Right, The Plan was a good idea. Ricketts is killing any chance to carry it out.




Right. The Score and other media slobbered over Theo and people here put that on Cub fans, even though most Cub fans here are negative overall.

Well good for you. All I'm saying is that when it comes to the Cubs,I have been critical to the 'nth degree but not since 2008.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

b-b-b-b-but comeon.... the creepy ricketts clan are fans just like the rest of us! don't you just love those inevitable specials b4 opening day where they show stock footage of them roaming the concourse gladhanding the great unwashed spliced together with that annual panel at the convention where they're all sitting up there on chairs taking questions? i love that because it's not a season if i don't know what the drag queen ricketts clan member thinks about the upcoming season.

FFS IF IT'S A NATIONAL GAME AND IT'S RAINING THEY'LL PUT ON A PONCHO (AVAILABLE FOR $15-20 AT THE TEAM SHOP) AND DRINK BEER.... JUST LIKE THE REST OF US!

so stop your hating and remember that your one odd cubs superfan/convention-attendee has likely shook hands with a rickett and ACTUALLY TALKED TO THEM?!?! and they speak like us humans and seem to care about what you think and hey if you're going to rebuild you gotta do it RIGHT and we're only a few years away from signing a ~28-30 year old in his prime manny ramirez to finally get this rebuilding process above water. patience. did you forget that the team's motto is "it's gonna happen?" aka "why not us?"

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It's the same thing though. I don't think we are talking about whether we like how Ricketts looks in a suit. We are judging how good of a job he is doing. If his plan is good, then so is he.
Are you saying Cubs fans were negative overall about the Theo signing?

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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!

"The Plan" was unnecessary and it's a slap in the face to fans to play for high draft picks. It's funny listening to bernstein and Larry and Spiegel talk about tanking. They love the tanking but now they won't watch the games. You can't just have everybody not watch the games. The fucking league would fold.

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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

Fine.

Then dont accuse me of hallucinating when I say Im critical.

Right again. The Sox sucked to high heaven last year but they made a few moves to TRY to improve. The Cubs don't try.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

That's not what you said. I think I have packed as much Cub "venom" in my 3-4 years here as a dozen Mike Murphy's. It's all just electronic masturbation anyway but it sure feels better after I'm done.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Rebuilding a minor league system that desperately needed it, is not a slap in the face


Picking up over priced veterans in an attempt to sell your fans hope of a WS that year, when there is none, is a way bigger slap in the face then going young.

Very well said.

As fans, you have the choice of disagreeing with this sentence and not buying tickets, watching games etc if you feel insulted by the Cubs making absolutely no real effort to win this year.

It's really that easy.

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Team Cutler.

As a fan though,it's painful and I'm not kidding.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

They have taken a step backward. 2014-15 is now 2015-16. They have already told you they are tanking 2014.

Even Hub sees it.

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

like a cat playing with a mouse

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

Jimmy, does Theo being Jewish affect your thoughts at all?

Also agree. It sucks to watch to high hell. And frustrations are completely normal.


It's genuinely scary to think that they could still be awful in 2016/2017 and basically wasted a decade.

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Team Cutler.

It's not that hard to "go young" without tanking seasons. You're seeing it on the South side right now. Is Hahn a Really Smarter Guy than Theo? I don't think so. He also doesn't have the resources Theo does, even with Big Joe limiting things.

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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

It's a good thing the NBA has big international TV contracts (and Derrick Rose on billboards in GUANGZHOOOOUUU) or else they'd be pretty fucked with those 12 to 16 arenas no one is ever goddamn sitting in.

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I don't think most leagues care about attendance much any more. Television pays the bill, and they jack up the prices on those who do like to go and make money that way.

A half full stadium at 3x the price is better than a full stadium. Poor people can watch at home.

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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!

Yeah, the NHL is the only league that still relies on gate ahead of television. There's some big TV money coming in now, but by and large they still make their money on live games and arena ownership.

The problem with such a business model is that it can make for a pretty bad telecast if no one's there and no one's enjoying themselves. Of course, Dan Bernstein has taught me that NBA fans are America's best and brightest thinkers and as such would never let such intangibles get in the way of Appreciating Greatness, but I'll always maintain that there's something to be said for the fact that people at college basketball games actually seem to be there and enjoying themselves. It looks like something you might want to watch and might want to go to. Have you ever seen a local telecast of the Milwaukee Bucks? It's ghastly. Just ghastly.

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I think Hahn started with more valuable pieces

But what Hahn is doing is not helping rebulid the minor leagues. I know the goal is to win at the major league level and Hahn is doing that, but I really do think the Cubs have needed to fix the minor league system and development for a long time. That is why im on board with that aspect of the evil plan

Epstein picked up Ortiz for nothing when he was a nothing.

So, this thing where you act like they spent crazy on these two free agents is wrong.

The Manny part is legit, not Ortiz

I'm not a fan of any minor league team, so I really don't care who is playing on one.

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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

That's like saying you're not a fan of College Basketball, so who cares about the draft.



I believe having a good to great minor league system stocked with talent is the best way for the Cubs to win a world series.

Yeah, we've talked about this before. The NFL could likely survive as a studio sport. How much excitement and feel would be lost without the live audience, I'm not sure. Horse racing is pretty much "surviving" as a studio game. But we're seeing that racing in front of an empty grandstand isn't exactly the best promotion for the sport, in spite of the fact that more people may actually be watching and betting than ever.

But the Score guys are advocating not watching on TV until...until... until I don't know when. With so many hopes pinned on the next Cub television deal, don't you think someone negotiating with the Cubs is going to be smart enough to point out how few people are watching? The Score philosophy seems at cross purposes with the Ricketts-Theo Plan.

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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 can see a scenario in which the Cubs might contend as soon as 2015. If Kris Bryant , Arismendy Alcantara and Javier Baez make it to the majors later in 2014 and do well, then Jorge Soler and a couple pitchers (Edwards,Vizcaino) make it in 2015....I can see it coming together pretty quickly. Maybe Mike Olt becomes the player many thought he was going to be too? If things work out well with some young players in 2014, perhaps with the new TV contract looming, they go spend on a top pitcher before 2015 too. But fans are going to have to get through 2014 before things get dramatically better. But who knows, maybe they sign a few starting pitchers they hope to flip at the deadline and they do so well the team is contending in their division and they keep them instead. But I doubt it. The Cardinals, Pirates and Reds are solid clubs and to contend in this division or even for a wild card is highly unlikely. Gonna have to be patient and wait for the young developing players before the real fun begins.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Not quite. I guess if you're getting LeBron you care about the draft. If you're getting Marcus Teague, maybe not. I have no idea about any minor leagues guys or what they might do in the big leagues and neither does anyone else.

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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

No,but the fact he has a full head of hair bothers me somewhat.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Agreed. The good teams will always be pretty full though. If it ever becomes a problem, they can lower ticket prices. As long as rich people are willing to pay 3 or 4 times what others are though they'll continue.

I think in 10 or 15 years we see actual game attendance be much cheaper for all but the huge fan bases. Sucks for Bears fans though. Good for others.

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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 think Hahn's problem is that he is too good at his job, and his minor league players don't stay there long enough to get good writeups in magazines.

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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!