Well, it’s not final…yet…

But yes, it’s a large step forward in this massive fiasco.

Rehab the park?  Sure, no problem.  As much as I love the historic significance of Wrigley, it needs to have some modern plumbing to remain a functional facility.  Just leave the name, the scoreboard, the brick wall, and the ivy alone, along with anything currently protected by the historic site status that Wrigley has.  Those things are sacred.

I think there’s some truth to that. Certainly the Yankees decided to spend like mad on talent, which caused the Red Sox to refine their efforts (add some money, add lots of brain power) at putting the absolute best team they can on the field.  For a time about a decade ago that trickled down to Baltimore and I get the impression that Mike Illitch in Detroit—a guy with experience spending big in hockey—has felt a little more pressure to do the same in baseball as a result of what those teams do.  Arte Moreno certainly invests in his product (both salaries and marketing and physical plant) in a way that, to me anyway seems inspired by New York and Boston’s ownership groups.

It’s quite possible that it’s overstated, of course, and that it’s temporary as well.  I’d also guess that there’s just a lot of random fluctuation in all of that too.  All of that said, it strikes me that the “big money” argument is at least part of what’s going on.