Poor, Poor Pitiful Me

For those of you keeping track, here are the destinations for ex-Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber, Jon Lester and Jose Quintana: Washington, Washington and Anaheim, respectively. Stay tuned for possible departures by Javy Baez, Kris Bryant and/or Anthony Rizzo. As someone who thinks—or maybe, thought—Theo Epstein is (was) headed to the Hall of Fame as the executive who broke two curses, that of the Bambino and Billy Goat, I’m amazed at what Epstein left behind. Or, should I say how little? It’s as if the entire organization cut back after 2016. The Cubs treated the draft like they were channeling the White Sox at their Kenny Williams’ worst. Ditto their recent free agent and international signings. To win, a team needs incoming talent to replace outgoing talent. The North Siders seem more intent on conducting a rebuild under cover of denial. I’d go so far as to say the Cubs’ front office is pushing this notion of the NL Central as the weakest division in all of baseball. That way, they can get fans to buy into the notion they’re competing along with everyone else—Pirates excepted, they seem to be incapable of competing—for a division title. Big deal, that. But it’s an important fig leaf for the Ricketts’ family. To admit to a rebuild invites fan criticism. With the Cubs, that’s going to start with ticket costs. Why should anyone have to pay premium prices for Dollar Store goods? Excuse me, I mean a rebuilding team. Depending on the survey, the Cubs either rank as the highest in ticket costs or in the top four. Salary dumps and rebuilds are tough to swallow with sky-high prices for a chaser. Better to be competing in a weak division than to be accused of gouging the fan base during yet another rebuild. Did I mention that Ricketts’ patriarch Joe wants to start a “trustworthy source of news and information”? Guess they won’t be covering sports, then.