Devilment

I feared the Cubs had made a deal with the devil when the Ricketts family assumed control back in 2009. Eminently wealthy and—with the exception of daughter Laura—vociferous supporters of all things Republican, I did my best to ignore that and focus on the promise of the latest regime change.

And the Ricketts (okay, Tom) mostly did a pretty good job. After some initial floundering on the baseball side, he landed Theo Epstein in 2011. If nothing else, Ricketts knew the importance of having a highly-talented captain to guide the ship.

It is said that lightning never strikes twice, and yet that is exactly what happened under Epstein's tutelage.

After putting an end to the Boston Red Sox' championship drought, he started in on the Cubs'. Building from the ground up, he installed knowledgeable scouts with which to stock the farm system. That talent could be used to either build a club at the major league level or as trade bait towards bringing older, more-seasoned ballplayers to Chicago.

The farm system yielded a respectable bit of fruit, even if the harvest was a little light on pitching. And Epstein gradually acquired a nice mix of veterans to augment the youngsters. By 2015, the Cubs were contenders.

And we all know what happened in 2016, don't we?

Alas, the wheels began to fall off not long afterwards. Maybe it's Chicago's blind idolatry of its baseball and football champions, but the Cubs regressed almost immediately. While not as dominant as the 1985 Bears, they resembled them in their post-championship self-satisfaction.

Some blamed Joe Maddon's overly-permissive managerial style. Others blamed the players. But regardless of why, the Cubs receded almost as quickly as they had emerged. True, they rallied in the second half of '17 and made it to the NCLS. But in three succeeding seasons, they failed to even win a wild card game.

Without so much as lip service paid to the idea of signing some combination of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez to long-term contracts, Ricketts now appears on the verge of painting himself into the same corner notorious A's owner Charles O. Finley did in 1976, and risks losing multiple frontline athletes with no compensation whatsoever.

With Cy Young candidate Yu Darvish traded away for four very minor prospects and Jon Lester, Tyler Chatwood, Jose Quintana and Kyle Schwarber lost to free-agency, it's little wonder Epstein saw the writing on the wall and left with a year remaining on his contract.

Even before the onset of COVID, Ricketts repeatedly stated “There is no more money.” With a full-bore salary dump in progress one could be excused for asking “There is now, right?”

One also wonders what Ricketts has planned for Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward and Kyle Hendricks. And how this salary dump, with so very, very little received in return, positions the Cubs as ongoing contenders?

It's tough not to see baseball's version of Jerry Jones taking shape, who like Ricketts rebuilt a once-dominant franchise, made a big splash with some Super Bowl victories and then lapsed into mediocrity while turning the Dallas Cowboys into his personal ATM.

While Jones has seeming forgotten everything he once knew about running a winning NFL franchise, the Cowboys spout money like a severed artery does blood. With Rickett's multiple improvements to Wrigley Field and his developments in the surrounding neighborhood, imagining his business plan suddenly doesn't take so much, well, imagining.

Cub fans deserve better than another interminable slide into nothingness with spinning turnstiles and the Rickett's rosy bottom line priority number-one.

Yep. Devilment for sure.

This is Why You Were Booed at the Cubs' Convention, Mr. Ricketts

To those of us in the ninety-nine percent, you are an insanely wealthy man. While your ownership put an end to the century-long championship drought, it has also overseen a renovation of Wrigley Field that spouts revenue like those fountains in front of swanky Las Vegas hotels.

And good for you. You are entirely within your rights to make as much money from your businesses as humanly possible. Where you go wrong is when you say “I don't have any more money.” You understand how that sounds, right? It's a screaming, neon-lit definition of disingenuous.

I'm sure each arm in your Cubs' kingdom has a budget and a profit and loss statement, and after dropping 391 million on long-term contracts to Jason Heyward, Yu Darvish, Tyler Chatwood and Craig Kimbrel your wallet is pretty sore.

But here's the thing. The Cubs aren't a quote-unquote business. They're a civic institution. You just happen to be the current owner. And when you say you don't have any more money, you are effectively cutting the heart out of it.

The window is still open. These Cubs are young and in their prime and just a savvy trade or two removed from contention. I'm going to presume this isn't news to you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have fired Joe Maddon. 

And yet you've essentially told the three mainstays in your lineup that their time in Chicago has a sell-by date.

Huh?

Inviting some combination of Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant to put up their feet and stay awhile would accomplish two things: it would destroy the notion you're ready to shred the championship-era Cubs and begin another rebuild (not the wisest proposition as you prepare to unveil your in-house cable channel) while proving you're still interested in further burnishing the Cubs brand (not to mention your own) with another title.

Are you?

Based on their 2019 contributions, three-fifths of your pitching staff could be described as wobbly. Bullpen issues abound. And who's going to play second base?

But the folk who pay forty-bucks to park and munch on seven-dollar hot dogs while swilling ten-dollar beer know these aren't insurmountable problems. There's still plenty of gas in the tank and topping it off for another run is just a savvy (there's that word again) trade or two away.

