Bryce Harper was in town this past weekend as the Phillies took 2-of-3 at Wrigley Field against the Cubs. Harper, now 32-years-old, is in his seventh season playing for Philadelphia and in a recent article in The Athletic he reminded Cubs fans how much they should hate Tom Ricketts.
I’ll never let this go. It shouldn’t be. After the 2018 season that ended with the Cubs losing Game 163 against the Brewers and then getting bounced by the Rockies in the Wild Card Game, it was apparent that the offense needed a boost and Theo Epstein said as much at his end-of-the-year press conference.
“I think part of getting better is facing the problem,” Epstein told a large group of reporters fewer than 16 hours after the Wrigley Field home clubhouse had emptied for the final time this season. “And our offense broke somewhere along the lines. And so of course it’s going to be a thorough examination and of course we’re going to spend all our energy trying to fix it, and fixing it.”
Epstein knew, fans knew it. Everyone knew the Cubs had a golden opportunity to sign a superstar heading into 2019, and guess what there were two players in the mid-20s that were free agents that offseason.
Manny Machado was up for grabs, but Harper and the Cubs always seemed like a perfect fit. Oh guess what, the two-time MVP and eight-time All-Star told The Athletic this past weekend that the Cubs weren’t just high on his list in free agency, they were No. 1.
What makes this so painful is that the Cubs never even tried and we all know why. Ownership did not want to pay.
Back in March there was a clip that went viral on social media in which Tom Ricketts talks about the team spending so much time trying to determine what Harper’s worth was in free agency.
We obviously know how things turned out for the Cubs. Anyway, Harper revealed that he saw that video after a friend sent it to him, but just one problem. How in the world could Ricketts say Harper was the player who the Cubs almost signed when in reality they never met in person with Harper.
Via The Athletic.
That video clip got back to Harper, who said he did not meet with the Cubs as a free agent or speak with Chicago’s front office during that offseason.
“One of my buddies is a big Cubs fan,” Harper said. “He sent it to me like: ‘Man, what the heck? Why does he got to say this?’ But it’s one of those things. Looking back on it, it could have been really good, or it could have been really bad, right? You never know. I never fault any organization for not getting a player or not going after a player.
Harper doesn’t have to fault any team for not pursuing him, so I will. I’m not old enough to really understand how dire things were when the Tribune company owned the Cubs, but things were a lot more rough back then. All those losing seasons are plenty of proof.
Yet, you’d think that after winning the World Series in 2016 that the Ricketts would be untouchable. Loved forever. Man, that could not be further from the truth. It started by not going after Harper in free agency. Idiot comment after idiot comment that only comes across as condescending toward the fans, topped with declining ranks in payroll while prices at Wrigley Field continue to soar.
An incredible case of losing all the good will in such a short period of time and it began with Bryce Harper. But hey, at least Tom took the time to think about maybe trying to sign him. Thanks, Tom.
