Same as it ever was; money. Say something in the bargaining agreement is 'payment for time not played?’ due to the lockout? OR the luxury tax does get lower, or become a harder cap?
I don’t know how it does, but I bet they act/spend like it will.
I don’t have any other facts to point at beyond how they, Ricketts and Hoyer, have done business post-pandemic. Or, the lack of business they have done.
If they were going to spend money, it would have been in the Tucker year. They didn’t. They went cheap in FA, then went cheap at the deadline, keeping all that prospect capital.
Who are the least expensive employees? (Who released Schwarber!?)
Unfortunately, from what I see, the Cubs are not about winning as much as generating the greatest profit. They are a business, not a team. A spectacle that inhabits Wrigleyville and helps drive their surrounding properties.
I’m negative as horse-feathering-feathers about ownership and its willingness to attempt to win, or merely stay competitive.
I have no idea how it affects their bottom line, Rcal, but Tom Combover likes the clean books, like he likes to use tongue when he kisses ass, or so I’ve heard. So whether it does or not, Tom will make an excuse about ‘uncertainty’ or some feathered horsiness. Just my feeling.
Oh, also, I hope they trade Shaw. (Gonna just keep throwing that out there. C’mon universe!)