The Chicago Tribune reported today that the Cubs are working on amending their plan to secure state aid for Wrigley Field renovations. Here is a link to this short article...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-1228-around-town--20101227,0,6701863.column
The article mentions that the new plan would have the Cubs matching their 2009 tax payments to the city, 16 million, and keep any tax revenue above this figure for park improvements. While many Illinois residents have a hard time with the Cubs receiving state aid to improve the ballpark, I for one have no problem with it. I agree with the Ricketts family that Wrigley field, being one of the largest tourist attractions in the state, is a cash cow for the city. Renovations and park improvements, including the proposed triangle building, would create jobs and additional tax revenue. These are the types of projects that stimulate city and state economies. Here are a few more thoughts on Wrigley renovations and the Wrigley community:
I have no problem with the Cubs renovating the park, as long as they do not raise the level of the upper deck. In my opinion, the position of the upper deck, which hangs close to the field (only one row of suites) is what helps give Wrigley Field it's charm. I would not have a problem with the park adding additional rows to the upper deck, but adding another layer of skyboxes for corporate America is something I am not in favor of. If you have seen a game at US Cellular Field or the United Center, you know what I'm talking about.
I am in favor of new large and state of the art clubhouses underground, including better batting cage facilities for the players. I would agree that players do get coddled at the pro level, but in order to stay competitive, why not give Cubs player all the benefits other teams have. I'm OK with Wrigley bathrooms, in fact, I'm fine the way they are. Women may disagree with this, but I think the men's bathrooms are fine. I like the trough idea, as it gets more bodies into the bathrooms. The small amount of upgrading that was done last year is fine with me.
Advertising is a sticky subject with many people, but I have had no problem with anything the Cubs have done. This includes the Under Armour advertisements and the Toyota sign in left field. I think the Cubs have handled this with class and have kept the integrity of Wrigley Field in place. I'm in favor of creating ways to generate revenue even if it includes minor changes to the ballpark. As long as the Cubs act like a big market team with a payroll in the top 5 of baseball, I can live with these changes.
Many say that MLB owners are great at crying poor and actually earn a lot more in revenue than the general public is aware of. That may be the case, but as long as the payroll is in proportion with the market you play in, it's hard to argue with what teams like the Cubs are doing to generate revenue. Yes, when the Ricketts bought the Cubs they were aware they would have to renovate Wrigley Field, but believe me, it was never in the plan to pay for it out of their own pockets. They already have a huge payroll, so renovating the park is going to take some creativity, and some "thinking outside the box." Many state/city projects are busts from the get go, here is a project that includes a thriving fan base and community that will create jobs not just now but in the future. To me, it's a no brainer to ask for state aid, and I hope that politicians can work past their differences to do a good thing for the City of Chicago.
One final thought. For all the Wrigleyville residents who complain every time the Cubs want to add a night game, an advertisement or more seats, please don't forget what this team has done for your community. There was a time, not to long ago, when Wrigleyville was not such a pleasant place to live. Business in this neighborhood is booming and living there is safe, thanks in part to the Cubs. If you don't want to live in an area that is congested 81 times per year, then by all means move. There are many wonderful communities in Chicago that don't have this issue. I once lived in Wrigleyville, Kenmore and Belmont, and still don't understand much of the heartburn some residents have with the Cubs. I understand it's good to have a group of residents watching the Cubs and making sure they don't go overboard, but it is beyond me why they have to contest almost every proposal the Cubs make.
Maybe some of you disagree with some of my thoughts, or have a different view. If so, then by all means post a comment. I look forward to hearing from you.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Cubs 2011 Starting Rotation
A winter cold kept me from posting the last few days, I need to be 100% when writing these things - my audience deserves the best. Not to mention, no one is reading this. Anyway, as promised here is a look at the Cubs starting rotation for 2011. I'll start with a 9 man rotation and widdle it down from there.
Carlos Zambrano - looked like he was pitching and not just throwing at the end of 2010.
Ryan Dempster - has been very consistent the past three seasons with 2.96, 3.65 and 3.85 ERA respectively
Tom Gorzelanny - Cubs would love to see him recapture 07 form (14-10 3.88)
Carlos Silva - Great results first half of 2010. Heart issues cut the season short for him. Huge contract, very inconsistent over career.
Randy Wells - Solid #5 starter on any team. Don't expect him to be anything else.
Andrew Cashner - Signing of Kerry Wood may open the door for a starting role. this guy throws in the upper 90's with a solid slider. If he can master the changeup this spring, look for him to get a shot at the SR.
