I started writing this article on the Cubs search for their next GM, but wasn’t able to finish it before it was announced that the Cubs have hired their new President of baseball Operations in Theo Epstein and General manager in Jed Hoyer. I decided to finish and post this article as planned and a future article will come on my opinion solely on the hire of the new Cubs front office with Epstein heading up baseball operations and the new direction for the organization. So please keep in mind that this article was written evaluating the Cubs front office and their options before they hired their new GM.
The Chicago Cubs will be looking for a new manager this off season. I am sure they have actually started their search since the day they announced they have let former General Manager Jim Hendry go. The Cubs have their handful finding the right guy to take over the reins for this job. The Cubs do not have anyone with baseball experience within their organization calling the shots now. Thus, the new General Manager will need to be very talented and insightful to clean up the mess he has inherited and build up the organization from the bottom up. The Cubs aren’t in the worse situation in the league, like some of the teams such as Houston, Seattle, to name a few. They have some prospects and some money off the books, but the new GM needs to build a plan for the organization, put an emphasize on the minor league system, stress the fundamentals from the minors league system to the Major league level, and find a Manager who knows how to coach. I figured we should look at some of the general manager candidates who may be mentioned and then those who probably won’t be considered, but should be who could possibly handle the job as General manager of the Chicago Cubs to end the drought and clean up the mess that keeps getting deeper from Ed Lynch to Andy MacPhail, to Jim Hendry.
The Cubs reached out to Hall of famer Pat Gillick recently and asked him to join the Cubs organization in some capacity such as a special assistant to the owner reporting to Tom Rickets. After Pat Gillick stepped down after the rigous duties of being an GM of the Phillies he became an advisor for them. The same type of role the Cubs have offered him. So why would he want to leave a team that when he took over as GM several years he built the team up to what it is today? They also have a great thing going in Philliadpha being a contender every year with the stellar rotation. If he left the good situation he is now to come to Chicago he would want a position of power to be able to steer this sinking ship in the right direction and get it pointed up instead of going further down. That is why he supposedly told the cubs he would only come as President. That way he would have control over the Cubs to set the direction for the organization from top to bottom. It is also rumored he doesn’t want to take orders from current Cubs president Crake Kennedy, even though he is a business guy. Because Kennedy is president he tries to get involved is all aspects of the club, even though his expertise is only business. Thus, having Kennedy as President has scared a Hall of famer like Gillick away. I would have liked them to bring Gillick in as President with him setting the tone for the organization and guiding the GM he picks. That way he can mentor someone who has some old school smarts like himself, but also may be a little more analytical and advanced stat savvy. Gillick coming to the Cubs is done so lets move on to possibly alternatives.
My first choice for GM would be Andrew Friedman whom I consider to be the best GM in baseball. He has one year left on his contract with the Rays, where he has a limited budget, and in a tough division with the Red Sox and Yankees. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he is interested in the Chicago Cubs job. He is very analytical, knows how to analyze numbers coming from wall street, and has experience running a baseball organization.
My second choice is Theo Epstein whom became the youngest GM at 28 for Boston. In 9 years he has won them 2 championships with a big payroll and rebuilt their farm system. He drafted superstars in Dustin Pedoria, Jacoby Ellsbury, Johnanton Pappelbon, and traded for many others to help them win their championship like Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett. He knows how to draft well and spend money wisely of a big market club, even though some may question that with the signings of John Lackey, Carl Crawford, and J.D. Drew. The only one of those that was really bad at the time and will be regretted is John Lackey. Oh, lets not forget about Dice-K.
Brian Chashman is rumored to be a candidate because his contract is up with the Yankees. I am not a big fan of Cashman though because I don’t know what he has done. He has an endless budget and has hired some good scouting directors to drafts some good talent to keep or use as trade bait. The Yankees may always be good and competeitve, but I don’t think Cashman could have the same success in Chicago and I think he would fail like MacPhail and Jim Hendry did.
Billy Beane has also been mentioned, but like I don’t think he is qualified for the difficulties of this job to turn things around. The Oakland Athletics’ haven’t been in the post season in years because other teams have adaptive to his style and he hasn’t adaptive to the game. He needs to balanced in his approach to the game to gain his advantage to put a winner on the field and he isn’t. That is why he isn’t our guy to run the Cubs.
