEO ever take a vacation? Because there's not an "offseason" for a CEO.

 

Ricketts could take a trip in November and we wouldn't even notice. Going on safari during the two Sox series, when everything is magnified, was foolish at best.

 

There's probably much more stuff for him to be involved in during the offseason than the regular season (Wrigley renovations, far more deals take place, a decision on Lou/Hendry/etc, talks of a new stadium, endorsement deals, etc).

 

Most of what he would be doing during the regular season would make him a far more hands-on owner than I'd prefer.

[Sammy Sofa]

Damn, Cubs fans are a bunch of needy bitches.

[dew1679666265]

He's the owner of the team. He needs to be around during the season. Especially his first season. He's the owner of a MLB franchise, there's a [expletive] ton of stuff for him to do on a day to day basis every day of the year.

 

Such as? I'd rather he not be intricately involved in every transaction and most of the on-field decision making is (and should be) made by Hendry/Lou. There might be behind the scenes stuff to do during the season, but as N&G said, most of the family is involved in ownership and there's probably far more stuff for him to be involved with during the offseason.

 

Now, does that change anything with regard to Z, I don't think so. Does it change anything with regard to the way this season is unfolding, I don't think so either.

 

But one thing doesn't necessarily have to do with the other.

 

I don't see how the team plays better with him here and I don't see Z being calmer if Ricketts is in the States.

[Guest]

Damn, Cubs fans are a bunch of needy bitches.

That makes no sense at all.

[Sammy Sofa]

Damn, Cubs fans are a bunch of needy bitches.

That makes no sense at all.

 

Sure it does. I can understand people wanting him to be around for what's specifically gone down in the last 24 hours, but it's branched off into people basically saying that they want/need to see the owner all the time over the course of the season just because it's his first one as an owner. Why? It's such a whiny desire for something that's ultimately meaningless. People might as well be baying that they want to see Ricketts at all the games because it makes them feel warm and happy in their tummies; it's a desire for empty lip service/window dressing. If people simply want him to be more pro-active in situations like this, fine, but expecting him to just "be around" all the time is ridiculous.

[J.R.]

It actually wasn't inadequate because he knows about the situation and has scheduled a time to discuss it with his people. He's apparently determined there's not a pressing need to meet right now.

 

Good thing, as it's IMPOSSIBLE for them to meet given his exotic jaunt.

 

The dollar figures tied up in Z guarantee that there will be face-to-face meetings between the principals involved before something is done. This isn't like sending Stevens down, or DFAing Tracy.

 

There's probably much more stuff for him to be involved in during the offseason than the regular season (Wrigley renovations, far more deals take place, a decision on Lou/Hendry/etc, talks of a new stadium, endorsement deals, etc).

 

The offseason is a much more predictable time of year.

[J.R.]

Damn, Cubs fans are a bunch of needy bitches.

That makes no sense at all.

 

Sure it does. I can understand people wanting him to be around for what's specifically gone down in the last 24 hours, but it's branched off into people basically saying that they want/need to see the owner all the time over the course of the season just because it's his first one as an owner. Why? It's such a whiny desire for something that's ultimately meaningless. People might as well be baying that they want to see Ricketts at all the games because it makes them feel warm and happy in their tummies; it's a desire for empty lip service/window dressing. If people simply want him to be more pro-active in situations like this, fine, but expecting him to just "be around" all the time is ridiculous.

 

I don't expect to see him in Pittsburgh. I would be shocked to see him in the front row in Opa Locka.

 

I do think he should be present at two of the years' most high-profile series.

[Sammy Sofa]

Damn, Cubs fans are a bunch of needy bitches.

That makes no sense at all.

 

Sure it does. I can understand people wanting him to be around for what's specifically gone down in the last 24 hours, but it's branched off into people basically saying that they want/need to see the owner all the time over the course of the season just because it's his first one as an owner. Why? It's such a whiny desire for something that's ultimately meaningless. People might as well be baying that they want to see Ricketts at all the games because it makes them feel warm and happy in their tummies; it's a desire for empty lip service/window dressing. If people simply want him to be more pro-active in situations like this, fine, but expecting him to just "be around" all the time is ridiculous.

 

I don't expect to see him in Pittsburgh. I would be shocked to see him in the front row in Opa Locka.

 

I do think he should be present at two of the years' most high-profile series.

 

Exactly what I'm talking about.

[Guest]

Damn, Cubs fans are a bunch of needy bitches.

That makes no sense at all.

 

Sure it does. I can understand people wanting him to be around for what's specifically gone down in the last 24 hours, but it's branched off into people basically saying that they want/need to see the owner all the time over the course of the season just because it's his first one as an owner. Why? It's such a whiny desire for something that's ultimately meaningless. People might as well be baying that they want to see Ricketts at all the games because it makes them feel warm and happy in their tummies; it's a desire for empty lip service/window dressing. If people simply want him to be more pro-active in situations like this, fine, but expecting him to just "be around" all the time is ridiculous.

Who are these people of which you write? No one said they needed to see the owner all the time or that he had to be at every game.

 

I don't think there's anything he could do to stop what has happened. But he could be the one to stop this from blowing out of proportion. Sending that [expletive] Randy Bush to talk the press today was a very bad idea. It's kind of hard to calm the situation from Africa. It's not like he went to Boca..

[Sammy Sofa]

Damn, Cubs fans are a bunch of needy bitches.

That makes no sense at all.

