Report: Cubs cut grounds crew hours to avoid paying health insurance

The Chicago Cubs may have had an ulterior motive for fielding an under-staffed grounds crew during the tarp fiasco that led to a called game at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night.

Despite Thursday's statement from the team, which denied that staffing, hours and scheduling had anything to do with it, a report from the Chicago Sun-Times cites "numerous sources with direct knowledge" of the situation stating otherwise.

From the report:

The staffing issues that hamstrung the grounds crew Tuesday during a mad dash with the tarp under a sudden rainstorm were created in part by a wide-ranging reorganization last winter of game-day personnel, job descriptions and work limits designed to keep the seasonal workers – including much of the grounds crew – under 130 hours per month, according to numerous sources with direct knowledge.

That’s the full-time worker definition under “Obamacare,” which requires employer-provided healthcare benefits for “big businesses” such as a major league team.

The Cubs said the decreased staff was standard procedure based on the fact that no inclement weather was expected in the night game. Sources told the Sun-Times that 10 grounds crew members were sent home early on Tuesday night "with little, if any, input from the field-level supervisors".

Team spokesman Julian Green did not dispute that report but reiterated it is common practice when clear weather is expected.

The publication reports the team's staff changed "dramatically" in the offseason, when the club made changes to its game-day personnel in preparation for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) taking effect.

“There have been organizational changes,” Green said. “Every organization, whether it’s baseball or corporate, is always continuing to evaluate inefficiencies, and obviously that translates to ours.

“We’re no different than any organization trying to gain efficiencies. However, our efforts to manage costs had nothing to do with the episode on Tuesday night.”

Sources told the Sun-Times these changes had a "direct and obvious impact" on what took place Tuesday night.

The Giants protested the decision by the umpiring crew to call the game and award the Cubs a win. The protest was upheld, and the game resumed Thursday with the Cubs prevailing 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.

[H/T Big League Stew]