Besides That, Cubs Fans, How Have You Enjoyed the Ricketts Era?

In News And Rumors by aisle424198 Comments

The Ricketts showed up last year at the Cubs Convention to a hero’s welcome.  If the crowds could have somehow gotten ahold of some rose petals or palm fronds to throw at their feet, they surely would have.  Finally!  The reign of the Tribune had come to an end!  Long live the Ricketts Family!!!

They talked about how they were planning on owning the Cubs for a very long time. (Cheers.) They talked about the beauty of Wrigley Field. (Cheers.)  They talked about building an organization that regularly made the playoffs through developing homegrown players and smart spending. (Wild cheers.)  Finally, they talked about winning a World Series for the great fans of Chicago. (Thunderous ovation.)

At the time, Cubs fans were in love with the Ricketts and so were most of the media.  Right after they finally assumed control of the team in October 2009 they started talking almost immediately about how ticket prices would be going up and the payroll would be staying flat.  But that didn’t matter, they weren’t the Tribune and they had a honeymoon period where pretty much everything they said was taken at face value and anything we maybe didn’t like was part of a grand plan to improve the team.

I never understood how that could be possible in a city like Chicago where lying and overt misdirection of the press is practically an Olympic sport amongst politicians.  I couldn’t comprehend how that was possible from someone who was so obviously communicating in that meaningless corporate-speak that flowers up almost any dreadful pronouncement with non-sensical lingo and buzzwords that sound positive: “Mrs. Lincoln, your husband experienced a slight interruption of his cranial capacities when an unforeseen ammunition emission dynamically impacted on a neural trajectory. We are really working outside-the-box to conceptualize a holistic method to successfully optimize a return of his infrastructural synergies to his occipital area instead of all over the floor.  Besides that, how was the play?”

But that was pretty much how it went.  The Ricketts would say, “We are dedicated to building up the farm system!” and so it would be.  They would insist that the Cubs were only a couple of transactions away from contention, and by golly, so they were!  They would talk about providing plenty of cheaper seat options for families and suddenly they were really in touch with the needs of Cubs-loving families.  Or at least, that is how it would usually be reported.

But things sure are changing here on Waltons mountain.  The word of the Ricketts doesn’t seem to carry the weight it once did with the fans, and now the writers are starting to catch on too.

Bruce Miles wrote today that the Cubs could very well go 0 for the current roadtrip and pretty much states that he has no indication that such a disastrous occurrence for the state of the Cubs season would result in any changes from the top.

Truth be told, I’m sure Ricketts will keep his feet moving quickly when and if he sees the beat writers, whose questions he never likes to answer.

and

Ricketts has shown no sign of wanting to let Hendry go. The owner seems to be putting his faith in Tim Wilken’s drafts and Oneri Fleita’s player development and counting the days until the likes of Brett Jackson, Trey McNutt, Jae-Hoon Ha, Rob Whitenack, Matt Szczur, Ryan Flaherty and others are ready to move up.

It sounds like Bruce has some follow-up questions he’d like to ask if Tommy gives him the chance.  Maybe he should put on a disguise and pretend he’s a tourist who wants an autograph.

Meanwhile, and I can’t even believe this is possible, Steve Rosenbloom actually manages to hit the nail on the head repeatedly today:

Ricketts has been a disaster since about his second day of this hobby. He apparently doesn’t realize it. He apparently doesn’t realize that he is one of the big reasons Cubs fans have death-spiraled into something once unimaginable: apathy.

Cubs fans don’t care enough to use tickets they already purchased. Other Cubs fans don’t care enough to spend as little as a buck or 50 cents for a ticket on a swap site. It has reached such embarrassing proportions that the Cubs have resorted to something else once unimaginable: discounted beer in the bleachers.

The fan who bought the franchise from the corporation has turned off the fans. Can we get some big red shoes and big red noses for the owner’s suite?

