WBEZ | chicago cubs

Chicago cubs are like a terrible girlfriend

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:45:00 -0500

The following three items are completely unrelated.

1.) I will be on the radio today on The Afternoon Shift to talk about my King Spa and alone time experiences at around 2 p.m., if you'd like to hear me.

2.) The Cubs' owners threatening to move the team if they don't get their way is the kind of bratty empty gesture that I hope they follow through on, just because it would be the most interesting thing to happen to the team in 100 years. However, I have a feeling the Cubs are like the girlfriend and the city/fans are like the boyfriend in this sketch (NSFW):

3.) And finally, pease don't forget Funny Ha-Ha is Friday. It'll be a delightful show and a wonderful way for you to kick off your weekend.

Follow Claire Zulkey @Zulkey

Cubs chairman threatens to move team from Wrigley

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:49:00 -0500

The owner of the Chicago Cubs publicly threatened for the first time Wednesday to move the team out of Wrigley Field if his plans for a big, new video screen are blocked, saying he needs millions of dollars in ad revenue to help bankroll the renovation of the storied ballpark.

"The fact is that if we don't have the ability to generate revenue in our own outfield, we'll have to take a look at moving — no question," Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts told reporters after a speech to Chicago business leaders outlining plans for a $500 million renovation of the 99-year-old stadium.

It was the first time during months of contentious negotiations over the Wrigley Field renovation plans that Ricketts threatened to move the team out of the lively North Side neighborhood of bars and restaurants that adds to the historic park's allure with tourists and baseball fans.

By far the thorniest issue is the plan for a 6,000-square-foot video screen over left field, like those in most ballparks. The difference in Chicago is that the stadium — the second oldest in Major League Baseball behind Fenway Park in Boston — is surrounded by privately owned clubs that have built rooftop bleachers and object to any changes to the park that could block their bird's-eye views.

Because they have a contract in which they share 17 percent of their revenue with the Cubs, the rooftop businesses feel they should have a seat at the bargaining table and legal action is a possibility. They have been left out of the talks.

Ricketts presented an architectural rendering of the video screen during his speech to the City Club of Chicago and insisted it would have minimal if any impact on the views. He said without such signage, the team was losing out on $20 million a year in ad revenue — essential for helping fund extensive renovations without dipping into taxpayer funds.

"All we really need is to be able to run our business like a business and not a museum," Ricketts told the audience.

One of the rooftop owners, Beth Murphy, sat in on the speech and told reporters afterward that it was the first time she'd seen any drawings of the screen and that she and other owners would have a lot of vetting to do before determining if the proposal works.

"It looked big to me and it looked like it blocked out the neighborhood," she said.

The rooftop owners have previously threatened legal action, and Murphy said she was confident their contract would hold up and protect their businesses.

Ricketts said the team formally filed its renovation proposal with the city of Chicago on Wednesday. The plan must get approval from city planners and the City Council. There will also be public hearings on the plan.

Is found headless goat related to Wrigley?

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:32:00 -0500

Authorities are investigating whether the body of a decapitated goat found at a golf course has anything to do with the goat head delivered last week to Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.

Cook County Forest Preserve Police contacted Chicago Police about the strange find Monday.

The headless white goat was found at the base of a tree at Indian Boundary Golf Course. The body of a plucked, disfigured chicken was found nearby.

Indian Boundary Assistant Manager Dan Stein says a golfer reported finding the goat's body. The golfer said he thought he'd found the goat from Wrigley.

A goat's severed head was found outside Wrigley Field last week, leading to speculation it was meant as a reference to the alleged "goat curse" placed on the Cubs in 1945.

City, Cubs push $500 million Wrigley renovation

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 06:09:00 -0500

The Chicago Cubs and the city have agreed on details of a $500 million facelift for Wrigley Field, including an electronic video screen that is nearly three times as large as the one currently atop the centerfield bleachers of the 99-year-old ballpark.

