I don't know how much attention the typical Cub fan pays to the financial pages, but lately there is news about the parent Tribune company that augurs for change respecting the Cubs. In a nutshell, there's a disagreement of Tribune management and a powerful block of shareholders that used to own newspaper interests that were bought by the Tribune a few years back. Tribune management wants to buy back 2 billion dollars worth of the Company's own shares from the public markets, but the dissidents want strategic decisions made before the Company gets deeply in debt. The result is the squabble has helped drive the price of Tribune stock above what management wants to pay for it, and it has Wall Street people talking that the Tribune Companies may become a buyout target.

What does this have to do with the Cubs? Well, while I am admittedly speculating, it seems to me that strategically for Tribune Companies, the Cubs are a central element of the "Media" side of their business. That side is smaller percentage- wise than it was before the California deal, but its return on investment is higher than the news business per se. Sooo...this could induce management to think "strategically" that making the Cubs into a World Series calibre team could boost the media side income. Alternatively, the dissidents are so rich, they may see the Cubs as a nice plum to pick off the Tribune tree in return for agreeing to free up management to muddle on unimpeded. It's all a speculation. But I think there is little doubt that change is blowing in the wind.