Rozner: Did Ricketts forecast Cubs World Series? Sort of

Tom Ricketts moved more than a few eyebrows and received an equal number of crooked looks when he tried to make a case for the Cubs winning the World Series in 2015.

I can't remember if I was Abbott or Costello in late January as the two of us did a question-and-answer session for about 250 suburban business leaders at a Daily Herald-sponsored event in Elk Grove.

This followed a PowerPoint presentation offered by the Cubs owner explaining why the Sporting News might be right, after the publication had predicted the Cubs would win the World Series in 2015.

This week, after the Cubs had clinched the NLDS, a champagne-drenched Ricketts smiled as he recalled that day in January.

"Remember the presentation? They were all good reasons," Ricketts shouted above the roar. "We were getting a genuine leadoff hitter. We had a little better starting pitching. We had a little more defense up the middle with veteran catchers.

"We had some rookies we thought could help a lot. We could drop in guys who came up last year and contributed and could be full-time players this year.

"I laid out the reasons why I thought we could win, though I don't know that I really believed the World Series was a possibility."

Still, it was an impressive argument.

"I don't know," Ricketts laughed. "I think by January I wouldn't say 100 percent I believed it was a possibility, but by the end of spring training, that's when I really believed something special could happen.

"Guys were hitting, players were healthy, the energy was incredible and the vibe was amazing."

But seriously, not even Theo Epstein thought the Cubs could be a serious threat this season to reach the final four.

"The way it went down from my perspective, was at the end of last season Theo came to me," Ricketts said. "Theo said, 'I don't think 2015 should be a development year. The rookies played well enough that we could have a pretty good season. Let me add some pieces and parts and see what we wind up with.'

"Then Joe (Maddon) falls out of the sky and lands in our lap, and that made everyone a lot more confident."

Not even someone as optimistic as Ricketts began to ponder the improbable until the Cubs swept the Giants in August.

"That was obviously the signature series of the year," Ricketts said. "We weren't in that second wild card spot when the series started, and the Giants and Nationals were right there with us. Both veteran teams with probably more talent on paper.

"But once we swept the Giants here, I thought this team could get hot and go a long way."

Much of the credit has to go to Ricketts, who was accused during the rebuild of everything except involvement in the Jimmy Hoffa disappearance. He was labeled as cheap and passive while the Epstein plan was called a scam.

But at no time did Ricketts buckle to the pressure or the frustration.

"Tom has been the most patient one of everybody, going back to the time I met with him initially before I took the job," Epstein said. "He didn't know technically everything that had to take place, but he knew something different had to take place.

"He knew it had to revolve around young players. He knew it had to be systematic. He knew we had to build around scouting and player development. And he knew it had to take time.

"He's been remarkably patient. I can honestly say that never once did he try to pressure us to speed it up. He's been incredibly supportive and it doesn't happen without that.

"An organization ends up reflecting the personality of its owner and his approach and his vision is how this happened."

So a team that hoped to finish .500 is four wins away from the World Series for the first time since 1945. There's no guarantee the Cubs will advance, but they're the hottest team still playing and the betting favorites to win it all.

"I don't think anyone wants to play us right now," Ricketts said. "Everyone in this lineup believes they'll get the big hit and everyone wants to be the guy with the chance to win the game.

"Joe puts them in situations where they can be successful and they've had a lot of success."

And Tom Ricketts called it way back in January.

"Well, not really," Ricketts said. "But it makes for a good story."

Indeed.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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