Ricketts staying out of the way of manager's choice ... for now

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said Wednesday the process leading up to the hiring of a new field manager is strictly in the hands of general manager Jim Hendry.

Hendry is in Albuquerque this week to watch the Cubs' Class AAA Iowa farm club and to talk with Ryne Sandberg, the Iowa manager who is a candidate to manage the Cubs beginning next year.

It's also possible that Hendry will talk soon with former big-league manager Bob Melvin, although no meeting has been scheduled.

For now, Ricketts will stay out of the process.

"It's Jim's responsibility to go out and find a new manager," Ricketts told Cubs beat writers during a brief chat after the rededication of the Harry Caray statue. "What he'll do is he'll create a shortlist, and I'll meet with him on the shortlist.

"Jim's out there. It's his responsibility to bring us the shortlist and talk the names through and come up with the right answer."

Sandberg and current manager Mike Quade are the in-house candidates. Quade took over last week for Lou Piniella, who resigned to take care of his elderly mother.

Although Sandberg is a Cubs Hall of Famer and would seem to have widespread public support, Ricketts said a "name" candidate is not what the Cubs are seeking.

"No, the fact is, it's Jim's job to decide which manager to bring in, but it's about winning," Ricketts said. "I don't think we need a marquee name to sell tickets. What we need is a team that produces on the field. That's what's most important to us."

Ricketts also spoke briefly on a couple of other subjects. Wrigley Field attendance has been down this year. A season-low announced 29,538 witnessed Monday's series opener against the Pirates. There have been thousands of empty seats, especially as the Cubs have fallen farther from contention.

"Obviously, we want every seat full every game," Ricketts said. "The attendance has been very, very strong in the grandstand. But certain day games and then the last couple of night games, the bleachers have been softer. We've got to put a winning product on the field to make sure all the seats are full every year."

Asked if lower attendance could affect player payroll for 2011, Ricketts said: "They're related. Obviously, the more attendance generates more revenue, and more revenue gives you more flexibility to look at increasing payroll. The fact is, we have a really strong fan base. Hopefully, we'll put a very attractive product on the field next year. We did pretty well this year even with kind of a tough season. Hopefully next year, we'll get it back up to where it was two years ago."

Just where the payroll will fall is yet to be determined, Ricketts said. The Cubs opened this year somewhere between $143 million and $145 million.

"We haven't got to the point where we talked about that for next year yet," Ricketts said. "Obviously, if a couple contracts roll off, it might give us a little flexibility. We'll see what happens."

With the Cubs having a poor season and already having the highest ticket prices in baseball, Ricketts was asked directly if the Cubs would hold the line on ticket prices for next year.

"We don't have pricing strategy for next year locked down," he said. "But we'll see."