Ricketts respected amongst peers

[Men in Blue]

I agree with this but I will reverse my thoughts should Ricketts not make the obvious moves this off season.

 

From the article:

 

Buster Olney says that Cubs owner Tom Ricketts has greatly impressed executives with other teams. Olney also doesn't think the Cubs should go the free-agent route to fix things.

 

They think he's smart; they think he's a natural leader; they think he gets it. And Ricketts is going to need all of those skills in the years ahead, in placating Cubs fans thirsting for a winner.

 

The easiest thing in the world for Ricketts to do would be to go after Albert Pujols or Fielder and perhaps land one of those stars, but Fielder might be one more pricey Band-Aid for an organization already crippled by immovable long-term contracts

 

Read more: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/cubs-insider/2011/06/zambranos-last-rant-olney-ricketts-smart-owner.html#ixzz1OWfqfINp

[Banedon]

Oh come on, rival scouts? We all know this was David Kaplan....

 

Whether it's fair or not, Aramis Ramirez is regarded by some rival scouts as one of the most disinterested major leaguers in uniform.

[UMFan83]

Fans want the team fixed now, but its not Rickett's fault they are in this situation. He has his plan apparently, and he's sticking too it. I'm sure he realized the Cubs would suck this year and the fans would be turning against him, pressuring him to flip it around quickly....put some bandaids on it and fit it for 2-3 years. Basically how the Cubs, or more specifically Jim Hendry, has run the team since 2004.

 

It's not easy to be patient, especially when the team hasn't won in so long its a late night punchline, and all your rivals have won recently, etc. but what Ricketts is doing requires patience, and if that is his plan, I am willing to not judge him for awhile. The thing that scares me though is that there really isnt a ton of "baseball people" in the front office other than Hendry and his hand appointed staff. So basically the image I get of him is a life long fan embarking on a crazy plan to turn around the team in a world he is mostly unfamiliar with. But then again, its the people who usually do things like this unconventionally are the ones who end up being successful.

[Little Slide Rooter]

So you agree with the article stating that the Cubs shouldn't go after Pujols or Fielder, but you will change your mind if the Cubs don't make the right offseason moves, which would involve signing Pujols or Fielder.

[SouthSideRyan]

Do the people writing this stuff realize Pujols/Fielder won't be signing 1 year deals?

[Men in Blue]

So you agree with the article stating that the Cubs shouldn't go after Pujols or Fielder, but you will change your mind if the Cubs don't make the right offseason moves, which would involve signing Pujols or Fielder.

 

I will change my mind should Hendry and Quade be left in charge of our turnaround.

[Little Slide Rooter]

So you agree with the article stating that the Cubs shouldn't go after Pujols or Fielder, but you will change your mind if the Cubs don't make the right offseason moves, which would involve signing Pujols or Fielder.

 

I will change my mind should Hendry and Quade be left in charge of our turnaround.

 

So you dont think that the Cubs should go after the big name free agents next year? Sorry, but when your a big money, big market team, you dont just sit their and wait for the kids to grow up. You go out and sign the big free agents, and make some trades when needed and hopefully are lucky enough to pull some gems from the farm as the Yankees and Red Sox have done.

[Men in Blue]

So you agree with the article stating that the Cubs shouldn't go after Pujols or Fielder, but you will change your mind if the Cubs don't make the right offseason moves, which would involve signing Pujols or Fielder.

 

I will change my mind should Hendry and Quade be left in charge of our turnaround.

 

So you dont think that the Cubs should go after the big name free agents next year? Sorry, but when your a big money, big market team, you dont just sit their and wait for the kids to grow up. You go out and sign the big free agents, and make some trades when needed and hopefully are lucky enough to pull some gems from the farm as the Yankees and Red Sox have done.

 

I never said that. I said that Hendry and Quade can't be the guys leading this team. Of course we need to sign some FA's and make a trade or two. I think it goes without saying we need to do that.

[questionmarkgrace]

Free agents + homegrown talent = good team. Not just one or the other. You need to fill in the holes as they come up by the best means possible.

[Hawk4Hall]

I hope Ricketts likes all the empty seats in Wrigley this season. It will only get worse if it doesn't get better.

[UMFan83]

Maybe the implication is that Fielder and Pujols will only come here as part of a massive FA spree becuse they want to be in contention from day 1. Pujols isnt going to sign here if we tell him, he's it but maybe in 2-3 years our farm system will be built up enough to produce a winner.

 

The flipside to that is that they have to spend their money on some people, so might as well fill in the rsoter with 2-3 year contracts.

[Men in Blue]

Ken Rosenthal says Cubs in trouble:

 

Really, Ken?

 

 

Forget about signing a free agent such as the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols or Brewers’ Prince Fielder. The Cubs are so far gone, they are much more than one player away.

About a month ago, I argued that the team should retain general manager Jim Hendry, who is in the last year of his contract. I can’t see it happening now.

 

 

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/chicago-cubs-mess-just-getting-worse-ken-rosenthal-notes-analysis-060611

[Tryptamine]

Do the people writing this stuff realize Pujols/Fielder won't be signing 1 year deals?