The Cubs have a roster of mismatched parts because of mismanagement. Last offseason, Ricketts told fans he would shift money from payroll to scouting and development, and then his general manager traded three of his top prospects for a pitcher who could cost this fifth-place team $15 million this year and next.

But even though some of the media members have started noticing the smoke and mirrors that the Ricketts have been using all along, they are going to keep running the same play until someone can pin them down and start asking tough follow-ups.

For instance, Ed Sherman followed up his piece where Ricketts blamed attendance woes on bad weather and whiny lower-income Cubs fans with a piece where Tom insists again that the Cubs are trying to build their team through the farm system.

“From a team perspective, it’s about reinforcing the fact that development of players matters,” Mr. Ricketts said. “You visit with the young players and tell them, ‘Hope to see you in Wrigley soon.’ You see the managers and coaches and say, ‘What you guys are doing is critical to us. Keep it up.’

So that’s what the Cubs have been doing wrong all these 102 years?  The owners haven’t hauled their cookies to Iowa and Peoria and whatever backwater burghs the minor league affiliates have ever been located to give the players and managers there an “attaboy?”  That’s why Corey Patterson sucked?  That’s why Mike Harkey sucked?  I wonder why Hayden Simpson sucks.  Maybe he missed Tommy’s visit when he was off looking for his 10 mph of lost velocity.

“On the business side, it sends a good message for the whole organization.”

What message is that?  “You guys here on the major league roster suck and I can’t wait to get rid of you, now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got to go give some blowies to all those hard working prospects down there so they know we care about them.”

“You’ve got to walk the walk,” Mr. Ricketts said. “When you’re trying to build an organization through the farm system, you’ve got to get down there. If you don’t develop players, you’re behind the 8-ball.”

I’m actually shocked he didn’t work the phrases, “It is what it is,” “All things being equal,” or “At the end of the day” into that somewhere.  But if you cut through the mumbo-jumbo, he seems to be saying the youth shall be the answer to our long-term problems.

Meanwhile the fans, and hopefully more of the media will finally notice that Tyler Colvin was sent down to the minors, Brett Jackson isn’t anywhere on the horizon, we traded away valuable depth in the organization to acquire a pitcher heading into his most expensive years, Koyie Hill is now getting regular playing time, and the entire roster seems to have had it’s extra-base capabilities sucked away by the ravages of time. Perhaps some follow-ups may be coming soon.  I won’t hold my breath, but I’m certainly more hopeful about that than I am about the Cubs ever reaching the .500 mark again this season.


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Comments

  1. uncle dave

    I’m actually shocked he didn’t work the phrases, “It is what it is,” “All things being equal,” or “At the end of the day” into that somewhere.

    You clearly don’t appreciate the view from 10,000 feet. Nice Waltons reference, by the way…

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  2. Berselius

    Last offseason, Ricketts told fans he would shift money from payroll to scouting and development, and then his general manager traded three of his top prospects for a pitcher who could cost this fifth-place team $15 million this year and next.

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  3. Mish

    This is fantastic stuff. To give u the ( dick) highest compliment, I could see myself writing the same exact post. Last paragraph sounds like my evening prayer.

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  4. Aisle424

    [quote name=uncle dave]You clearly don’t appreciate the view from 10,000 feet. Nice Waltons reference, by the way…[/quote]
    It was a recent show I enjoyed.

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  5. Berselius

    [quote name=Suburban kid]Tons of shitty baseball equals tons of quality posts in one day?[/quote]
    Rage is our muse.

