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The problem with Cub owners and GMs has been that they thinl all they need is a guy who can hit 40 homers and the fans will be happy. I wore my #14 jersey Sunday in memoriam. And I don’t think it will be this year, although a playoff appearance is possible. 2016 is more likely.

When I die, I expect heaven to be a warm sandy beach...and across the road behind the beach is Wrigley Field. You can’t miss it; it’s right between IU’s Assembly Hall and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Coors Field in Denver has bumped Wrigley Field from its perennial position as the best hitters' park in baseball, but it still ranks near the top (although it became a pitchers' park in 2014, but that's probably a fluke). To have a championship team, therefore, the Cubs' offense must be so good that, playing half their games in Wrigley, they are at or near the top of the league in total runs scored. Conversely, the Padres playing half their games in tough Petco must allow few total runs, comparatively.

So, compared to Petco, it's much easier, not that much of an accomplishment really, to have a 40-HR bopper in Wrigley (25± at home, 15± on the road). But to have an adequate offense there, you'd really need two of them, or the equivalent.

(The corollary, of course, is that statistical expectations for pitchers in Wrigley must be tempered.)

If ownership gives its fans bread-and-circuses in the form of just one slugger, and the fans buy into it, then ultimately who's responsible? Seems like there are always butts in the seats...Isn't it Homer whose tagline claims that people get the governments they deserve?