 

This is one of the most annoying things that I encounter with the no Pujols/Fielder crowd. Elite talent gets long term/high dollar contracts. That's just the way it is. Combine that with the fact that Tex is locked up, Agon is locked up , Votto will be locked up, Howard is locked up and Cabrera is locked up long term. That doesn't leave the Cubs a whole lot of options if they want an impact bat at 1B.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Free agents + homegrown talent = good team. Not just one or the other. You need to fill in the holes as they come up by the best means possible.

Agreed. People talk about the Yankees and Red Sox just going out and buying their team, but there is a significant portion of their cores that come out of the farm.

 

If you look at the teams that build strictly through the farm system, theyre small market teams who if their lucky get a 2-3 year window to compete before the majority of their players start skipping town for bigger money and are maybe able to retain a few of them.

[Guest]

Maybe the implication is that Fielder and Pujols will only come here as part of a massive FA spree becuse they want to be in contention from day 1. Pujols isnt going to sign here if we tell him, he's it but maybe in 2-3 years our farm system will be built up enough to produce a winner.

 

The flipside to that is that they have to spend their money on some people, so might as well fill in the rsoter with 2-3 year contracts.

 

Unless Pujols/Fielder are the ones who think they're 2-3 years away, that's not really a big worry. Pujols and maybe two other good decisions and this team is probably the best in the division. Injuries have this team playing at a 65 game win pace, not their talent level.

[davearm2]

Maybe the implication is that Fielder and Pujols will only come here as part of a massive FA spree becuse they want to be in contention from day 1. Pujols isnt going to sign here if we tell him, he's it but maybe in 2-3 years our farm system will be built up enough to produce a winner.

 

The flipside to that is that they have to spend their money on some people, so might as well fill in the rsoter with 2-3 year contracts.

 

Unless Pujols/Fielder are the ones who think they're 2-3 years away, that's not really a big worry. Pujols and maybe two other good decisions and this team is probably the best in the division. Injuries have this team playing at a 65 game win pace, not their talent level.

The talent level may not be 65-wins bad, but it's still pretty bad. And definitely a big part of the problem.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

 

Unless Pujols/Fielder are the ones who think they're 2-3 years away, that's not really a big worry. Pujols and maybe two other good decisions and this team is probably the best in the division. Injuries have this team playing at a 65 game win pace, not their talent level.

 

They are Pujols and two mediocre decisions away from a *very* expensive 81-win team.

[Little Slide Rooter]

 

Unless Pujols/Fielder are the ones who think they're 2-3 years away, that's not really a big worry. Pujols and maybe two other good decisions and this team is probably the best in the division. Injuries have this team playing at a 65 game win pace, not their talent level.

 

They are Pujols and two mediocre decisions away from a *very* expensive 81-win team.

 

Theyre also Pujols and 2 good decisions away from a very expensive 90+ win team.

[Shawon12]

 

Unless Pujols/Fielder are the ones who think they're 2-3 years away, that's not really a big worry. Pujols and maybe two other good decisions and this team is probably the best in the division. Injuries have this team playing at a 65 game win pace, not their talent level.

 

They are Pujols and two mediocre decisions away from a *very* expensive 81-win team.

 

And, unfortunately, that should be good enough to fill the seats back up.

[Little Slide Rooter]

If anyone wants to hear an incredibly depressing outlook on the next 3-5 years of Cubs baseball, turn on The Score right about 5 minutes ago.

[Men in Blue]

If anyone wants to hear an incredibly depressing outlook on the next 3-5 years of Cubs baseball, turn on The Score right about 5 minutes ago.

 

Details?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

 

Unless Pujols/Fielder are the ones who think they're 2-3 years away, that's not really a big worry. Pujols and maybe two other good decisions and this team is probably the best in the division. Injuries have this team playing at a 65 game win pace, not their talent level.

 

They are Pujols and two mediocre decisions away from a *very* expensive 81-win team.

 

And, unfortunately, that should be good enough to fill the seats back up.

 

That's not unfortunate.

 

"Man, management is dumb. Let's choke the revenue stream, that'll show them. Less money is sure to lead to a better team..."

[Ballgame64]

I'd respect him too, especially if I was an executive of a team in the NL Central. I'd tell him to keep Crane Kenney and Jim Hendry forever.

[questionmarkgrace]

I'd respect him too, especially if I was an executive of a team in the NL Central. I'd tell him to keep Crane Kenney and Jim Hendry forever.

 

haha well said

[Little Slide Rooter]

If anyone wants to hear an incredibly depressing outlook on the next 3-5 years of Cubs baseball, turn on The Score right about 5 minutes ago.

 

Details?

 

Basically that the Cubs will suck for the next 3-5 years if not longer. We should trade Marmol because a team like the Cubs has no use for a closer. Also, that team is broke and will probably be lowering payroll to 90-100 mil if not 75 and then farm system sucks and the "pipeline is dry". These guys are far from experts, and anything they say is to be taken with a grain of salt, but its depressing stuff to hear none the less.