Come To Think of It...Cubs Fans: Tom Ricketts ≠ Jake Peavy

So now that we (almost) have a new owner for our Chicago Cubbies, all of the attention has turned once again to that certain San Diego Padres pitcher, who I am not going to name due to the fact that hearing about him twenty-four hours a day is making me sick to my stomach.

Look, I agree that Tom Ricketts, if he succeeds in completing the financing and bankruptcy court and baseball owner approvals, looks like he will be a fine owner of our beloved.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that he is going to approve a trade for this Padre pitcher. In fact, I am suggesting it won't happen.

Hey, the reason this is making me ill is that it reminds me of the Brian Roberts rumors all over again. Do you recall how much we kept hearing, all last winter, that Roberts was a "lock" to come to the Cubs? Remember the daily updates ad nauseam?

Well, I do. And this Padre stuff seems suspiciously similar.

First off, the Ricketts family is plunking down a considerable amount of coin to purchase the team. His net worth is said to be around $1.3 billion and so he is investing a sizable portion of his worth into buying the team.

That means I wouldn't look for him to add to a payroll that is already fairly high. Especially since Wrigley Field is pretty well maxed out in terms of revenue generating capability at this time.

Longer term, look for the Ricketts to use some creative efforts, such as having a Cubs TV network, in order to increase the club's profitability. But for now, especially in this economy, they are limited to what they have and it just doesn't support another huge payroll hit at this time.

And even if it did, is this certain Padre a good investment? Consider that the Cubs would likely be forced to guarantee the option year of his contract for any trade to be consummated.

This 2013 option is for $22 million dollars, bringing the total cost of his contract to four years, $74 million.

And consider this: the man has had shoulder and elbow injuries, pitches in a very pitcher-friendly ballpark, and has had some declining strikeouts with increasing walk totals recently. Baseball people will tell you that combination is a bad sign. 

I'm not saying that he isn't a good pitcher.  He is. And it's not my money, of course. But a smart businessman like Tom Ricketts can certainly understand the risks of acquiring someone like this unnamed Padre hurler. 

Especially if an idiot like me can see this.

Another concern is that ESPN.com's Keith Law just recently ranked the Cubs farm system 27th in the majors. Do you really want to subtract Josh Vitters, our best prospect, from that already depleted system? He would likely be part of any trade for this former Cy Young award winner.

The Cubs do need additional pitching, they just don't need this specific guy necessarily. Rich Harden is a huge question mark, for example. He will likely be limited to 20 starts max, even in a best case scenario. And we all know that other injuries can happen, and likely will.  Carlos Zambrano has been suspiciously inconsistent and rumors are flying that he has been hurt more than he has let on.

But that doesn't mean they will address this need right now. Heck, they've needed a leadoff hitter for years and they haven't done anything with that, have they?

Jim Hendry has addressed the lefty-righty balance very well this offseason. Manager Lou Pineiella now has many more left-handed hitters to use as he sees fit.

So, Cubs fans, relax and let the new owner finish his business and hopefully take over around opening day.  Then, if the club needs help as the season progresses, let's hope the Cubs fan in him will prompt him to approve the necessary expenditures to do what it takes to get the job done.

Come to think of it, there's only one thing that Tom Ricketts can do that Sam Zell hasn't done for us. And that's win a World Series.