The Cubs need someone who can turn around an entire organization from top to bottom and that is why Theo Epstein was a great choice. The Cubs have a few talented players thanks to Tim Wilken and isn’t in terrible shape like some teams, but needed someone like Epstein who is one on the few executives currently active in the game in the game that I like who is smart enough to turn around an organization in shambles!
Showing posts with label Jim Hendry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jim Hendry. Show all posts
The Dismissal of Jim Hendry
The Jim Hendry era has come to an end. It is bittersweet that after 9 years as General Manager and 17 years in the organization Jim Hendry was let go in the middle of the season. The timing made no sense. The Cubs should have let him go before the draft so Tim Wilken who has a good reputation as a scouting director around the league can be left alone to do his league. Tom Rickets has also gone on the record that he also like Wilken a lot and wants him to continue to stay with the organization through the next regime (which I agree with) so why not fire Hendry before the draft because the draft is the scouting director’s job after the first round pick or two. Even the first pick or two is with the General Manager, but if your going to fire the GM do you want his input and him affecting the organization and prospects for another year? I also don’t understand why the Cubs fired Hendry, but then asked him to keep it a secret until after the trade deadline. The time they realized they were going to let him go they should have cut him loose. As Hendry said, he didn’t want to make trades at the deadline such as unloading Ramirez, Pena, Byrd, Marmol, who all should have been tradable and possibly give you good trade chips in return, but he felt it should be the next GM making those decision’s. So by not making a quick decision it actually hurt the organization, because if the new GM wants to move these players, the Cubs probably would have received better value at the trade deadline than in the off season. When Andy McPhail took over as GM of the Cubs in the early 90’s from his predecessor Ed Lynch, he kept him on as a special advisor to the GM (McPhail) for several year and was even on the payroll for many of the Hendry years I believe.
It seems like the Ricketts were trying to send a message to all Cubs fans by firing Hendry when they did instead of waiting until after the season, but like some of the other decisions they have made, or lack their of since they over the team, has it helped the team more than it hurt?
It seems like the Ricketts were trying to send a message to all Cubs fans by firing Hendry when they did instead of waiting until after the season, but like some of the other decisions they have made, or lack their of since they over the team, has it helped the team more than it hurt?
It's Xavier Nady!
Xavier Nady is kinda famous within this travesty to mankind we call GOI. For all you die hard baseball fans who wasted 9 bucks watching another Adam Sandler tank job called "I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry" would have seen Xavier Nady's blurred out face batting for the Mets on television in one of the scenes. I've seen enough baseball to basically know every players silhouette, so when I saw Nady's swing in the background, I instinctively yell out "It's Xavier Nady" so the whole theater can hear me. Trust me, it was the most entertaining part of the movie. All four..errr..three members of this blog were in attendance and got a good laugh, at me, or with me, who care. And it has stuck as an inside joke for generations..in blog years.
Nady has always been and remains a 4th outfielder, as is his role with the Cubbies. Nady has always been a 1-tool hitter, given that he has career Matt Kemp power. Yet, no other skills have developed for the 31-year old righty. Does this warrant a 1-year contract that can be worth as much as $5.35 million? The best comparison I can give you is that Nady is a slower, worse defensive version of Ryan Spilborghs. Then why didn't Hendry just get Ryan Spilborghs instead? He's even one of Hendry's Boys! Don't believe me, well look here and here and here. With Nady's average at best defense, low on-base, and insignificant speed, I would not expect more than a 1 WAR season. Still he's better than Joey Gathright so that's a positive.
Cubs drafted Tim Lincecum
GOI has talked about how bad Jim Hendryand the Cubs are at drafting. Well I stumbled across something stunning to me. Other people might have already knew, but I just learned that the Cubs drafted 25 year old, two time CY Young Tim Lincecum who is currently with the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs drafted Lincecum in the forty-eighth round (1,408th overall) of the 2003 MLB Draft. He was not a high pick, and most late picks do not sign if they are still College eligible. Lincecum was drafted by the Cubs after highschool, so he did not sign and went to College. Then he tested the waters again in 2005
and was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the forty-second round (1,261st overall) and did not sign so he went back to school. Then in 2006 he was a high pick and drafted tenth overall by the San Francisco Giants.
