Cubs' operations budget to remain steady

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Team chairman Tom Ricketts explained the Cubs' budget plans for 2011 in a recent letter to season-ticket holders.

Updated: November 28, 2010 4:47PM

With the announcement of the Cubs' new manager probably another two weeks or more away and decisions on key players to follow, chairman Tom Ricketts on Friday promised no decrease in the team's baseball operations budget in a letter sent to season-ticket holders.

Though the major-league payroll still is expected to decrease from this year's opening $146 million, Ricketts' pledge would mean a growth in the scouting and player-development operation that was responsible for some of the few highlights from 2010, namely rookies Starlin Castro, Tyler Colvin and Andrew Cashner.

''We are still working on our 2011 baseball plan, so it is hard to be too specific at this time,'' Ricketts said in the letter. ''What I can tell you is that our overall baseball budget ... will be about the same in 2011 as it was in 2010. Continued long-term success will come through superior scouting and player development, and we are committed to improving that facet of the organization.''

General manager Jim Hendry, who's expected to have his managerial finalists ready for interviews involving ownership over the next week or so, may not have as much flexibility as in recent years to sign a big-ticket free agent.

But the overall budget should allow the Cubs to bolster the scouting staff, continue improvements with Latin academies and increase the draft and amateur free-agent bonus budgets.

As for more immediate matters, the Cubs appear to have four managerial candidates still in the mix as the process enters what could be the final stage -- pending the possible availability and interest of the New York Yankees' Joe Girardi.

Mike Quade, who finished 24-13 as the interim manager after Lou Piniella was forced home early to care for his ailing mother, looks like the favorite on a list that includes Ryne Sandberg and outside candidates Eric Wedge and Bob Melvin.

The shape of the coaching staff could take on more clarity before the manager is hired. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild has a Monday deadline on his contract option for a 10th season with the team. Hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo already is under contract for two more seasons.

$kinny on tickets

The Cubs unveiled a new ticket-price structure for 2011 that keeps the average price flat but significantly raises prices on a new 13-game tier of premium ''marquee'' games. They include the season opener, three-game series against the White Sox, three-game series against the Yankees, a three-game midseason series against the Cardinals and three other select games.

Top prices for those games rise from $112 to $125.44 (including taxes). But the overall average ticket price for the season remains roughly $53 (including taxes).

The team's goal was to keep prices flat overall, president Crane Kenney said, adding that the 13 highest-priced games ''subsidize the other dates and make them more affordable.''

Consequently, the average price for the 68 other home games generally decreases, with more than 550,000 tickets this year priced at $20 or less (up from about 300,000).

The independent Team Marketing Report ranked the Cubs No. 1 in 2010 average ticket price in its annual analysis, though the Cubs dispute that ranking. They estimate they ranked closer to the No. 4 spot they occupied in 2009, according to MLB internal figures.