Casey Coleman - Some impressive starts vs. STL & HOU to finish 2010. Relies on location with an excellent changeup.
Chris Carpenter - Fastball low to mid 90's, excellent curveball - working on changeup. great work ethic. 25 years old, spent 4 years at Kent State.
Jeff Samardzija - Now 26 years old has looked awful in the pen. Started throwing some effective splits and sliders towards tail-end of 2010 season. Has to be considered for 2011 SR based on initial investment. He has the tools, but can he put it all together?
It's hard to predict who will start or if the Cubs will get a deal done for another starter. Just like they need a legit #3 hitter in the lineup, they also need a legit #1 to lead this rotation. No idea if Brandon Webb could be that guy. Rumor has it the Cubs are pursuing him, but his velocity is way down after arm surgery. I'd like to see some young guys in the mix, along with a couple veterans, I think it's a better reflection on where the Cubs are headed as an organization. If I had to predict the rotation today it would be:
#1 Dempster - he deserves that opening day nod
#2 Zambrano - Prozac in the house
#3 Tom Gorzelanny - Gorzo will get a chance to anchor the middle of the rotation, but I think he'll be on a short leash if he does not get off to a solid start...
#4 Andrew Cashner - Why not? Give him a year of experience on a rebuilding team. If he can keep the ERA around 4.5, then I think it's great on the job training.
#5 Carlos Silva / Casey Coleman - I think Silva starts the year based on his inflated salary alone, but the oft injured big man may be in and out of the rotation. Look for Coleman to lock it up mid-June.
As for the rest, here are my predictions:
Randy Wells - Traded before spring training
Chris Carpenter - One more year as starter in AAA
Jeff Samardzija - see above (the cubs would love nothing more than to see him bust out in 2011, but he still needs to master his off-speed stuff.)
Well, that's all I got for today. The big news around town is who will be Santo's replacement. My vote would be for Sutcliffe, who seems like a good guy.
Carlos Zambrano - looked like he was pitching and not just throwing at the end of 2010.
Ryan Dempster - has been very consistent the past three seasons with 2.96, 3.65 and 3.85 ERA respectively
Tom Gorzelanny - Cubs would love to see him recapture 07 form (14-10 3.88)
Carlos Silva - Great results first half of 2010. Heart issues cut the season short for him. Huge contract, very inconsistent over career.
Randy Wells - Solid #5 starter on any team. Don't expect him to be anything else.
Andrew Cashner - Signing of Kerry Wood may open the door for a starting role. this guy throws in the upper 90's with a solid slider. If he can master the changeup this spring, look for him to get a shot at the SR.
Casey Coleman - Some impressive starts vs. STL & HOU to finish 2010. Relies on location with an excellent changeup.
Chris Carpenter - Fastball low to mid 90's, excellent curveball - working on changeup. great work ethic. 25 years old, spent 4 years at Kent State.
Jeff Samardzija - Now 26 years old has looked awful in the pen. Started throwing some effective splits and sliders towards tail-end of 2010 season. Has to be considered for 2011 SR based on initial investment. He has the tools, but can he put it all together?
It's hard to predict who will start or if the Cubs will get a deal done for another starter. Just like they need a legit #3 hitter in the lineup, they also need a legit #1 to lead this rotation. No idea if Brandon Webb could be that guy. Rumor has it the Cubs are pursuing him, but his velocity is way down after arm surgery. I'd like to see some young guys in the mix, along with a couple veterans, I think it's a better reflection on where the Cubs are headed as an organization. If I had to predict the rotation today it would be:
#1 Dempster - he deserves that opening day nod
#2 Zambrano - Prozac in the house
#3 Tom Gorzelanny - Gorzo will get a chance to anchor the middle of the rotation, but I think he'll be on a short leash if he does not get off to a solid start...
#4 Andrew Cashner - Why not? Give him a year of experience on a rebuilding team. If he can keep the ERA around 4.5, then I think it's great on the job training.
#5 Carlos Silva / Casey Coleman - I think Silva starts the year based on his inflated salary alone, but the oft injured big man may be in and out of the rotation. Look for Coleman to lock it up mid-June.
As for the rest, here are my predictions:
Randy Wells - Traded before spring training
Chris Carpenter - One more year as starter in AAA
Jeff Samardzija - see above (the cubs would love nothing more than to see him bust out in 2011, but he still needs to master his off-speed stuff.)
