Tom Ricketts Talks Theo Epstein Rumors with FBN

With rumors surrounding Theo Epstein and his possible split with the Red Sox, one of the resulting questions is, where would Theo land?  One of the teams most frequently tied to Epstein has been the Chicago Cubs, who currently are on the hunt for their next general manager.  Cubs owner Tom Ricketts sat down with FOX Business Network (FBN) to discuss Epstein-to-Chicago rumors as well as the Cubs future in general.

Ricketts began the discussion by stating how the 2011 season was certainly disappointing, and that the Cubs “didn’t get it done on the field”.  Over the last two seasons, Ricketts says the team has fallen short of expectations, as the organization felt they “had a team that would perform better than it turned out to”.  Ricketts noted that Chicago can’t get stuck dwelling on the past, but instead has to “look forward”.

On that note, FBN correspondent Neil Cavuto turned the discussion toward 2012 and what the future would hold for the Cubs.  Cavuto specifically questioned Ricketts about the team’s open general manager position.

When asked about the Epstein rumors, Ricketts told FBN that he wasn’t entirely sure, but he did know “there’s a lot of good candidates out there”.  Ricketts went on to say that, in bringing in new leadership, the Cubs will make sure they “come up with the right fit for the team”.

Following talk on the current economic crisis, Ricketts and Cavuto got ‘back to business’, returning their discussion to baseball.

Ricketts continued by saying how, once you get to the playoffs, money doesn’t necessarily buy championships.  Ricketts acknowledged that “teams that have a little bit more financial resources may be more consistent at getting to the playoffs” but conceded that “once you’re there anything can happen”.

Ricketts added that, economically speaking, baseball fans have quite the mix of teams this October.  While you have your normal financial power houses, the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, you also have three clubs, the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers, in the playoffs that are in the bottom half of the league in total payroll.

To give you a better idea, if you add up the Rays, Diamondbacks and Brewers 2011 team payrolls, you would still fall $22.5 million short of the Yankees.

Ricketts finished the interview admitting that he’s not rooting for or against anyone during the playoffs, and that “it’s hard to enjoy them now that we’re not in it”.

For the complete interview, click here.

For more on the Cubs, be sure to check out Cubbies Crib.