Page C12 • Sunday, January 19, 2014
SPORTS
CUBS ANALYSIS
Northwest Herald / NWHerald.com
BULLS 103, 76ERS 78
Noah making case for All-Star berth So far, Ricketts family last in standings among Cubs owners By GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com When the Ricketts family took ownership of the Cubs in the fall of 2009, they promised championships, stability and a long-term hope. While that hope appears to remain intact – it’s the club’s only selling point these days – there’s not much certainty about baseball performance or management stability four years later. In fact, as the Rickettses prepared this weekend to face their most restless, if not hostile, fan base in five years of Cubs Conventions, their track record includes some of the worst baseball of any ownership tenure in the history of the franchise. The promises are still there, in the physical forms of Javy Baez, Kris Bryant and Albert Almora roaming the ballrooms and lobbies of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. But as those touted prospects head to the minors again for the start of what figures to be another lost season of North Side baseball, an unflattering view of the Ricketts ownership is starting to develop in the game, with some industry sources questioning the fitness of the family to operate a big-market franchise. The third-year rebuilding plan under baseball president Theo Epstein is starting to flow with minor-league prospects/saviors. But the Cubs remain strapped for the financial resources to rebuild more quickly and aggressively through such avenues as preprime international player acquisitions. (They remain a long shot for free agent Masahiro Tanaka despite focusing this winter’s resources on strengthening a bid.) How quickly baseball operations gets a promised
AP photo
Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts address the fans Friday during the Cubs’ annual winter baseball convention in Chicago. cash boost is linked to factors ranging from the highest franchise debt load in Major League Baseball to Wrigley Field renovations that have been delayed for more than a year to promises of a local-TV rights increase next season. Despite suggestions that this third-year overhaul has taken a toll on the Cubs’ substantial brand, sports business experts so far say that’s not the case – but that the next two or three years could be critical. Chicago-based sports business consultant Marc Ganis said the lengthy process is at least partially because of ‘‘the fact that the team losing games on the field, unfortunately, has been part of its persona.’’ Still, the last four seasons have put the Ricketts family in an unenviable class of its own among Cubs owners. No other ownership group in Cubs history has failed to reach .500 in its first four years, and the .421 winning percentage is worst among all Cubs owners. Along the way, the Rickettses have run through four managers in five seasons, watched attendance decline each season (down 17 percent total) and maintained an average ticket price roughly 10 percent higher than it was the year before they took over
a then-contender. All of which will be forgotten very quickly if The Plan works. ‘‘Even if the Cubs take a short-term hit in the box office,’’ New York-based sports scholar Marc Edelman said, ‘‘if they’re able to build a team that can win the World Series in the next decade, they will more than offset any temporary loss in revenue.’’ Or damage to the Cubs brand and the Ricketts reputation. Edelman, an associate law professor specializing in sports-related fields at Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York, compared this stretch of Cubs history to the losing New York Yankees teams in the early ’90s that had Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte developing into a core that would deliver six pennants and four championships in eight years. ‘‘There were similar concerns that the Yankees were tarnishing their brand equity based on performance and on-field record,’’ he said. ‘‘But if you look at the Yankees today, it is clear that the rebuilding strategy they took in the early 1990s ultimately led to a colossal increase in the franchise’s brand equity.’’
Coach Tom Thibodeau admittedly is biased. After the Bulls’ 103-78 victory Saturday over the 76ers, he was wondering out loud if there was another big man playing at a higher level than Joakim Noah. Quick answer: No. With 21 points, 16 rebounds and three assists, Noah is making a strong case for a second consecutive All-Star berth. It was his team-leading 16th
double-double, and he has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 12 consecutive games, the longest streak of his career. Noah was averaging 13.9 points, 13.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.9 blocks in January. “[Noah is] doing just about everything, laundry, everything,’’ Thibodeau said. “You can’t play any better than he’s playing now, and in every aspect of the game. The defense has
been there all season, the rebounding off the charts, but the playmaking, the quick decisions, multiple efforts, it sets the tone for our team.’’ So much for the loss of Luol Deng. Noah was stung the most by Deng’s trade to the Cavaliers, but it also seemed to stir something inside. He’s playing at a high level, but he also has ramped up his fiery demeanor to another level.
Bulls trade Teague for Nets’ Shengelia
first-round pick (29th overall) in the 2012 draft, to the Nets for 6-9 small forward Tornike Shengelia. Teague likely will be headed to his new team by Tuesday, when NBA offices reopen. For Teague, it’s almost a relief to be starting over. His
stay with the Bulls was tough at times. Coach Tom Thibodeau’s hardnosed style isn’t for everyone. Teague almost seemed to wilt under that pressure rather than embrace it the way Jimmy Butler and Tony Snell have. – Sun-Times
CHICAGO – Point guard Marquis Teague still was wearing a Bulls uniform before Saturday’s game against the 76ers, but he said it would be short-lived. The Bulls traded Teague, a
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