I'm aware that Major League Baseball's interminable crawl to a decision regarding the Bryant case isn't helping.

But you're putting out mixed signals. Where's the evidence of a clear, decisive game plan? Is moving Will Venable from first-base coach to third-base coach what GM Theo Epstein meant by a “reckoning”? Are you tearing down and preparing to rebuild or are you reloading?

Nothing foments restlessness among the electorate like the mixed messages of indecision.

You have to know that letting Rizzo, Baez and Bryant go with nothing in return puts you closer to Daniel Snyder than Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, right?

Look. The Cubs' organization is obviously very fond of David Ross. Do him a favor and give him a chance. And just imagine the hero worship if the Cubs could pluck one more title from the MLB firmament. 

Even if you do enable that contagion in the White House.

 

Joe Maddon

It's hard to see anything clearly without the passage of at least a little time. It has a way of settling the raw emotions that frequently cloud an event, its causes and ultimate impact. Which is why we should be grateful for a thing called history. It puts things in perspective.

Take Joe Maddon's dismissal from the Chicago Cubs last Sunday.

Initially, I was upset. I was a fan. Maddon exuded an affable charm as he molded his young Cubs and inspired his veteran ones to a world championship in 2016. He led the Cubs to successes not seen since the Great Depression—which, if you're counting, was over eighty-years ago.

And to his bosses gratification, he kept the turnstiles spinning.

But things evolve quickly, and while he was the ideal manager to shepherd that team to the top of the National League Central and baseball in general, he wasn't the guy to keep them there. Rumors of an overly-permissive clubhouse made their way through the MLB grapevine, and it soon became obvious these Cubs were satisfied.

Houston Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel observed as much even before the 2018 season began, stating “We're not the Cubs” when asked about his team's ability to repeat in the American League West.

Many teams came of age alongside these Cubs. The Cleveland Indians. The Los Angeles Dodgers. And the aforementioned Astros. All sustained a far-higher level of competitiveness than did the Cubs. Their managers were able to transition from inspiring youthful teams to motivating and preparing them for the mounting challenges of staying on top.

It was something Maddon couldn't do.

After GM Theo Epstein's ultimatum essentially turned Maddon into a lame duck, the Cubs got sloppy. Mental mistakes on the basepaths. Home run-or-bust at bats, especially with men in scoring position. And fielding more typical of a company softball game than a major league baseball one.

None of those are the hallmarks of a team laser-focused on winning a title.

The front office shorted Maddon on bullpen support and the farm system dried up without ever yielding a starting pitcher. But I can't vanquish the thought that if Maddon had kept these guys in fighting trim, they'd be vying for a World Series slot tonight.

Alas, he did not. These Cubs grew fat and lazy, and for that Maddon must be held accountable. 

Nevertheless, you will always have a place in our hearts, Joe.Good luck to you.

Wither the Cubs?

A little over four months ago, I gamely predicted the 2019 Cubs would shrug off the weirdness of 2018 and play to their abilities. They would run, hit, pitch, catch and throw like the World Series contenders they are.

Or more specifically, were.

While the Cubs have largely pulled down the curtain on the one-run-per-game act that plagued them throughout 2018, they own one of baseball's worst batting averages with men on base, which gives their brittle bullpen precious little to work with.

Which is why they are among the league leaders in blown saves.

Several Cub notables (former MVP Kris Bryant among them) are barely hitting their weight with the bases occupied.

Never mind what happens when a left-hander shows up on the mound.

Furthermore, the Cubs' 21-33 road record translates to an anemic .388 winning percentage—the winning percentage attained by the much-feared Florida Marlins. Despite killing them at home (.678), their awful road record sabotages any chance they have of winning the division.

Could the Cubs even split their road games, they'd be sitting pretty in the National League Central—and on their way to 95 wins. But that would be doing it the easy way, and as these Cubs have made clear, doing it the easy way somehow corrupts their sense of Cubbishness.

Hair shirts, anyone?

Granted, the Cubs labor under media scrutiny known only to the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers and Notre Dame and Alabama football programs.

But the 2019 Cubs are punching way below their weight. Top to bottom, they are the most-talented club in the division.

Something is very, very wrong.

Unlike the 1969 team, it hopefully won't take fifty-years to figure out what.

Here Are Your 2019 Chicago Cubs!

In the wake of perhaps the most disappointing 95-win season in baseball history, the Chicago Cubs begin another season today. Even with the ascendant Bears garnering disproportionate amounts of media attention, the Cubs remain the topic on everyone's lips.

Why didn't they pursue Bryce Harper? Why didn't they pursue Manny Machado? Why didn't they sign a front-line reliever? Why didn't they extend Joe Maddon's contract? Why didn't they can Joe Maddon? How are they going to compete by standing still?

Cubulous Nervosa generates many, many questions. The only known cure is to take a deep breath and slowly exhale.

Yes, last season was one of the most perplexing and aggravating on record. An offense that would vanish like a magician's prop. The disastrous signings of not one, but two, free-agent pitchers. A profound early-season slump by the usually reliable Anthony Rizzo and an injury-plagued, below-par year from Kris Bryant.

