Family guy

The Cubs are now a family-owned team, and the guy who seems to be driving the family's agenda, Tom Ricketts, said all the things yesterday that Cubs fans wanted to here: The new owners are committed to getting the Cubs a championship; there is no curse on the Cubs; they will stay most out of the way and let baseball people do their jobs.

Ricketts' mere presence suggests a changing of the Cubs from a corporate entity into a family business, but will that really be the case? The club should not be confused with a mom-and-pop store that cares about its customers more than a corporate behemoth. This team was just sold for several hundred million dollars, and at the end of the day, it's a business that will be owned by people who have business success in their blood.

Aside from endorsements for GM Jim Hendry and manager Lou Piniella to continue their work for another year, there was not much real baseball talk at yesterday's coming-out party for the Rickettseseseses... The World Series has barely started, so it may be a while before the real baseball moves begin, but much of the coverage of yesterday's press conference suggested that the Cubs will not be spending much money over the off-season. I can only hope that means they will unload Milton Bradley's salary in favor of Chone Figgins or Bobby Abreu, though more likely it could mean a fairly inactive off-season for the Cubs--not exactly the best way to begin the charge toward a championship.