A tale of two teams
The 2010s were the best of times for the Cubs, the worst of times for the Sox
run off Aroldis Chapman, the “oh, (bleep)!” moment of truth to remind Cubs fans nothing ever comes easy. Aside from the World Series, there was also the “Schwarbomb” from Kyle Schwarber that landed on top of the video board during the 2016 NLDS clincher over the Cardinals and that earned a plexiglass cover as if it were a moon rock. Jake Arrieta’s dominance in the 2015 turnaround season. Maddon’s theme trips. “Try
Not to Suck.” They’ll probably forget much of the first half of the decade, including the lost year of the Mike Quade era. But we can’t forget Carlos Zambrano’s explosions or John Lackey’s sneer or the 2015 opening-night fiasco at Wrigley Field in which bathroom issues led some fans to treat the ballpark like an outdoor urinal.
What’s the same for the Sox since 2010: Pitching coach Don Cooper remains a constant. He’s a living, breathing monument to the Sox’s statusquo approach to most personnel decisions. General manager Ken
Williams was bumped upstairs to executive vice president, handing Rick Hahn the reins for the last seven sub-.500 seasons. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is still in charge, though less talkative and seemingly more impatient as 2005 gets farther away in the rearview mirror. The ballpark nickname, “The Cell,” is long gone, replaced by the nicknameproof Guaranteed Rate Field, where the arrow on the logo was pointing down, an ominous sign for the new era. The Sox have yet to post a winning season since the name change. Attendance stabilized a bit during the rebuild and should increase after an offseason spending spree. Still, the lack of many postgame drinking and dining options within walking distance remains an obstacle with no foreseeable solution. Hawk
Harrelson is gone, but Steve Stone is still around to liven up TV broadcasts.
What’s the same for the Cubs since 2010: Almost no one but the Rickettses, Pat Hughes and Len Kasper. With veteran bullpen coach Les Strode let go after the 2019 season, the Cubs waved goodbye to their last uniformed link from the aughts. Wrigley Field survived the decade intact, albeit with some drastic cosmetic surgery, including the video board that ended the “Old Wrigley” era. Amazingly, the Rickettses have so far declined to sell naming rights to Wrigley. Can that last another decade? President Crane Kenney gave up a share of his power when Theo Epstein became president of baseball operations in 2011, but Kenney succeeded in his vision to modernize Wrigley Field and deliver his oft-cited “wheelbarrows of cash” for new revenue streams.
Instead of complaining the Cubs won’t spend, fans now wonder why the billionaire owners won’t go over budget to win in 2020. WGN is gone as a broadcast partner after a lifetime of televising Cubs games, replaced by the much-hyped and stillunaired Marquee Network. Notable fan Ronnie “Woo” Wickers is still here, albeit without the amplified, ear-splitting chanting from his glory days of wooing. Murphy’s, Bernie’s and the Cubby Bear are still Wrigleyville pillars, though the competition for pre- and postgame drinking options is much greater than it was a decade ago.
What to expect from the Sox in the 2020s: You have to believe the Sox will become an annual contender by the mid-’20s if Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech, Yoan Moncada, Nick Madrigal and Andrew Vaughn are all together and meeting expectations and the offseason additions of Yasmani Grandal and Dallas Keuchel pay off. At least one championship seems attainable if all goes to plan, though rebuilds are harder than the Astros, Cubs and Royals made it look in the 2010s. GM Rick Hahn will be around for most of the decade, but the big question is whether manager Rick Renteria can hang on if the Sox don’t climb to respectability this year. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Jose Abreu as the Sox manager in the late 2020s, even with an interpreter by his side. That’s assuming Paul Konerko doesn’t want to return to the game by then, as he would be an obvious choice as a future Sox manager. The educated guess is Don Cooper will still be around as Sox pitching coach at the end of the ’20s, just because.
What to expect from the Cubs in the 2020s: There’s no reason a team with the Cubs’ resources shouldn’t be able to contend the rest of the decade and win another World Series ring. The so-called “window of opportunity” should remain open a few more years, making this offseason a key to the
Cubs’ future. Theo Epstein is a motivated architect who hasn’t really begun to make changes outside of new manager David Ross and the coaching staff. Expect a busy start to 2020. As for the Rickettses, they aren’t going anywhere soon. The four siblings all seem to enjoy the family toy just as much as when they bought it in a Sam Zell-orchestrated money dump. Crane Kenney, their top adviser, is also entrenched and might one day get his own statue in Gallagher Way — if Tom and Todd Ricketts make it happen. Few if any of the current players will be around in 2029, with the possible exception of Javier Baez, their next megadeal candidate. Ronnie Woo will still be here, naturally, just because.