Rickett's comments on his team

[SouthSideRyan]

So you think the Cubs are worth 245M...

 

I think Ricketts gets a big old incomplete. The debt issue pertains to the actual purchase, he's not McCourting the club into debt

[Guest]

Remember when Ricketts said he was going to divert payroll money to scouting and development? Yeah, Ricketts stated those intentions in a letter to season-ticket holders just before Suprisingly Still Employed General Manager Jim Hendry traded three prospects for Matt Garza.

 

That's the best statement of all, and indicative of a ship with no rudder. Even if one thinks Garza is a top of the line pitcher, it's still not a good trade given the ML talent levle and expected direction of the franchise. The fact that Garza is "only" 29 is meanigless. He's due for big, big raises in the near future.

[SouthSideRyan]

The fact that Garza is 29 is meanginless? Prospects exist to be cost-effective players in the majors as well as to turn into ready-made good-great major leaguers. They probably overpaid a little, but the fact that they traded prospects for a major league player that isn't Evan Longoria doesn't mean they aren't committed to developing the farm system.

[CubColtPacer]

Remember when Ricketts said he was going to divert payroll money to scouting and development? Yeah, Ricketts stated those intentions in a letter to season-ticket holders just before Suprisingly Still Employed General Manager Jim Hendry traded three prospects for Matt Garza.

 

That's the best statement of all, and indicative of a ship with no rudder. Even if one thinks Garza is a top of the line pitcher, it's still not a good trade given the ML talent levle and expected direction of the franchise. The fact that Garza is "only" 29 is meanigless. He's due for big, big raises in the near future.

 

Garza's only 27. And yes, he's due for big raises in the future. If his pitching is worthy of that, so what? And the Cubs still control him for 3 more years so they have a lot of options with what to do with him. The Cubs appear to be building for either 2012 or 2013 and Garza will be a part of both of those years. If those years don't work out, the Cubs can always turn around and trade him.

[questionmarkgrace]

So you think the Cubs are worth 245M...

 

I think Ricketts gets a big old incomplete. The debt issue pertains to the actual purchase, he's not McCourting the club into debt

 

No I meant half of what he paid for it, which is quite the loss.

 

Yes I realize the debt is from the purchase. But when the stadium half full it becomes an issue to pay back what was borrowed

[Guest]

Hendry sold high on some of his prospects and got a 27 year old under control for 3 years that's been the best pitcher in baseball this side of Roy Halladay this year. This is apparently an indictment of the organization?

[SouthSideRyan]

So you think the Cubs are worth 245M...

 

I think Ricketts gets a big old incomplete. The debt issue pertains to the actual purchase, he's not McCourting the club into debt

 

No I meant half of what he paid for it, which is quite the loss.

 

Yes I realize the debt is from the purchase. But when the stadium half full it becomes an issue to pay back what was borrowed

 

You said he bought the Cubs for half of what they're worth, so fine let's subtract the 180 from 845(total purchase price of Cubs + Wrigley + CSN share) and you've got 665. You think the Cubs were worth 333M??

[jersey cubs fan]

Hendry sold high on some of his prospects and got a 27 year old under control for 3 years that's been the best pitcher in baseball this side of Roy Halladay this year. This is apparently an indictment of the organization?

 

Come on. The basic point stands but no reason to exaggerate.

[jersey cubs fan]

So you think the Cubs are worth 245M...

 

I think Ricketts gets a big old incomplete. The debt issue pertains to the actual purchase, he's not McCourting the club into debt

 

No I meant half of what he paid for it, which is quite the loss.

 

Yes I realize the debt is from the purchase. But when the stadium half full it becomes an issue to pay back what was borrowed

 

You said he bought the Cubs for half of what they're worth, so fine let's subtract the 180 from 845(total purchase price of Cubs + Wrigley + CSN share) and you've got 665. You think the Cubs were worth 333M??

 

What the hell kind of math are you people discussing?

[Guest]

Hendry sold high on some of his prospects and got a 27 year old under control for 3 years that's been the best pitcher in baseball this side of Roy Halladay this year. This is apparently an indictment of the organization?

 

Come on. The basic point stands but no reason to exaggerate.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2011&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0

 

Whoops, Hamels snuck in there too.

[SouthSideRyan]

So you think the Cubs are worth 245M...

 

I think Ricketts gets a big old incomplete. The debt issue pertains to the actual purchase, he's not McCourting the club into debt

 

No I meant half of what he paid for it, which is quite the loss.

