SportsDystopia

That sound you heard as the Cubs imploded for a 3rd straight game against the LA Dodgers on Saturday night was not just the collective sigh of millions of fans forced to keep waiting for the 101st year in a row.  It was also the sound of the window of opportunity sliding closed on the Cubs chances of winning that World Series title anytime in the foreseeable future.

There are no saviors waiting in the wings of the minors ready to put this team over the top.  There are no quick fixes that will be found on the free agent market, and even if there were, the organization can’t afford them.  This is already an expensive squad, with a 2008 payroll of 118 million, and it’s only going to get more expensive over the next few years, even if the team doesn’t sign anybody this offseason.  That’s because every major contact the club has signed since 2006 is back-loaded.  It was a bit of creative accounting by General Manager Jim Hendry and the Tribune company, mortgaging the team’s financial future for the sake of chasing a championship in 07′ and 08′.  It’s possible they were also trying to make the payroll situation look prettier than it actually is, with the team about to be sold this offseason.

The title didn’t come last year or this year.  And now starting in 2009, the price will be paid.   The team has huge investments in just a few players.  Carlos Zambrano’s salary will jump from 15 million to 17.75 million in ‘09, and continues escalating through his 19.25 million dollar option in 2013.  Aramis Ramirez goes from 14 million to 15.65.  Alfonso Soriano, at 13 million this year, gets 16 million next year, before settling in at 18 million until (gulp) 2014.  Ted Lilly gets a 5 million dollar raise, from 7 M to 12.  Kosuke Fukudome got 6 mil this season, next year, he’s getting 11.5, then 13M in 2010 and 2011.  Jason Marquis didn’t make the postseason roster last year, and was bumped to the bullpen for this year’s playoffs.  He jumps from 6.375M to 9.875M, though thankfully, his contract is up at the end of next year.

That’s 82.75 million next year alone for just 6 players.  Add in Derek Lee’s 13 million (his is the only major contract not to be back-loaded), and you’ve got over 95 mil for less than 1/3 of a roster.  And with the continuing escalation, it’s up to 90 million in 2010 for Zambrano, Soriano, Lilly, Lee, Fukudome, and Ramirez.  Does this sound like a team ready to make any major improvements?

Kerry Wood, Carlos Marmol, Ryan Theriot, and Geovany Soto’s contracts are all now up.  This team will need to spend to keep these guys in town, especially Marmol and Soto, who are the key’s to the team’s future, but the money just isn’t going to be there in the coming years to lock them down in Chicago.  In fact, aside from the 7 players named above, the only guys signed past ‘08 are Mark DeRosa and Jeff Samardzija.

In short, this postseason not only represented the boil-over point for the frustrations of alot of fans.  It also represented the clock striking midnight on the likelihood of the club being competitive anytime in the near future.

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