Lincecum at only 25 years old is 40–17, with a 2.90 era, 676 strkeouts, led the NL in strikeouts in 2008 and 2009,and has earned two CY Youngs (2008 and 2009)in only three seasons in the majors! He is one of the best pitchers in the game at 25 years old and should be for the nest few years with the chance to be one of the best of all time.
The proof the Cubs drafted him. It shows they were on top of their game to realize the talent he had then when not many people did to draft him in such a late round. They didn't realize how good he was because they didn't make a great push to sign him.
The Overall draft for the Cubs in 2003:
Maybe next time they have a gem they will sign him!
and was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the forty-second round (1,261st overall) and did not sign so he went back to school. Then in 2006 he was a high pick and drafted tenth overall by the San Francisco Giants.
Lincecum at only 25 years old is 40–17, with a 2.90 era, 676 strkeouts, led the NL in strikeouts in 2008 and 2009,and has earned two CY Youngs (2008 and 2009)in only three seasons in the majors! He is one of the best pitchers in the game at 25 years old and should be for the nest few years with the chance to be one of the best of all time.
The proof the Cubs drafted him. It shows they were on top of their game to realize the talent he had then when not many people did to draft him in such a late round. They didn't realize how good he was because they didn't make a great push to sign him.
The Overall draft for the Cubs in 2003:
Maybe next time they have a gem they will sign him!
Jim Hendry Has A History Of Sucking
The Cubs farm system has been an embarrassment over the entire decade. It’s shocking how horrible Jim Hendry is at drafting players considering he was in charge of the draft/minor leagues for the Cubs before becoming the GM. His top draft picks have simply been horrible to say the least. Just look at Vitters and Tyler Colvin. Two players who have less plate discipline than Corey Patterson. What about the lefty power arms he drafted from high school like Mark Pawelek, Andy Sisco, Luke Hagerdy, and Carmen Pignatiello. Where are they now?
And the most egregious thing he ever did, which deserved him to get fired on the spot, was draft 2 high school hitters who could hit 500 foot homers in batting practice, but had zero baseball skills including the ability to hit a breaking ball. And here is the kicker, both of them were from Dunedin high school in Florida. I’ll give you guys one guess where Jim Hendry went to high school. Yup! You guessed it. For those of you who are confused as to whom i’m referring to. Brian Dopirak was a Cubs power hitting first basemen with crazy strength but flamed out after one good season, and the other is our former 3rd overall pick Ryan Harvey, who too flamed out after one good postseason run in the minors.
My favorite howere was when Hendry drafted Luis Montanez 3rd overall. Montanez was a high school shortstop from Miami. One would expect him to be compared to another Miami native Alex Rodriguez, but his projection coming out of the draft was that of Alex Gonzalez. Yep, that Alex Gonzalez who ruined the 6th game of the NLCS in 2003 against the Marlins. That’s who Hendry drafted as the 3rd overall pick. An Alex Gonzalez wannabe.
Even when the Cubs to draft a decent player, you would never know it because the minor league system hasnt developed a decent position player in 10 years. And dont tell me about Soto or Fox cause they dont even count. I’d like to see the Cubs bring up a good rookie player who is younger than 27 years old, cause thats when the Cubs prospects are finally ready for the big show.
The Reasons Why Milton Bradley haunted Hendry's Dreams
Disagreeing with Umps
Time to Move on......................................................................................
MLB Winter Meetings
The MLB winter meetings ended today! We have not seen any moves from the Cubs or Sox, but we should see them soon. Even though the winter meetings ended, now teams can think about offers and go back to teams and free agents with offers. I think many teams are waiting to see what players get non-tendered by their current team. Teams have until December 12th to non-tender contracts. That day is approaching fast so I think next week after that day we will see more moves. Teams that have to worry about their payroll may cut players they don’t think are worth the amount they will have to pay him. Mike Fontenot could be someone non-tendered by the Cubs. Mike Jacobs and Ryan Church both have been released already. I like Church and think he could be a good fit on both sides of town. Jim Hendry only has one goal this off-season and that is to fix last off-season instead of making the club much better. Getting rid of Bradley will make the team better, but I doubt we would add an impact player by moving him.
Jim Hendry’s Nightmare................................
Of Signing Milton Bradley!
