Cubs Week In Review: Ricketts Speaks, Coaching Carousel Churns Forward

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To paraphrase Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch, only one team's season ends in anything but misery. That sentiment informed the tenor of this past week for the Cubs, as the man himself, Tom Ricketts, spoke up in another busy week for the North Siders. Let's dive in to see how it all went down.

Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

"The work is underway to close the gap to make the Cubs a perennial playoff team.". Thus were the opening remarks of Tom Ricketts' second paragraph of his annual address. These comments echo with resounding curiosity given the team's seemingly crippling aversion to spending. The remaining teams battling for the World Series crown have over $300 million in payroll to dole out. Two of the most notorious spenders, the Yankees and Dodgers, are prohibitive favorites to meet for the Fall Classic in about a week.

How do Ricketts and his brain trust intend to close this glaring gap? While it remains to be seen whether or not the club finally starts spending the money necessary to be a serious contender, Ricketts, along with Jed Hoyer, adamantly believes the talent already exists within the organization. "Jed, Carter, and our team of coaches, analysts, scouts, and strategists have created one of the top player development groups in the game today...". While it's certainly true that the franchise boasts some serious firepower coming through the pipeline, the Cubs were profoundly lacking in power-hitting and completely went off the rails in run production through the middle of the season. The answers can't simply come from within with another attractive crop of free agents waiting in the offseason wings.

Perhaps knowledge of this fact informed the club's decision to bring the baseball legend Jerry Weinstein into the fold. Weinstein, 81, has a yet unspecified new role with the Cubs, but he is well known for his prowess as a catching expert and most recently served with the Colorado Rockies. If he does work with the catchers, the Cubs stand much to gain as Miguel Amaya and in-season acquisition Tomas Nido failed to provide any real stability at that position. 

As Craig Counsell pieces his ideal coaching staff together, he and his club mutually parted ways with third base coach Willie Harris. A staff member since 2021, Harris served under former Cubs' manager David Ross. Harris also spent time with teams like the Mets, Nationals, Reds, and Orioles. Key base running decisions led to a plethora of major inflection points for the Cubs this past season. It always seemed as if he held runners when he should have sent them and sent runners when he should have held them. The individual who fills this vacancy will come into a situation with plenty of speed on the base pads with guys like Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner, but hopefully, more help is on the way. 

With another week of heavy activity in the books for the Cubbies, it's now clearer than ever that the franchise knows their approach must shift drastically to get back on the postseason schedule—time to fill in the gaps. 

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