From a pure baseballing perspective, there are few reasons — outside of Starlin Castro and maybe Geovany Soto — to like the Cubs. They are, generally speaking, an assault on the senses.

Well, turns out that the Cubs are objectionable for other reasons, too. Wading through the most recent news cycle, careful readers will notice that not only is it possible that the team gave former Cub star Ryne Sandberg less than the fairest of shakes while hiring for their managerial vacancy, but also that the club — fronted by new owner Tom Ricketts — is asking for some $200 million dollars in bond-backed funding from the State of Illinois.

Now, it needs to be said: I, Carson Cistulli, am nothing like an expert on the economics of sport; however, having read just enough Andrew Zimbalist to be dangerous, I know that public-funding for stadia is rarely of any benefit to the states/municipalities/whatever that are doing the funding. Moreover, Illinois appears to be in the midst of a fiscal crisis — so, that’s a thing, too.

2K Sports, makers of sporting video games, have announced via their Facebook page (and maybe some other places, too — I don’t know) that Roy Halladay will grace the cover of MLB 2K11.

The news demands at least three questions, which I ask below and attempt to answer:

Q. Is it possible to announce that Roy Halladay will be on the cover of MLB 2K11 without making it just seem like a giant advertisement for the game?
A. That’s tough. I’m going with “yes,” though.

Q. Is grace only ever used as a verb to describe how someone’s on the cover of a book or album or periodical or something?
A. I don’t think so. It’s also common to say that so-and-so has graced us with his/her presence. Still, its usage is pretty specific.

Q. How will the game compare to MLB ’11: The Show?
A. Probably not excellently. Also, Kevin Butler won’t be in the commercials for it.

Per the team’s official site, the Baltimore Orioles have announced that Camden Yards will undergo some renovations this offseason.

Behold, facts:

At the request of the Orioles, more spacious seats are to be installed on the club level and upper deck at Camden Yards, and sightlines on both levels are to be improved by the installation of less intrusive railings. Seating capacity will be reduced from 48,290 to 45,971, keeping in line with the capacities of many recently opened parks.

There are some other things going on, too, but the relevant information — for this author, at least — is the news that Camden Yards is now 20 years old. By way of reference, here are some things that have happened since the Orioles played their first game in the iconic stadium:

• Every episode of the hit sitcom Friends.
• Chris Tucker’s entire career arc.
• The inter-frigging-net.

There’s no indication — at this juncture, at least — as to whether the renovations will include the installation of more talented players onto the field part of the stadium.

Though it contains little in the way of breaking news, Frank Dell’Apa’s Boston Globe article about Boston owner John Henry’s (pictured right) recent purchase of Liverpool FC does contain some comments from Jeff L’Hote of LFC International, a New York-based soccer consultancy firm.

For anyone who’s familiar with world football, none of L’Hote’s comments will shock — ta-da! soccer presents different economic challenges than baseball! — but it is interesting to think (if only for like 30 seconds) about what happens when a preternaturally talented sporting owner takes over a British football club.

From Dell’Apa’s article:

“I think one of the key learning curves is the difference between the European soccer model and US professional sport,” L’Hote said. “Henry said he can’t believe players have so much control here — a contract doesn’t mean as much in the Premier as Major League Baseball, for example.”

— snip —

[Spanish Striker Fernando] Torres could have plenty of temptations, bids from several countries, should Liverpool continue to struggle. Unlike baseball, there are competing European leagues that can offer options to dissatisfied stars. Contractual obligations only go so far. And few elite clubs are willing to impose salary caps.

For those of us who work on the side of labor, the notion that players have control — well, that’s hard to dislike. But for those in baseball’s nerderati, at least, there’d also be no little pleasure in seeing Henry exploit the frig out of whatever market inefficiencies exist in the Premiership.

The greatest challenge, as an American, to announcing the debut of the Australian Baseball League (ABL) is restraining oneself from making even the offhandedist of references to criminals, Vegemite, or 1986 box office smash-hit Crocodile Dundee. So, instead, I’ll mention all those things, slyly, while making a great show of how I’m totally above doing such a thing.

Sound like a plan? Good.

In any case, it’s not a lie: Australia has a professional baseball league now. The six ABL teams are as follows: the Adelaide Bite, Brisbane Bandits, Canberra Cavalry, Melbourne Aces, Perth Heat, and the Sydney Blue Sox.

The first game, played on November 6th, saw Sydney beat Canberra 1-0 in what must have been a rousing pitcher’s duel. (As an aside, note the unorthodox pitcher usage from Canberra manager, ex-MLBer Steve Schrenk: four pitchers, two innings each. That’s exciting in the nerdiest way.)

Americans will recognize some names, like Travis Blackley and Justin Huber. Former awesome Brewer Dave Nilsson (i.e. Ryan Doumit before Ryan Doumit) manages the Brisbane team. Brave reliever Peter Moylan will join Melbourne in January.

H/T: Ash Vasudevan