Hey Kool-Aid!!!

Ahhh, yes, it's Cub Fan Convention weekend again.

Hope springs eternal.

Theo's stalker is locked away and it reminds me again that on our adults-getaway trip to the Dominican Republic this past November, all the help at the hotel only knew two things about Chicago.

Sammy Sosa and Alfonso Soriano.  Gee, thanks for that, you can keep them.  In fact, they'd make good bartenders and vibe managers.  Go for it sparky!!

Well, I said it last year and I'll say it again this year.  It probably can't get worse and, we're starting to see that Theo, Jed, Jethro and Granny aren't afraid to shake it up so that if it does all go boom, well, they can fully take the blame OR (hopefully) the credit.

But I am hopeful.

• Hopeful that they they win more than 61 this year.
• Hopeful that they might find something called a reliable closer and solid mid-relief bullpen.
• Hopeful that they can offload Alfonso sooner than later in the season even though he keeps insisting he's here for the last 2 years of his contract.
• Hopeful that a team of no-namers (for the most part) can beat the rest of the malaise that is the National League.  It really shouldn't be that tough.
• Hopeful that Samardzija doesn't think that a fake girlfriend is going to win him any awards.  He's the Shark, not the Catfish.
• Hopeful that I really don't hate the fact that they've brought back Dontrelle Willis too too much; that is, if he can even make the squad this year.
• Hopeful that Robin Yount realizes that most guns of any kind are illegal in Chicago and to keep his hunting exploits of accidentally shooting Dale Sveum only on their trips.
• Hopeful that Jim Deshaies isn't too much of a homer like Brenly but also that he realizes that he's really the ATBNL (announcer to be named later) in the fake firing of Milo Hamilton in 1984 which really was a trade to the Astros.
• Hopeful that the new guys Valbuena and Jackson earn the money that they're getting paid and don't sit back and suck it up.  Valbuena is only on a one-year contract (wow, see THAT Jim Hendry, you can do that in MLB) so management is playing it smart where they can.
• and finally, Hopeful that I can get to 2 or 3 games this year.   After a 11-year run, we didn't renew.  Not because we didn't want to but frankly, when they suck this bad, no one wants to own 25% of a season ticket and further many people don't want to buy the tickets off of you and would rather you'd just gift them away.

I know I can be a real negative nancy at times.  I used to have this nickname called the "Angry Fan" because frankly, I demand more.  I demand more for the 3+ generations of my family that have loved the organization and want demons to be put to rest especially in the face of continually increased pricing in tickets.

There was roughly a three year plan with Theo and this would be season number two.  80-85 wins would be a good way to test whether or not this three year plan is in full motion.  You usually need 90+ to get to the playoffs, so just missing and being in the hunt so the ballpark is 95% full in September is a really good indicator.

We'll see.  I'll still be watching although forgive me if I just take a couple more games this year watching the Class A club for the Cubs, the Kane County Cougars.  Another indicator of the future is the farm system.  It's been a bit of a wasteland as of late, the Cougars will be a good litmus test.

Missed Opportunity!!

Now I wish I had paid for our Cubs 2011 Season Tix with a check last year.  The autographed ball we would have gotten with Tyler Colvin, Andrew Cashner and Starlin Castro, the young superstars of the Jim Hendry era truly would now be a collector's piece.

In the 2010 year-end summary from Tom Ricketts an entire paragraph was this:

The 2010 highlights revolved around our home grown talent.  Starlin Castro, Tyler Colvin and Andrew Cashner developed into budding stars, with Castro and Colvin in the NL Rookie of the Year discussion.  That young group was enhanced by the August promotion of Casey Coleman, who went 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA in his last four starts. All need to take the next step in 2011, but we are very encouraged to have a group of young, home grown players emerge as regulars in 2010.

Colvin is now in Cincinnati (12/8/2011 trade), Cashner is off to San Diego (1/6/2012 trade), and Castro might lose his work visa if convicted of felony rape.

Oh well, lost money.  Maybe next year.

AC0265102

Although the sign outside of Right Field doesn't get changed until the last day of the season, and frankly who knows if it will still be there next year as I heard the rooftop company who runs it is in bankruptcy, I will formally change the Anno Catuli on my blog to the next set of numbers since as of late Monday night with the Cincinnati win (ugh Dusty), the Cubs were eliminated from post season play.

Props to my buddy over at Aisle 424 who summed up the reaction to things around the ballpark by the fanbase this way.  Yep it seems we've cared more about a Toyota sign, moving the Harry Caray statue to outside the bleachers to make way for the Billy Williams statue which appropriately is in right, and a promotional noodle.  But this happens when, even before the year started, we knew the product on the field was going to be lacking.

I'm FREQUENTLY accused of being the "angry fan" but it's not anger people, it's reality.  Most of my close friends know that even at the height of the most recent Bears/Packers venom years (80's) I was realistic enough to know when we didn't have a team and humble enough to appreciate the years where we did.  ..and yeah, you friends of mine on the South Side know the same as well.

I know the Ricketts are solid "fans" and successful "businessmen" but putting the marriage of those two terms together is an extremely difficult challenge no matter how much money you have and how brilliant everyone thinks you are.

I think their lack of immediate baseball "corporate" knowledge has them clinging on to the Jim Hendry's of the world and unfortunately it's something the fanbase will have to tolerate for another year or so.

