Letter From Ricketts

[daddies3angels]

2013: Building a Foundation for Success

Dear Cubs Fans –
An important season in our team's development plan has drawn to a close, and I want to take a few minutes of your time to thank you for your ongoing support and provide an update on our progress.
The 2013 season was another challenging campaign at the Major League level, with only marginal improvement in our record. After careful deliberation, we made the difficult decision to proceed with a new manager next season to move us closer to fulfilling our ultimate long-term vision for this team. That search is underway, and our focus will be on providing the best possible environment for young players to learn, develop and thrive at the Major League level.
We also have been engaged in a process to save and improve Wrigley Field while reinvesting in the Wrigleyville neighborhood. Our efforts to improve the baseball organization and our facilities have resulted in promising advancement toward our family's organizational goals of winning a World Series, preserving Wrigley Field and being a good neighbor in the City of Chicago.
We continue to be optimistic about the future of this franchise and our plan for sustained success. We aspire to become the best organization in baseball and have made strides in this direction. We acquired young, impact talent through trades, the first-year player draft and a weighted investment in this year's international signing class. No team in Major League Baseball has spent more on combined first-year and international amateur talent than the Cubs over the four years of our family's ownership. This investment in young talent is a significant driver of our system's improvement and reflective of our current strategy to focus baseball resources on players who will contribute to the Chicago Cubs over the long term.
As a result, our Minor League system has improved from the bottom quartile to the second best in baseball, according to Baseball Prospectus. According to ESPN's latest rankings, four of baseball's top 30 prospects reside on our Minor League rosters. We're proud to employ many of the best scouts and player development staff in the game to help us find, commit and develop these exciting young players, and they're already helping us win. Three of our five Minor League affiliates advanced to their respective playoffs, including the Florida State League-champion Daytona Cubs.
Because training and player development are critical to our goal of winning a World Series Championship, we must ensure our players have world-class facilities. Our new Spring Training Facility is nearing completion in Mesa, Arizona. This facility will be the best in the league for Major League players to prepare for the season each spring and for young players to train and develop year-round. It will also be a great place to watch Spring Training baseball. When in Mesa, you'll notice field dimensions and elements reminiscent of Wrigley Field, from the cantilevered upper deck and roof to a replica of the red Wrigley Field Marquee. We hope you will be able to join us next spring for the facility's grand opening and inaugural season of Spring Training games.
This past spring, the team opened a state-of-the-art baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, spanning 50 acres with baseball fields, training facilities, player housing and an education center, making it the largest academy in the country. Many of the best players in Major League Baseball are from Latin America and this impressive complex gives our ballclub a competitive advantage when recruiting and developing talented young players in this important region.
Finally, the restoration of Wrigley Field remains at the forefront of our efforts in Chicago, and we're closer than ever to restoring this soon-to-be 100-year-old ballpark. We have made significant progress toward obtaining the city approvals for our $300 million private investment in Wrigley Field, which will include better player facilities, new fan amenities, improved concessions and restrooms, while maintaining what fans love about Wrigley Field. We will be able to offer more events, such as concerts and sporting events, as well as family-friendly activities to enhance the fan experience and quality of life for the neighborhood. Perhaps most importantly, this restoration will provide long-term incremental revenue that will be reinvested into the baseball team.
As we prepare this landmark investment in Chicago, our players, coaches, front office and event staff continue to deliver on our family's priority of being a good neighbor. The team donated more than $2.3 million, plus thousands of autographed items and tickets, to hundreds of Chicagoland charities from Rogers Park to Englewood. This year, we introduced new Chicago Cubs Charities signature programs: the Cubs Scholars program, the Cubs on the Move Fitness Trolley and our Diamond Project, a community impact program that will provide grants to build and revitalize baseball fields in the Chicago area. If you have ever provided a donation, purchased a 50/50 raffle ticket or attended a Chicago Cubs Charities event, we thank you for supporting increased access to sports, health, wellness and fitness causes through Chicago Cubs Charities.
From top to bottom, our organization has been clear about adopting a long-term approach to becoming a championship-caliber franchise, and the 2013 season played an instrumental role in that transformation. This organization is becoming stronger and healthier. We have added young, impactful talent throughout our system and will provide the facilities and infrastructure required for them to succeed-which means an increasing number of homegrown players joining the Major League roster ready to win while playing The Cubs Way.
We value your continued support as the team continues on this exciting journey. Like you, my family cares deeply about the success of the Cubs and we are doing what we believe is necessary to win a World Series for the greatest fans in sports. Stay tuned for details about next season as we plan to celebrate 100 years of Wrigley Field all season long.
Once again, thank you and please say "hello" when you see me at the ballpark next year.
Sincerely,

Tom Ricketts

Got this in my email today. Enjoy

 

[daddies3angels]

We have made significant progress toward obtaining the city approvals for our $300 million private investment in Wrigley Field,

Other 200 million going into business around Wrigley to put more money into Ricketts pocket

Once again, thank you and please say "hello" when you see me at the ballpark next year.

Can i just punch him in the face instead?

 

[kvalentine]

good letter

 

[ChiSoxCity]

Until the Cubs field a team that fans can be proud of, I wouldn't listen to anything Ricketts or Epstein says. That team is just a cash cow for the Ricketts family and I'll never understand the blind loyalty of Cubs fans.