Now Hendry has to try and trade him this off-season. His goal this off-season is to fix what he did last off-season. he already unloaded Aaron Miles.............now Bradley.
Jones Wants Back In baseball
Former Chicago Cub player Jacque Jones wants back in baseball. Jones played with the Cubs for the 2006 and 2007 season after playing with the Minnesota Twins his entire career before that from 1991to 2005 hitting .279 with 132 home runs and 476 RBIs. His short Cubs career was the opposite of that hitting .285 with 32 homers and 147 RBIs. He did hit .285 which many Cubs fans won't remember because he struggled so much as a Cub and was not consistent. Plus his defense was terrible!
Life after Cubs went even worse for him where he batted .147 in 42 games for the Tigers and Marlins in 2008. Now he says he is in great shape and will be lobbying for a job at the winter meetings. Hopefully Jim Hendry dloesn't sign him again.......................................
Life after Cubs went even worse for him where he batted .147 in 42 games for the Tigers and Marlins in 2008. Now he says he is in great shape and will be lobbying for a job at the winter meetings. Hopefully Jim Hendry dloesn't sign him again.......................................
Manager Waiting In The Wings
Before the Cubs hired Lou Piniella in 2006 former Cub Hall Of Famer Ryne Sandberg said he would want to manage the Cubs. The Cubs brushed it off and hired someone with experience. I remember how Jim Hendry responded when he was asked about Sandberg's interest in the position. He said he would talk to Sandberg, but then listed his qualifications for the person who he would hire. As expected, it would not be a former player with no coaching experience at any level. We are in a big market like Chicago, and I guess he isn't friends with Jim Paxson! Anyways he talked to Sandberg and offered him a position to manage our single-A affilaite. Sanberg has been coaching in the Cubs minor league system since 2007 and has worked his way up. Because on Monday at the first day of the Winter meetings Hendry's big announcement was that Sanberg would be coaching the Triple-A affiliate this year. He is working his way up....................and eyeing the Cubs managerial position after Lou Piniella retires!
Overpaid bums of 2009 (Cubs Edition)
DME provided the overpaid bums of 2008 (cubs edition) in the early days of GOI, so let's see how Jim Hendry's team fared this last season. Clearly, the Cubs had a massive profit on their investment in 2008 thanks to a 97 win season. The same cannot be said about the 2009 club. The biggest losers of the season were Kevin Gregg, Aramis Ramirez, Aaron Miles, MIcah Hoffpauir, and the grand champion...Alfonso Soriano with a startling -19.3 million net loss. Despite my criticism of the value system on fangraphs, which I believe overvalues the production of players, the net production was still nearly 19 million dollars below the team payroll. That takes some serious skill on the part of Jim Hendry.
Click on the image to get a sharp view. Maybe one day we'll afford our own domain and be able to post readable data, but that day is not today
Why is Jim Hendry so bad at drafting?
Can someone please explain to me how Jim Hendry, a former Director of Player Development, is so bad at drafting players to develop? There are, sadly, no stats to answer this question available on Fangraphs. Maybe BP has worked out a metric by now to explain this, but I am currently unaware of such a metric.
Since the Cubs promoted Hendry to GM (2002), he has not selected a single quality first round draft pick. Is this the Curse of Mark Prior? Take a look at who the Cubs drafted and who they passed up to get them over the past 7 seasons and you will see why the Cubs have absolutely no minor league depth:
2002: Bobby Brownlie (who?)
Passed over: Joe Blanton, Matt Cain, Joey Votto, John Lester, Jonathan Broxton, Curtis Granderson
2003: Ryan Harvey (who?)
Passed over: Nick Markakis, John Danks, Aaron Hill, Chad Billingsley, Carlos Quentin, Adam Jones, Andre Ethier, Sean Marcum
Of interest: the Cubs did draft a quality hitter in Jake Fox, but he is a DH at large in the NL...
2004: The Cubs gave up their 1st round draft pick to sign Type A free agent LaTroy Hawkins
Passed over: Yovanni Gallardo, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, Adam Lind
2005: Mark Pawelek (who?)
Passed over: Nolan Reimold, Kevin Slowey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Garza, Colby Rasmus, Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden
2006: Tyler Colvin (eh...)
