Ricketts can get Peavy, make history on North Side

To say that the Tribune Co. was a bad owner would be, at best, an oversimplification and, at worst, simply wrong.

For the most part, the people involved were excellent caretakers.

Mother Tribune - as it was known in baseball circles - spent millions upon millions each year to keep Wrigley Field from falling down, and the ownership was a major upgrade from the Wrigley family stewardship.

Some Trib types, like Jim Dowdle, were as good an owner as you could hope to have, and unlike some who supervised for the Tower, Dowdle really wanted to win.

Had he succeeded in getting John Schuerholz here as president and CEO in the fall of 1994, who knows how things would have been different.

Not that second choice Andy MacPhail didn't try, but he also didn't believe in spending, and he kept the payroll artificially low when another $10 million here, or $20 million there, might have made the difference.

At the same time, MacPhail was a respected and genuine baseball guy, and he had the team's best interests truly at heart.

There were too many Cubs presidents who possessed precisely none of those qualities, and this is where the Ricketts family can make a huge change in team policy and direction.

Without a doubt, the biggest problem the Cubs have had since 1981 is all the meddling that came from the wannabes and never-weres.

There were too many levels between baseball management and the owner, and the clear line of power was never very clear at all, with the exception of the Dowdle years.

It cost the Cubs many terrific execs, GMs, managers, coaches and players, perhaps none worse than the firings and departures of Dallas Green, Don Zimmer and Greg Maddux.

Now is the time for Tom Ricketts to change all that.

As was predicted here many months ago, Ricketts would get the club because MLB wanted him to win, and from all we hear about Ricketts, Bud Selig has made an excellent choice.

He is a huge Cubs fan who wants to win, will take care of the club as if it is family, and keep the franchise in his family for generations.

And Ricketts can help himself and his club immediately by removing all the levels of nonsense that existed between general manager and owner.

Soon, GM Jim Hendry will be seeking permission to add payroll for 2009 so he can get Jake Peavy from San Diego.

We can't imagine Ricketts saying, "No,'' and the Cubs should be able to land Peavy before spring training begins, as the Cubs have been his top choice since the Padres decided to shop him.

And that ability for the baseball people to work directly with the owner, while necessary to get this deal done, is also a line of communication that should remain open permanently.

Cubs execs over the years have been hampered, and at times even handcuffed, by all the men who managed to get in the way of what the baseball operations department was trying to do, stymied by team presidents, vice presidents, board members, family members and a legion of corporate executives, communications geniuses, TV administrators, financial experts and fat cats.

After 15 minutes or so of being involved, many thought they knew everything about baseball, and all wanted to have a say in how the Cubs were run.

They wanted to impress family and friends with their influence, and none had any business getting involved in baseball decisions.

Tom Ricketts can change all that by having direct communication with a guy like Hendry, not just to open the checkbook or to approve major acquisitions, but also to keep those who want to be involved for the sake of saying so from having any influence.

It's a crucial aspect of ownership that has been missing from the Cubs for years, and it's a hallmark of great organizations.

Look, if Ricketts needs to install Aunt Martha's cousin as comptroller or CFO, and dad's brother-in-law as president, who cares, as long as they hear from the owner's lips that baseball is strictly off limits, and that the GM has the power to come to the owner for anything and everything.

This is crucial.

Ricketts is a smart guy, a man who has made his own way in the financial world, not resting on the huge success generated by his father.

He got this team for a reason, because baseball believes he'll be a good owner, and we have every belief that for the first time in our lifetime, the Cubs have an owner who truly wants to do things right, truly wants to win and truly cares about Cubs fans.

Ricketts is going to make a lot of great things happen.

The first might just be Jake Peavy.

brozner@dailyherald.com

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/1292">Miles: So does this mean the Cubs get Peavy? <span class="date">[01/23/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=266461">Ricketts, Tribune enter exclusive sale talks over Chicago Cubs <span class="date">[01/23/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>