 

Yes I realize the debt is from the purchase. But when the stadium half full it becomes an issue to pay back what was borrowed

 

You said he bought the Cubs for half of what they're worth, so fine let's subtract the 180 from 845(total purchase price of Cubs + Wrigley + CSN share) and you've got 665. You think the Cubs were worth 333M??

 

What the hell kind of math are you people discussing?

 

QMG said Ricketts paid twice what the Cubs are worth. The purchase was 845M for Cubs/Wrigley/25% of CSN. He posted a link referencing that the CSN share was valued at 180M back when Zell was owner. (845-180)/2 = what QMG apprasies the worth of the Cubs as.

[jersey cubs fan]

Hendry sold high on some of his prospects and got a 27 year old under control for 3 years that's been the best pitcher in baseball this side of Roy Halladay this year. This is apparently an indictment of the organization?

 

Come on. The basic point stands but no reason to exaggerate.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2011&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0

 

Whoops, Hamels snuck in there too.

 

And 5 others.

[jersey cubs fan]

So you think the Cubs are worth 245M...

 

I think Ricketts gets a big old incomplete. The debt issue pertains to the actual purchase, he's not McCourting the club into debt

 

No I meant half of what he paid for it, which is quite the loss.

 

Yes I realize the debt is from the purchase. But when the stadium half full it becomes an issue to pay back what was borrowed

 

You said he bought the Cubs for half of what they're worth, so fine let's subtract the 180 from 845(total purchase price of Cubs + Wrigley + CSN share) and you've got 665. You think the Cubs were worth 333M??

 

What the hell kind of math are you people discussing?

 

QMG said Ricketts paid twice what the Cubs are worth. The purchase was 845M for Cubs/Wrigley/25% of CSN. He posted a link referencing that the CSN share was valued at 180M back when Zell was owner. (845-180)/2 = what QMG apprasies the worth of the Cubs as.

 

Okay, that was confusing before.

[SouthSideRyan]

#2 on a per/start basis.

[Guest]

Quote is from questionmarkgrace

 

Yes we have spent a bit more else where, but Simpson was an unjustified pick, not even in the top 200. We didnt have nearly the number of overslot players as in previous years, and we spent, comparatively nothing to other teams in Latin America last year. So sure, we went and got two or three guys from korea for a million or so, its still less overall than in past years with the trib. And perhaps more misguided spending given how few korean prospects have actually panned out.

 

The Cubs ended up spending around the middle of teams on the draft last year. They did pay Szczur 1.5 million so they weren't just in money saving mode. And while they didn't spend a lot in the Dominican, they paid 2 million for two Cuban players along with all their money in Korea. I doubt if you took their international signings and draft signings that it was less than the years with the Trib. And while they didn't get many players from Latin America last year, they announced a major investment to upgrade their facilities down there to hopefully become more competitive in the future.

 

The Cubs spent $4.16 million last year on international amateur signings, which was the 7th most in baseball: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/international-affairs/2011/2611345.html

 

That $4.16 million doesn't count $1.75 million doled out to 3 Cuban defectors (Silva, Cabeza & Serrano) since they weren't amateurs. And all of this in a very down year in their biggest international stomping grounds, South Korea (after the Cubs signed their Korean prospect, no one signed another Korean for 10 months).

[TruffleShuffle]

Bruce Miles just posted an article about a regime change it was a good read, I'd post a link but for some reason I can't copy the link from the tweet on my iPad. Hiring Schurholtz as president was an idea I really liked.

 

http://dailyherald.com/article/20110602/sports/706029870/

 

bruce mentions gillick and schuerholz like they're just sitting around waiting for the cubs to call and offer them a job. gillick voluntarily retired after a very successful run as GM of the phillies and is almost 74 years old. schuerholz is 70 and has been with the braves forever. it's certainly worth kicking their tires, but is schuerholz going to leave a very successful organization at his advanced age? will gillick want to come out of retirement to fix the cubs?

 

i also don't agree with the idea that the rest of cubs management is tied to jim hendry. if you want to keep wilken around, then just offer him the money to stay. same with fleita (though he can F off as far as i'm concerned). who cares about randy bush.

[jersey cubs fan]

Bruce Miles just posted an article about a regime change it was a good read, I'd post a link but for some reason I can't copy the link from the tweet on my iPad. Hiring Schurholtz as president was an idea I really liked.

 

http://dailyherald.com/article/20110602/sports/706029870/

 

bruce mentions gillick and schuerholz like they're just sitting around waiting for the cubs to call and offer them a job. gillick voluntarily retired after a very successful run as GM of the phillies and is almost 74 years old. schuerholz is 70 and has been with the braves forever. it's certainly worth kicking their tires, but is schuerholz going to leave a very successful organization at his advanced age? will gillick want to come out of retirement to fix the cubs?