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  6. Aisle424

    [quote name=Mish]This is fantastic stuff. To give u the ( dick) highest compliment, I could see myself writing the same exact post. Last paragraph sounds like my evening prayer.[/quote]
    [quote name=Suburban kid]Tons of shitty baseball equals tons of quality posts in one day?[/quote]

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  7. Berselius

    Lineups

    RF Fukudome
    2B Barney
    SS Castro
    3B Rodrigo
    1B Pena
    CF Byrd
    LF Adolfo
    C Captain Fundamentals
    P Dempster

    CF Coghlan
    SS Hanley
    LF Morrison
    1B Sanchez
    3B Dobbs
    RF Stanton
    C Buck
    2B Infante
    P Lee and Cain

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  8. mb21

    I can’t keep up with all these new posts today. Is this the Grand Re-Opening of Obstructed View or something? Why didn’t we hype it? (dying laughing)

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  9. Berselius

    (dying laughing), somehow I missed the story about Coghlan getting injured while throwing a pie in a teammate’s face

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  10. mb21

    Lots of great stuff on here today. You can tell it’s great because I didn’t write anything.

    Love this piece, Tim.

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  11. Berselius

    (dying laughing), Nolasco has the Rick Vaughn haircut. Was he playing in the California Penal league in the offseason?

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  12. Rice Cube

    [quote name=mb21]McNutt: 3 IP, 4 H, R, K
    Ha: 2-5[/quote][quote name=dylanj]McNutt went 3 IP tonight, Ha had a few more hits and thats about it for AA[/quote]
    Cool stories, bros.

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  13. mb21

    Cubs players with more than 80 players appearances:

    Name PA wOBA
    Kosuke Fukudome 120 .369
    Darwin Barney 152 .356
    Starlin Castro 175 .355
    Alfonso Soriano 147 .355
    Carlos Pena 134 .337
    Marlon Byrd 169 .321
    Geovany Soto 121 .320
    Aramis Ramirez 155 .317

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  14. mb21

    [quote name=dylanj]fucking mb21[/quote]A thread back you asked at what point do the Cubs just release Soriano. I’m thinking as soon as Brett Jackson gets healthy and gets a week of playing time. At that point we can’t say he’s one of the three best outfielders in the organization. I also agree with you that Colvin could easily do what Soriano does. I’d bet he’d be better. Soriano’s defense is so bad it’s ridiculous. Unless the Cubs want to move him to 1st base I see no reason to keep him around. The last thing I want is Soriano stealing playing time from a more deserving player and I’m afraid he’s already done that with Colvin.

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  15. Rice Cube

    [quote name=mb21]I know the Cubs won’t do that. I doubt any organization would, but they should.[/quote]
    If they fire everyone and a new GM comes along, and they lose out on the Pujols/Fielder sweepstakes, wouldn’t they then want to at least give it a try in ST?

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  16. dylanj

    i’d rather have Carlos Pena than Colvin. But im pretty sure next year we will have a new GM, President, Albert Pujols and 50/50 Quade is gone too

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  17. melissa

    Ricketts wouldn’t eat Milton Bradley’s contract do you really think they’re going to release Soriano? I do not.

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  18. mb21

    I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Tony Campana is better than Soriano. He plays good defense in CF, has gotten on base a lot the last 2 seasons and is ridiculously fast. He won’t hit for any power, but Soriano doesn’t field.

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  19. dylanj

    Soriano is going to force their hand. This guy will be out of baseball in a year or two if he keeps up this decline.

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  20. Recalcitrant Blogger Nate

    [quote name=melissa]Ricketts wouldn’t eat Milton Bradley’s contract do you really think they’re going to release Soriano? I do not.[/quote]
    agree. and I also don’t see Ricketts ponying up for Pujols if wrigley is empty all summer. he;ll say something to the effect that if fans want them to spend money, they have to come to the games

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  21. mb21

    [quote name=melissa]Ricketts wouldn’t eat Milton Bradley’s contract do you really think they’re going to release Soriano? I do not.[/quote]No, no team would just release Soriano. I’m talking about what should be done.

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  22. melissa

    [quote name=dylanj]i’d rather have Carlos Pena than Colvin. But im pretty sure next year we will have a new GM, President, Albert Pujols and 50/50 Quade is gone too[/quote]
    If the GM is gone, Quade is for sure fired. I don’t think Ricketts is going to seriously consider signing Fielder or Pujols because their financial situation is not good. Bad attendance and a stadium in serious need of rehab along with their debt service is going to result in severe payroll reduction, imo.

