School in session, what's your grade?

So the Ricketts family purchased the Cubs 3 short years ago and Cubs fans rejoiced in the fact that fans now own our beloved team. We praised the family that was to bring a championship to the Northside when they shook the hands of Cub fans on opening day. Where has that praise been lately? How would you grade the first 3 years of Ricketts ownership?

After purchasing the team, the Ricketts have really done little to get results on the field, and it has seemed like they struck out off the field a much as they have on it. Failing to up the teams budget was a huge mistake in a lot of Cubs fans' minds, and their overestimation that the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois would hand over as much tax dollars as they have asked for was a large business error in others eyes. For a family that grew a large corporation in TD Ameritrade with tactical and business savvy decisions, they have really put a sour taste in a lot of people's mouths.

Cubs fans thought the offseason of 2011 would promise to be fulfilling. The team had free agent options to solidify the club, and big decisions on the future of Jim Hendry and the hiring of a new on field manager, this would finally determine how Cubs fans would think about the ownership team. Again, in a lot of fans eyes they struck out again. Failing to land a big named free agent, keeping Jim Hendry, and allowing him to hire the wrong manager (Mike Quade as opposed to Ryne Sandberg), this ship was sinking fast. What a lot of Cubs fans didn't realize is the team achieved one of its best drafts ever, with some of the highest ceiling players the Cubs system has.

Midsummer 2011. The Ricketts had decided to part ways with Jim Hendry. This was the first time Cubs fans thought this organization might move in the right direction since the family bought the team. The team had shipped off payroll as well, sending off players like Fukudome, and finally getting Milton Bradley/Carlos Silva cash off the books. The team also sent Carlos Zambrano home after his tirade in Atlanta, and were in a position to drop additional payroll in Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena. The biggest question... Who would be in charge of the next decisions?

Offseason of 2012...

The Cubs hired Theo Epstein to be the President of Baseball Operations, and then turned to San Diego for Jud Hoyer to be the next General Manager. These 2 Moneyball/Sabermetrics students have had success in other places, relying on statistical numbers and equations that 10 years ago had no place in the game. One area a lot of people overlook is Theo and Jud's ability to build an efficient and productive minor league system.

The Cubs again have spoken about new stadium improvements, which would surely need tax payers money. We have yet to see or hear the full details, but will this be the same as the last bid they put in? We are also hearing that a TV deal for a Cubs Network could be in the works. Sounds like an additional $150-$200 million a season would pull into the Cubs organization.

After just a couple of short years I see this organization with a bright future. Lots of young talent in the minors, lots of revenue with promises of a lot more in the future, and a couple of executive that are primed to lead them ball club for years to come. Sure class is in session, but sports is a tough game to grade, what is gold one season is fool's gold the next. whatever this turns into, I sure hope it's a fun ride.

Once Touched

It would be the trip of a lifetime, a couple of lifelong Chicago Cubs fans driving to Cooperstown to witness the induction of their favorite player, Ryne Sandberg. I vividly remember the drive, often times along side other Cubs fans making this same hike. I also remember the tire on my car blowing and we needed to buy a new one. I remember so many things about this trip, but one thing continues to stick out. Buck O'Neil.



I honestly knew very little about Buck before this trip. I knew he was a player from the Negro Leagues, and I had an inkling that he was pretty good. I didn't know however, who he really was.

You see, induction week at the Baseball Hall of Fame is unlike anything else. The sport that immortalizes it's greats more than any other sport, one walk down the short 3 or 4 block town that is Cooperstown one can easily become overwhelmed. You see Cooperstown, NY isn't unlike any other small town in America, there is the town Post Office, a General Store, a couple of nice Bed and Breakfast's, and oh yeah, the Baseball Hall of Fame. Induction week however, this town is also littered with baseball fans, media, and Hall of Famers.

The first time I walked up the street I looked at a nice table with groups of people standing around and Yogi Berra just happened to be sitting down with... Willie Mays. It really doesn't take much for one to understand that this is Baseball's heaven, and I was instantly in awe.

I visited Cooperstown for the induction of my favorite baseball player, Ryne Sandberg, the last great player I can remember that displayed class day in day out, as well as never put himself above the base of baseball. He would later that week give one of the best Hall of Fame induction speeches ever given, but there is another event I remember as more rewarding.

As my friend and I were walking the Cooperstown streets one day, an elderly gentleman pointed at my hat and mentioned that we must be here to see Ryno. We replied we were, at which point he went on to talk about baseball, his role in the Cubs organization, and why we were all here. I have heard people talk about baseball before, and they may have been more eloquent when doing so. I have never heard someone talk about baseball with the passion in which Buck O'Neil talked about baseball. Every word spoken, every glance away, this man truly loved this game. Everything that was buck O'Neil, was baseball.

Our conversation and meeting was extremely brief, but it has lasted within me for six and a half years. I walk away from that week with a lot of memories, some of the best times I have ever had. Most importantly I walk away knowing that I spoke to a true legend of the sport. One that has impacted so many others players and others alike. Reggie Jackson once said, "He was a blessing for all of us. I believe that people like Buck and Rachel Robinson and Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa are angels that walk on earth to give us all a greater understanding of what it means to be human." 

I leave you with one last quote, from Buck himself, "I can't remember a time when I did not want to make my living in baseball or a time when that wasn't what I get to do."

Buck and I met but once, for a brief moment, but my take away from him is if you have a dream go after it with as much passion as humanly possible. When you think you've run out, reach back for more and continue to attack.