 

[Ari Bear]

Sounds like he's more into wrigley field rather than winning a championship.

 

[dabynsky]

Meh. The reality remains the same for the Cubs that the future rests on some of the top prospects in baseball. Could fall apart or it could be a period of sustained success or even something in between. We shall see.

 

[chibears55]

Sounds like he's more into wrigley field rather than winning a championship.

i have to laugh whenever i read someone complaining about what the ricketts are doing..

people need to take the blinders off and look pass their record the last 2 years under the ricketts and actually look at what he is doing for this organization future.

not interested in winning a championship ??? in just 3 years as owners, he has done more for the organization then the tribune did for 30 yrs..

new international academy, brand new updated ST facility, renovating and updating a broken down WF ..
all things needed to be done that will attract more of the top FAs, keep their top FAs, and help make their players better.

spent big money on international and american draft, which is to help them try to win championships and sustain success..

seriously people, the guy didnt buy the team and do all these upgrades and building new facilities because he wants to lose and dont want to win championships..
if that was the case he couldve kept all that money in his pockets that was spent on the facilties, etc., and kept payroll around league average with veterans that could of just kept them competitive once in a while.. you know, basically what we had seen the last 20 + years under the tribune , zell ownership...

 

[Ari Bear]

i have to laugh whenever i read someone complaining about what the ricketts are doing..

people need to take the blinders off and look pass their record the last 2 years under the ricketts and actually look at what he is doing for this organization future.

not interested in winning a championship ??? in just 3 years as owners, he has done more for the organization then the tribune did for 30 yrs..

new international academy, brand new updated ST facility, renovating and updating a broken down WF ..
all things needed to be done that will attract more of the top FAs, keep their top FAs, and help make their players better.

spent big money on international and american draft, which is to help them try to win championships and sustain success..

seriously people, the guy didnt buy the team and do all these upgrades and building new facilities because he wants to lose and dont want to win championships..
if that was the case he couldve kept all that money in his pockets that was spent on the facilties, etc., and kept payroll around league average with veterans that could of just kept them competitive once in a while.. you know, basically what we had seen the last 20 + years under the tribune , zell ownership...

Fair enough. Nice post!

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

Theo Epstein can go fuck himself. Houston has tried to stock their farm system for years by sucking royal ass and yet they're still horrible. Pittsburgh sucked for countless years and just now finally made the playoffs.

I'm shocked at the product they are feeding us. It's one of the greatest scams in the history of professional sports. The Cubs jack the ticket prices, reduce payroll, and put a minor league product on the field.

The Red Sox rebuilt in ONE YEAR. Worst to first. But yet here we are 100-losses a year indefinity. Motherfuck Theo Epstein.

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

i have to laugh whenever i read someone complaining about what the ricketts are doing..

people need to take the blinders off and look pass their record the last 2 years under the ricketts and actually look at what he is doing for this organization future.

not interested in winning a championship ??? in just 3 years as owners, he has done more for the organization then the tribune did for 30 yrs..

new international academy, brand new updated ST facility, renovating and updating a broken down WF ..
all things needed to be done that will attract more of the top FAs, keep their top FAs, and help make their players better.

spent big money on international and american draft, which is to help them try to win championships and sustain success..

seriously people, the guy didnt buy the team and do all these upgrades and building new facilities because he wants to lose and dont want to win championships..
if that was the case he couldve kept all that money in his pockets that was spent on the facilties, etc., and kept payroll around league average with veterans that could of just kept them competitive once in a while.. you know, basically what we had seen the last 20 + years under the tribune , zell ownership...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Meanwhile we're headed for yet another 90+ loss in 2014 - the third year of the rebuild. We're trying the Astro's approach, which has worked out oh so well for them. People talk as if our prospects will be 100% sure fire All-Stars. I'm not sold on Soler. Baez and Bryant should be studs, but if either one gets injured we're totally screwed.

Plus we have no pitching in the farm system. Don't believe the Jesse Rodgers HOMER hype.

 

[dabynsky]

Theo Epstein can go fuck himself. Houston has tried to stock their farm system for years by sucking royal ass and yet they're still horrible. Pittsburgh sucked for countless years and just now finally made the playoffs.

I'm shocked at the product they are feeding us. It's one of the greatest scams in the history of professional sports. The Cubs jack the ticket prices, reduce payroll, and put a minor league product on the field.

The Red Sox rebuilt in ONE YEAR. Worst to first. But yet here we are 100-losses a year indefinity. Motherfuck Theo Epstein.

Joel Sherman just addressed this point more eloquently than I ever could:

For the calamity of 2012 masked just how much talent was on the Red Sox. They won 69 games, but they were not a 69-win team. They were a .500 team as late as Aug. 6 before they collapsed because of 1) too many injuries, 2) the mental/emotional fatigue that became part of Bobby Valentine’s one season as manager, and 3) the talent drain that came with the late-August trade-away of Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Punto.

Still, once restored to health, the Red Sox began a rebuilding job with Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury as a core, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Will Middlebrooks, Felix Doubront and Junichi Tazawa as quality secondary pieces and Xander Bogaerts in the wings as the best of a fertile farm system.

In other words, most teams are not entering the free agent process with the cornerstone Boston did last year. Plus, the trade of Beckett/Crawford/Gonzalez/Punto had freed cash for the Red Sox to supplement what already was present.