Progress is hard. Galileo was sent to the Inquisition for his proof, some 5,000 years old, that the earth was round. The United States, for all its amazing progress in the experiment of democracy, has a lingering issue with advancement. John Scopes went to trial and was found guilty for teaching evolution in 1925. Darwin published The Origin of Species in 1859. The current “debate” about climate change is the latest proof that Americans have a hard time with empiricism. Oh, and by the way, “three in 10 Americans interpret the Bible literally, saying it is the actual word of God.”
Believe it or not, that brings us to the current state of the Chicago Cubs. Why? There are still many baseball flat-earth fans, who do not understand what owner Tom Ricketts and President Theo Epstein are doing. In fact, the baseball flat-earthers here in Chicago have a major enabler in a “major metro” publication – The Chicago Sun-Times.
Despite a 106-year old dry spell many Cub fans are clinging to the notion that a baseball team can buy a World Series. They do not understand the process of tearing down and rebuilding a franchise riven by incompetence and nepotism. Ricketts bought the team in 2009 after an excruciating negotiation with self-proclaimed genius Sam Zell. Zell put the finishing touches on 100 years of misery by payrolling the ineptitude of general manager Jim Hendry. They gave Alphonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, and Kosuke Fukudome a combined $275.5 million. Hendry accomplished nine straight playoff losses; and he was part of every Cubs’ draft since 1996.
Ricketts stumbled out of the gate by retaining Hendry; and rolling out a PR disaster in an appeal to taxpayers to fund new Wrigley renovations. Debt-ridden Illinois citizens screamed; and Cubs’ fans whined about desecrating the holy shrine to losing. Ricketts has battled the ultimate flat-earthers in the Wrigley Field Rooftop Owners, who finagled a 20-year contract out of financial genius Zell. The deal provided revenue sharing; and barred any renovations that would block the poachers’ views of the crappy baseball being played.
Things were, once again, looking bleak for Cubs’ fans. Then, Tom Ricketts stumbled into his pot of gold. Theo Epstein became available; and like a good business man – Ricketts pounced. The rest will be history. In spite of all the past obstacles to redesigning an entire organization from the bottom-up, the Cubs have accomplished amazing progress. And if Theo Epstein is the pot of gold then Joe Maddon will be the cherry on top.
Rumors are swirling that Maddon will be the next Cubs manager. He would be perfect. What would any marketable, experienced manager want? How about a major market, young talent, expertise management, and all the cash to make it work? The Cubs score on all counts.
Back to the Chicago flat-earth baseball fans and The Chicago Sun-Times. Cubs’ beat reporter Gordon Wittenmyer and columnist Rick Telander have repeatedly called into question the tactics of Ricketts and Epstein. Wittenmyer went on WSCR Radio in August of 2013 and babbled:
“This is the first time in the history of 30 years of free agency, 30-plus years, where a major-market team has intentionally gone into seasons rebuilding with youth and on the cheap. They’re not doing it (by) scaling back ticket prices to any degree that matters – they’re still the third-highest prices in the game. I don’t know what they’re saying they’re selling, but it’s not competitive baseball. They’re selling Theo, they’re selling hope.”
This past July Telander ranted in the Sun-Times:
“I won’t bore you with Theo’s stats of deceleration, but the Cubs have lost 82 more games than they’ve won since he took charge after the 2011 season. During his tenure, they have finished last, last and (likely) last again in the National League Central, a quaint division made up of small-market teams in much smaller cities.”
All of this might seem objective enough if it weren’t for the persistent obstinacy in the Sun-Times’ general opinion of the Cubs’ machinations. Columnist Rick Morrissey took another shot at Epstein in September, “I don’t want to say that some of you have skipped a few important steps, but debating about what smoking jacket and ascot Theo Epstein should wear at the World Series parade seems premature.”
Judging by sports talk in Chicago the Sun-Times and the unbelievers are about as equal as the Ricketts-Epstein faithful. But, I’ve got news for The Chicago Sun-Times and all the disbelieving Cubs’ fans – you’re behind the times. Everyone wants to be out in front of a big story, and a prediction for failure is the easiest to accommodate. The Sun-Times sports department is barking up the wrong tree; and if Joe Maddon comes to town they’ll be scrambling down scratched and tattered. Theo Epstein is making things happen. Yes, time will tell; but that’s a nasty little bear in that tree.
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