The most quoted line during the just-concluded World Serious was exhumed from the coffin of the cynical but usually accurate Warren Brown, the late baseball writer and columnist for the old Chicago Herald-American.
In 1945, on the eve of the wartime Series between the Cubs and Detroit Tigers, an Associated Press pollster approached Brown and requested his prediction. Replied Brown:
“Neither team is good enough to win.”
“The Younger Set,” as Mr. Brown often referred to his juniors, have included this comment in many of their reports. But it wasn’t his most famous line.
A toastmaster of national renown, Brown once introduced Dr. Dafoe, who officiated at the birth of the Dionne quintuplets, as the man with the “greatest delivery in the national pastime.”
Like the Florid Marlins, who took the World Series with a 3-2, 11-inning, seventh-game win over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday night, the ’45 Tigers also needed seven games to subdue the Cubs. It was the last appearance for the Cubs in the so-called Fall Classic. More than a half-century of empty Wrigley Field Octobers have followed.
The current White Sox appear capable of a flag. That they are still without a manager is of no concern. Two phone calls, one each by Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and by General Manager Ron Schueler, should be sufficient.
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All they have to do is ask Frank Thomas: “Frank, whom do you want to manage the club?”
With the Cubs, the situation is much more complex. Andy MacPhail, the team president, would have to contact Wayne Huizenga, the owner of the newly crowned world-champion Marlins, and ask how he did it.
Huizenga will tell him a tale of woe. Despite catching baseball’s brass ring, Huizenga, who has the club up for sale, insists he has lost $30 million this year. But there have been social rewards. Several local mayors and area VIPs have been his guests at the Series, which may help in his request for a $300 million stadium with a retractable roof.
The Cubs come up short in many areas but they don’t need a new ballpark. A Wrigley Field teardown would be more damaging than another five last-place finishes. So the only significant message to MacPhail is to gather $30 million and use it to offset annual losses.
And as Huizenga did during the 1996-97 signing season, MacPhail should spend freely on free agents, with a long-term commitment of at least $89 million. There is no guarantee that the Cubs will climb upward, but this appears to be the price for a World Series champion.
David Dombrowski, a Chicago-area native who apprenticed with the White Sox, also must be consulted. It was Dombrowski who opened the Huizenga purse. First he hired manager Jim Leyland and then, in rapid succession, presided at the multimillion-dollar free-agent signings of pitcher Alex Fernandez, outfielder Moises Alou and infielder Bobby Bonilla.
Fernandez, who had been a consistent winner with the White Sox, was the most costly: $35 million for five years. Worse, he broke down two weeks ago and may never pitch again. Alou, previously with Montreal, was hired for $25 million over five years. Bonilla, who had been with Baltimore, jumped for $23.5 million for four years.
Dombrowski, the Marlins’ executive vice president and general manager, also corraled three lesser but useful free agents: reliever Dennis Cook and reserve outfielders John Cangelosi and Jim Eisenreich. This was all done within one month. The total commitment, according to reliable reports: $89 million.
Equally important was a 1993 trade with the San Diego Padres for outfielder Gary Sheffield, acquired at a cost of three pitchers. Reliever Trevor Hoffman is the only one still in the big leagues. Closer Robb Nen also came in a ’93 deal, from Texas in exchange for pitcher Cris Carpenter.
Before Sunday’s seventh game, Dombrowski acknowledged, “We’re all aware your chances of winning with a $45 million payroll are better than if you have a $15 million payroll.”
Chicago’s philanthropists should step forward.