jersey cubs fan

Hey, cool story. The Pacers suck and that says absolutely nothing about how keeping Zambrano could conceivably cause the Cubs to suffer a net decline in revenue.

Artest wasn't the big problem (although the Pacers didn't give up on him immediately-it was only after he demanded to be traded that they sent him home and then out). It was Stephen Jackson, Shawne Williams, and especially Jamaal Tinsley that eventually brought it all tumbling down. They eventually got rid of all those guys (and told Tinsley to stay home for years without trading him or buying him out) but it was too late by that point. It was too late when they stopped winning games. The malcontents are just a convenient excuse for a bunch of racist rednecks.

Maybe so (although this next year they almost certainly won't be anywhere near boring with their core+immense cap space...of course the NBA might not have a season this year). I'm just basing this off of conversations I've had with people. Some of them I believe and some of them I don't. I believe it is possible for something other than losing to turn off a fan though. I don't think people are automatically fans for life, especially the casual side of the fanbase (which is probably 70% of most fanbases). I believe you are taking out of your behind. People aren't going to stay away from a winning Cubs team. The Oakland A's may struggle to draw support regardless of record because their stadium is horrible and it's in a horrible place. The Atlanta Braves may struggle to sell playoff tickets because Atlanta is quite possibly the worst major sports town in America. Southern cities may struggle to draw support for winning hockey teams because hockey in the South is still very much a new idea with no built in support. But the Chicago freaking Cubs are not going to suffer a net loss of revenue because they continue to employ a player with personality problems. If they continue to suck, they will continue to suffer financially. If they continue to focus on finding scapegoats insteady of stocking their roster with high quality players, they will probably continue to suck. But dumping Zambrano solves nothing and only opens up more short-to-intermediate-term holes.

Artest was suspended forever then traded. If those fans gave up on the team because of character issues and the perception that the team has no standards then what the hell good did it do to get rid of the guy? They gave up on the team because that was the last year they were over .500 and they've sucked since then.

They've been under .500 for 5 seasons. They were Eastern Conference finalists half the time in the 90's. Those blowhards you are talking to are full of crap. Besides, you are talking about a podunk town that struggles to support 2 sports franchises, none of which comes close to having the Cubs level of built in support. The Cubs aren't going to suffer a net decline in revenue because of the presence of Carlos Zambrano and it is pointless to pretend otherwise.

When? You may think that could theoretically happen, but there is absolutely no reason to pretend it's at all likely with the Cubs. The minute this team looks like a contender everybody will be on the bandwagon with or without a malcontent. Some blowhards may talk about giving up on the Cubs because Zambrano is still there, but they are liars and/or idiots, and easily replacable with the next round of success.

He's only got 12 losses, assuming he's only knocking her around a little each time there's no reason that can't continue in perpetuity.

I think the only question is the fanbase. The Cubs might decide that the hit to the fanbase from keeping Zambrano is worth more to them than the amount that Z can give you on the field. Otherwise there's no reason why they couldn't make up again. I don't even know what that possible hit could be. Zambrano's presence isn't going to create a net loss in revenue.

Ken Rosenthal was my favorite, and the Pedro Gomez hair.

I don't understand the silly notion that they are past the point of no return. There's no reason why they can't make up again. It was stupid to pay him to go away before and it's stupid now. The guy talked about retirement in private and changed his mind within hours. You can't force a guy to retire. You can't force him to take a buyout. The Cubs are on the hook.

The delays during the season were huge red flags, and if they are still coming up this summer, it is a very bad sign.

Can they rename that camp after a guy who didn't fall apart the year after doing it?

It would be like if Ryno had stayed on and become bench coach. I think everyone is staying. I think we're going to hear some awful stuff about the team having come together and starting to play up to its capability now that people are back from injuries, we're going to hear about how great the draft was (and it was), and that it's going to be Hendry/Quade for 2012. Actually, Ryno as bench coach made sense, and so does Hendry as scout. Olders GMs move into scouting all the time. He's not an up and comer who has been earning promotions. He's been in his position for a decade, he's older, has had health problems and is under contract. If he wants the money he is owed, he will stay on in whatever capacity they want him. Nobody is going to be banging down his down to lead their team.

That argument was completely incoherent. It made absolutely no sense. He knew it, too, which is why he devolved into simply pandering to the fanbase, telling them how great they are and how they deserve a title more than anything. What a [expletive] joke. The problem is you know it worked for 85% of the fanbase. Well, that 85% probably was already on his side, this just reinforced their support. I'm not sure he knew the argument made no sense. The guy went right into baseball after high school. He's not all that educated and it seemed to me he believe what he was saying. He defended it, poorly, but he defended it nonetheless. He's just a dumb guy who buys into the rah-rah nature of the sport and probably has a lot of jealousy toward players who were much better than he ever was.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-cubs-ricketts-pans-boises-minor-league-park-20110816,0,6001109.story Maybe they are just going to move the short season team out of Boise.

He said they were going to start with some upgrades to Wrigley, and they did. He said they were going to spend money to acquire prospects and they have. He said he was sticking with Hendry and he has for quite a while. What have you heard that he hasn't followed up on?

I would do it in a heartbeat, but I'd be surprised if somebody traded a pick for him. Maybe a 7?

It's one day. I don't think Hanie needs as many as possible. Cutler needs as many as possible, and if he goes down the team is screwed regardless. There's nothing wrong with a few days of Enderle eating into Hanie's reps.

So you want Crane Kenney and Gillick working side by side in the front office? I mean I'm not completely against that but I'd assume that they don't want to pay 2 people for pretty much the same position, even if Gillick is a pure baseball guy and Kenney is a purse business guy. I think he was referring to the insistence on calling Kenney a cockroach. He's survived 3 team presidents and 2 owners so I'd say he has cockroach-like qualities. I mean yeah, there is definitely. But the Cubs have had one of the smallest front offices in baseball for awhile. Not sure if Ricketts has a desire to change that or not. Who knows. The guy has been atop the Cubs masthead shorter than Hendry. He was elavated to his current position after McDonough left.

Martz on Hanie: I don't have a problem with Enderle getting a few of Hanie's snaps in week 2 and Hanie being pressured to improve. It's not like Caleb is the future of this organization or likely to stay around very long anyway. But going into the season, he's got to be the primary backup.

So you want Crane Kenney and Gillick working side by side in the front office? I mean I'm not completely against that but I'd assume that they don't want to pay 2 people for pretty much the same position, even if Gillick is a pure baseball guy and Kenney is a purse business guy. I think he was referring to the insistence on calling Kenney a cockroach. And there's plenty of room at the top of a sports team for a business executive and a baseball executive. But Ricketts has said he sees no reason to have a baseball person overlooking his baseball person.

Acknowledging that we could be putting way too much emphasis on "direction of the franchise" as a particular quote, how in the world is Wrigley renovation part of "direction of the franchise"? How is it not? The stadium is both a massive liability and a tremendous source of revenue. It was probably the one issue most discussed by Ricketts early on in terms of what his plans for the franchise were, but its status remains in limbo.

I think it's about finding the right scapegoat. Sometimes the goat presents itself, sometimes you have to go out hunting for one. This is easier.

Back to the scene of the crime for Cutler, hope he doesn't have any bad flashbacks or crap his pants. If free tickets fall into my lap I might consider attending, otherwise, probably not.

My money has been on Hendry staying put, so I'm going to assume this is much ado about nothing. Either we'll hear he's not really going to make a big announcement, or the announcement will be reshuffling the deck chairs.