July 11, 2014

WHAT YOU PAY FOR

"You get what you pay for."

That is an old saying, usually referring to underpaying for a product then finding out that it is quite inferior to another similar product.

I have heard from several Cubs season ticket holders who continue to pay the major league prices for a vastly inferior product.

Some admit they are dumb for continuing to pay thousands of dollars on season seats at Wrigley. They like baseball. They like Wrigley. They are Cub fans. But they are not fans of the team as it currently is constructed for 2014.

They admit that they understand the baseball rebuilding plan, but it is hard to swallow a team tanking three seasons in a row.  They are coming down on the side that the front office could do their minor league rebuilding program but also field a competitive team. They cite even the White Sox 2014 turnaround as an example. They also find the Cardinals, who consistently draft lower than the Cubs, being able to bring up their prospects faster to the majors.

Then there are those who are angry. Many in this group gave up and canceled their season ticket packages. Some say they had been season ticket holders for decades. They felt they were being played for fools: paying premium prices for minor league games. They felt they deserved a major league, i.e. competitive team, which is what ownership said it was going to strive for when Ricketts took over the club. They don't feel it is their responsibility or obligation to fund the Ricketts expansion plans which seem to constrict what the baseball team can do, financially.

There would be less distrust, anger or resentment from the paying Cub fan if there was a secondary market to unload their expensive tickets. But that market collapsed when the Cubs lost 100 games. It is nearly impossible to give away Cubs tickets. Not even a casual fan wants to spend the effort to go see the Cubs when there is a 60 percent chance they will lose the game.

And when the Cubs market the team the past few years, it was under the guile that fans should continue to come out and "see the future" core players in action. Well, Castro and Rizzo have been up for a while, and they may be part of the future - - - but they are no longer young prospects. The marketing department got ahead of the actual baseball team player development. This leads to a perception of a disconnected organization.

In a similar light, long time Cub standard bearer, WGN, decided it was not getting what it was paying for in local broadcast rights.  With some late season games registering a zero rating, and the station losing money on every game, WGN sought to renegotiate the contract. Too bad season ticket holders can't renegotiate their ticket prices during the season. But WGN bowed out and will no longer be the flagship station for the Cubs. Many fans think this a bad milestone for the franchise.

Cubs fans are willing to pay premium dollars for baseball. But they are not willing to pay for bad baseball. That past golden goose is cooked.