Well, that's all I got for today. The big news around town is who will be Santo's replacement. My vote would be for Sutcliffe, who seems like a good guy.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
2011 Chicago Cubs starting lineup
Not a lot of big Cubs news since the signing of Kerry Wood last week. It looks like the signings of Carlos Pena and Kerry Wood may be the only high profile signings of the off-season. I do not predict the Ricketts family to spend another dime before the beginning of spring training. According to the USA Today, the Cubs were 3rd in MLB and #1 in the NL in team payroll at 146.6 Million in 2010:
http://content.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/salaries/totalpayroll.aspx?year=2010
With bad contracts already on the books (Soriano, Fukadome, Zambrano, Silva) I think that the Ricketts family is going to try and win with the team they have. Until the big contracts are off the books, I think Cubs fans can expect basically the same team as 2010. If they can somehow may a strong showing through June, then Hendry may get the go ahead to make a big trade, but for this to happen, the Cubs will have to have some big time play from young players like Starlin Castro, Tyler Colvin, Andrew Cashner and Casey Coleman.
Today, I'm going to project the Cubs 2011 starting lineup, and tomorrow I will look at the starting rotation. The rest of the week I will also look at the bullpen, the bench and the coaching staff.
Barring any major trades before the start of the 2011 season, the Cubs lineup projects like this:
1. Starlin Castro ss
2. Marlon Byrd cf
3. Aramis Ramirez 3b
4. Carlos Pena 1b
5. Alfonso Soriano lf
6. Tyler Colvin rf
7. Geovany Soto c
8. Blake DeWitt 2b
Look for Kosuke Fukodome to get starts in cf and rf during the season, but I just can't see him getting the starting nod over Colvin, especially with only a year left on his contract. We now know what we have in Fuk., and it's nothing to write home about, in fact, look for Fuk to finish his career at home, in Japan, after the 2011 season.
One way for the above lineup to click is for Aram to have a monster year. If he gets off to another slow start, the Cubs are in trouble. I do not see any other legitimate #3 hitters in this lineup, unless Hendry makes some sort of a deal, but #3 hitters require lots of young talent, and this ball club is in no position to start dealing youngsters.
The lineup has holes, but before you diehards start to panic, lets take a good hard look at the starting rotation. There are a few things to look forward to, the staff is deep, and the 2010 season ended on a nice note for the young arms. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post to see if we are deep in mediocre pitching? Or, if there is something to get excited about...
http://content.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/salaries/totalpayroll.aspx?year=2010
With bad contracts already on the books (Soriano, Fukadome, Zambrano, Silva) I think that the Ricketts family is going to try and win with the team they have. Until the big contracts are off the books, I think Cubs fans can expect basically the same team as 2010. If they can somehow may a strong showing through June, then Hendry may get the go ahead to make a big trade, but for this to happen, the Cubs will have to have some big time play from young players like Starlin Castro, Tyler Colvin, Andrew Cashner and Casey Coleman.
Today, I'm going to project the Cubs 2011 starting lineup, and tomorrow I will look at the starting rotation. The rest of the week I will also look at the bullpen, the bench and the coaching staff.
Barring any major trades before the start of the 2011 season, the Cubs lineup projects like this:
1. Starlin Castro ss
2. Marlon Byrd cf
3. Aramis Ramirez 3b
4. Carlos Pena 1b
5. Alfonso Soriano lf
6. Tyler Colvin rf
7. Geovany Soto c
8. Blake DeWitt 2b
Look for Kosuke Fukodome to get starts in cf and rf during the season, but I just can't see him getting the starting nod over Colvin, especially with only a year left on his contract. We now know what we have in Fuk., and it's nothing to write home about, in fact, look for Fuk to finish his career at home, in Japan, after the 2011 season.
One way for the above lineup to click is for Aram to have a monster year. If he gets off to another slow start, the Cubs are in trouble. I do not see any other legitimate #3 hitters in this lineup, unless Hendry makes some sort of a deal, but #3 hitters require lots of young talent, and this ball club is in no position to start dealing youngsters.
The lineup has holes, but before you diehards start to panic, lets take a good hard look at the starting rotation. There are a few things to look forward to, the staff is deep, and the 2010 season ended on a nice note for the young arms. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post to see if we are deep in mediocre pitching? Or, if there is something to get excited about...
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Blogging 101
For a few years now people have told me I should blog about my favorite team, the Chicago Cubs. So what would it take to get me started? How about the signing of my favorite Cub, Kerry Wood.
May 6th, 1998 was the day I re-entered the crazy, unpredictable, and frustrating world of Cubs baseball. I was at work, my first job after college, when I pulled up the cubs live box score online. Scrolling down to the bottom of the page I saw a sentence that read (in tiny print) "Kerry Wood has 18 strikeouts through 8 innings." I immediately emailed friends and family while frantically hitting the refresh button on my web browser.