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  23. mb21

    [quote name=dylanj]Soriano is going to force their hand. This guy will be out of baseball in a year or two if he keeps up this decline.[/quote]I tend to agree with this too The guy has a sub .300 OBP, cannot field to save his life, can’t run. About the only thing Soriano can do is hit for some power. Basically, he’s a 5th oufielder who should make league minimum and come off the bench about 100 times per season against a lefty only.

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  24. Rice Cube

    [quote name=Muck Muckintuck]Do people really think the Cubs will sign Pujols?[/quote]
    Not really, but we can dream (dying laughing)

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  25. mb21

    [quote name=Muck Muckintuck]Do people really think the Cubs will sign Pujols?[/quote]No. I think they do sign Prince Fielder, though.

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  26. Mucker

    Pujols is a god but it doesn’t make sense to give a 32 year old the contract he most likely will be getting. I would take Fielder over Pujols at this point. I think whoever signs Pujols to his new deal is going to regret it.

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  27. mb21

    [quote name=dylanj]we need more Brad Fucking Snyder on this team[/quote]I’m surprised as well as he’s hit he hasn’t at least gotten called up yet.

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  28. dylanj

    i really do think they will sign one of fielder or pujols. If you are ricketts and fans are tired of paying top dollar for a shit team are you really going to try and sell them on Tyler Colvin?

    If the team tanks and attendance is down they will have to make a big splash. The lemmings would fill Wrigley to the gills if they had a real star to get behind.

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  29. dylanj

    BFS has entered the Jason Dubois island of AAA. Where no matter what you do the best you can hope for is a cup of coffee in September

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  30. mb21

    [quote name=Muck Muckintuck]Pujols is a god but it doesn’t make sense to give a 32 year old the contract he most likely will be getting. I would take Fielder over Pujols at this point. I think whoever signs Pujols to his new deal is going to regret it.[/quote]I agree. It will be awesome the first few years, but after that it’s going to be one of those contracts you wish was never signed.

    I only want Fielder if it’s a more reasonable contract than he apparently wants. No way am I giving that guy $120 million. $75 million? Yeah. Maybe $85 or $90 million, but nowhere near $120 million.

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  31. Mucker

    [quote name=mb21]I agree. It will be awesome the first few years, but after that it’s going to be one of those contracts you wish was never signed.

    I only want Fielder if it’s a more reasonable contract than he apparently wants. No way am I giving that guy $120 million. $75 million? Yeah. Maybe $85 or $90 million, but nowhere near $120 million.[/quote]Fielder is 5 years younger. You sign him to a 7 year deal and he’s 32. If he can keep his weight under control, he’ll be a good sign. He’s never going to be skinny but he seems to be pretty athletic for a fat ass. I’d give him a 6 year deal at $100 million.

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  32. Mucker

    [quote name=Berselius]http://www.anothercubsblog.net/major-league-baseball/articles/a-look-at-prince-fielder.html[/quote]Good stuff. That’s kind of how I see him too.

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  33. mb21

    [quote name=Berselius]Man, it looks like Koyie could outrun Soriano at this point[/quote]Pretty sure he could. Soriano looks like a statue running at this point.

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  34. Berselius

    [quote name=Berselius]Morrison must have been watching tape on the Cubs.[/quote]
    Dobbs was in the room too I guess

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  35. Rice Cube

    [quote name=Recalcitrant Blogger Nate]i fucking hate dempster, walking the pitcher again (dying laughing)[/quote]
    That came back to hurt him.

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  36. Recalcitrant Blogger Nate

    Is Duffy up because he’s ready, or up for a spot start because of need?