I just hope they don't drink the Kool-Aid so much so that they rely heavily on every single person around them right now.  Most of them are clinging on for dear life for their jobs.  They will 'yes' their way to the Ricketts on every decision and try to sell them their own version of what the future looks like.

If they are the shrewd business people they are, they WILL see through this and not sign anyone either in the corporation or on the field to very long term contracts right now INCLUDING the new Manager.  They need the flexibility to move quickly and not be hampered by tied up financials (which is exactly what they've inherited).  Time will tell, but I will keep the faith in them.

It's no secret I really wanted Mark Cuban to own the team and with that you get the fiery owner with all of its carnival show but he still hasn't delivered a championship in Dallas yet although he's been awfully close.  But fiery owners get shut down by the majority of others and find trouble in league matters.  Ditka (not an owners but fiery) found this out in New Orleans and over time Steinbrenner changed up his tactics to bring the Yankees back to success.

But if this is a eulogy of sorts on the 2010 season, I can't stand up there and say how bright and talented it was or how we will miss it so much it'll hurt our hearts or how it can never be replaced.  It stunk, I hated it and I'll be glad in 20-something days when its finally over.  Bury it, put it on a wood raft, set it on fire and send it out into the ocean.

"Year Two" already started (bet you forgot that 2010 was a new "Year One") when Lou stepped down.  We need positive action and momentum and we'll all be watching.

We have some form of football (ugh) and an almost entirely new Blackhawks team to look forward to.

Louuuuuuuu! It continues to be a Way of Life

It was only fitting on Sunday that I got news that Lou was going to manage his last game for the Cubs while in the bathroom, taking care of business, sitting down.

It was interesting to see how quickly Shite Sox fans started posting that "the Cubs were so bad, even their manager doesn't want to stay" without realizing that in fact, his Mom continues to be ill and isn't getting any better.  Yep, that's right, continue to deflect the crumbling of your own hopes back to the North Side hoping people will just continue to ignore what's happening with the Mouth on the Southside, Ozzie.

I know everyone is always quick to crucify the manager of a club when they don't perform, and definitely there were times where Lou made bad decisions, but if the problem isn't any bigger than the old Torco sign to spot, the organization failed him.

I do truly believe he was the right man for the right job.  But when he was saddled with having to play high-paid failures like Soriano, Bradley and Fukudome as well as the pressure to validate the "farm system" by having, (who my fave Cub Blogger Aisle 424 calls something similar to the midget circus of gnomes up the middle) Theriot and Fontenot TOOTBLAN their way through games, then it's obvious he was continually asked to make soufflé out of sawdust.

Warning! Rare compliment towards the NY Yankees forthcoming!

It says a lot about an organization that year after year they can produce high-quality individuals when it comes to running/managing ballclubs.  I'm sure everyone can point to horrible examples from the Bronx Bombers, but there is a culture built around winning and not accepting mediocrity and that does transcend downward to the managers and players (who might eventually become managers).  Every time Lou Pinella took the reigns of another club, it was likely related to the fact that he played, coached and was GM for a winner.  After the Yankees, he took that success to Cincinnati and Seattle and then found out what it was like to try to manage a team that had no clue how to win in Tampa Bay.  I really do think he saw the ability of ownership with deep pockets and a somewhat loose plan on how to build a winner with the Cubs.  Hell, we did and that wasn't just by drinking the Kool-Aid.

The sadness here is that the Cubs have continued to look at the Yankees and say "Hey, they spend well above the salary caps and look at them!" but there has to be multiple layers of support beneath that for it to happen which includes quality talent evaluation, not being wimpy during Free Agent contact talks and strength 'down on the farm'.  The Cubs seriously have done a relatively good job of the 3rd item, but the first two continue to bite them in the backside and when they are combined (Fuku/Bradley/Kevin Gregg) they are left with poor performers with monster contracts who they can't move OR when they move them, they have to still pay the salary.

Cub 'nation' is saddled with the 2nd highest payroll in MLB along with the 2nd highest ticket prices and we still have as many World Series trophies as we did in the 50's!! 

This does keep coming back to Jim Hendry.  Sure he was the GM during the 2003 year, but he had only been in the position for less than a year and it wasn't totally his doing.  Yes, he worked in the organization since '95, but he was successful at the talent evaluation from colleges/high schools and had built a decent farm system which still exists today.  No one is convinced STILL that he has the right talent to be a GM and make the big calls.  The Ricketts' bold statements that he's still the man and will lead the search for a new Manager and will stay as GM makes every Cub fan nervous that the new owners are over their heads here and instead of understanding baseball, they are drooling at the revenue glut that is the Cubs and Wrigley Field, even if they went deep into debt to buy them.

We've yet to see a move by the Ricketts that shakes us to our core and says "Hey, here's some people fed up with these losing ways and are demanding excellence".  It's just more of the same, very similar to the McCaskey's with the Bears or the days of Dollar Bill Wirt$ with the Hawks.  See, the Ricketts have had to follow the comeuppance of Rocky Wirtz, someone who felt the pain of the fans (even as his own Father inflicted it upon us) and so the people of Chicago are watching.

Sadly, Lou was beaten down by the system and that combined with family matters has had him quite abruptly leave the organization.  For a man who has lived baseball and excelled, this is bittersweet, I'm sure.  Thanks to the guys on the field yesterday for totally hacking that up by the way.  At least Lou could make 5 or 6 trips to the mound to get standing o's.  Nice way to send him off boys.