Misc: How long will Mike Quade last?
- Thread starter cdekovic
- Start date
I live a few blocks from Wrigley, up till a couple years ago I went to 20-25 games. Now maybe one or two max. And I was a HUGE cubs fan my whole life. That is the attitude of many. At work people literally cannot give away tickets.
Now the weather has been bad, but the prices have gotten so bad, the games sooooo long, the product so bad, and other entertainment options are so much more plentiful, that people are just choosing not to go.
The Cubs have a huge problem, people like to think Wrigley was always packed, not true. There was no one at those games for many many years, the phenomenon of selling it out everyday really began with Sosa and the home run chase. Sure in 89 and 84 it was packed and a few other years, but there were plenty of years in the 90's it was not. The idea that people will go no matter what is false.
Soriano is a huge problem and will be for many more years, horrid outfielder and who knows how old he really is. Ramirez probably gone after this year. Pena is worthless. They don't have one single lockdown starter. No idea why Fukodome is in the majors, at least he is gone next year. But if he is gone why play him? Just cut him. This is going to take a long time to fix.
Now the weather has been bad, but the prices have gotten so bad, the games sooooo long, the product so bad, and other entertainment options are so much more plentiful, that people are just choosing not to go.
The Cubs have a huge problem, people like to think Wrigley was always packed, not true. There was no one at those games for many many years, the phenomenon of selling it out everyday really began with Sosa and the home run chase. Sure in 89 and 84 it was packed and a few other years, but there were plenty of years in the 90's it was not. The idea that people will go no matter what is false.
Soriano is a huge problem and will be for many more years, horrid outfielder and who knows how old he really is. Ramirez probably gone after this year. Pena is worthless. They don't have one single lockdown starter. No idea why Fukodome is in the majors, at least he is gone next year. But if he is gone why play him? Just cut him. This is going to take a long time to fix.
the only reason fuke is on the team is because he plays a solid right field. personally I'd rather just put colvin out there so he gets used to playing it because wrigleys right field is tough. it'll be interesting to see how the offseason plays out. is that josh vitters kid going to be the one to replace rammy?
If a 21-year-old 3rd baseman that couldn't get a .720 OPS over the last 2 years is called up, I will flip. Not to mention that he is nowhere close to being able to play the 3rd base position at the major league level.
Another good call. Vitters isn't the, or even an, answer. Colvin...sucks. He's another left handed hitting "prospect" with a MASSIVE hole in his swing, a la Patterson, Choi and Pie.
The thread is about Quade, right? He sucks too, and can be held accountable for the **** storm we are seeing, contrary to some on here. He hired his pitching coach, right? The fact that 4/5ths...I'll repeat for effect...4/5ths of the starting rotation has missed time due to injury this year, and that 3 of them (Zambrano, Wells and Cashner) went down in the first week, is a serious indictment on his staff.
There is absolutely no leadership on this team or throughout the organization. I like Castro, but is he ever going to be Jeter-esque in the "leadership" department? I don't think he will, so as talented as he may be, you can't build a team around him.
Hendry blows...no need to go any further than that.
Knock it all down and build from scratch. Need a better GM, scouts, coaches and players. Blow it up
Colvin is terrible, at everything. At least Fukudome is a good fielder and gets on base.
If by Jeter-esque you mean being the fifth best hitter on the team and a below average fielder, then yes, I think Castro can fill those shoes.
I'm not saying Castro is a "leader" on this team right now, but the kid is barely 21 years old, give him a break. Rarely will you see somebody that young step up and become the leader of the team, especially in the MLB. I think Castro has shown enough promise to build the team around him in the future, and he's only going to mature and get better in the next few years. I think he's without a doubt the most promising prospect on the team, and could develop into an elite player in a few years. It's not fair to expect much more from him this early, especially when your alleged " team leaders" are getting millions of dollars to either severely under perform or get hurt and stay on the DL. Keeping and building the team around Castro is one of the few things that gives me hope for the future of this organization.
Does anybody really give a **** who's managing the Cubs? I am a HUGE Cub fan, and I really don't care. Fine... say they do replace him. AGAIN! ...who really cares? That unknown replacement (at that time) will be ultimately fired also.
So what difference does it make?
So what difference does it make?
I honestly think that prices/taxes have gone up so much to go to a Cubs game, that fans are now finally saying enough. 9% sales tax and a 12% City of Chicago and Cook County Amusement Tax are added to all tickets. Combine that with a poor economy and this is the product.
For example, here is the cost of 4 tickets (available right now for a weekend game on 8/7 on cubs.com):
4 tickets (Section 436) - $56 each (for terrible upper deck corner seats).
Service Fees: $46.50
Order Fee: $4.00
Fed Ex Delivery: $15.50
Optional Parking Pass - $35
That's $325 just to get into the game for a family of 4.
I heard that beers are now $7 and hotdogs/brats are close to $5. It's almost unaffordable to take a family to a game. Add in a terrible product and its pretty easy to see why fans are staying home.
For example, here is the cost of 4 tickets (available right now for a weekend game on 8/7 on cubs.com):
4 tickets (Section 436) - $56 each (for terrible upper deck corner seats).
Service Fees: $46.50
Order Fee: $4.00
Fed Ex Delivery: $15.50
Optional Parking Pass - $35
That's $325 just to get into the game for a family of 4.
I heard that beers are now $7 and hotdogs/brats are close to $5. It's almost unaffordable to take a family to a game. Add in a terrible product and its pretty easy to see why fans are staying home.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
Hotdogs are $5.75 from the walking vendors, at least last Saturday.
