The Rundown: Rooftops Sue Cubs, Where Will Shields Sign? Hamels Reportedly Not Likely to Be Moved Before Season

In the ongoing saga of the Cubs/rooftop feud, two Wrigleyville businesses are making a last-ditch effort.

Those rooftops sued the Cubs and Tom Ricketts in federal court on Tuesday, according to the Chicago Tribune. The group accuses the Cubs of demanding that the rooftops set coordinated minimum ticket prices (effectively monopolizing the ticket market) or else the Cubs would block the views of the ballpark with signage.

The suit features many alleged statements from Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney, including that the Cubs would “destroy the rooftops.”

In one instance the suit alleges Kenney told rooftop owner Dan Finkel that he’d move signs in front of a different building if Finkel sold his. “If you don’t sell I’m ordering the steel and the signs will go up in front of your buildings. I’m done with this,” Kenney allegedly said.

The filing claims the Cubs are violating the terms of its revenue-sharing contract. It seeks damages and aims to prohibit the Cubs from blocking views into Wrigley Field from the rooftops.

A Cubs attorney said the team would fight the lawsuit.

This is the first lawsuit filed by the rooftops against the Cubs, although the rooftops have sued the city of Chicago and the Commission on Chicago Landmarks previously.

Where will Shields sign?

Now that Max Scherzer has signed with the Nationals, that’s two of the top three pitching free agents off the board.

Jayson Stark writes about how odd it is that nobody has snatched up James Shields yet.

Trying to figure out where Shields will end up, Stark has a hard time connecting any of the dots. His most probably guesses are St. Louis and San Diego.

He briefly mentions the Cubs and the Joe Maddon connection, but said the Cubs have “pretty much shown no interest since they signed Jon Lester.” Jed Hoyer said the other day that the Cubs aren’t likely to make any more big moves this offseason, so a Shields signing would be a huge surprise.

Other news

* LHP Cole Hamels likely won’t be traded before the season starts, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jake Kaplan. Could be posturing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they waited to trade Hamels at next year’s deadline. Who knows, maybe the Cubs would be inclined at that point to pull the trigger.

* Coveted Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada has held private workouts for six teams: the Brewers, Giants, Padres, Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees, according to Jesse Sanchez. The Cubs are still showing “strong interest,” Sanchez said. The more this plays out, the more I feel Moncada will go to the Red Sox or Yankees. As much as I’d like the Cubs to have a shot, I’m tempering my expectations.

* A new MLB proposal would aim to shorten the time in between innings, writes Jayson Stark. Pitchers would be required to finish warm-up tosses 30 seconds before the end of commercial breaks, and hitters would need to be in the batters box 20 seconds before the break ends. The hope is to have play being as soon as the break ends and ideally would shorten games by 10 to 15 minutes. This measure sounds reasonable to me — more so than pitch clocks, which recently were announced for Double-A and Triple-A next season, as a gauge.