Passed over: Travis Snyder, Daniel Bard, Chris Coghland, Joba Chamberlain, Brett Anderson, Chris Tillman, Justin Masterson,
2007: Josh Vitters (2.4% walk rate in the minors, can't hit A ball pitching)
Passed over: Matt Wieters, Matt LaPorta, Rick Porcello, Jordan Zimmerman, Jason Heyward, Julio Borbon, Aaron Poreda
2008: Andrew Cashner (a middle tier relief pitcher? really? in the first round? ugh...)
Passed over: Daniel Schlereth (a much, much, much better relief pitcher)
This isn't the case of a bust or two, but a pattern of poor decisions. A small few of the Cubs later round picks have been decent (Notably Ricky Nolasco and Jake Fox), but the Cubs tend to either trade those players away or let them toll away in the minors until they are basically 30 (see Randy Wells, Micah Hoffpauir). We can only hope the Cubs' 2009 pick, Brett Jackson, won't continue the curse.
The sad part of this all is that the Cubs have one of baseball's top payrolls and the organization simply squanders its resources. The Cubs are like the Yankees from 2002-2008. Wasteful spending, poor drafting and bloated contracts. The only difference is that the Yankees can spend a bazillion dollars a year and afford to make as many bad contracts as they want. They'll just up the cost of a ticket to $4,000. The organization needs a breath of fresh air in the front office and that means canning Hendry and starting anew. Hendry has made some great acquisitions for the Cubs (Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Rich Harden), but he's also given away more than his fair share of quality players for absolutely nothing in return (Michael Wuertz, Ricky Nolasco, Felix Pie, David Aardsma) and filled the team's holes with junk (Aaron Miles, Kevin Gregg, Neil Cotts, et. al). The Cubs desperately need someone who knows how to spend money and spot talent so that in 2 years, when all of the Cubs bloated contracts are off the books (except that of Soriano, who is signed until he is 52), the organization can start anew, rebuild and contend with confidence. Any suggestions of who's out there?
Since the Cubs promoted Hendry to GM (2002), he has not selected a single quality first round draft pick. Is this the Curse of Mark Prior? Take a look at who the Cubs drafted and who they passed up to get them over the past 7 seasons and you will see why the Cubs have absolutely no minor league depth:
2002: Bobby Brownlie (who?)
Passed over: Joe Blanton, Matt Cain, Joey Votto, John Lester, Jonathan Broxton, Curtis Granderson
2003: Ryan Harvey (who?)
Passed over: Nick Markakis, John Danks, Aaron Hill, Chad Billingsley, Carlos Quentin, Adam Jones, Andre Ethier, Sean Marcum
Of interest: the Cubs did draft a quality hitter in Jake Fox, but he is a DH at large in the NL...
2004: The Cubs gave up their 1st round draft pick to sign Type A free agent LaTroy Hawkins
Passed over: Yovanni Gallardo, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, Adam Lind
2005: Mark Pawelek (who?)
Passed over: Nolan Reimold, Kevin Slowey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Garza, Colby Rasmus, Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden
2006: Tyler Colvin (eh...)
Passed over: Travis Snyder, Daniel Bard, Chris Coghland, Joba Chamberlain, Brett Anderson, Chris Tillman, Justin Masterson,
2007: Josh Vitters (2.4% walk rate in the minors, can't hit A ball pitching)
Passed over: Matt Wieters, Matt LaPorta, Rick Porcello, Jordan Zimmerman, Jason Heyward, Julio Borbon, Aaron Poreda
2008: Andrew Cashner (a middle tier relief pitcher? really? in the first round? ugh...)
Passed over: Daniel Schlereth (a much, much, much better relief pitcher)
This isn't the case of a bust or two, but a pattern of poor decisions. A small few of the Cubs later round picks have been decent (Notably Ricky Nolasco and Jake Fox), but the Cubs tend to either trade those players away or let them toll away in the minors until they are basically 30 (see Randy Wells, Micah Hoffpauir). We can only hope the Cubs' 2009 pick, Brett Jackson, won't continue the curse.
