http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-05-cubs-tickets-chicago-dec05,0,5463928.story

Awesome. Raise ticket prices. You won 83 games last year and missed the playoffs. Best thing you could do is thank your new team's fans with a price increase. Nice start Ricketts. I just love what you've done with the place.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... 3743.story

This could have been dated 9/30/09 Paul. Way to be right on top of this story.
Here's some fun exerpts:

Well Ron, you handled the rest of the team like shit.
Joe, if you think you can get along with anyone you're perfectly deserving of the Milton Bradley experience. Remarkably stupid thing to say from a bright guy.



Well 07 turned out so well too! And when I think LEADER, I TOTALLY think Eric Karros? Really? That dude cared more about his goddamn camcorder than playing. Fuck Karros. We really look to repeat the "success" of 03 and 07? This Sullivan fellow must be completely insane or completely stupid.

NEWS ITEM: Cubs interested in Heath Bell

Last year he had 42 saves bringing his total to 44 career saves. I'd be for this if I thought it improved the team. You gonna move Marmol back to set up after he put in his time served here over the last 2-3 years? I'd rather they concentrate on this little Outfield problem, starter problem, lefty reliever problem, 2nd base problem first.

In short... I don't feel so good about this season. I'm troowiddit.

Heath... 32 years old and 300 innings career. Kind of like our fan fav Hoffpauir. And I don't trust any pitching stats coming out of Petco.

[I don't hate Karros at all. But this team needs a goddamn leader. I think the karros comparison was awful. What was he a leader of, the dugout A/V club?

[IYeah, Floyd was a cocksucker before he even got here. Who needs someone like him? My point stands, Sully is a boob.

Then you missed my point. I don't dislike the guy at all. It's just that the Cubs have a closer (Marmol) who's earned the chot and I believe that there's many more important areas that need to be improved first.
Cubs need a legit SS and they need to move Theriot to 2. But they still need that SS.
The Cubs need either a marquis Corner outfielder or a centerfielder and move Fukudome to right.
They need a starter to take Hardens spot.
They need middle relief.
This is all much more important than a damned closer which is possibly the only position outside of corner infielders that's solidly in place.

I do realize that. Do you realize that you can't promote and demote and promote and demote? Do you realize that this guy comes from one of the pitcher friendliest parks?
You do realizse that the Cubs have several more important glaring gaping wide open holes to fix before they worry about closer too right? How do you miss these important things?

I'll just go ahead and say it again, since you're blindly missing my point. I've got nothing against Wells.
It's bad baseball form to put in another closer in this situation. There's other missing pieces that are more important. The pieces the Cubs are stuck with are not working well.
But really, this was positively last on myh beef with management at this point.
But I'll tell you what. I conceed the argument over Wells. I just don't care about the guy or what he brings enough to really continue this facet of the discussion. Feel free to beef with me over the rest of my OP though.

Oh dear god fuck me I said Well instead of Bell. It's just so awful of me to commit such a sin against God.
Once again, I don't have anything against the guy. I don't think that late inning help is really what the Cubs need most right now, I'd rather see them figure out who's gonna start in Right, Center, 2nd and figure out how to do something with the pregressively worse LF they have, and the little starter trouble they've got brewing with Harden gone, Lilly unavailable til May and Carlos being a raging crazy person.

Finally we're getting somewhere.
Why not jump on it?
The Cubs have a ton of money committed to Dropsy McWiffsalot in left, and Twirley McWindmilley in Center. They will eat Bradley's salary. They've got a lot of payroll for guys who might not be effective this year.
If they have limited capital for payroll as I suspect, they're blowing available wad on parts that are not crucial.
If you have a broken alternator and you kinda need tires soon, and you've got only $700, you don't spend your $700 on the tires, right?

The Cubs have a ton of money committed to Dropsy McWiffsalot in left, and Twirley McWindmilley in Center. They will eat Bradley's salary. They've got a lot of payroll for guys who might not be effective this year.
If they have limited capital for payroll as I suspect, they're blowing available wad on parts that are not crucial.
If you have a broken alternator and you kinda need tires soon, and you've got only $700, you don't spend your $700 on the tires, right?

Finally we're getting somewhere.
Why not jump on it?
The Cubs have a ton of money committed to Dropsy McWiffsalot in left, and Twirley McWindmilley in Center. They will eat Bradley's salary. They've got a lot of payroll for guys who might not be effective this year.
If they have limited capital for payroll as I suspect, they're blowing available wad on parts that are not crucial.
If you have a broken alternator and you kinda need tires soon, and you've got only $700, you don't spend your $700 on the tires, right?

this offends me. I'm taking my horry cow tshirt and headband and going home.



But seriously, Fukudome is fine. Slightly overpaid last year ultimately, but if he didn't completely bomb in September his stats would have been solid

Fukudome is god frickin awful at the tail end of the season. He's shown that for two years. he's no rookie kid, just learning his craft. Trends now are trends forever I think with this dude. I like his defense, and he takes some pitches, but he is shit in the playoffs/end of the season and you're not going to be competitive in the long run (read: championship run) with this guy out there.
Blanco at short? Great d, but is he going to hit? Are we already looking at 2011? Should I just wait a year thru another shitty season to watch until 2011 and Ryno is in the house? I can't stomach another year like last year. They need to be competitive now if they expect fans to eat their higher ticket prices which was actually the point ot this thread to begin with.

I don't want 'more competitive'. I want to see them field the best goddamn team in the National League and hopefully the whole of the MLB and it's just not going to happen with this owner (being a moron) and Hendry. We're already talking down 2010. That tells me that this team in in for a couple years of suck. And just about the time these boobs get some talent in the lineup Ramirez and Lee will be past their primes. maybe even Zambrano and Dempster and Lilly.
The window is closing fast as hell. Time's up.

That was a statement of opinion. Do you know what an opinion is, PcB?

Wrigley Field sells out every year right? How is making more money a bad business decision?

2007 3,252,462
2006 3,123,215
2005 3,099,992
2004 3,170,154
2003 2,962,630
2002 2,693,096
2001 2,779,465
2000 2,789,511
1999 2,813,854
1998 2,623,194

I am not a legal expert, how many times do I have to say it?