Magnetic Curses

http://blog.peterkupfer.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/stoney2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v519/suleyman21/Burns_on_the_19th_century_woodcut.jpg

theo is hired and introduced, brings out sandberg, who is now back with his ex-wife/handler/manager cindy. Sandberg walks around the stage a little bit, francona, wearing a balck leather jacket in the stands, jumps over the barrier while ryno's back is turned and hits him with brass knuckles. theo smashes him with a chair, cindy kisses francona and epstein as dave martinez is announced as the new manager. ryno is spray-painted and leg-dropped by theo and fade to black, credits.

doing a drive by on the cardinals.

coupe de ville?

"Ryno, stand there on the top step of the dugout with that chin held high like a superhero, thinking about whatever people like you think about, high school, bruce sutter, mark grace in a jock strap. i really don't care."

with theo in charge and sandberg as manager, ryno becomes an almost heroic figure again.

do you have a milk carton in your back seat full of onion gravy?

the caption under the picture reads "Theo Epstein, left" haha

A mid-level prospect? They'd want Brett Jackson for Anibal Sanchez. well, if they think they'll get brett jackson they're [expletive] crazy.

eat all of z's contract and colvin for anibal sanchez. we'd need pitching in return.

if something breaks, the threat title will change

well, that's certainly a load off of everyone's mind. i'm glad you're fine with a team you have no financial stake in spending money.

He's right, though. Most of those acquisitions have been more of a hindrance than a help. Yes, they at least managed to get production out of some of them, but they could've gotten similar or better production for less money (that's not to say that every major FA signing they've made has been a flop, but most have). just because the money wasn't efficiently spent, doesn't mean that it was unnecessary. that fact is, having more money and having a higher payroll gives you more margin for error and gives you the ability to take high-dollar risks, even if 1 in 5 pan out and help you win a world series. i'd rather have that ability than have to wait on 10 prospects.

Then pursue someone other than Epstein. The Red Sox formula for success and creating teams that are continually competitive this past decade was a combination of big spending and smart Moneyball-esque team building and farm development. The Cubs farms system is nowhere near what the Rays' and Twins' are and what the Red Sox' has been (and making it better should obviously be a huge goal, but not at the expense of the Cubs spending like they're a much, much smaller market team than they actual are). The Red Sox' success has been driven almost entirely by their smart Moneyball-esque team building and farm development. More often than not their big spending has been a massive failure -- Lackey, Dice-K, JD Drew, Lugo, etc. It's clear (to me anyway) that Ricketts covets Epstein for the former skill, and not for his history of spending in free agency. Yes, massive failures like Johnny Damon, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz (yes, I know how they got Ortiz. They still ended up paying him a [expletive] of money) (and yes, I know Epstein wasn't behind all of those signings. The point is that the Red Sox spent big money in addition to their smart player development to get them to where they've been the past decade). also, this has nothing to do with the point, but epstein didn't even know who youkilis was until beane started lusting after him.

They're taken from Cots. If they're not spot on, they're as good as any other source's. The point surely doesn't change if you tweak the numbers. i wonder what their payrolls were between 1945 and 1984.

wow, he's really done his homework! When there's no new news, just repeat the old stuff with enthusiasm. come on, theo being at the top of the list is pullitzer-type stuff. he's close, he's really really close. through the looking-glass close.

wow, he's really done his homework!

flop flop flop

Because we still have a young and healthy Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and Matt Clement. Get with the program. it was also before z became a drag queen.

why post the exceptions and not the rules? thanks, i'd rather compete every year. The rule that seems to matter most is spending wisely yields results. Lots of teams spend a lot but have little to show for it (Cubs Dodgers Mets etc). Your premise that having a huge payroll is a prerequisite to being competitive is fundamentally flawed. and lots of teams put a lot of effort into not spending and still end up with their dicks in their hands. what's your point?

why post the exceptions and not the rules? thanks, i'd rather compete every year.

He's a Chicago sports guy who apparently doesn't know anything if he thinks the payroll is 100M I don't think he's saying that he said it is currently $100M, but that it's supposed to stay at $100M henceforth. Hope not. that would also mean never being in the mix for any top free agent, which would mean literally waiting years for players to develop in order to field a competitive team. ricketts knows he needs to compete NOW and that we are no longer willing to wait. fans have already started to desert. seriously half the fans will leave and the other half will hate him with a passion. i'm really not in the mood to wait until this system starts producing great players, i will give up the game.

if ricketts sets the payroll at 100 million per year, he's going to get run out of town on a rail, i don't care who he hires as GM. both boston and new york invest heavily in their systems, but both have large payrolls. the cubs will not be able to compete year-in-year-out with such a small payroll. and i'm sure epstein will be interested to see what he's being saddled with before he comes. 100 million, sure. ricketts would have to spend the rest of the payroll savings in 24 hour personal security.

no fear

weak. game over