Under terms of the agreement, the Cubs would also be able to increase the number of night games at Wrigley Field from 30 to 40 — or nearly half the games played there each season. They would give Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts the ability to renovate the second-oldest park in the major leagues, boost business and perhaps make baseball's most infamous losers competitive again.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel hailed what the two sides called a "framework" agreement in a joint statement issued Sunday night, noting that it includes no taxpayer funding. That had been one of the original requests of the Ricketts family in a long-running renovation dispute that at times involved everything from cranky ballpark neighbors to ward politics and even the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama.

"This framework allows the Cubs to restore the Friendly Confines (of Wrigley) and pursue their economic goals, while respecting the rights and quality of life of its neighbors," Emanuel said.

Still uncertain was how the agreement will sit with owners of nearby buildings who provide rooftop views of the ball games under an agreement with the Cubs that goes back years. They have threatened to sue if the renovations obstruct their view, which they claim would drive them out of business.

On Monday, a spokesman for the rooftop owners said the group would have a statement later, but in the meantime referred the AP to the group's statement released earlier this month that says: "Any construction that interrupts the rooftop views will effectually drive them out of business and be challenged in a court of law."

The Cubs said the video screen they are proposing to build is 6,000 square feet, and would be built with "minimal impact on rooftops with whom (the) Cubs have an agreement." The current centerfield scoreboard is slightly more than 2,000 square feet; the Cubs also have plans to add a left-field sign of 1,000 square feet.

"Rooftop views are largely preserved," the team said in its announcement. "The Cubs have agreed to install only two signs in the outfield — a videoboard in left field and a sign in right field. This is far less than our original desire for seven signs to help offset the cost of ballpark restoration."

The signs offer the team a chance to reach new advertising deals and pay for the overhaul, even if it might change the character of the historic park. The city and club said they hope the agreement would allow the Cubs to obtain necessary city approvals for the work by the end of the current season.

The Ricketts family, which bought the Cubs in 2009 for $845 million, initially sought tax funding for renovation plans. With that out in the new agreement, the owners will seek to open new revenue streams outside the stadium. Under the agreement, the Ricketts family would be allowed to build a 175-room hotel, a plaza, and an office building with retail space and a health club, and provide 1,000 "remote" parking spots that will be free and come with shuttle service.

"We are anxious to work with our community as we seek the approvals required to move the project forward," Ricketts said in the statement.

The site of Babe Ruth's "called shot" home run in the 1932 World Series and more heartbreak than Cubs fans would like to remember, Wrigley Field is younger only than Boston's Fenway Park in the majors. It has long been a treasured showplace for baseball purists — night games were only added in 1988 — but team officials for years have desperately wanted a true upgrade, saying it costs as much as $15 million a year just to keep up with basic repairs.

The ballpark has also played no small part in the lore of the team, as fans were reminded April 10 when someone delivered a goat's head in a box addressed to Ricketts. Neither the team nor the Chicago Police Department have talked about a possible motive for the strange delivery, but as every fan knows it was in the 1945 World Series when a tavern owner arrived at the park with his pet goat — which had a ticket.

According to legend, the owner was told the goat smelled and was denied entry. The angry tavern owner then put the "Curse of the Billy Goat" on the Cubs — and the team has not been back to the World Series since. The last World Series championship for the Cubs came in 1908 — six years before Wrigley was built.

After failing to reach an agreement when Mayor Richard Daley was in office, the Ricketts family kept talking after Emanuel took office in 2011. But even presidential politics presented an obstacle for the plans at one point.

During the 2012 election, the patriarch of the Ricketts family, which created the TD Ameritrade brokerage firm, was considering a $10 million campaign against Obama that would refer to the racially incendiary sermons delivered by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright at a Chicago church the president once attended. J. Joseph Ricketts dropped the proposal, but the episode brought a huge dose of unwanted bad press and angered Emanuel, Obama's former White House chief of staff.

In recent weeks, fans also had to deal with the unlikely specter of the Cubs leaving Chicago. With the talks bogged down, the mayor of nearby Rosemont piped up, saying the village located near O'Hare International Airport would be willing to let the Cubs have 25 acres free of charge to build a replica of Wrigley Field.

