Ricketts promises World Series victory
By TOM MUSICK -- Shaw Suburban Media
CHICAGO – New Cubs owner Tom Ricketts repeated the phrase three times on the eve of Halloween.
“There is no curse, there is no curse, there is no curse,” Ricketts said. “If anybody on our team thinks he’s cursed, we’ll move him to a less accursed team.”
Time will tell whether fans view the new era of Cubs ownership era as a blessing. The Ricketts family arrived at Wrigley Field on Friday as the eighth owners in the franchise’s 133-year history and promised to reverse a century of suffering.
Board chairman Tom Ricketts stood beside his brothers, Pete and Todd, and his sister, Laura, inside the stadium’s “Captain Morgan Club” during an introductory news conference. The siblings’ parents, Joe and Marlene, sat in the front row as the family completed a nearly three-year quest to buy the Cubs and Wrigley Field for about $845 million.
“We’re going to win the World Series,” vowed Tom Ricketts, 44, who met his wife in Wrigley’s bleachers and described himself as a die-hard fan. “We’re going to win the World Series by striving in every day and every way to be the best franchise in baseball. ... We’re going to invest in the best personnel, and we’re going to hold them to the highest standards of excellence and accountability.”
As Ricketts spoke, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and several members of his front-office staffed watched from seats in the first few rows. Ricketts said he would not interfere with the day-to-day work of Hendry or Cubs manager Lou Piniella, although he laid out a clear plan for long-term success on the field.
“There is no magic bullet,” said Ricketts, who alluded to slight increases in payroll and ticket prices next season. “There is no one player you can sign. All of those short-term solutions are just fools gold. The only way you’re going to do it is by developing players – drafting and developing the right players and coaching them through the system.”
Some fans questioned Piniella’s emotional investment in the team after a subpar season in which the Cubs failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in three years. Ricketts offered a vote of confidence in Piniella and said he had not talked with Ryne Sandberg about possibly succeeding the 66-year-old Piniella as manager.
“We’ve always been very, very comfortable with the fact that he has an option for next year, and we hope he comes back,” Ricketts said. “We strongly believe he’s one of the best managers in baseball, and he’s the right guy to take it to the next level in 2010.”
Ricketts sidestepped a question about whether he would be willing to pay all or part of the $21 million on Milton Bradley’s contract to make the embattled outfielder go away. He also left the door open for more advertising at Wrigley and possibly moving the club’s spring training site from Mesa, Ariz., in order to provide a state-of-the-art, year-round facility.
The family also announced plans to fund short- and long-term improvements at the 95-year-old stadium. Expect better restrooms, cleaner concourses and more food options in 2010, while the club adds space by developing a triangle parcel on the west side of the stadium over the next few years.
Hendry said he was impressed with everything that his new boss had to say.
“I have all the confidence in the world that Tom will go into this knowing our baseball people are very solid,” Hendry said. “We’ve got a really good thing going underneath me at the lower levels of scouting and development. I’m looking forward to it.”
Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster was the team’s lone player to attend the introduction.
“I think it was to the point and, as a player, how I feel,” Dempster said. “We should be held to the highest standard. We should go out there and give our best effort and try to win a championship.”
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