It’s Friday….let’s have some fun, the CCO’s version of casual Friday, if you will. The Cubs Faithful has a tendency to take things very seriously, so let’s loosen up a little and spend some Monopoly money.
With the recent sale of the Cincinnati Reds, and both the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves being on the market….I thought I would ask what you would do if you owned the Cubs. XM Radio posed a similar question to its listeners the other night, but they asked what team would you buy? Well….since I figure this is a captive audience; I thought we could try it with a twist. I know I have already asked twice what you would do if you were the Cubs GM, but I figure this one is a little different….and I hope I am not wrong.
This is the big one, you make all of the decisions….you are now self-employed and the owner of a major corporation with one huge asset….the Chicago Cubs, but like before there are several catches. You can decide who will be your Vice President and General Manager….will you keep Jim Hendry and Andy MacPhail, or hire someone else to take their place? But if you choose to hire someone else, they have to be available. In other words you cannot hire Billy Beane, Brian Cashman or Theo Epstein, they already have a job. You can decide if Dusty Baker is the right man for the job, if not then who would you hire? This one you have a little more flexibility with, but they have to be unemployed as well or you have to be willing to give compensation to the team you are trying to lure the manager away from.
What would your payroll be? The 100 million dollar projected payroll for the 2006 Cubs does not appear to be enough money to some to bring a championship to the Northside. Would an increased payroll solve the problems or would better allocation of funds solve the problems? Remember you are not in the non-for-profit business. You have to be able to pay your players, coaches and front office staff and still put a little money in your own pocket. Would you change ticket prices at Wrigley? What would you do about the ticket scalpers (I’m sorry, brokers)? Speaking of Wrigley, would you still have the Cubs play there?
Basically you now have the power and resources to fix what you think is wrong with the Cubs. Maybe it is none of the above….What can be done to end the longest drought in professional sports? Have fun being Mr. Big Shot….