Goat's head delivered to Wrigley Field

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:04:00 -0500

Police are investigating the strange delivery of a goat’s head to Wrigley Field.

Usually when people talk about goats and the Chicago Cubs, they tell the story of the "Billy Goat Curse." The scene is the 1945 World Series, Chicago Cubs vs. Detroit Tigers. The owner of the Billy Goat Tavern wanted to attend game four with his beloved pet goat. But when Cubs officials wouldn’t let the goat in, he cursed the Cubs, saying they'd never win another World Series. Thus began a decades-long championship drought.

This time around the goat in question was dead, and its head was packed in a box addressed to team chairman Tom Ricketts. Ricketts is currently locked in contentious negotiations with city officials and neighborhood businesses about a $300 million dollar renovation of Wrigley Field.

A police spokeswoman says officers responded at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday to a call about an “intimidating package.”

The investigation about the goat’s head is ongoing.

Wrigley Opening Day

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:15:00 -0500

Ricketts: Wrigley talks 'going in right direction'

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:21:00 -0500

It is 105 years and counting since the Chicago Cubs last won the World Series and few expect the drought to end this season.

At least their longtime home appears headed for a major upgrade.

The team and the city appear to be close to announcing a long-awaited $500 million renovation project for Wrigley Field that.

"I think it's going in the right direction," Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Monday before the first game of the season at the 99-year-old neighborhood ballpark. "I think we've worked through a lot of issues over the weekend. I'll just leave it at that."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney, whose district includes Wrigley Field, were sitting in the front row next to the Cubs' dugout for the home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. The duo would be a prominent part of any agreement, and Ricketts came down to talk to them early in the game.

The Cubs have desperately wanted to update Wrigley for a while, saying it spends as much as $15 million a year just to keep up with the repairs. Wrigley is the second oldest in the major leagues behind only Boston's Fenway Park.

The Ricketts family bought the Cubs in 2009 for $845 million and has made updating Wrigley a priority.

"I think we're moving forward," Tom Ricketts said. "We're committed to getting something done with the city. The mayor's been terrific. The alderman's been very productive. Hopefully this is the beginning of the process to get something done. Just got to keep working through."

The deal was expected to be completed by Monday, but Ricketts declined to provide another timeframe for a finished agreement. The Ricketts family had set a deadline of April 1, but that one came and went and the sides kept talking.

"We're just working through the process," Ricketts said. "There's going to public hearings that have to go forward. We just have to start making sure that we check all the boxes that one needs to get a major development done in Chicago."

The plan is expected to include approximately $300 million in renovations to Wrigley, more night games and a $200 million hotel. Ricketts said most of the proposed changes to the ballpark are "non-revenue generating."

"I think our highest priority, honestly, is a clubhouse. ... It's way below standard," he said. "And one of the things that I've said since we got here, if we want to have a first-class organization we can't have second-rate facilities."

The plan is also expected to include a video scoreboard inside the park in left field and another sign in right field. The size of the scoreboard had been an issue, since some owners of nearby buildings have a contract with the team governing their rooftop views of the games and have threatened to sue if the renovation does anything to hurt their business.

"It's a really awkward contract," Ricketts said. "I don't know if anyone's ever looked at it. But I think we'll be OK there."

Ricketts has said he'd be willing to pay for the entire project if the city would agree to additional night games and the signs. The Cubs also are expected to build a 300-space parking garage on the site of a gravel lot at a nearby cemetery; neighbors have long complained about a lack of parking on game days.

"Honestly, we haven't had public hearings on that and so I'm not sure exactly what all the objections are," Ricketts said. "But we're sensitive to things that affect the neighbors. We want to be responsive to issues that the neighbors have. I think we have some ideas on parking that will work, but once again, we're just working through it."

Phil Cavarretta, hometown Cubs hero

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 05:00:00 -0500

Last week, for the White Sox opener, we talked about Johnny Mostil, a native Chicagoan who played his entire major league career in a Chicago uniform, and was also a Sox star. Today is the Cubs home opener. Today the subject is a Cubs star.

