At this point, what team would Fielder go to?

[VeveJones007]

Off the books this year:

Ramirez - $12.6 MM (14.6 this year minus 2 MM buyout)

Fukudome - $14.5 MM

Pena - $10 MM

Grabow - $4.8 MM

About $40 MM there

Off the books next year:

Dempster - $14 MM

Zambrano - $19 MM

Byrd - $6.5 MM

Marshall - $3.1 MM

About another $40 MM there

Money committed for 2013 - $28.8 MM

You're only considering player salaries. You are ignorant of several other significant factors working against the Cubs:

1) Tom Ricketts bought the team with his father's money. He doesn't have the personal wealth to simply delve into his own pockets.

2) Tom's father is a serious businessman. Tom could only convince his father to let him purchase the team because he said that the business model was full-proof: Cubs fans would always come to games whether the team won or not. Well, attendance has declined considerably the last two years since Ricketts bought the team.

3) The Cubs want to purchase a lot of the real estate around Wrigley so that they can create a larger revenue stream. With the current debt that they have already incurred in the purchase of the franchise, the money isn't there.

4) The Cubs also have to (literally have to due to safety codes) make serious upgrades to Wrigley, towards which the Cubs are having serious difficulties getting public funding. They already failed in their first attempt earlier this year.

[Ralph]

And don't be surprised to see Zambrano end up with Guillen in Florida.

Cubs would be eating that contract though.

[Stotle]

You're only considering player salaries. You are ignorant of several other significant factors working against the Cubs:

1) Tom Ricketts bought the team with his father's money. He doesn't have the personal wealth to simply delve into his own pockets.

2) Tom's father is a serious businessman. Tom could only convince his father to let him purchase the team because he said that the business model was full-proof: Cubs fans would always come to games whether the team won or not. Well, attendance has declined considerably the last two years since Ricketts bought the team.

3) The Cubs want to purchase a lot of the real estate around Wrigley so that they can create a larger revenue stream. With the current debt that they have already incurred in the purchase of the franchise, the money isn't there.

4) The Cubs also have to (literally have to due to safety codes) make serious upgrades to Wrigley, towards which the Cubs are having serious difficulties getting public funding. They already failed in their first attempt earlier this year.

All true, but MLB would not have approved the sale if it meant the Cubs required being run on $65 MM payroll. Ownership is saying what they should be saying to prepare fans for an era of Cubs baseball that doesn't include multiple contracts around $20 MM. Not saying Fielder is definitely going to Chicago, but they are in play regardless of what is released to the media.

[VeveJones007]

All true, but MLB would not have approved the sale if it meant the Cubs required being run on $65 MM payroll. Ownership is saying what they should be saying to prepare fans for an era of Cubs baseball that doesn't include multiple contracts around $20 MM. Not saying Fielder is definitely going to Chicago, but they are in play regardless of what is released to the media.

I'm not basing my opinion based on what was said in the article. I'm basing it on what the guys on sports radio in Chicago are saying. They're former Chicago sports journalists with connections all over the city. They were saying everything in that article months before the article came out and their sources are better than "someone with knowledge of the team's debt" after the sale of the team.

Everyone got this perception that the Cubs could sustain a $125 million+ payroll after they splurged before 2007 and 2008. They can't. The Tribune gave Hendry a blank check to try and win a title to put as many butts in the seats as possible in order to artificially increase the perceived value of the franchise.

[VeveJones007]

One more thing: the floor fell out of the Cubs ticket market this year. In the past handful of seasons, almost every game was a sell-out and brokers were making a ton of money in the secondary market. This season, the Cubs were literally GIVING AWAY tickets by having employees walk around to nearby bars and offering patrons free tickets. They were just trying to get fans in the stadium to buy as many beers and hot dogs as possible.

The state of the franchise isn't nearly as good as most people assume.

[VeveJones007]

All true, but MLB would not have approved the sale if it meant the Cubs required being run on $65 MM payroll. Ownership is saying what they should be saying to prepare fans for an era of Cubs baseball that doesn't include multiple contracts around $20 MM. Not saying Fielder is definitely going to Chicago, but they are in play regardless of what is released to the media.

MLB approved the sale because Ricketts has a good long-term business plan. Once they build up Wrigleyville and upgrade the stadium, the Cubs will turn into another version of the Red Sox. However, the terms of the sale and the down economy are making it difficult to get the financing necessary to speed up the development to put that plan into operation.

It's just too early for the Cubs.