I was 14 when he was hired and by the time I was following front office stuff he was already McFail



So what happened? I assume he had a grand plan about improving the entire organization minor leagues etc



Did the tribune bosses stop him or was he just full of shit and never had a plan?

I think he was full of shit when he came here and gave everyone the Minnesota plan bullshit. He was here to make money and get his Tribune company shares.

His job was to make money for the Tribune corp and the profits never got reinvested in the team!

Why try to create a better minor league system, when your bosses loved the job you are doing at the major league level and you dropped off your $40 mill check at the end of every season.

Let me give you more history from the Trib Tower, can never forget it. When the Trib bought the Cubs and Wrigley, one of the Trib execs said buying the Cubs for the 400 hours of renewable programming was why they bought the team! He compared it to buying 10 (1/2 hour) episodes of Charles in Charge for $1 mill. It didnt make sense to me at the time, but for some reason it stuck in my head.

The Trib treated the Cubs like the blue headed step child. Used it to entertain for other business, used the advertising for free for WGN TV and RADIO. Ad Revenue went right to the WGN TV revenues with nothing going back to the Cubs. They had a great media plan. Give away the TV for free on WGN TV to every cable provider in the nation as basci cable was ijust getting installed and watch the popularity grow. (Meanwhile Jerry and Eddie, tried to charge you to watch Tony Bernazard, then jerk off to some soft porn for $39.95). Oops.

It was all about milking the Cubs dry to make everyone else in the Trib castle look great.

Crane Kenny is the last remaining element of the Dennis Fitzpatrick, Stanton Cook days.

_________________
"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I almost became cross eyed as a young boy trying to watch porn with a big line through it.

I think Mc Phail came here with a plan but he had an incentive system set up to take him the direction bigfan described.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Yup, I agree his intentions were to develop, etc, but the lure of million dollar bonuses won out.

_________________
"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”