http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/articl ... d=76326626

That was really weird, why did he feel the need to make a video and put this online?

He's attempting to position himself as the steward of a public trust (the Cubs and Wrigley Field) rather than the son of a ruthless businessman. He is rallying the Cub fan to join him in swamping the relatively tiny business of a Beth Murphy and using the canard that she and the other rooftop owners are the only obstacle standing between the Cubs and multiple championships.

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

Hooooooly fucking shit, what is this.

Why is he saying "we provide our players with subpar facilities" on top of gentle, uplifting background music? Why is his face in a permanent wince? Why am I being asked to sign a petition to put up advertising? This is awful.

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Sadly, I think it will work. If we polled most Cub fans on this board, I suspect the result would be to allow him to do whatever he wants. Then the Cubs will win!

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

I mean, I'll give him that the clubhouse is pretty lame. But I'm not drawing a straight line between "build new clubhouses" and "breach contracts."

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That was terrible. It was like watching one of those "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey" videos on SNL except that this was not satirical in nature.

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Yeah, it's been a long way down from Standing Beside The Lectern, hasn't it? Everything this guy does, he comes off like a complete tool.

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Instead of tearing down Ricketts,I will be the voice of reason. I thought it was very well done. I've been a Cub fan since I was 10 and I never knew these guys hit off a batting tee in the clubhouse. This is all Ricketts fault from Day 1. IF he put the cart before the horse when he bought the team,Wrigley expansion would have been a done deal. He should have gave the rooftop owners a "hard date" from the 1st day of ownership. If agreements were not met,move the park to Rosemont,end of discussion.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Apparently it's something more akin to "my old man won't give me any money until we get more signs".

If I knew that they would 100% open the pursestrings once this nonsense is all in the past, I'd be happy to dynamite the buildings myself. But I don't know that. Nobody outside of the old man himself knows that.

By the same token, it's not like I have a rooting interest for businesses I don't patronize nor gain any income from either, so I don't know that I'm altogether broken up on behalf of the rooftop owners either.

The whole thing is a bunch of dickbags bitching and I'd just as soon it be over with expeditiously.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

He acts like the visiting teams have better facilities with batting cages. That visitor's clubhouse is the worst place on earth. How is that a disadvantage for the Cubs?

He's trying to walk a fine line. Wrigley is the best but let's change it as much as possible. There is a point where Wrigley is no longer Wrigley. Left to his own devices, he just may find that point.

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

This guy is a train wreck...When will big daddy muzzle this clown n take the reins .

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It wasn't well done at all, though, that's the thing. The first and last segments are obviously greenscreened, and "I'm in the clubhouse now" appears to be from a different day of shooting altogether. And "wah wah but Fenway has billboards and THEY'RE special tooooooo" was lame. Yeah, Fenway also has New Englanders in it, and who wants that?

"I'm in the clubhouse now" just keeps rattling around in my head. I feel like that one moment encapsulates all the crap that is this plea. Like, where the fuck else would you be with a batting tee and a Gatorade fridge? "Look, daddy, I'm in the clubhouse now."

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I know he is an easy target. Maybe the exact same speech would have been better if he hired Jason Statham as a spokesman.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

you know, someone has to show this video to giancarlo stanton. the tears in his eyes will remind him of whats really important, which is coming here to win "when it's time."

i look at this creepy ricketts fuck (whats up with the cufflink sleeves when he stands in front of the net? yeargh) and i think "this is the man who is gonna bring stanton to chicago. it's gonna happen"

also, my uncle has a brilliant plan to trade samardzija, rizzo, and i think soler for paul goldschmidt. so when we've got goldschmidt and stanton back to back? oh yeah, it's gonna happen unless that Caller Bob beth murphy fucks it all up. LET'S CALL OUR ASSYRIAN CONTACTS TO "EXPEDITE" THE Caller Bob!!!!!!!!!!!