 

i also don't agree with the idea that the rest of cubs management is tied to jim hendry. if you want to keep wilken around, then just offer him the money to stay. same with fleita (though he can F off as far as i'm concerned). who cares about randy bush.

 

I agree with your second point. If you want those people you can keep them. As for the "baseball person", an older guy isn't much of a problem if you are talking about the person who is basically in charge of hiring your next GM. Kenney is running the business, the other guy is more or less an advisor you pay a chunk of change to make sure your baseaball team goes in the right direction.

[Hawk4Hall]

The Rickett's kept Hendry this season. That alone tells me they know nothing.

 

Not to mention they think Wrigley itself will bring fans. Nevermind the terrible product on the field.

 

I wasn't a fan of them getting the Cubs and hate it more now.

[Tarver]

Bruce Miles just posted an article about a regime change it was a good read, I'd post a link but for some reason I can't copy the link from the tweet on my iPad. Hiring Schurholtz as president was an idea I really liked.

 

http://dailyherald.com/article/20110602/sports/706029870/

 

bruce mentions gillick and schuerholz like they're just sitting around waiting for the cubs to call and offer them a job. gillick voluntarily retired after a very successful run as GM of the phillies and is almost 74 years old. schuerholz is 70 and has been with the braves forever. it's certainly worth kicking their tires, but is schuerholz going to leave a very successful organization at his advanced age? will gillick want to come out of retirement to fix the cubs?

 

i also don't agree with the idea that the rest of cubs management is tied to jim hendry. if you want to keep wilken around, then just offer him the money to stay. same with fleita (though he can F off as far as i'm concerned). who cares about randy bush.

 

Yeah, I don't understand everyone's hysteria over the thought of losing Wilkens. Just give him a raise.

[dew1679666265]

Hendry sold high on some of his prospects and got a 27 year old under control for 3 years that's been the best pitcher in baseball this side of Roy Halladay this year. This is apparently an indictment of the organization?

 

Come on. The basic point stands but no reason to exaggerate.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2011&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0

 

Whoops, Hamels snuck in there too.

 

And 5 others.

 

He's third (behind Halladay and Hamels) if you sort by xFIP. He is seventh sorting by WAR, however, which is the way TT's link was sorted.

[dew1679666265]

Yeah, I don't understand everyone's hysteria over the thought of losing Wilkens. Just give him a raise.

 

If Wilken decides to leave upon Hendry's firing because of loyalty, he may not simply decide to stay because you offer him more money.

 

However, whatever your opinion of Wilken/Fleita/Bush, they shouldn't be the only reason you keep Hendry around. If, in theory, it were a close decision they could be the tipping point to keep him if you like him, but if the Ricketts are convinced Hendry should go, they shouldn't change their mind simply to keep any of those three.

[TruffleShuffle]

Yeah, I don't understand everyone's hysteria over the thought of losing Wilkens. Just give him a raise.

 

If Wilken decides to leave upon Hendry's firing because of loyalty, he may not simply decide to stay because you offer him more money.

 

However, whatever your opinion of Wilken/Fleita/Bush, they shouldn't be the only reason you keep Hendry around. If, in theory, it were a close decision they could be the tipping point to keep him if you like him, but if the Ricketts are convinced Hendry should go, they shouldn't change their mind simply to keep any of those three.

 

why would wilken have some special loyalty to hendry? wilken had no connection with hendry before he was hired 5 years ago. if he gets mad because the cubs fire a GM who had done a mediocre job for 9 years then so be it. wilken hasn't done such an overwhelmingly great job that he can just quit in a huff and get a similar position with a good organization.

[dew1679666265]

why would wilken have some special loyalty to hendry? wilken had no connection with hendry before he was hired 5 years ago. if he gets mad because the cubs fire a GM who had done a mediocre job for 9 years then so be it. wilken hasn't done such an overwhelmingly great job that he can just quit in a huff and get a similar position with a good organization.

 

I have no idea why he'd be so loyal to Hendry, but that's what the reports have been saying. From Bruce's article to numerous others prior to it, Bush/Fleita/Wilken are Hendry loyalists and would leave if he's fired.

 

And I agreed with the rest of your post in mine. Keeping or firing Hendry shouldn't be based on Wilken.

[JeffH]

...Bush/Fleita/Wilken are Hendry loyalists...

 

Why wouldn't they be? It would be great to work for a guy who didn't judge you on unreasonable things like performance.

[Sammy Sofa]

JeffH is going to be sooooo disappointed for the rest of his life and then die angry.