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  37. Recalcitrant Blogger Nate

    [quote name=Berselius]Gah. Reed Fucking Johnson batting against another RHP[/quote]

    (dying laughing)
    (dying laughing)

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  38. Recalcitrant Blogger Nate

    Still doesn’t mean it was a good decision, but I bet it happens again now

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  39. Berselius

    [quote name=Rice Cube]I thought it was Sun Life Stadium.[/quote]
    Corporate sponsor of the week stadium

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  40. Horny Goat

    [quote name=Berselius]Corporate sponsor of the week stadium[/quote]
    whatever it’s called, no more baseball will be played there after this season. a dreadful place for it.

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  41. Horny Goat

    I switched to ESPN for a second and they were talking about Bartolo Colon’s “stem cell” thing. Have you guys talked about it? I don’t read every word. sorry.

    anyway. Barry Larkin said even though it helped him get back to 95 MPH, it still doesn’t help location, so you can’t give credit to that (dying laughing)

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  42. Rice Cube

    [quote name=Horny Goat]the legend of Campana grows. how the hell did he get on? I missed it[/quote]
    Pinch run for Soriano.

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  43. Horny Goat

    [quote name=Rice Cube]Shit. I thought that was a TOOTBLAN (dying laughing)[/quote]
    speed don’t slump

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  44. Rice Cube

    Soriano got a single. Then Campana came in to pinch run. Stole 2B, bunted over to 3B by Koyie, then came home on an FC I think.

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  45. Berselius

    [quote name=Rice Cube]Soriano got a single. Then Campana came in to pinch run. Stole 2B, bunted over to 3B by Koyie, then came home on an FC I think.[/quote]
    Small ball’d

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  46. Horny Goat

    [quote name=melissa]And rust never sleeps[/quote]
    better to burn out, than fade away
    my my, hey hey

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  47. Rice Cube

    [quote name=Berselius]Small ball’d[/quote]
    Leave it to the Cubs to start hitting for power in a pitchers’ park.

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  48. Horny Goat

    [quote name=Rice Cube]Leave it to the Cubs to start hitting for power in a pitchers’ park.[/quote]
    it’s the weather

    /Ricketts

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  49. Horny Goat

    [quote name=Rice Cube]Wouldn’t it be smarter to move Byrd to a corner and Campana to CF? Ah well.[/quote]
    might as well use Campana like they have. It’s not like he’s the second coming of Sam Fuld.

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  50. Rice Cube

    [quote name=Horny Goat]might as well use Campana like they have. It’s not like he’s the second coming of Sam Fuld.[/quote]
    I just hope whenever they bring up BJax, they either move Byrd to RF or trade him so BJax is the CF.

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  51. Horny Goat

    [quote name=Rice Cube]I just hope whenever they bring up BJax, they either move Byrd to RF or trade him so BJax is the CF.[/quote]
    we’re trying to lose games here.

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  52. Horny Goat

    Rivera blew a save against BAL. 1-1 in the 11th.

    Marmol in for a long save attempt. Good times.

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  53. Horny Goat

    [quote name=Rice Cube]The Ari Kaplan rule and actual platoon wisdom dictates Marmol is in now.[/quote]
    I missed the part where you guys call him Ari

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  54. Rice Cube

    [quote name=Horny Goat]I missed the part where you guys call him Ari[/quote]
    The stat guy (dying laughing)

    Hanley flies out on strike four.

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  55. Horny Goat

    [quote name=Rice Cube]The stat guy (dying laughing)

    Hanley flies out on strike four.[/quote]
    I had to look that up

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  56. Rice Cube

    [quote name=Berselius]Damn, and I has putting together an all-facepalm postgame after that 5th inning (dying laughing)[/quote]
    Save it for tomorrow.

