Author Topic: Predictions  (Read 47442 times)

Deeg

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #45 on: May 21, 2012, 11:03:49 pm »
Well, at least it's clear they could not possibly do better.  ;)

You're talking to the guy who said 72 wins.  I'm an optimist!

Ron

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #46 on: May 22, 2012, 08:12:29 am »
You're talking to the guy who said 72 wins.  I'm an optimist!

My mistake. How could I have ever thought otherwise?

Deeg

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #47 on: May 22, 2012, 11:11:27 am »
Rather than a bad team performing badly when it was 100% predictable, people should be worried about the emerging reality that the Ricketts are a dysfunctional and despicable family (most of them).  That has much greater implications for the future.

StrikeZone

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #48 on: May 22, 2012, 11:20:13 am »
Rather than a bad team performing badly when it was 100% predictable, people should be worried about the emerging reality that the Ricketts are a dysfunctional and despicable family (most of them).  That has much greater implications for the future.

I don't care about what kind of family they are as long as they give the Theocracy the funds that lead to the Cubs winning the World Series.

Deeg

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #49 on: May 22, 2012, 11:39:22 am »
And there's growing reason to doubt they will.

Clarkaddison

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #50 on: May 22, 2012, 11:46:53 am »
The Ricketts family dysfunctional and despicable?  On what do you base that conclusion?  How many times have you sat down to dinner with them?

BTW, I agree that Joe's proposed superpac campaign sucks.  But painting the entire family with that broad brush defies logic.

Deeg

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #51 on: May 22, 2012, 11:58:28 am »
The info that's emerging - that it was Joe calling the shots in the negotiations, his bragging (on camera) that it was the fact that the Cubs could sell out the ballpark with bad teams that attracted him to the idea of buying the team - is just the tip of the iceberg.  As the relationship with the city and fans goes South (as it's already doing) Joe is going to be less and less likely to want to see any of his money spent on the organization apart from the bare minimum to keep the fans hooked.

The problem is, Tom Ricketts can't extract himself from the stink.  It's obvious Joe and Pete are involved intimately in the financial side, and the growing ill will on the part of the fans is going to further poison the relationship with the ownership.  It's not so much a question of the SuperPAC money as the fact that the PAC was set up to "limit government spending" - and you have Ricketts insisting that the Cubs get hundreds of millions in government spending for themselves.  This is the meme you increasingly see reported in the press, and on top of the not insignificant fact that Obama is a Chicago politician and Chicago is overwhelmingly Democratic the odds of any significant public funding for the renovations are increasingly slim.  And if the Ricketts don't get their publicly funded Wrigley upgrades - which is where they saw the dollar signs flashing - they aren't going to spend heavily on trivial things like payroll.

It's no wonder Joe sent Laura to the Kerry Wood retirement festivities, because they're trying to shift the focus off this whole debacle as much as possible.  But I doubt it's going to work.

Clarkaddison

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #52 on: May 22, 2012, 12:22:49 pm »
We'll see soon enough.  I'm not bothered by the shrunken payroll this year, because it was a lost year going in.  Let's see what they spend on the draft and next year's free agent class.

If their motivation really is profit over Cubs success, they'll sell quickly because the Dodgers' sale exponentially increased the value of all franchises. 

Deeg

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #53 on: May 22, 2012, 01:41:18 pm »
Let's hope they do.

Make no mistake - there are exactly two relevant factors in this ownership.  First is Joe Ricketts making money.  Second is Tom Ricketts' ego.  This brewing debacle is a body blow to both, especially if public financing for Wrigley is a casualty.  If Joe isn't printing money and Tom isn't being glorified in Chicago, things are going to get mighty ugly mighty fast.

Clarkaddison

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #54 on: May 22, 2012, 02:27:19 pm »
You obviously have formed your opinions on the Ricketts family based on what you've read.  Having read the same, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.  I don't believe that Joe's politics (which I'm diametrically opposed to) influence his offspring on the running of the Cubs. 

Whether Tom is able to repair relations with Rahm remains to be seen. 

I give them credit for rebuilding the front office, not only hiring Theo and Jed, but also the additional hires that brought the smallest staff in the majors up to par, and bringing the organization into the 21st century technologically.  I really think better times are in store for the Cubs.  Let's hope we are still around to enjoy it.

Deeg

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #55 on: May 22, 2012, 03:10:28 pm »
I base my opinions on the Ricketts Family from growing up with them as an outsider, going to a high school full of people like them, studying them like Margaret Mead.  I've seen how they think, what motivates them.  They aren't like you and me.  They might look cute, but it's dangerous to imbue them with human emotions.

davep

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #56 on: May 22, 2012, 03:39:25 pm »
Other than not having a high enough payroll to suit you, exactly what do you have against the Ricketts family?  You have been quite vague about complaints.

What have you seen them do that you feel is so wrong?

JR

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #57 on: May 22, 2012, 03:46:38 pm »
Any chance at all that the lower payroll is due to the inevitable Soriano salary dump and trying to take care of most of that charge during this year?

Deeg

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #58 on: May 22, 2012, 05:18:17 pm »
Other than not having a high enough payroll to suit you, exactly what do you have against the Ricketts family?  You have been quite vague about complaints.

What have you seen them do that you feel is so wrong?

Other than the $10 million SuperPAC fiasco, the SuperPAC set up to "end government spending" by a man who wants $300 million is government spending directly to his pocket and Joe Ricketts saying he bought the Cubs because they sold tickets even when they sucked, you mean?

Jes Beard

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Re: Predictions
« Reply #59 on: May 22, 2012, 05:20:04 pm »
Any chance at all that the lower payroll is due to the inevitable Soriano salary dump and trying to take care of most of that charge during this year?

The worst thing the Cubs could have done was to have gone on another 2006-2007 spending spree to try to win in 2012.  The next worst thing would have been to have spent enough to be com-petitive.

The current course should have been taken in the middle of the 2006 season