The sad part of this all is that the Cubs have one of baseball's top payrolls and the organization simply squanders its resources. The Cubs are like the Yankees from 2002-2008. Wasteful spending, poor drafting and bloated contracts. The only difference is that the Yankees can spend a bazillion dollars a year and afford to make as many bad contracts as they want. They'll just up the cost of a ticket to $4,000. The organization needs a breath of fresh air in the front office and that means canning Hendry and starting anew. Hendry has made some great acquisitions for the Cubs (Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Rich Harden), but he's also given away more than his fair share of quality players for absolutely nothing in return (Michael Wuertz, Ricky Nolasco, Felix Pie, David Aardsma) and filled the team's holes with junk (Aaron Miles, Kevin Gregg, Neil Cotts, et. al). The Cubs desperately need someone who knows how to spend money and spot talent so that in 2 years, when all of the Cubs bloated contracts are off the books (except that of Soriano, who is signed until he is 52), the organization can start anew, rebuild and contend with confidence. Any suggestions of who's out there?
Bradley To the Giants?
One of Jim Hendry's main goals this off-season will be to trade Milton Bradley. I have heard several rumors of the Cubs talking to the Mets, Padres, and other teams. None of those deals sound good because the Cubs will have to eat most or all of the 22 million remaining and get nothing good in return if anything. I read a good artice in the
Chicago Tribune by Paul Sullivan which discuses the Cubs getting Aaron Rowand in return. I was never a big Aaron Rowand fan and I think he is over paid, but the Cubs would at least get a center fielder back and can move Fukudome to Right field, his natural position. This would make the outfield defense a lot better than it was this year. The Cubs would have to take on more money in Rowand's deal, but that is why the Giants may be interested to do it.
Chicago Tribune by Paul Sullivan which discuses the Cubs getting Aaron Rowand in return. I was never a big Aaron Rowand fan and I think he is over paid, but the Cubs would at least get a center fielder back and can move Fukudome to Right field, his natural position. This would make the outfield defense a lot better than it was this year. The Cubs would have to take on more money in Rowand's deal, but that is why the Giants may be interested to do it.
FML I'm a Cubs fan
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, the Cubs get 1-hit by the mighty Randy Wolf and his career 1.33 WHIP. This season is obviously over. I think so, you think so, Bob Brenley practically has one foot out the door waiting for the offseason.
There is a bigger problem for the Cubs future. We have no flexibility in the next 3 years to fix the heaping mess that Jim Hendry has assembled. Lets start with Soriano's 8 year contract that still has 5 disappointing years remaining. He has been demoted to the 6th spot in the lineup and may not reach double digits in steals for the season. So there goes left field for the next 4-5 years at $18 mil per.
Fukudome has 2 years left on his $12 mil per contract. He has actually proven to be a capable everyday player, especially at the top of the order, but if he continues to play out of position in center field, where his career UZR/150 is 24 points lower than right field, any offensive contribution will be counterbalanced with below average outfield defense. What was wrong with keeping Edmonds until he proved he could no longer walk without a wheal chair? A .244 iso with a 14% walk rate from the left side couldnt hurt, especially with Fukudome in right field.
Right field is covered for the next 2 years at $10 mil per by the combustible Milton Bradley. His power is gone considering he has a lower iso than Marco Scutaro. Even his outfield defense has become below average after being a constant positive throughout his career. Is a 16% walk rate worth 20 million dollars? It better be cause that is all you get from the monopoly man
Third base is locked up for 2-3 more years at $15 million per. Ramirez is a beast when healthy, but this year has been a giant disappointment with the dislocated shoulder and subsequent injuries. He may have a decrease in power, a la Derek Lee following the broken wrist, so who knows how his off season surgery will affect the rest of his contract years.
Short stop is in the hands of Theriot for at least 2 more years. He is one of the only players to play to his maximal potential on a daily basis. He's not the best top of the order guy or smoothest SS, but he is very reliable every game. Signing a high priced free agent at short, not named Hanley Ramirez, would be a grand mistake.
Given Hendry's history, Jeff Baker will be the Cubs starting second basemen for next year. Hendry gets fooled easily by players who over perform in small sample sizes(Neifi Perez, Aaron Miles, Koyie Hill, Milton Bradley, Mike Fontenot) and will probably give Baker 5 million to stay with the Cubs.
Derek Lee is only signed for 1 more year at $13 million, which is a shame considering he is the one guy I want to stay with the Cubs. He is a pure hitter, with resurrected power, that plays great defense at first base. He would be my top priority to resign after the 2010 season
Soto is still young and cheap and was the rookie of the year last season so he will have a second season to prove that he isnt a fat, lazy, pot smoking retard.
