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There wasn't a club option, but I would be surprised if there wasn't a gentleman's agreement to give the Cubs extra consideration when it is time for renewal.

Of course, gentlemen's agreement only work if both sides are gentlemen.

The basic language for a club to have an option to renew is boilerplate, and the word processing program used to generate the contract itself would allow it to be inserted in a matter of seconds.

If the matter agreed on in a "gentleman's agreement" is complex or wordy or would take a great deal of time, then it may make sense to have an informal agreement... but none of those are the case with a club option, and if the parties actually HAVE and agreement, then it should bother no one to put that agreement in writing.

These comments by Sveum are very concerning.  Not only about the failure of the battery to execute a game plan.  But also the willingness of Sveum to publically throw his players under the bus in an apparent effort to deflect blame from himself and his coaching staff. 

Disagree about "throwing the players under the bus" and the "disrepect" suggestion as well.  My understanding that most here wanted a team that had a plan and expected players to execute the plan.  There have been several instances in which pitchers/catchers have violated plans with regard to pitch selection at times that cost the Cubs dearly.  Sveum gets criticized if he defends players when they deserve criticism, and now he's getting faulted for describing a specific instance in which players made mental (not physical) errors that cost the game, in contradiction to what they were supposed to be doing based on the scouting reports. 

Sveum is I think universally seen as supportive of his players and respected by them (except maybe by some fans who have gotten down on him).  I don't see something like this changing or reflecting a change in either.

True.  And I certainly wouldn't contest the notion that pitcher and/or catcher who ignored the scouting report was stupid, at least in that instance.

Pujols, who entered the game hitting just .243 with eight homers, got a cookie from Villanueva that split the plate just below belt high.

Villanueva said he was throwing the right pitch - he just didn't execute it. He wanted it in on Pujols - "maybe move his feet, or get a foul ball," he said.

I read that to mean that Villanueva threw the pitch he was supposed to, just not where he wanted it to go.

Three regulars with basically the same OPS.

Barney  .649

Castillo  .649

Castro  .644

By Don Babwin, (AP)
CHICAGO —

During a concert at Wrigley Field last summer, Bruce Springsteen looked up at the fans packing the rooftops across the street and shouted: "Who'd you pay?"

The Boss isn't the only one wondering about those rooftops these days.

The days of working stiffs lugging lawn chairs and coolers of beer onto the roof to catch a Chicago Cubs game are long gone, replaced by gleaming bleachers and sleek skyboxes that offer a bird's eye view into Wrigley Field — for a price.

These rooftops, 15 of them in all, have become a high-stakes battleground in the effort to turn baseball's lovable losers into a consistent contender. The team wants to add big, new outfield signs as they spend $500 million to update the 99-year-old ballpark, second oldest in the majors.

The Cubs, however, have run into a snag of their own making: The team has a 20-year revenue-sharing agreement with the owners of those rooftops — and the owners hate the idea of signs that might block the view. The contract doesn't expire until 2023 and the fight could wind up in court.

"I want them to be successful and win the World Series, but do you have to block out the rooftops that created the aura of Wrigley Field (and) made Wrigley the darling of Major League Baseball?" asked George Loukas, an owner of three rooftop businesses.

This is not necessarily a case of a franchise valued by Forbes at $1 billion getting tough on mom and pop.

Many of the owners are wealthy. There are real estate executives, tavern owners, ticket brokers and even a rancher. Just three years ago, the Ricketts family — yes, the family that now owns the Cubs — invested in one of the rooftops so it could reopen.

Loukas, whose holdings include the famed Cubby Bear Lounge and dozens of other buildings, came to Wrigleyville in the 1970s. He and his brother bought an apartment building for a fraction of what it's worth now and charged renters, including a young Tom Ricketts, less than $100 a month.

The rooftop properties are now worth millions, the surrounding neighborhood a far cry from its days of being known for thugs and prostitutes. Cook County records show the properties' combined market value adds up to more than $60 million, and they are likely worth far more than that.

Under the contract, the rooftop owners pay the Cubs 17 percent of their gross annual revenue. Last season, according to the Wrigleyville Rooftops Association, the rooftop owners paid the team $4 million, meaning they brought in $23.5 million.

Well he's right that the Cubs ought to release him and should have done so a long time ago.