Not to mention late-season injuries to Brandon Morrow and Pedro Strop.

And yet the Cubs still won 95 games. Contended for the division flag until the last day of the season against the surging Milwaukee Brewers. A run here and a run there and that irksome wild card game against the Colorado Rockies never would have happened.

If Maddon didn't prove his worth and the Cubs their mettle last season, I don't know when they have.

Alas, we live in a microwave culture. Expectations rise like the temperature inside a parked car. 2016 might as well be 1908. 

And when these new expectations aren't met, the people take to social media and howl.

As your friendly, web-based contrarian, I'm going to suggest that 2018 was an aberration, not the beginning of a trend. I'm going to suggest that we should be praising Theo Epstein for resisting the public mania for brand name free-agents.

Not that Epstein is without fault. I'm not crazy about his public calling-out of Maddon. But as Maddon himself would admit, it's the manager's lot to take the blame for whatever perceived failure his team accrues.

Not winning the 2018 World Series doesn't constitute heresy in my book. And I'm not sure not winning the 2019 edition qualifies, either. I think the Cub nation needs to take a deep breath and consider where it is.

It has evolved from wondering if haplessness is a permanent condition to demanding world championships every year. It must remember the quantum leap the objects of its affection have made.

My two-cents says that if fans can't quit obsessing whenever the Cubs don't pitch a no-hitter every time out and if certain quarters of the media don't stop turning every molehill into a tabloid-worthy mountain, all assembled might have seen their last World Series trophy.

I'll say it again: the Cubs have scaled heights unseen at Wrigley Field since the Great Depression, and ones unimaginable as recently as 2013. You remember 2013, don't you?

But they need a little breathing room. They need a little less scrutiny. It's okay if Hendricks occasionally goes four innings or if Bryant is hitless in four at bats. It's not the end of the world.

Counter to Mr. Epstein's appraisal, consistently winning two out of three would be wildly and exuberantly splendiferous. My therapist assures me 108 wins would give the Cubs the NL Central title and home field for as long as they want it.

Last year was just.....weird. It's not going to happen again. And with the season-long presence of a fully rehabilitated Yu Darvish, the Cubs effectively have a new free-agent signee. Not to mention one of the best managers in the biz.

But Theo, we (that's you) need to let him be. Excepting Jussie Smollett, I've never seen anyone perform well with a noose around their neck.

Go Cubs!

The Premature Coronation

I frequently delude myself with the notion that Chicago is a baseball town. More specifically, a Cubs town. But even after four last-place finishes in a row, Bears' pre-season games knock the Cubs, who happen to be in the midst of a heated pennant race, off the front page.

Huh?

The Bears win three games in a row for the first time in five years and it is apparent they are headed to the Super Bowl. This is cycled endlessly by the media and on Facebook and even by sober people. The Bears are the talk of break rooms and bars and subway cars.

A lopsided win against a deeply-flawed Tampa Bay team etches it in stone. And thanks to an early bye week, the Bears and their fans have fourteen days to revel in the afterglow. And revel they do.

This is the best Bears defense since 1985. After one (that's one, as in less than two) big game from heavily-scrutinized quarterback Mitch Trubisky, the Bears are the '62 Packers, '84 Niners and '72 Dolphins all rolled into one.

So when does the Super Bowl start, anyway?

So it goes when you defeat the diminished Seattle Seahawks, forlorn Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who conveniently are minus their starting quarterback. This is all it takes to engorge the Bears and their fans.

As an admittedly fair-weather Bears fan (I will root for the Dallas Cowboys when Jerry Jones is gone), I can take the local heroes—and their fans—with a grain of salt. That goes for the overheated media coverage, too.

I smile when I realize that the same team which took down the high-flying '85 Bears on a Monday night also took these guys down last Sunday.

Oh sweet irony.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy for the Bears. The franchise that mostly wasted the services of Hall-of-Fame LB Brian Urlacher has done a serviceable job in the last two drafts. This is noteworthy when you consider the signing of QB Mike Glennon and dismissal of K Robbie Gould not so long ago.

Then there is the timely theft of Kahlil Mack from the Oakland Raiders. He has cemented an already talented defense, which bodes well for any team.

But the Bears are young. They are inexperienced. Like freshly-laundered sheets, there are plenty of wrinkles to iron out.

They are playing a last-place schedule and all concerned are convinced they're the New England Patriots. Let's be clear: a thrashing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers does not a world champion make—even in a microwave culture like ours.

The Bears need to learn how to win. And how to lose. They need to learn how to sustain effort and focus and how to ignore the hyperbole.

The Bears need to learn how to respect each and every opponent. Every guy they face was The Man on his high school and college team. You get that, right?

We pull long and hard for our guys. But like the champions we envy, we shouldn't get too high after a win or too low after a loss.

Clear-eyed moderation is best.

Like my favorite GM says, if the Bears are truly pointed in the right direction we should give them a little time and enjoy the process.

The Bears are a work in progress—not a museum-ready masterpiece.