Depending on how much you hate the Cubs and ownership today, this recent bit of news could range from hmm, seems not good, to, oh, cheap Ricketts strikes again, everything sucks, this team doesn’t care about winning they only care about money. Regardless of those feelings, this does seem concerning no mater what as the Cubs are reportedly planning on budget cuts to their scouting department.
It’s pretty easy to pile on Cubs ownership right now as the club is inching toward a fourth consecutive year without reaching the postseason. Going to a game at Wrigley Field is the most expensive experience in the league and there’s no belief that the team is going to have any strong discussions this offseason to try and acquire Juan Soto, the top free agent in the sport.
Now, add the organization slashing the scouting department budget and cutting jobs.
According to Bob Nightengale, the Cubs recently fired multiple scouts. That’s just the beginning though, as the team is moving their overall scouting practices to a different direction.
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Via USA Today.
On the North Side, the Cubs fired four younger scouts while slashing their budget.
The Cubs also told their scouting department that they no longer will scout games at any level except the complex league and Dominican Summer League.
Brutal.
Brutal is right. So, I guess this means that all evaluation of talent will occur through video and analyzing tracking data of minor leaguers. And sure, maybe the Cubs have already shifted toward this direction and see a benefit to doing it this way, but as a Cubs fan how can you not be concerned reading about budget cuts happening in the organization?
The only good thing that I can come up with is that maybe the organization will essentially use these resources in other areas of their system and it’s not as simple as trying to save every last penny in expense of making the team better.
Take the money aspect out of this and I still don’t like it. There should be a balance and I’m just not sure I like the idea of the Cubs relying solely on video and numbers when judging players, while ignoring the human element that a scout can pick up on watching players in person.
It would be one thing if the Cubs were winning, but now they’re cutting corners in the midst of a four-year playoff drought. Fans are not going to be happy regardless of the justification.
Ricketts isn’t interested in building a World Series contender. He controls enough of the Wrigley chaos to keep the cash cow rolling.