The costs for a major league game have been a matter that fans/writers have complained about for the last 10-20 years. Taking a family of 4 to a game has to be next to impossible, or comprise the entire summer vacation.
The costs for a major league game have been a matter that fans/writers have complained about for the last 10-20 years. Taking a family of 4 to a game has to be next to impossible, or comprise the entire summer vacation.
And then there's this...
Chicago Cubs: Chicago Cubs on list in violation of Major League Baseball debt service rules - chicagotribune.com
Rickets is over-leveraged and that's with salary committments past this season at reasonable levels and no major renovations happening at Wrigley. Throw in the fact that people aren't coming out and the Cubs are not in a good place right now. He either starts cutting expenses or signs a big FA to stir interest. Expect panicked signings this winter.
Chicago Cubs: Chicago Cubs on list in violation of Major League Baseball debt service rules - chicagotribune.com
Rickets is over-leveraged and that's with salary committments past this season at reasonable levels and no major renovations happening at Wrigley. Throw in the fact that people aren't coming out and the Cubs are not in a good place right now. He either starts cutting expenses or signs a big FA to stir interest. Expect panicked signings this winter.
I believe most teams include at least one of those taxes in the ticket price. A few years ago, the Cubs pulled it out to sneak in a big ticket price increase without making it look like one.
In 2008, I bought five UD Res OF tickets for a Sunday game in July:
$100 face value
$8.00 for 8% sales tax
$14.95 in fees
$3.50 order processing fee
TOTAL $126.45
Compare the same tickets this season for the above mentioned 8/7 Sunday game:
$120 face value
$25.20 for 9% sales tax and 12% amusement tax
$13.75 in fees
$4 order processing fee
TOTAL $162.95
That's a 29% increase in cost in three years.
I don't see any $56 tickets for that game. The section you are talking about looks to be $50. You can move up in the upper deck just a little and get $24 tickets. Will Call is free. DeVry park and ride is $6.
4 tickets (Section 506) - $24 each
Service Fees: $31.16
Order Fee: $4.00
Will Call: $0
DeVry Park & Ride - $6
TOTAL $137.16
My greatest fear is that the Hendry/Ricketts tandem have already decided that signing Pujols will solve all their problems, on the field and at the gate. They are definitely not one player away from being relevant. Signing Pujols likely leaves them in 4th place instead of 5th with another Soriano-like contract strapping them down with little leeway to make other moves.
I think you give Quade at least next season because the mess he has right now is Jim Hendry's fault not his. No team should be relying on Doug Davis and Rodrigo Lopez to be in your rotation and that lies on the GM's part for not having enough MLB ready pitching in reserve in case of injury. Get out of the bad contracts and use that money wisely. There is some decent young talent coming up through the system (Castro, Barney, Campana, Brett Jackson, Cashner, etc.) but look at the overpaid and underachieving guys eating up a lot of salary:
Soriano $19 mil: by far Hendry's worst deal and Cubs will be stuck with him till the end probably.
Zambrano $18.875 mil: gets paid like an ace, is no better than a #3 guy on a good staff though
Dempster $14.8 mil: again, maybe no better than a #3 guy as well
Ramirez $14.6 mil: declining bad lately, just 2 homers this season
Fukudome $14.5 mil: another terrible signing, is on his yearly June decline already
Pena $10 mil: hitting just .214 and hasn't hit over .250 since 2007. thankfully just a 1 year deal.
Cubs do have some money coming off the books this year in Fukudome, Pena, Grabow, and Samardzija and A-Ram has a player option but unfortunately he'll probably take it since no one is going to pay him that kind of money now. Next year Zambrano, Dempster, and Byrd come off the books so if the Cubs are wise they can turn things around with some smart moves. I'd look at seeing if you can trade Z or Dempster at the deadline this year to a contender needing pitching in exchange for some decent prospects, with just 1 more year left on their contracts they might find a taker.
Unfortunately I see Hendry doing something stupid this offseason like signing Prince Fielder to a huge contract and watching him turn into Soriano part 2.
Soriano $19 mil: by far Hendry's worst deal and Cubs will be stuck with him till the end probably.
Zambrano $18.875 mil: gets paid like an ace, is no better than a #3 guy on a good staff though
Dempster $14.8 mil: again, maybe no better than a #3 guy as well
Ramirez $14.6 mil: declining bad lately, just 2 homers this season
Fukudome $14.5 mil: another terrible signing, is on his yearly June decline already
Pena $10 mil: hitting just .214 and hasn't hit over .250 since 2007. thankfully just a 1 year deal.
Cubs do have some money coming off the books this year in Fukudome, Pena, Grabow, and Samardzija and A-Ram has a player option but unfortunately he'll probably take it since no one is going to pay him that kind of money now. Next year Zambrano, Dempster, and Byrd come off the books so if the Cubs are wise they can turn things around with some smart moves. I'd look at seeing if you can trade Z or Dempster at the deadline this year to a contender needing pitching in exchange for some decent prospects, with just 1 more year left on their contracts they might find a taker.
Unfortunately I see Hendry doing something stupid this offseason like signing Prince Fielder to a huge contract and watching him turn into Soriano part 2.
I understand what you're saying but if there was one player I'd be willing to give a huge contract to, it's Pujols. I don't really think it will be a Soriano type contract as Albert will likely still be productive well into the deal.
