Extry, Extry: Cubs Are Jerks for, Like, Seven Reasons

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.