Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts acknowledges disappointment

The Chicago Cubs will be featured in the Field of Dreams game on Thursday night as they play against the Cincinnati Reds in Dyersville, Iowa in a game that was consummated last year as a way for Major League Baseball to pay homage to the movie of the same name that was released in 1989.

Major League Baseball’s first Field of Dreams game occurred last season as it featured two first-place American League teams in the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. The game was arguably the best game of the Major League Baseball season last year as it concluded with a Tim Anderson walk-off home run for the White Sox.

This year’s game figures to lack the star power that the Yankees and White Sox had last season considering the Cubs and Reds have consistently been battling for last place in the National League Central division this season.

While the Cubs remain a cornerstone franchise in Major League Baseball, there is no doubt that must be disappointment in league circles that the team is being showcased in the Field of Dreams game this season considering they are fielding a roster of mostly fringe Major League Baseball players. A similar concern may be had next season when the Cubs will face the St. Louis Cardinals in a series that will be played in London.

Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts is aware of that disappointment and promises that team will return to the type of baseball that fans can appreciate. In speaking with Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago, Ricketts confessed that there is disappointment surrounding the current state of the Cubs.

"“I’ll be the first to acknowledge this is not the type of baseball Cubs fans deserve,” Ricketts said. “Our decision last year to move away from Cubs players who brought us a World Series title was tough, but we have a plan to return to championship contention by building the next great Cubs team around a young core of players augmented by free agent signings — and we’re making progress.”"

Ricketts should not be criticized for the idea that the Cubs traded away their 2016 World Series core last season at the Major League Baseball deadline. The Cubs, in the past, made offers to each Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez that were higher than the respective deals they signed with their new teams last offseason.

Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts has admitted that the team has been a disappointment but his lack of spending points the blame directly at him.

Where Ricketts deserves to be criticized is his willingness to allow the Cubs to become the Pittsburgh Pirates of Chicago. Beginning in 2018 after the missed pursuit of outfielder Bryce Harper in free agency, Ricketts has openly avoided opening his wallet in the offseasons since to allow the Cubs to pursue top-tier free agents. Ricketts has operated the Cubs like a line item on a general ledger instead of a Major League Baseball team in a big market.

Ricketts may have opened the door to the Cubs spending in free agency again last offseason with the lucrative deals with starting pitcher Marcus Stroman and outfielder Seiya Suzuki. That is the type of spending that Ricketts and the Cubs are planning for this winter.

"“Our moves over the past year and at the trade deadline have put us in a position of strength in both player and financial currency. We plan to be very active again this offseason competing in the free agent market.”"

Time will be the ultimate lie-detector test for Ricketts. Ricketts is the same person that touted the looming success of the Marquee television network while being content with the Cubs opening the season with the likes of Frank Schwindel and Rafael Ortega in their starting lineup. The Cubs are a failing Major League Baseball team that is featured on a failed television network. The only circumstance in which that will change is if Ricketts spends money on the Major League team.