Phil Cavarretta was born twenty years after Mostil, in 1916. Unlike Mostil, he made it to the major leagues quickly. Phil was only 18, and a few months out of Lane Tech, when the Cubs signed him in 1934. In his first appearance at Wrigley Field, he hit a home run.

The next season Cavarretta became the Cubs’ regular first baseman. He developed into a solid left-handed hitter known for his hustling style of play. Injuries plagued him. Separate broken ankles kept him out of action for much of two seasons.

Cavarretta was rejected for World War II service because of a hearing problem. Now in his late 20s, he hit his playing peak. In 1944 he made the All-Star team for the first time. The next year was Cavarretta’s year.

In 1945 Cavarretta hit .355 to win the National League batting championship. He was named the league’s Most Valuable Player, and led his team into the World Series–the last time the Cubs made it that far. Though the team lost, Phil batted .423 for the seven games.

After the war ended, Cavarretta was named an All-Star twice more, showing he was more than a wartime flash. Meanwhile, the Cubs were going into a long decline. In 1951 team owner P.K. Wrigley made his most popular player the manager.

Cavarretta continued to play part-time. His record as a manager was mixed. Just before the start of the 1954 season, Wrigley fired him. Always honest, Cavarretta had told his boss that the team had no hope of making the first division.

But Cavarretta wasn't through. After 20 years with the Cubs, he now signed with the White Sox as a first baseman and pinch-hitter. He got into 71 games and hit .316. That proved to be his final spurt. Early in the 1955 season the Sox released him.

Cavarretta stayed in baseball another two decades, managing in the minor leagues, working as a hitting coach, and doing some scouting. He died in 2010 at the age of 94. At the time of his death he was the last major leaguer to have played against Babe Ruth.

MLB agrees to new deal with StubHub

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:17:00 -0600

Major League Baseball reached a new five-year agreement with StubHub to continue as its official site for secondary tickets. But the Chicago Cubs may be opting out of the deal.

If you buy tickets to a Chicago White Sox game off StubHub next year, you’ll only see the purchase price. Under StubHub’s new contract with MLB, the seller price, fees and commission are wrapped into one.

But not every team is signing on, like the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Angels and maybe the Chicago Cubs.

Ray Elias with StubHub says the Cubs are on the fence about the agreement.

"I don’t believe there’s been a solid answer," he said "And at this point it’s really between MLB and the Cubs. They’ve been a fantastic partner, so we’d love to see them continue to be part of the deal."

The Cubs wouldn’t say much about the contract other than they’re still exploring options. But if the team opts out, people will still be able sell and buy Cubs tickets on StubHub. The team just won’t get a cut of that.

Sox Ticket Prices Fall

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:50:00 -0500

The Cubs and the White Sox agree on little, but they see eye to eye on one thing: They have to lower ticket prices.

The Sox are lowing prices for season tickets next year and even for parking near their South Side stadium.

That’s primarily because the team attracted just under two millions fans to U.S. Cellular Field this past season, despite their unexpected success under new manager Robin Ventura.

The club stayed in first place much of the season but ultimately missed the playoffs. That scenario would normally translate into higher attendance. When that didn’t happen, Sox brass wanted to know why. So, it commissioned a study to do just that.

Prior to the study’s release, Sox vice president of marketing Brooks Boyer told WBEZ that it wasn’t one factor that’s keeping fans away.

“There’s a lot of things that come into play and it’s things that we’re addressing so as we head into next year, we’ll put ourselves in position to be able to attract more fans,” Boyer said.

The study suggests one of the main factors as to why fans are stayed away this season was because of high ticket prices.

To appease fans, the Sox will lower prices for season tickets by at least 30 percent and feature $7-upper-deck corner seats for most games next year. Tickets for lower deck corner seats will also be available for most games at just $20.

Parking will also come down from $23 to $20.

Past experience shows the Sox can attract a lot of fans to the ballpark. In 2006, the year after it won the World Series, nearly 3 million fans took in a game at U.S. Cellular Field, the most the team ever had.

The Sox ticket announcement came a day after the crosstown rival Cubs also said it was cutting ticket prices after a 101-loss season.