Top Five Reasons for The Cubs to Stick with the Veterans

1. Fans

The fans expect a winning team to be put on the field and they want to win now. This is reflected by their attendance. The last season they made it to the playoffs was in 2008 and their average attendance was 40,743, selling out almost every game. So far in 2011, their average attendance is 34,818, which is reflected by the way they are playing. If the Cubs decide to start a youth movement, I do not think the fan can wait two or three more years for these players to develop and their attendance will keep declining.

2. No fans, Less Revenue

The Cubs organization cannot afford for the fans to stop coming to the games. They provide a good portion of the revenue that is generated for the Cub. In order for the Cubs to keep ticket prices up, they need to have a winning team on the field. Their best chance of winning is with the big money players who must start to produce. Also when the Cubs are selling out their games, that mean more revenue for the local businesses, vendors, and rooftops, which all provide the Cubs with a part of their profits.

3. Too Much Money Invested in their Current Team

With all the money the Chicago Cubs have invested it their veterans they cannot just cut ties with them. Even after this season when many contracts expire, they still need a good mix of veterans and young players to win. Also, they still have a lot of money invested in other players such as Alfonso Soraino, Carlos Zambrano, so they cannot start their youth movement until those contracts are off the books.

4. Still Early

It is only June! The baseball seasons has only been going on for two and a half months, it is not even the All-Star break yet. That being said, the Cubs can still turn their season around. Weirder things have happened and that is why they play 162 games. However it is not an easy feat to do, but the only way the Cubs can make this happen is with their veterans and current group of players they have on their team.

5. New Ownership

This is only the Rickett’s Family second full season of owning the Cubs, so they are still trying to figure out what it takes to put a winning team on the field.  However this year they actually wanted to cut payroll and put more into developing younger talent, however talent takes time to develop. They are business people and they know that inorder to have success on the field you need a good mix of proven talent, which is going to cost them money. I am not sure if the Cubs have the talent but going young may not be the answer. For more on the Rickett’s click here.