Chicago Cubs: Tom Ricketts shares fans’ ‘desire for change’

Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts penned a letter to fans, calling the season ‘disappointing’ and emphasizing his desire to get back to winning ways.

Say what you will about Joe Maddon‘s in-game decisions, but one thing is for sure: the man forever changed what it means to be a Chicago Cubs fan. Expectations have changed from a .500 campaign being a success to an ‘October or bust’ mentality in five short years.

Last offseason, Cubs ownership put a spending cap on the front office, limiting what Theo Epstein could do to address the team’s holes. We all saw them – and spent pretty much the entire winter talking about how this could be one of those decisions that came back to haunt Tom Ricketts.

Sure enough, Chicago won just 84 games in 2019 and missed the postseason entirely for the first time since 2014. While not one, but two division rivals played in October, the Cubs cleaned out their lockers and sent Maddon on his way to greener pastures.

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The Ricketts family poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Wrigley Field and the surrounding area. After, all, the Cubs had the second-highest payroll in all of Major League Baseball this year – trailing only the Boston Red Sox. Both teams are watching October baseball from their homes this year.

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Meanwhile, two teams that rank near the bottom of the league in payroll – Tampa Bay and Oakland – reached the postseason. More than ever, you can make the case that it’s how you allocate your resources that matters most.

Granted, having $200-plus million at your disposal helps a great deal. But you have to maximize the return – something Epstein and the baseball ops department has failed to do.

“(…) we are focused on strengthening our roster, defining our team identity and fostering a culture of accountability to help us return to championship-caliber form. Selecting our new manager is just one of the many actions we’ll take. While it’s premature to predict the extent of change, we will be open-minded, thoughtful and thorough as we explore new opportunities and evaluate all levels of our operations to identify areas of improvement.”

Change is in the air. And while Maddon may have been the fall guy in the grand scheme of things, both Ricketts and Epstein have work to do this offseason as they look to get what once looked like the makings of a dynasty back on track in 2020 and beyond.