Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010
7:20 PM
By Patrick Mooney
CSNChicago.com
In a letter sent to season-ticket holders on Oct. 8, Tom Ricketts highlighted two men who could walk through OHare International Airport without being noticed by Cubs fans.
Ricketts praised Tim Wilken as one of the best scouting directors in baseball. The chairman also credited vice president of player personnel Oneri Fleita for a minor-league system that went 374-316. Only the St. Louis Cardinals finished with a higher overall winning percentage among their farm clubs in 2010.
In style and tone, it distanced Ricketts from the wealthy owner thinking of himself as a master of the universe. There will be days in the future where he stands in the Wrigley Field stadium club next to the free agent holding up a new Cubs jersey as the flashbulbs pop all around them.
But a purchase that took his family several years to complete was finalized on Oct. 27, 2009. One year later, looking back on a deal that cost more than 800 million, its become clear that the model will be to build the Cubs from within.
Remember that the next time someone wishes on Cliff Lee coming to Chicago.
Thats not to say its impossible. Just that it sounds out of character for the Cubs to win a bidding war between the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers for a pitcher who will turn 33 next season and is probably looking for a contract that compares to CC Sabathias seven-year, 161 million deal.
MLB
In his state-of-the-team address, Ricketts mentioned Wilken and Fleita before Jim Hendry, though both are deeply connected to the Cubs general manager.
Wilkenwho joined the organization almost five years agogrew up with Hendry in Dunedin, Fla., and his first-round picks are finally beginning to show in Chicago. Fleitawho oversees the minor-league affiliates and international operationsplayed for Hendry at Creighton University.
Looking at the big picture, they will be just as important as manager Mike Quade, if not more influential. Even Quadewho managed 17 seasons in the minors and four at Triple-A Iowafits into the vision of promoting from within and becoming more cost-effective.
A letter that ran 28 paragraphs contained no reference to Lou Piniella, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster or Alfonso Soriano. Ricketts did point to Starlin Castro, Tyler Colvin, Andrew Cashner and Casey Coleman.
All need to take the next step in 2011, but we are very encouraged to have a group of young, homegrown players emerge as regulars in 2010, Ricketts wrote. It is my strong belief that, in the end, it is organizations with strong farm systems that win championships and I am convinced that our organization is making progress (in) what had been a weak spot.
The baseball operations department will assemble for organizational meetings next week in Arizona. The offseason agenda could include: an established starting pitcher to account for Ted Lillys 200 innings; a first baseman to replace Derrek Lee in the middle of the order; andor a veteran reliever to stabilize the bullpen.
Ownership has indicated there will probably be a drop from the payroll level on Opening Day 2010approximately 145 millionand financial commitments for next season begin around 125 million.
But the overall baseball budget is supposed to remain the same. The expectation is that whatever funds are cut from the major-league payroll will be diverted to amateur signings, international scouting and minor-league infrastructure.
The development process has already begun. By sometime in 2011, the homegrown core could include three-fifths of the rotation (Zambrano, Coleman and Randy Wells), the back end of the bullpen (Cashner, Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol) and several key position players (Castro, Colvin and Geovany Soto).
Privately, the Cubs are hoping that outfielder Brett Jackson, a 2009 first-round pick, could have an impact next year. They look at Wilkens track record after his involvement in the signings of Roy Halladay, Chris Carpenter, Carlos Delgado and Alex Rios during his 25 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays.
There will likely be several versions of the blueprint. Before reaching their first World Series game in franchise history on Wednesday night, the Rangers cycled in and out of rebuilding phases.
At the 2007 deadline, Texas dealt Mark Teixeira to the Atlanta Braves for a package that yielded an All-Star shortstop (Elvis Andrus) and an All-Star closer (Neftali Feliz). Three years later, the Rangers traded four prospects to get Lee, perhaps the most clutch postseason pitcher of his generation.
The San Francisco Giants invested almost 200 million in three playersBarry Zito, Aaron Rowand and Mark DeRosawho were nonfactors as they won the National League pennant.
But the Giants had insurance after developing four good starters and a dominant closerTim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner and Brian Wilson. They found inexpensive help for their lineup with Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell.
Ricketts can be patient because there is a belief his family will own the team for generations. Ownership has also shown that it will be rational, analyzing five million data points before finding out where supply meets demand and setting ticket prices for next season.
But the system cant carry an entire 25-man roster. Just ask the Rangers or Giants. The Cubs will need to get creative before being able to send out invoices for playoff tickets.
Patrick Mooney is CSNChicago.com's Cubs beat writer. Follow Patrick on Twitter @CSNMooney for up-to-the-minute Cubs news and views.