 

Sure it does. I can understand people wanting him to be around for what's specifically gone down in the last 24 hours, but it's branched off into people basically saying that they want/need to see the owner all the time over the course of the season just because it's his first one as an owner. Why? It's such a whiny desire for something that's ultimately meaningless. People might as well be baying that they want to see Ricketts at all the games because it makes them feel warm and happy in their tummies; it's a desire for empty lip service/window dressing. If people simply want him to be more pro-active in situations like this, fine, but expecting him to just "be around" all the time is ridiculous.

Who are these people of which you write? No one said they needed to see the owner all the time or that he had to be at every game.

 

I don't think there's anything he could do to stop what has happened. But he could be the one to stop this from blowing out of proportion. Sending that [expletive] Randy Bush to talk the press today was a very bad idea. It's kind of hard to calm the situation from Africa. It's not like he went to Boca..

 

I'll ask again, did his sister also go on the trip? Tom is not the sole owner of the team, nor is he the only one involved in team operations.

[dew1679666265]

Good thing, as it's IMPOSSIBLE for them to meet given his exotic jaunt.

 

Do you know it's impossible? Or did he determine, rightly, that there was no need to take any more action than what Hendry (whose job it is to make these decisions) did? Hendry is paid to take care of the day-to-day operations of the team on the field. Ricketts will determine Z's future, but Hendry determined the action to take right now.

 

The dollar figures tied up in Z guarantee that there will be face-to-face meetings between the principals involved before something is done. This isn't like sending Stevens down, or DFAing Tracy.

 

Something has already been done. Z was suspended indefinitely. Unless Ricketts wants to cut Z immediately, then it's incredibly unlikely they'd take more action this week.

 

The offseason is a much more predictable time of year.

 

And also much busier for Ricketts with more stuff that needs to be done. I'd rather he be here for the stuff he needs to be personally involved in that we know is going to happen rather than the off chance that one of his players throws a fit.

[NCCubFan]

Wait, did the whole family go or just Tom? His sister is the co-owner and is also involved in the team's operations, so if only Tom went this is even less of a non-issue.

You mean even more of a non-issue (or even less of an issue).

[Sammy Sofa]

DON'T BOTHER ME WITH THE DETAILS.

[Sosa21MVP]

Damn, Cubs fans are a bunch of needy bitches.

 

Yeah I'm pretty amazed at all these strong reactions towards Ricketts taking a vacation. Owners don't run day to day baseball operations. They do what rich people do..........keep tabs on their stocks, roll around in piles of money, spend piles of money..........this irrational ranting about him going to Africa is just absurd.

[A New Era]

I don't care whether or not he takes a trip or not, or when he does. All I care about is that while he is owner the RIGHT moves are made for the Cubs. Be they trades, signings, or even non signings.

 

As nothing significant has happened yet under his control, I have no reason to bash the guy, yet. However he's gonna have alot of descisions to make this offseason. And they better be the right ones.

[illiniguy]

The only issue I have with Ricketts is the suggested $4 million dollar draft budget. He has spent the last year or so talking about building to make a better farm system. If you believe that fine, but if you're not gonna really do it, don't get our hopes up.

[Sammy Sofa]

How do any of us know they're not going to do it?

[illiniguy]

How do any of us know they're not going to do it?

We don't, but a small budget on the first draft has me a bit worried it was just talk.

[Guest]

Honestly, I don't care if the owner goes to Antarctica for the whole season. The further the owner stays away from meddling, the better off the organization should be. The only thing he can reasonably be expected to do is fire Hendry. If he's decided that he's not going to do that this season, that's perfectly reasonable, and if Hendry decided to rob a jewelry store or something, he's not the only owner, and is certainly able to receive communication and leave if he needs to.

 

I mean, if there has to be some sort of intervention regarding Z, do you really think that Ricketts is so essential that Hendry and Kenney wouldn't be sufficient? The Cubs were owned by a freaking faceless corporation for decades, why on earth would it be a problem now for one of the members of the family to go on vacation during the season?

[J.R.]

The Cubs were owned by a freaking faceless corporation for decades, why on earth would it be a problem now for one of the members of the family to go on vacation during the season?

 

For months, all we heard was that the Ricketts regime would be different. Maybe we weren't getting a Steinbrenner, but at the least I thought we'd have a Mclane.

[inari]

Again, what exactly do you think he should be doing in regards to this situation?

[J.R.]

Show up. Make a statement. Fire people.

 

I really want him to fire people.

[NCCubFan]

If he doesn't fire people after the season that might be a legitimate reason to get upset. Not firing people now isn't.

[Sammy Sofa]

If he doesn't fire people after the season that might be a legitimate reason to get upset. Not firing people now isn't.

 

Exactly. I'm ready to lay the hammer down in terms of criticizing if the Ricketts effectively do nothing this off season when it comes to getting rid of Hendry and other people that need to go in the front office, but until then I prefer this approach. I think an initial culling by a new ownership of the front office would have been stupid. I'm hoping this season is being spent determining who needs to stay and who needs to go instead just blindly dumping too many people and having to start from too far behind when it comes to rebuilding the front office. I also expected money to pretty tight the first year except in terms of starting work at Wrigley and if the Cubs had actually been decent and needed deadline help because they had a legitimate shot.

[davell]

Ricketts was the one that gave Hendry the extension through 2012, so while I totally expect Lou to be gone, I'm actually preparing myself for Hendry to still be here next year. I hope I'm wrong though.