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  57. Mercurial Outfielder

    [quote name=ACT]Espn.com lists Koyie Hill as one of today’s “Top Performers.”[/quote]Yes. In the subcategory of “People That Have Gone One Full Day Without Maiming Themselves”

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  58. Mercurial Outfielder

    [quote name=dylanj]tony campana is now the fastest player in baseball according to yellon.[/quote]

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  59. Mercurial Outfielder

    [quote name=Horny Goat]Felix Pie almost hit a walk off HR in the bottom 14th vs NYY. So close[/quote]Too bad he’s slower than Tony Campana.

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  60. melissa

    [quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Too bad he’s slower than Tony Campana.[/quote]
    This is true of all humans

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  61. Mercurial Outfielder

    [quote name=Horny Goat]everyone is slower than Tony Campana[/quote]Spinal Taps amps go to 11; their speedometers go to “Tony Campana”

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  62. Mercurial Outfielder

    From this moment on, “track and field” will officially be known as “tony campana and field”

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  63. Mercurial Outfielder

    Black holes are really just the puncture marks from the time Tony Campana ran through Space.

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  64. AndCounting

    Tony Campana could run faster if he didn’t have to wait for his own electrons to catch up with him.

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  65. Dr. Aneus Taint

    [quote name=Suburban kid]Number 1 is best. What the fuck is the guy doing in number 2?[/quote]
    Diet Coke + mentos.

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  66. Suburban kid

    Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

    Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation’s Baseball Nation
    by Al Yellon on May 18, 2011 10:04 PM CDT up reply actions

    .

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  67. Suburban kid

    [quote name=Jame Gumb]Diet Coke + mentos.[/quote]I thought it might be that, but your gifs are so grainy and furtive it was hard to tell.

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  68. Dr. Aneus Taint

    [quote name=Suburban kid]I thought it might be that, but your gifs are so grainy and furtive it was hard to tell.[/quote]
    Mine aren’t. Sometimes the ones other people make are, but I post them anyway.

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  69. mb21

    Jose Bautista could be average the rest of the season and he’s still going to win the MVP. The start to his season is ridiculous: .372/.522/.843. His .567 wOBA is 98 points higher than Lance Berkman who has the second highest wOBA in baseball. His .843 slugging is 140 points higher than Berkman’s (ranks 2nd). Votto ranks 2nd in OBP at .465.

    Jose Bautista = Barry Bonds

    Enjoy

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  70. Rice Cube

    [quote name=mb21]Jose Bautista could be average the rest of the season and he’s still going to win the MVP. The start to his season is ridiculous: .372/.522/.843. His .567 wOBA is 98 points higher than Lance Berkman who has the second highest wOBA in baseball. His .843 slugging is 140 points higher than Berkman’s (ranks 2nd). Votto ranks 2nd in OBP at .465.

    Jose Bautista = Barry Bonds

    Enjoy[/quote]
    The Blue Jays just got a steal for his contract if this actually keeps up.

    I wonder what the ‘roid buzz is for Bautista. I personally don’t care but I’m sure it’ll come up at some point.

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  71. Mish

    [quote name=Rice Cube]The Blue Jays just got a steal for his contract if this actually keeps up.

    I wonder what the ‘roid buzz is for Bautista. I personally don’t care but I’m sure it’ll come up at some point.[/quote]
    Someone implicated something last year and I remember the main controversy is why the guy accusing Bautista didn’t receive the same scorn as the writer who accused Ibanez the year before.

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  72. Dr. Aneus Taint

    [quote name=Rice Cube]I wonder what the ‘roid buzz is for Bautista. I personally don’t care but I’m sure it’ll come up at some point.[/quote]
    Well, yeah! People don’t just…get better at…stuff.

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  73. Rice Cube

    [quote name=Jame Gumb]Well, yeah! People don’t just…get better at…stuff.[/quote]
    What do your fagety spreadsheets say about that?

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  74. jtsunami

    [quote name=Rice Cube]What do your fagety spreadsheets say about that?[/quote]########

    Are my formulas wrong?

