Cubs Start Late

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Oct 2, 2007 12:24PM

Anyone know how to get in contact with the bureau of made-up statistics? 'Cause we want to know how much the Chicago economy is going to be harmed by lost productivity due to the Cubs' first two playoff games.

With first pitch for Wednesday and Thursday's games scheduled for 9:07 p.m., we expect that the city will be teeming with zombies the following mornings. Either that, or it'll be very quiet as many people just call in sick on Thursday and Friday.

Compounding the late start is the fact that the games will not be viewable without cable or satellite. Major League Baseball's new deal with TBS gives it exclusive rights to air the game — in the past when playoff games were on ESPN, WGN also broadcast the games for those who still use "rabbit ears" to pick up their TV signals.

Since Chicago supposedly has one of the lowest penetration rates for cable TV service (a little under 85 percent for the area and slightly less than that in Chicago proper), that means the local bars should do some brisk business this week. And that's certainly not going to help Cubs fans get anything done at work.

Image via BestBuy.com and ChicagoCubs.com.