Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sends Tom Ricketts and the Cubs a clear message

Mad about the Los Angeles Dodgers 'buying' another ticket to the World Series? Don't be. The team's ownership, Guggenhim Baseball Management, has turned Chavez Ravine into a cash-printing operation and has created a global baseball empire - granting Andrew Friedman and the front office unprecedented financial muscle to flex each offseason.

But if you're sharpening the pitchforks, angry over the Dodgers advancing to the Fall Classic with a chance to become the sport's first back-to-back champs since the New York Yankees a quarter-century ago, Dave Roberts made it clear who you should aim those pitchforks toward: owners like Tom Ricketts.

"I can't speak to what revenue we're bringing in, but our ownership puts it back into players, a big chunk of it... that's the way it should be with all ownership groups."

Dodgers' spending continues to get under the skin of Cubs fans

The discussion over big-league payroll as a percentage of revenue is once again center stage with the high-powered Dodgers eyeing another title - and this topic could very well doom the looming CBA discussions between the league and MLBPA, which is expected to result in a labor stoppage following the 2026 season.

Now there are a million ways we can break down what little public information we get. After all, it's not like MLB owners are lining up to open up their books for the general public. But the overwhelming consensus is that every team could spend more - and many, including the Cubs, choose not to for myriad reasons.

A prime example: last winter, the Cubs jettisoned Cody Bellinger in a salary dump move with the Yankees - but did that $20 million+ in savings go back into payroll? No. Instead, Chicago bargain shopped at the deadline and their failure to shore up the starting rotation came back to haunt them in October.

The Dodgers are everyone's favorite target - but it's because we all wish our owners operated in the way they do - realizing the value of fielding a perennial World Series contender. Will Ricketts and the Cubs start swinging around their financial weight this winter? Probably not. Chicago has a ton of money coming off the books after next year to align with the expiring CBA, and it's unlikely we see high-dollar expenditures before there's more clarity on what the landscape looks like financially in 2027 and beyond.