As we all know, Kerry finished with 20 K's. His performance that day still holds up as one of the most dominating performances in baseball history, but what I remember is a humble 20 year old kid pumping his fists after his last strikeout. Immediately after the game, Kerry was interviewed by Chip Caray and Steve Stone. With his hands shaking, Wood tried his best to explain what he had just done. At that moment, the pain of 1984 and 1989 was gone. I was focused on this moment - this day. Kerry had sucked me back in.
Well, as any cubs fan can tell you, it's been a roller coaster ride since 1998. There have been some great moments and a lot of painful ones, but I stay committed to the team I grew up with. I'm not sure I would try and persuade anyone I truly care about to be a Cubs fan, but I am going to stick it out.
Today Kerry Wood signed a 1 year deal with the Cubs for 1.5 million. By all accounts this is significantly less than he could have gotten from other teams including the White Sox. What I like about it is that it frees up Andrew Cashner for a starting role in 2011. A good bullpen starts with a dominating starting rotation, and a dominating rotation starts with young arms. I'm looking forward to seeing Cashner in the starting rotation, and I'm excited about Woody setting up Marmol.
The Cubs are Kerry Wood, Ryne Sandburg, Mark Grace, Andre Dawson, Lee Smith, Ernie Banks, Santo, Williams, Jenkins, Maddux, Dunston, Moreland, Ramirez. Cubs fans reminisce about players, broadcasters and sunny days in the most beautiful park in baseball. But what about the teams? It's hard to look back fondly on teams that ultimately disappoint and leave deep wounds. 69, 84, 89, 98, 03, 04, 07, 08 all have one thing in common - heartbreak. My message to Tom Rickett's, (as if he's reading this) build a team to remember!
Sure, sports is entertainment, but after investing time and money into any ball club, losing hurts. I dare any fan of their favorite team to say otherwise, and if they do, well, are they really fans? I suspect they spend most of their time playing Dungeons and Dragons and perusing Harry Potter websites.
Thanks for reading my first blog. It's 12:26 A.M., so technically Kerry Wood was signed yesterday. Welcome back Kid K!
May 6th, 1998 was the day I re-entered the crazy, unpredictable, and frustrating world of Cubs baseball. I was at work, my first job after college, when I pulled up the cubs live box score online. Scrolling down to the bottom of the page I saw a sentence that read (in tiny print) "Kerry Wood has 18 strikeouts through 8 innings." I immediately emailed friends and family while frantically hitting the refresh button on my web browser.
As we all know, Kerry finished with 20 K's. His performance that day still holds up as one of the most dominating performances in baseball history, but what I remember is a humble 20 year old kid pumping his fists after his last strikeout. Immediately after the game, Kerry was interviewed by Chip Caray and Steve Stone. With his hands shaking, Wood tried his best to explain what he had just done. At that moment, the pain of 1984 and 1989 was gone. I was focused on this moment - this day. Kerry had sucked me back in.
Well, as any cubs fan can tell you, it's been a roller coaster ride since 1998. There have been some great moments and a lot of painful ones, but I stay committed to the team I grew up with. I'm not sure I would try and persuade anyone I truly care about to be a Cubs fan, but I am going to stick it out.
Today Kerry Wood signed a 1 year deal with the Cubs for 1.5 million. By all accounts this is significantly less than he could have gotten from other teams including the White Sox. What I like about it is that it frees up Andrew Cashner for a starting role in 2011. A good bullpen starts with a dominating starting rotation, and a dominating rotation starts with young arms. I'm looking forward to seeing Cashner in the starting rotation, and I'm excited about Woody setting up Marmol.
The Cubs are Kerry Wood, Ryne Sandburg, Mark Grace, Andre Dawson, Lee Smith, Ernie Banks, Santo, Williams, Jenkins, Maddux, Dunston, Moreland, Ramirez. Cubs fans reminisce about players, broadcasters and sunny days in the most beautiful park in baseball. But what about the teams? It's hard to look back fondly on teams that ultimately disappoint and leave deep wounds. 69, 84, 89, 98, 03, 04, 07, 08 all have one thing in common - heartbreak. My message to Tom Rickett's, (as if he's reading this) build a team to remember!
Sure, sports is entertainment, but after investing time and money into any ball club, losing hurts. I dare any fan of their favorite team to say otherwise, and if they do, well, are they really fans? I suspect they spend most of their time playing Dungeons and Dragons and perusing Harry Potter websites.
Thanks for reading my first blog. It's 12:26 A.M., so technically Kerry Wood was signed yesterday. Welcome back Kid K!
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