Only the bullpen will have open spots to fill following the season. I would get rid of people like Gregg and Heilman and replace them with minor leaguers. Triple A is full of good young arms that can do the job. Since the Cubs let Peavy go to the White Sox, it is essential to resign Harden to have any chance of competing in the years to come.
As you can see, Hendry's loyalty and overzealous contracts have put the Cubs into a deep whole for years to come. The best the Cubs can do is put together a better bench for next season, though Fox, Hauffpauir, Fould, scales, and Johnson is good enough for me. If I was Tom Ricketts, first order of business would be to fire Jim Hendry. He is a good guy, but his propensity to sign friend, negotiate horrible contracts, and draft bad prospects from his old Dunedin High School warrants his termination. Could we make Eckstein the GM. I'm sure he would take it over law school
There is a bigger problem for the Cubs future. We have no flexibility in the next 3 years to fix the heaping mess that Jim Hendry has assembled. Lets start with Soriano's 8 year contract that still has 5 disappointing years remaining. He has been demoted to the 6th spot in the lineup and may not reach double digits in steals for the season. So there goes left field for the next 4-5 years at $18 mil per.
Fukudome has 2 years left on his $12 mil per contract. He has actually proven to be a capable everyday player, especially at the top of the order, but if he continues to play out of position in center field, where his career UZR/150 is 24 points lower than right field, any offensive contribution will be counterbalanced with below average outfield defense. What was wrong with keeping Edmonds until he proved he could no longer walk without a wheal chair? A .244 iso with a 14% walk rate from the left side couldnt hurt, especially with Fukudome in right field.
Right field is covered for the next 2 years at $10 mil per by the combustible Milton Bradley. His power is gone considering he has a lower iso than Marco Scutaro. Even his outfield defense has become below average after being a constant positive throughout his career. Is a 16% walk rate worth 20 million dollars? It better be cause that is all you get from the monopoly man
Third base is locked up for 2-3 more years at $15 million per. Ramirez is a beast when healthy, but this year has been a giant disappointment with the dislocated shoulder and subsequent injuries. He may have a decrease in power, a la Derek Lee following the broken wrist, so who knows how his off season surgery will affect the rest of his contract years.
Short stop is in the hands of Theriot for at least 2 more years. He is one of the only players to play to his maximal potential on a daily basis. He's not the best top of the order guy or smoothest SS, but he is very reliable every game. Signing a high priced free agent at short, not named Hanley Ramirez, would be a grand mistake.
Given Hendry's history, Jeff Baker will be the Cubs starting second basemen for next year. Hendry gets fooled easily by players who over perform in small sample sizes(Neifi Perez, Aaron Miles, Koyie Hill, Milton Bradley, Mike Fontenot) and will probably give Baker 5 million to stay with the Cubs.
Derek Lee is only signed for 1 more year at $13 million, which is a shame considering he is the one guy I want to stay with the Cubs. He is a pure hitter, with resurrected power, that plays great defense at first base. He would be my top priority to resign after the 2010 season
Soto is still young and cheap and was the rookie of the year last season so he will have a second season to prove that he isnt a fat, lazy, pot smoking retard.
Only the bullpen will have open spots to fill following the season. I would get rid of people like Gregg and Heilman and replace them with minor leaguers. Triple A is full of good young arms that can do the job. Since the Cubs let Peavy go to the White Sox, it is essential to resign Harden to have any chance of competing in the years to come.
