I
don’t like taking sides in the tug-of-war between owners and players, as
neither side cares about me. Yes, it’s
nice that the Astros, with the next-to-last payroll in major-league baseball,
knocked off the Yankees, with the second highest. But now that Houston has moved on to play
Kansas City, that doesn’t automatically mean I’m going to root for the
Astros. Why? Because,
according to CNBC, Houston had the ninth highest ticket prices during the
regular season while the Royals came in at 24th. Their figures are based on what it would cost
a family of four for a ballgame.
All
of which brings us to the Cubs (as some of you might suspect). I dislike the idea of blowing up a team and
starting over with draft picks. The
whole notion of sticking with your team through thick and thin is predicated on
“thin” being the result of actions taken by the baseball gods, of promising
players injured and respected veterans suddenly losing it. “Thin” should not be the product of dumb
front-office moves, Milton Bradley or Adam Dunne (or LaRoche), take your pick.
I’ll
allow that new ownership has the right to clean house, as the Astros and Cubs
did when the teams changed owners in recent years, but, again, the idea of
losing now to win later strikes me as wrong, and an insult to already injured
fans. At the very least, fans should get
a break on their tickets and at the concession stands (yeah, right). The Cubs?
Why, they never bothered lowering their prices in any meaningful way. Their fans are supposed to forget the premium
prices they paid 2010-2014 while watching a crap product. All is supposed to be forgiven because the darlings
have entered the promised land of postseason play.
That's where I get off the train.
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