The Letter I Sent to Tom Ricketts

Dear Mr. Ricketts,

I have been a Cubs fan all of my life. I am now 41 and have lived and died with this team on a day in day out basis. I am on the season ticket waiting list and have for the past number of years bought into some sort of ticket package be it the 13 game or 7 game plans. On top of that I usually go to about 5 – 10 more games throughout the year. I would say I average about 20 home dates a year.

I love going to Wrigley Field and I love watching the Cubs. However, I cannot with a clear conscience see a way to go back to Wrigley next year if you bring Jim Hendry back. This is not a personal attack as I don’t know the man personally. I am sure he is a nice guy and good person. But sports are a results driven business, and when you look at the results it is clear that Mr. Hendry, in his nine years at the helm has not been able to produce a consistent winner.

I know all about 07 and 08. What should be clear is that those seasons were nice flare ups. For the money the team puts into its payroll the Cubs should have by now built a consistent winner. That means we are in contention year in year out. All you need to look at is what the Cardinals do. Maybe they don’t make the playoffs every year but you don’t see them lose 90 in a season either.

The talent is not there and when the talent is not there you have to look at the person who is responsible for assembling that talent and then look at the people whose job it is to harness that talent. I could list numerous reasons for why Mr. Hendry should no longer be GM. But, all one needs to look at is the state of the organization. This isn’t about one bad signing or one bad trade. No GM has a golden touch, I understand that. But, when you look at the body of work Mr. Hendry has failed more then he has succeeded.

So, I can’t like I said justify spending the money that I spend on this team next year if Mr. Hendry comes back. To me that would be the ultimate betrayal of all loyal Cub fans out there. I will not go to any games until he is gone. I know my couple of grand that I spend on food, beer and tickets is nothing in the overall scheme of things, but at some point the fans have to take a stand.

I was very happy the day your family bought the team. I still am and I know you want to put a winner on the field. I know Rome was not built in a day. However, you have had two years now to look at this ballclub and I would think it is abundantly clear that this team has no direction and lacks the prospects to re-build any time soon. No one person can be blamed for the mess the team is now but, it all starts at the top and he needs to take responsibility for the mess that was made while he was in charge. Actions have consequences and by letting Jim Hendry continue to run this ballclub beyond this season would defy basic logic.

Sincerely,

Nick Francone