Chicago Cubs News: Sun-Times' Telander Thinks Ricketts and Epstein Bad for Cubs

In one of the most ridiculous articles that I’ve ever seen printed in the Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Rick Telander questions whether owner Tom Ricketts and President Theo Epstein are right for the Chicago Cubs.  His winding tale of nonsense can be read here for reference.  Or a good laugh.

Telander begins by asking, “Is Wall Street occupying the Cubs?  Has the most elite of the 1 percent taken over Cubdom and thereby the health of the longest-suffering crowd in sports?  Are the smartest boys in the room telling us how infallible things such as the laws of large numbers and exotic computer models can turn the Cubs into the sporting equivalent of a Greenwich hedge fund? These may sound like silly questions. But are they?”

Well, yes, Rick, they are.  In fact, not just silly but actually moronic. 

First, name an MLB owner who is not a member of the 1 percent.  Name a general manager.  Telander makes it sound like the Cubs are the only sports franchise owned and run by millionaires when, in fact, they all are.  Who would you have liked to see appointed Cubs president, Ronnie Woo Woo?  He’s part of the 99 percent.

Telander continues, “Is it silly to ask if Tom Ricketts and Theo Epstein are appropriate heroes for the times?  Aren’t these the type of fellows who helped muddy up what used to be known as the American Dream?”

No. No, they’re not.  Tom Ricketts is the head of a family that owns a baseball team.  Theo Epstein puts together baseball teams that win World Series.  Neither one sells mortgage-backed securities the last time I checked.  They had no part in muddying the American dream; they are the American dream.

Furthermore, Telander’s reference to “infallible things such as the laws of large numbers and exotic computer models” is laughable.  Epstein has repeated in every interview since his initial press  conference that his player analysis will be a combination of statistics and scouting.  A combination, Rick.  Something that the north side has been lacking since, well, forever.  Jim Hendry was an “evaluate them with the eyes” kind of guy, which led to him handing out long-term contracts like Halloween candy to busts. 

The Cubs need a little more intelligence in that office.  Someone who wants to learning about player evaluation methods that work for other teams, instead of dismissing new ideas because they refuse to take the time to learn. 

The Cubs finally have that now, and it’s a cause for celebration, not strange Wall Street metaphors.

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