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  75. Rice Cube

    [quote name=jtsunami]########

    Are my formulas wrong?[/quote]
    So you’re saying Bautista is “pounding” the ball…

    /bad pun

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  76. Dr. Aneus Taint

    [quote name=Rice Cube]So you’re saying Bautista is “pounding” the ball…

    /bad pun[/quote]
    -faget point

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  77. AndCounting

    That’s pretty interesting, b. I kind of hope it happens, but I really don’t care that much. Mostly I’m just impressed with how progressive the Big Ten has been over the past few decades. Between their TV network, their instant replay system, and now this, they’re really distinguishing themselves as the leader among conferences in actually improving the way collegiate sports are handled.

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  78. Berselius

    [quote name=AndCounting]That’s pretty interesting, b. I kind of hope it happens, but I really don’t care that much. Mostly I’m just impressed with how progressive the Big Ten has been over the past few decades. Between their TV network, their instant replay system, and now this, they’re really distinguishing themselves as the leader among conferences in actually improving the way collegiate sports are handled.[/quote]
    I hope it happens too, but that article is pretty clear that it’s probably not going to happen anytime soon. I’m just glad that someone within the system brought it up.

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  79. mb21

    [quote name=AndCounting]That’s pretty interesting, b. I kind of hope it happens, but I really don’t care that much. Mostly I’m just impressed with how progressive the Big Ten has been over the past few decades. Between their TV network, their instant replay system, and now this, they’re really distinguishing themselves as the leader among conferences in actually improving the way collegiate sports are handled.[/quote]I agree the Big Ten has been more innovative than any other conference, but this I think is pretty dumb. The NCAA needs to guarantee athletic scholarships before they even consider this. At that point can you even justify giving them the additional money? They’re already getting a free ride. Not including transportation and personal expenses, which aren’t covered by these scholarships, the student is already getting about $18,000 per year from the University of Iowa if he’s a resident or about $35,000 per year if he’s a non-resident.

    I don’t care how much college football is exploiting them. That’s a shitload of money and it’s not like the money the athletic departments make is going to waste. It allows them to have volleyball, track and field, baseball, hockey and many other sports that lose money. It allows them to offer more scholarships to other students.

    Award these guys more money and other athletic programs will be cut. All due respect to the females around here, but enough male sports programs have already been cut across the country, I don’t think we need to see additional ones cut just so some football player can get a little extra cash. College baseball would become extinct if the schools pay the football players.

    If you want to pay these guys, take away their athletic scholarship and pay them in a similar manner to how professional athletes are paid.

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  80. mb21

    There are 120 players on a college football roster. Let’s say they paid them halfway between $2K and $5K ($3500). That’s $420,000 per season. The reason the Big Ten is suggesting this is because it creates a larger gap between them (the SEC, P10, etc) and the smaller conferences. Many of the schools in those non-BCS conferences aren’t going to be able to pay their football team half a million dollars on top of the scholarships they’re already giving out.

    Take Iowa and Iowa State for example. Iowa could easily afford to pay that kind of money. Their athletic department is in good shape and one can argue it’s only because of their football program. Iowa State’s athletic department isn’t in good shape. There’s no way they could come up with that kind of money. They’d cut scholarships on the football team to save their wrestling team. They’d eliminate a few other male sports. Maybe baseball. It has 11.5 scholarships so that’s gone. The football roster is down to 105, at least two other sports are gone, ISU is even more of a joke than they already are.

    There’s a very good reason this has zero chance of happening. Iowa State is a successful university and there’s no way they could afford it. Iowa couldn’t in the sense that it would at least cost them their baseball team. At the very least!

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  81. AndCounting

    I haven’t really thought this through, but I think I would rather have the athletes be paid at the expense of their current glut of scholarship offerings. I mean, cut the number of scholarships allotted to any one sport and pay some of the living expenses instead. Lower-tier athletes can get student loans just like anybody else. Would athletic programs be all that less attractive to students if a handful of scholarships were cut to finance every participant being paid in cash?

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