St. Louis Cardinals defeat Chicago Cubs, 8-7

Year 1 for the Ricketts family ownership of the Cubs is ending with a host of key decisions facing the franchise, from spring-training headquarters to remodeling Wrigley Field.

But the most pressing decision is the one that could have the greatest immediate impact on the team's success or failure -- the choice of a manager, team chairman Tom Ricketts acknowledged Sunday.

''It's obviously an extremely important decision to make,'' he said before Sunday's 8-7 loss to S...