As you can see, Hendry's loyalty and overzealous contracts have put the Cubs into a deep whole for years to come. The best the Cubs can do is put together a better bench for next season, though Fox, Hauffpauir, Fould, scales, and Johnson is good enough for me. If I was Tom Ricketts, first order of business would be to fire Jim Hendry. He is a good guy, but his propensity to sign friend, negotiate horrible contracts, and draft bad prospects from his old Dunedin High School warrants his termination. Could we make Eckstein the GM. I'm sure he would take it over law school
Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella Relationship
When Lou Piniella came to the Chicago Cubs a few years ago he had an big impact on the club. This wasn't because of his managing moves, but how he affected the whole organization and Jim Hendry. He was having Hendry call up youngsters and make roster moves we never saw in the past. Lou Piniella is a very knowledgeable baseball man and was able to help Jim Hendry sculpt the team. With Lou Piniella pretty much running the organization we knew it was in good hands. A few weeks ago we saw Gerald Perry fired and he was one of Lou's guys he brought in. Lou Piniella never didn't say much about the move, except that it was an organizational move and he obviously was not in favor of it. Well now it is coming out that the relationship of Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella isn't what it used to be. There is a great article in the Chicago Sun Times by Chris De Luca which can be found at http://www.suntimes.com/sports/deluca/1649094,CST-SPT-deluca02.article which talks about the relationship between Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella. I think it is a bad thing that Lou Piniella does not have as much influence on Jim Hendry as he used to. What do you think?
The Rich Hill Trade
I am surprised there hasn’t been more controversy surrounding the Rich Hill trade. Personally I thought it was a terrible trade and shocked I didn’t read more disagreeing on it in the newspapers, blog’s, and on sports talk radio. I understand why Jim Hendry traded Rich Hill. He felt he had to because Rich Hill was out of options. Thus, if Rich Hill did not make the club out of spring training, he would have become a minor league free agent. This means any club could have signed him. Hendry didn’t just want to lose him, so he traded him to his current trading partner, his former boss…... Rich Hill was traded for a Player To Be Named Later. Depending on how he does with the Baltimore Orioles, will depend on the prospect we can choose from. The Orioles are hoping Rich Hill will revert back to his 2007 season and be an anchor in their rotation. If that happens they would have hit the jackpot. I don’t know who were in each pool of candidates the Cubs could pick from for The Player To Be Named Later, but if Rich Hill does go back to his 2007 form, it won’t be enough.
Rich Hill took a long time to develop in the minor leagues. He had control problems for many years, but once he figured it out he was a force. In his first full season as a starter in the major’s he made 32 starts where he went 11-8 with a 3.92 E.R.A pitching 195 innings allowing only 170 hits, 85 earned runs, and 27 homeruns. He only walked 63 batters and hit 12. That’s not too bad for someone who took years to get over his control problem. He did all this while striking out a Chicago Cubs high for the 2007 season in striking out 183 batters’ with his buckling curve ball.
Many people, including myself think Rich Hill’s control problem is mental. I recently read a good article at: http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2009/01/rich-hill-trade-rumors-baltimore-orioles/ which talks about the Rich Hill trade. One thing it mentions is it does not think Rich Hill’s control problem is mental. They think it is something to do with his mechanic’s. Rich Hill does have nontraditional mechanics to get the grip he needs for his nasty curve ball. Check out the picture’s they show and let me know what you think about this theory.
The Cubs should have kept Rich Hill and see if he could have helped them. His trade value hit rocked bottom, I doubt even if he does well for Baltimore they will get enough in return. So they should have kept him and risked the chance of loosing him for nothing, but the risk could be worth the reward. I guess we will see how he does this season to see if I am right or not.
Rich Hill took a long time to develop in the minor leagues. He had control problems for many years, but once he figured it out he was a force. In his first full season as a starter in the major’s he made 32 starts where he went 11-8 with a 3.92 E.R.A pitching 195 innings allowing only 170 hits, 85 earned runs, and 27 homeruns. He only walked 63 batters and hit 12. That’s not too bad for someone who took years to get over his control problem. He did all this while striking out a Chicago Cubs high for the 2007 season in striking out 183 batters’ with his buckling curve ball.
Many people, including myself think Rich Hill’s control problem is mental. I recently read a good article at: http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2009/01/rich-hill-trade-rumors-baltimore-orioles/ which talks about the Rich Hill trade. One thing it mentions is it does not think Rich Hill’s control problem is mental. They think it is something to do with his mechanic’s. Rich Hill does have nontraditional mechanics to get the grip he needs for his nasty curve ball. Check out the picture’s they show and let me know what you think about this theory.
The Cubs should have kept Rich Hill and see if he could have helped them. His trade value hit rocked bottom, I doubt even if he does well for Baltimore they will get enough in return. So they should have kept him and risked the chance of loosing him for nothing, but the risk could be worth the reward. I guess we will see how he does this season to see if I am right or not.
