My $.11 on the Cubs

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com, AndyDisco on Twitter

I am still trying to wrap my head around the 2010 Cubs. How did someone in the front office think Cubs fans would accept this current team? How could they honestly expect us to care about them when their on the field talent is anything but reflective of the highest average price per ticket in MLB?

I wrote the other day about the lack of excitement on the Cubs roster, and I would like to revisit that in more depth. No one on the Cubs is A) young, and B) awesome. There are no players who you are POSITIVE have their best years ahead of them, there are no "The sky is the limit with this guy" type of players, nor are they any of baseball's most underrated players on the Cubs. While I am big fans of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, but at 34 and 31 years old (respectively) they are known entities for Cubs fans- good guys, and if they stay healthy have the chance to hit 40 home runs, drive in 120 runs play gold glove caliber defense and make an all-star team. But MVP candidates they are not. The 'staying healthy' part is a big "if", and frankly I have seen them before.

They aren't drawing me to Wrigley Field and I feel as though their best days may be behind them. So now that we have established who the stalwarts in the middle of the line up are, who else do they have? What kind of players would I like to see if I am going to pay $52.56, the cost of an average ticket at Wrigley (which is up 10% from 2009), or a Family Cost Index of $329.74- the price for taking a family of 4 to a game. I would like to see exciting players that might have a breakout 2010 year and cement their standing as a top tier player in the league, and for the team to collectively have success. So lets see what kind of entertainment our $329.74 can buy us.

Roster:

pitchers of note: Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Randy Wells, Ted Lilly, Carlos Marmol
Starting infield: Lee, Ramirez, Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot, Geovanny Soto
Outfield: Kosuke Fukudome, Marlon Byrd, Alphonso Soriano

This is a team made up of "just beginning the downside of their career" guys. That is certainly true for every pitcher but Randy Wells, and frankly, true for all the infielders and outfielders, with the only possible exception of Soto (who could go on to be solid, or could be a rookie flash in the pan). Here is another way I could group those 12 guys with the exception of Wells.

Likely to have already peaked as a player: Soriano, Zambrano, Lee, Ramirez, Marmol, Lilly, Soto

Still too solid to knock, but I'm expecting a decline in performance: Lee, Ramirez

So I guess if you were gonna be awesome, you would have been awesome by now: Theriot, Fontenot, Fukudome


So that's what the most expensive ticket prices in the game get you.

Here is another way to look at it. Lets say a family lives in Fort Wayne, IN. (a three hour drive from Wrigley) and is deciding which team to see play this summer. Living in Fort Wayne, the Tigers, Reds, White Sox and Cubs are all about a 3 hour drive from home, so all options are on the table. The family would probably want good economic value for their outing and also a chance of seeing something historic. You want to see a future Hall of Famer early in his career before he was a megastar, or you want to see a starting pitcher take a no hitter into the 7th, or see him pitch the year he won the Cy Young, or the year the team won the pennant, a team needs that "wow" factor in order to put buns in the seats.

With that in mind lets look at the players around the league you would pay to watch. By that I mean someone you think, "Cool, we have tickets for the game tonight and it will be nice to see XXXX play in person." I will go team by team alphabetically.

Angels- Bobby Abreu, Torri Hunter, Hideki Matsui, Kendry Morales
Astros: Roy Oswalt, Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman
A's: None
Blue Jays: Ricky Romero, Vernon Wells
Braves: Jair Jurrjens, Derek Lowe, Martin Prado, Jason Heyward
Brewers: Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun
Cardinals: Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols, Matt Holiday, Mr. Hat
Cubs: Lee, Ramirez (though Ted Lilly was the only 2009 Cub All Star)
Diamondbacks: Brandon Webb, Justin Upton
Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw, Jonathon Broxton, Manny Ramirez, Blake/Eithier/Loney/Furcal
Giants: Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Bengie Molina, Pablo Sandoval
Indians: Fausto Carmona, Matt LaPorta, Grady Sizemore
Marlins: Josh Johnson, Jorge Cantu, Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla
Mariners: Ichiro, Felix Hernandez, Franklin Gutieriez
Mets: Frankie Rodriguez, Johan Santana, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, Jeff Francoeur
Nationals: Stephen Strasburg (coming soon), Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn
Orioles: Matt Wieters, Adam Jones
Padres: Adrien Gonzalez
Phillies: Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Brad Lidge, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth
Pirates: none
Rangers: Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero
Rays: Grant Balfour, David Price, Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, BJ Upton
Red Sox: Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz
Reds: Aroldis Chapman, Johnny Cueto, Aaron Harang, Edinson Volquez, Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce
Rockies: Ubaldo Jimenez, Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Dexter Fowler
Royals: Zach Greinke.
Tigers: Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya, Miguel Cabrera, Brandon Inge, Johnny Damon, Magglio Ordonez
Twins: Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan (currently out for the year), Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Denard Span, Delmon Young, Jim Thome
White Sox: Mark Buerhle, Bobby Jenks, Jake Peavy, Gordon Beckham, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez, Omar Vizquel, Carlos Quentin
Yankees: CC Sabathia, Andy Petitte, Mariano Rivera, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson

To recap: I listed 125 players and 30 teams. Math tells us that that is an average of a little over 4 players per team. The Cubs, the most expensive team to watch, have half of the expected # of fun players to watch. That is a problem.

Why can't the Cubs be like the Rays, White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Cardinals, Phillies, Mets. Hell or even the Reds? At least they have an exciting young team with some talented pitching.

If the Cubs didn't have Wrigley Field why would anyone go to their games?

In a free market economy, the consumer votes with their dollars. You don't have write a letter to Cubs to complain like you might do with a politician, you simply stop giving them your money. Eventually they will get the hint and enact change. With the White Sox about 12 El stops south of Wrigley on the Red Line, I don't understand why someone would watch the Cubs instead of the White Sox, and I am a Cubs fan.

That's how I roll.