Yesterday tech blogger Robert Scoble commented that deals can have more value than the mighty dollar; which seems somewhat obvious and I'd probably not think twice about his comments, except for an example he used in one of his reasons.

Better reputation of main company. If you were a baseball player would you rather play for the New York Yankees or the Chicago Cubs? Especially if your goal is to win the World Series?

That seems like a low blow to me and it actually got me thinking a little about how even the folks around here sometimes forget about some of the Extra Value Goodness^™ that can be had with the Cubs. So just why should people come to Chicago for some Cubbie Joy^™?

This is actually a bit depressing to lead off with but it's true to say that Cubs fans probably have lower expectations than Yankees fans these days. Sure it's the 99th year since a World Series came to the One True Chicago team whereas the Yankees are smarting from only 6 whole seasons without the title, but there's a got to be a whole lot more pressure over that in New York.

Now as fans the idea that playing for the Cubs is an easy option probably doesn't sit too well, but less pressure doesn't have to mean the players don't have the hunger. Ross has commented how some players lack a "killer instinct" and that sucks, some people (like out friend Scoble up there) seem to think that you should look elsewhere if you want to win and that sucks too. But in amongst all the slackers who don't think they need to worry about fundamentals there are players who simply don't want the kind of environment where they worry about their safety because of a bad result during April or something - not thinking about Chase Wright at all there.

But what if life in Chicago is just too easy?

Well Cubs players certainly get a hard time over lacklustre performances and take some flak for their mistakes, but the fans also know when the manager is doing the most damage and won't blame the pitchers for being made to wait until their arm falls off before they can take a break. As a random example. It's fair and reasonable - almost exactly what fans shouldn't be!

But should the fans remind the whole team that poor performances don't cut it? Maybe a few Code Reds would lose the Friendly image of life at Wrigley and push the team forwards? Or maybe Yankee style pressure would just see a fragile team crumble? Have we got too used to disappointment to truly encourage and push the team forward these days?