Odds & Ends
Well, pitchers and catchers have reported, the first sign that baseball is returning to the minds of people other than the obsessives. Like me. And maybe you. Reporters will arrive and dissect Kerry Wood's progress eleven ways from sideways and before too long we'll all be tired of hearing about it, unless the news is good of course in which case we'll become giddy about the prospect of a season with healthy starting pitching. The way we were going into 2004. You know, before two seasons in a row burned us.
Anyway, just a couple of things to note that aren't big enough for their own column.
- KEJ sent over a quote from the latest Cubs Mailbag column by Carrie Muskat. Here's the hook:
Being a big Harry Caray fan, I have celebrated what I call the "12 Days of Harry" for the past three, four years. He died on Feb. 18, and was born March 1. This is a 12-day span (except during leap year). As Harry would appreciate an ice cold Budweiser, I drink one for him each of those days. It is the only time of year I drink Bud, and convienently it comes in packs of 12. This would be a good time of year to toast and remember the greatest commentator of all time.
"Cheers," Carrie Muskat wrote back, as we all concur. I don't know about celebrating the 12 days of Harry with Budweiser, and I don't know about him being the greatest commentator of all time, but I'm happy to raise a toast in memory. If only we still had it so good, and not just with Harry, but with the ambience he created, a sense that we're all in this because we can't help ourselves so we might as well make the best of it.
-- Troy S., Roann, Ind. - KJM sent over some thoughts about an article in the Chicago Tribune in which it became clear that the upgrades to the stadium were not exactly as the company said they were. The knothole will be covered during games, the seats are climbing in price, and in short there is not a single thing that they did not twist so as to cater towards the affluent fan. The worst, I would argue, is that they turned the centerfield bleacher restaurant idea into a private suite, which strikes me as counter to the very idea of the equality of the bleachers. You want a good seat? You get there early. Of course, that ethos would make a lot more sense if they still held bleacher tickets until the day of the game. But those days are gone.
I won't publish KJM's thoughts on it, although I will quote him as saying, "While not a direct reflection on the ballteam, this reflects badly on the corporate ownership." Because he's right. Dead on correct.
He also brought up the notion I keep returning to of the narrative of the team, and so here's what I'm thinking: we might be seeing the narrative going in the direction of the team versus the ownership. Or, fans loving the team but hating the owners, not unlike the White Sox of a decade ago when many Sox fans were ready to skewer Reinsdorf. The Tribune Company is certainly trying our patience, anyway. - If anyone is interested, I just had a piece titled "Congress Avenue Bridge at Sunset" published in the February Issue of Outcry Magazine, available to download in PDF. It's about 1,800 words and tries to capture the imagery and feel of a night last Summer, not long after I moved to Austin from Chicago. And, there's other good stuff in the issue so please browse around if the mood strikes you. Just a little plug.
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The bleachers are overrated anyway, and the expansion may backfire if the Cubs have another bad season. They used to be the cheapest seats in the park; now they're among the most expensive. They were in demand with limited availability, but adding another 1,800 seats will change the market substantially, especially on bad-weather days (there is no cover and it was already crammed underneath when rain came). No one has addressed or acknowledged, but the additon of these seats within the park will undobutedly hurt the "rooftop'' owners in the neighborhood (there were lots of empty seats up there already throughout '05).
The fact that the Cubs hiked prices throughout the park after adding to their overall capacity and having such a lousy year in '05 continues to rankle this reporter. They compare themselves to the Red Sox in this regard, but Boston has had excellent teams for a sustained period capped by a World Series title in '04. The restaurant thing doesn't bother me so much, but they really need to upgrade the restroom facilities. Having to walk all the way down to street level to relieve one self in nasty, overcrowded surroundings was a most unpleasant experience -- you had to miss a minimum of half an inning to do so. (I can't imagine it is much better for the ladies, but they are used to suffering from lack of stalls). Adding bleacher "boxes'' with backs to the seats makes some sense as bench-style seating without support became more of an issue as I got older/crankier -- had to buy a few of those seats with their own backs to relieve the stress. Typically, the Cubs are charging more for this privilege.
I reiterate: If they don't have a winning (qualifying for postseason) campaign, especially in the face of a likely return to playoffs for White Sox, things will really get ugly in Wrigleyville.
I too noticed that the rooftops were not as full last year between being at games and seeing games on tv. Since I attended my first game on a rooftop last year, I can begin to see a little bit of why. The rooftop is a good party event, not a good baseball watching experience. The distance is quite far away and many of the rooftops have a section of the field which you can not see. With the prices spiraling completely out of control, it seems like the rooftops are good for company outings mainly. With companies cutting back and the novelty of some of the rooftops wearing off at the exhorbinant prices, it is not a surprise to see some of the rooftops go unused or well below capacity.
I think my comments after going last year were along the lines of it is a great place to get drunk while a baseball game is going on, but if you are going for the baseball game, you have much better options. Luckily I went for a work outing and spent time marketing and socailizing, which while valuable was not really supporting the Cubs. I recommend the experience to everyone, but I wonder how many people prefer the rooftops to being inside Wrigley, assuming you discount the fact that the food and drinks are included at the rooftop and some one else probably paid for your ticket.