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Yeah. Almost none of this will happen.

You might as well just get US Cellular to sponsor this one too then because it will be the same experience.

It's just like all the Soldier Field stuff. I remember not wanting Soldier Field to be completely torn down and redone or moved. Now, you basically have the columns left as the only reminder of what the old place was like. You can build new columns. You can even make them look old.

The ultimate goal of the Ricketti does seem to be to destroy(not buy) the rooftops and to install a video board which almost certainly will be used for advertising and in game promotions. It's like the overused and "I'm going to sound smart like I know philosophy and stuff" question: If I have a car, and I replace the tires, is it still the same car? What if I replace the engine? What if I replace the seats? What if I replace the outer body? At some point, does it become a completely different car?

What if Wrigley is literally just the neighborhood and ivy and everything else looks and feels different? Ivy moves, so ultimately the entire reason to go down this path is to stay in the neighborhood, which makes the idea of destroying the rooftops even more interesting.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

so you weren't the kid in school whose cousin had a hoverboard, were you rick?

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Awful. Just a terrible situation

Longing for Tribune ownership


The rooftops are essential to the Wrigley feel for me. Do whatever you need but don't change the perfect outfield view

I was just going to say it appeared to be shot from a while ago, before the ivy had turned green.

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Its been essential to the Cubs too. Thousands ( /Klompus) of times over the years WGN has panned across the rooftops with the announcers saying what a beautiful day it was in Wrigleyville.

There is no easy solution, but the rooftops are part of Wrigley almost as much as the ivy is.

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Not defending Ricketts or the Cubs here. I find most all it laughable, and I'm a Cubs fan / season ticket holder. I'm not a nostalgic fan of Wrigley Field. In response to your comment though...the Cubs play 81 games a year there. Visiting teams obviously play much less. If they are staying at Wrigley, they do need to improve the player facilities for both. Maybe I'll make a sappy youtube video explaining this!

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Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

My only "untouchables" for Wrigley:

Ivy
Scoreboard
Bullpens

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The bullpens are untouchable? Whatever. I think if they're going to close Waveland and Sheffield to traffic, put the bullpens out under the bleachers and have them come in off the streets.

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Not in the same realm as the ivy, but I think it's a trademark feature.

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There is an easy solution. The Cubs buy the rooftops. Bottom line.

I think Ricketts should launch a new movie project where he stars as Mr. Rogers in an all new 21st Century "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" franchise. Given all this new found success, he and "The Family" would then be able to sell the team to a real ownership group who know how to take care of business.

Ricketts is a fucking debt ridden pathetic clown complete with the sad painted face...

Just remember this too.

When Ricketts bought the Cubs, his ownership group, and his lawyers, meticulously went over this contract with the rooftop owners and clearly used it to get a lower purchase price for the team just like any negotiation would.

If you feel bad for Ricketts, realize he would have paid more for the Cubs without this contract.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If you feel bad for either side, you should be put away in a home.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Of course there are Cub fans like you who will follow the Cubs wherever they play. Every team has those fans. Some have more than others. The Cubs probably have more than most. But a lot of their fanbase is made up of Wrigley fans too. I was watching Hot Dog Paradise last night. And there was a couple from out of town at Hot Doug's. The guy said, "There are two things you have to do when you're in Chicago- see Wrigley Field and go to Hot Doug's." I may disagree with that, but I will note that the guy said "see Wrigley Field", not "see a Cub game".

As for the facilities, I know the Cubs play more games at Wrigley than any other team, but in the games that they do play there, both they and their opponents have to hit off a tee into the same kind of net to warm up, don't they? When the Cubs go on the road they don't take the tee and the net with them, do they? Or am I missing something?

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

What would the Reinsdorf video equivalent have looked like 25 years ago? Him in Florida showing animations of moving trucks packing up old comiskey and hopping on the Dan Ryan south? His pockets hanging out crying broke and he needs our money?