Tag / Tribune Company

by admin

And Print It!

Former Cubs manager Lee Elia, who became an infamous part of baseball history following an epic rant in 1983, passed away Tuesday just shy of his 88th birthday.  Born in Philadelphia, Elia spent all of his short major league career in Chicago, in 1966 with the White Sox and in 1968 with the Cubs.  Following the end of his playing career, Elia was a coach for the Phillies in 1980 and 1981 under manager Dallas Green.  When Green was hired by the Tribune Company to be their new executive vice president and general manager for the recently acquired Cubs, he hired Elia to be the team’s new manager.

With an influx of former Phillies on the roster, the Cubs finished 73-89 in 1982, their first season under Elia.  1983 didn’t start much better and, after a tough 4-3 loss to the Dodgers dropped them to a 5-14 record on April 29th, Keith Moreland and Larry Bowa were verbally assaulted by a fan.  In his cramped office, with a small number of reporters peppering him with questions, Elia went off.  in his tirade, Elia had plenty to say about the denizens who took in day baseball every day.

What … what the fuck am I supposed to do? Go out there and let my fuckin’ players get destroyed every day, and be quiet about it? For the fuckin’ nickel/dime people that show up? The motherfuckers don’t even work! That’s why they’re out at the fuckin’ game! They ought to get a fuckin’ job and find out what it’s like to go out and earn a fuckin’ living. Eighty-five percent of the fuckin’ world is working. The other fifteen come out here.

Surprisingly, Elia survived the ordeal, but not the season.  He was fired on August 22nd after saying he had never heard of a Braves rookie, Gerald Perry, who had just gone 4-for-9 with a home run and six RBI in a three-game sweep.  Elia returned to the Phillies organization, managing in the minor leagues and rejoining the big-league club’s coaching staff.  In 1987, he was named manager of the Phillies, going 51-50 after taking over the club.  He was retained for 1988, but a 65–96 record and a last place finish in the NL East led to his dismissal.

Regardless of his success, or lack thereof, on the diamond, he will always be a baseball immortal thanks to his off-the-cuff remarks on a late April afternoon in the bowels of Wrigley Field.

by admin

The Rona Claims Another Victim

Jim Frey, the former Cubs manager and general manager, passed away on Sunday after battling the corona virus.  He was 88.  Frey became manager of  the Cubs in 1984, leading the team to their first ever NL East title and first post-season appearance since 1945.  An injury-marred 1985 season, followed by a slow start in 1986, led to his firing just 2 months into the season.

Frey spent the 1987 season working for WGN radio as a color commentator on Cubs broadcasts.  In December of that year, he was hired back by the Cubs to replace Dallas Green as the team’s general manager.  Frey hired his old friend Don Zimmer to manage the team and the duo led the team to its second divisional title in 1989.  After a disappointing 1990 season, Frey was active on the free agent market, acquiring George Bell, Danny Jackson, and Dave Smith.  When Jackson and Smith flopped in 1991, Zimmer was fired in May, on orders from Tribune Co. CEO Donald Grenesko, and, following the season, Frey was reassigned within the organization.

by jim

The Boys Of Zimmer

zimFormer Cub manager Don Zimmer passed away Wednesday evening.  A baseball lifer, Zimmer started his career in professional baseball in 1949 and wore a uniform until earlier this year, when he underwent heart surgery and, sadly, never left the hospital.  Zimmer first came to the Cubs as a player in 1960.  He left for the Mets in the expansion draft after the 1961 season.

In 1984, he returned to the North side as third base coach when his high school pal Jim Frey was named manager.  The Cubs surpised everyone by winning their first division title and heading to the post-season for the first time since 1945.  When Frey became the team’s general manager following the 1987 season, he hired Don Zimmer to be his manager.  One year later, the so-called Boys of Zimmer led the Cubs to their second divisional title in 6 seasons.  In 1991, after demanding a contract extension from Tribune executive Donald Grenesko, Zimmer was fired.

After leaving the Cubs, Zimmer bounced around a bit as a coach before teaming up with Joe Torre in New York for their string of 4 World Series titles in 5 seasons starting in 1996.  He left the team in 2003 after, what else, an argument with George Steinbrenner.  He had spent the last decade as a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays.  Starting in 2008, he was the last member of the Brooklyn Dodgers to still hold a field position.

After 66 years in baseball, Don Zimmer leaves behind many friends and admirers.  Nearly everyone involved in the game has a story about Zimmer, and they’ve all been retold over the past few days.  Somewhere, I’m sure Zimmer would enjoy sitting around a clubhouse being part of those retellings.

by jim

Rebuilding Wrigley

CTH Proposed renovations to Wrigley FieldThe big news coming out of last weekend’s Cubs Convention was the latest plan to renovate Wrigley Field.  Chairman Tom Ricketts said that the team would fund the renovations, expected to be around $300 million, without public assistance in exchange for the city lifting some of the restrictions related to the stadium’s landmark designation.  The renovations, expected to start following the 2014 season and continue over the next 5 offseasons, includes larger concourses, additional restaurants, more bathroom and concession areas, expanded suites, a new roof, and new seats.  Also included are new amenities for the players, including a larger home clubhouse, batting cages and additional training facilities.  From the outside, the façade would be returned to its 1930s-era luster.

Wrigley Field, built in 1914 for the Chicago Whales of the old Federal League, has been the home of the Cubs since 1916.  It is the second oldest park still in use, behind Boston’s Fenway Park.  The Cubs have been looking to renovate the stadium for years, but have been stymied by, among other things, the landmark status, the desire for public funds, and the bankruptcy of their former owner, the Tribune Company.  The renovations are badly needed if the stadium is to continue to be used as anything beyond a museum.  The players facilities are antiquated compared to the rest of the league, making it all the more difficult to attract top-flight free agents.  The seating bowl has had its own issues, starting with the multiple incidents of falling concrete in 2004 that led to netting being installed throughout much of the upper deck.

These planned renovations are still nearly 2 years away and the Cubs have had numerous plans go by the wayside in the past few years.  Unfortunately, time is probably running out on the viability of Wrigley Field as a long-term alternative if nothing is done.  Hopefully this plan does go through and Wrigley Field continues to be the home of the Cubs for years to come.