Unlike Rick, I don't necessarily believe this was by design, but the Cult of Theo certainly has made it a whole lot easier for the Ricketts family to slash their payroll down to an embarrassingly low level for a big market, "heritage franchise", "National" team with hardly a peep from the fans.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Please tell me where I said that.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Hardly any peep? What do you want, billboards?


Cubs fans aren't going to the ballpark like they have been. Attendance is basically unprecedented in recent history. How is that "hardly a peep?"

What is your timeframe for recent history?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I guess I don't understand why it should be incumbent upon the fans to "trust" management. Especially management of a team that hasn't won in forever. I just find it odd that guys like Chris and Kirkwood stand staunch in defense of people that are throwing away years in search of some brass ring somewhere down the line at some vaguely defined time in the future. If you're mad at not winning the World Series, you should be mad at the guys running the club now rather than at Jim Hendry who tried to sign the best players available. They raised prices. They're slapping you in the face. I'd have the same opinion- probably stronger- if the Sox tried to do that shit.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

It'd be nice if you could rebuild an entire organization in one year. Most Cubs fans are willing to wait because they buy into the plan that Theo & Company have laid out. They are trading all their assets for future talent. They went pitching heavy in the draft. They outbid other folks for a Cuban star. They are trying to maximize revenue by making changes to the stadium. They have removed most of the bad contracts, which not only provides money for other things present and future, but allows young players a shot in the majors. They will be extracting a lot more money from the tv rights.

I'd love a World Series Title this year. It won't happen. But in lieu of that, I can buy into a plan that sets us up for long term success. It is preferable to me than spending $200M on other guys' free agents in an effort to win for a year or two. Having a deep pipeline of talent gives us a better shot at the playoffs year in and year out.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

JORR neither admits nor denies any of the allegations in Bucky Chris' post, but affirmatively states that Bucky's spirited defense of purposeful losing speaks for itself.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

this is very true and where I have a major problem with the Theo regime so far. Teams can sneak into the playoffs and then basically get lucky. A seven game playoff series can undo 162 games of solid results. Why not rebuild the system AND try to compete now? Is it the debt load?

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

There are different ways to win the World Series. Hendry's attempt was one path, although he came up short. I prefer the path that Theo has laid out as per my other post. I find it more enjoyable to cheer for a team ala the Blackhawks that has a lot of "homegrown" guys. I'll take a World Series either way, but I certainly like this path better.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

You build a team for a dynasty like the Braves have done. The key is getting into the playoffs every year because it is such a crap shoot.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

you didn't answer my question. Why can't the build the minor league system like the Braves AND still spend money to compete at the Major league level?

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

That's great. But you're making some pretty big assumptions about minor league players. If you have three homegrown guys making big contributions at a given time, that's a lot.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Finally, you just came out and said it. Cubs fans are dumb for liking Theo's plan. That's fine, and entirely what I would expect from the vast majority of White Sox fans.

Did you miss this post Bucky Chris?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Excited? Never said that but ok...Yippee!!!!!

You're talking sensibly like the season ticket guy you are. It's easy to flap your gums about blowing shit up when you have no investment and can just change the channel for a few years. If everybody did that, the Cubs would go out of business.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

You've already put the plan ahead of one that got you 5 outs from the World Series. I think it's fair to say you are excited about it.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

City, do you see the cost and length of years it takes to sign proven MLB players? If you sign a guy for 5-6 years, you can't bring those minor league players up because they are blocked by big contract guys. In addition, they have been smart in trading assets on the big club to acquire more minor league talent.

You are correct that both paths are not mutually exclusive, but the path the Cubs are taking makes it easier to build depth in the minors and allow young players to learn on the job in the majors.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

This is exactly the type of thing rpb was talking about Brick. Even tho the man told you exactly how he felt, you do not agree and state he feels something else.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I just had an idea for an iPhone app. I call it CastroAlarm. You enter the players that are worth watching and the CastroAlarm notifies you when they are at bat so you can switch over to the game from Dancing With The Stars.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Its not an act

I told you I was unhappy with the team and you told me I wasnt.

Pretty cut n dry. Either you read minds or are calling me a liar.

This thread is great. Too many words and posts have been spent tiptoeing. Let's just summarize the 7 pages.



Cool. Thanks.

Can you define what that plan was?

Im sorry, I know you're gonna hate this but whenever you talk baseball it becomes clear how little you follow the sport. Maybe its because you're so knowledgeable on the other sports but it just seems like you remember very little. You just kind of go off of stats without memories of what led to those stats.

There was no plan in 2003. They were fortunate to make a midseason trade that usually wouldnt be available and got more than they projected from some veterans. Sometimes teams ride a thing like that all the way to a title, but it was not a plan that worked out.

Oh and they didnt win, so...

So he's not excited about Theo's plan? He seemed excited about it before.

I guess I'm wrong though. Kirkwood is not excited about Theo's plan.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I expect these kind of posts from other posters. That is below a former March Madness champion.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

JORR, your signature is going to be misconstrued.


Could replace it with anything. Does your old business partner complain every single day about being in jail?

If not, does that mean he's happy with it?

Ryan Dempster 2 Yrs
Dan Haren 1 Yr
Marco Scutaro 2 Yrs plus team option
Delmon Young 1 Yr
Rafael Soriano 2 Yr.
etc.

You can sign plenty of talent, enough to limp to the playoffs and be competitive while still preserving your overall plan for youth in two to three years.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Im glad that on Kirkwood's 9th attempt, you believed him.

That took courage on your part

I'll change it because you asked. But I think you underestimate our fellow CSFMBers.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

I know. Hopefully he'll explain further why he's not excited about Theo's plan.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!