Ricketts ready to let good times roll
Tom Ricketts has been a busy guy in Mesa this week.
The Cubs chairman headed to Arizona for Tuesday's dedication of the Cubs' spring-training stadium as Sloan Park after it was known as Cubs Park in its first year of operation.
On Wednesday, Ricketts addressed the ballplayers and the media as position players gathered for their first formal workouts of the spring.
This is Year 4 of the baseball regime headed by president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer. In the first three seasons, the Cubs went 200-286.
Those were rough days to be at Wrigley Field - but now, things seem to be looking up.
"We all believe this year's team has what it takes to win the division and go to the playoffs, so now it's just about getting on the field and getting it started," Ricketts told reporters. "We've had some tough seasons and have had to do things the right way and make long-term decisions, and that's cost us games. But walking around the ballpark is encouraging.
"Fans are almost exclusively supportive and they want to see everything done the right way because we want to get to that World Series and we're not going to do it by making short-term decisions. Frankly, the fans have really helped me get through the bad years, rather than the other way around.
"We feel this is the year we'll start to show results."
Epstein and Co. have built what many consider to be the best farm system in baseball. It's been widely assumed that Epstein will get a contract extension beyond his original five years. Ricketts has not wanted to say much about that, dating to last year.
"That will play out when it plays out," Ricketts told the media Wednesday.
Ricketts also addressed other subjects. The Cubs said Tuesday they have named former big-league slugger Manny Ramirez a hitting consultant, to work with minor-league and major-league hitters. Ramirez was at Cubs camp Wednesday. During his big-league career, Ramirez was suspended for violating Major League Baseball's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Fans and media have wondered when the Cubs will welcome back former outfielder Sammy Sosa, who has been linked to PED use but was never suspended.
Ricketts has sidestepped the issue, and he did so with the media Wednesday.
"Nothing really new on Sammy," Ricketts said. "Nothing has really changed. This is about this year's team, that's it.
"I've always said Sammy was a great player, regardless of everything else. At this point, there's nothing new to report."
Manny being Manny:
Ramirez arrived at Cubs spring training and talked with reporters. He served as a player-coach at Class AAA Iowa last year and has not officially retired as a player.
"You cannot play for the rest of your life," he told the media. "I just want to be in the game and help people and see people grow.
"When I came here with all the minor-league players, I had a meeting and I went in and shared all the things that I went through so they don't go through that. Some people grow faster than others, but the good thing is you learn from mistakes and you're moving on. And you can tell the young players, 'Don't do this, don't do that. This has consequences.' That's what I did."