A Nightmare On Clark And Addison

[Rick]

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A Nightmare On Clark And Addison |

 

[Captain Obvious]

Stop overreacting.

 

[Rick]

Stop overreacting.

How am I overreacting?

 

[AE23]

liked it. Ricketts doesnt know shit. When he became the owner, Hendry shoulda been gone, nobody would have said anything, and they could have already began planning the rebuilding process with a new front office.

 

[Captain Obvious]

How am I overreacting?

We have to start right at the top with Cubs’ owner Tom Ricketts.

I stopped reading. It's been not even 2 years. Give the man a chance.

 

[Captain Obvious]

liked it. Ricketts doesnt know shit. When he became the owner, Hendry shoulda been gone, nobody would have said anything, and they could have already began planning the rebuilding process with a new front office.

You rebuild through trading and the draft. Hendry is very good at trading. Wilken(who I believe has been said as to leaving should Hendry get fired? I think?) is very good at drafting. So what do we gain by getting rid of Hendry?

 

[Rick]

I stopped reading. It's been not even 2 years. Give the man a chance.

I see. Then it's not really fair to say that I was overreacting when you didn't even read the whole thing.

I don't have to give the man a chance with the costly mistakes he's made already. If you had read on, you would have seen that I addressed what those mistakes were. Retaining Jim Hendry, not hiring a qualified person to be the president of the team and suddenly now the team is having financial trouble...

 

[Captain Obvious]

I see. Then it's not really fair to say that I was overreacting when you didn't even read the whole thing.

I don't have to give the man a chance with the costly mistakes he's made already. If you had read on, you would have seen that I addressed what those mistakes were. Retaining Jim Hendry, not hiring a qualified person to be the president of the team and suddenly now the team is having financial trouble...

Who should have taken Hendry's spot? It's his money, he can run the team the way he wants to. If it doesn't work, I'm sure that he is smart enough to see that and step back. Give the guy a chance. It's been two year. Suddenly the team has financial trouble? No. We've had financial trouble since the Trib sold the team. It is always that way when teams switch ownership. We aren't in trouble financially. It just takes time to get things worked out. If it was *that* bad, MLB would have stepped in, as they did with the Dodgers.

 

[Rick]

You rebuild through trading and the draft. Hendry is very good at trading. Wilken(who I believe has been said as to leaving should Hendry get fired? I think?) is very good at drafting. So what do we gain by getting rid of Hendry?

The man has been the GM nine seasons now with no World Series appearances or championships. This will be Hendry's sixth losing season during his tenure.

We get a change by getting rid of Hendry, but there's a flip side to that that I should have put in the article and that is....should we even trust Ricketts to hire a qualified GM should he get rid of Hendry?

Not sure why you're drinking the Tim Wilken kool aid but the guy has been with the organization for five or six years now and there hasn't been one player to come out of the farm system that's stuck around and lasted or has been consistently productive at the major league level...hopefully Starlin Castro will pan out.

Josh Vitters' ranking in Baseball America has dropped every year since he was drafted in 2007 and he hasn't even gotten a taste of the major leagues yet....four years after he was drafted.


Give me a break.

 

[Popinski Soda]

Only two months into the season and the Chicago Cubs are playing for nothing. They’ve lost eight straight games and are currently in the dregs of the National League with no hope in sight.

In the dregs of the National Leauge? More like getting dangerously close to the worst record in all of baseball. Regardless, I'm gonna have to agree with Captain Obvious on this one. While the future may look grim for our Lovable Losers at this juncture, there's still plenty of baseball to be played. Wether that ends up being a good thing or a bad thing, only time will tell. But I see no reason to jump ship just yet.


J

 

[Captain Iago]

I'll admit the both of you know far more than I do regarding how the Cub organization works, but, imho, I think Rick is right - dumping Hendry at the time when Ricketts took ownership would have been a wise idea. He had an open wallet for a few years prior to new ownership in order to help the sale of the team and bought like a moron (understandably, in his defense). Along with a new owner, it was easily time for a new paradigm, and one to easily to instate at the time of new ownership.

 

[Rick]

Who should have taken Hendry's spot? It's his money, he can run the team the way he wants to. If it doesn't work, I'm sure that he is smart enough to see that and step back. Give the guy a chance. It's been two year. Suddenly the team has financial trouble? No. We've had financial trouble since the Trib sold the team. It is always that way when teams switch ownership. We aren't in trouble financially. It just takes time to get things worked out. If it was *that* bad, MLB would have stepped in, as they did with the Dodgers.

Another qualified person for the job. Maybe an assistant GM from teams that consistently win every year such as the Red Sox and Phillies. I hope you're right about Ricketts taking a step back because there was another stroke in this city named Michael McCaskey who ran the Bears into the ground in the mid to late 90's. He, like Ricketts, knew nothing about the sport he was operating and McCaskey was eventually forced out by his mother. Some of these billionaires who've been counting money their whole lives get these enormous egos and think that they can do a job that they aren't qualified to do. I'm not yet accusing Ricketts of this but I'm a little frightened that this will possibly be the case. I hope I'm wrong.

Suddenly the team has financial trouble? Actually, yes. According to what was written in the Los Angeles Times and local newspapers, the team is in violation of MLB debt rules so there is in fact a problem with the team's finances. It may or may not end up being a big thing, we won't know til later but I'm not counting on this team to make a huge splash in free agency next year.

 

[EnjoyYourTiger]

I'll admit the both of you know far more than I do regarding how the Cub organization works, but, imho, I think Rick is right - dumping Hendry at the time when Ricketts took ownership would have been a wise idea. He had an open wallet for a few years prior to new ownership in order to help the sale of the team and bought like a moron (understandably, in his defense). Along with a new owner, it was easily time for a new paradigm, and one to easily to instate at the time of new ownership.

Hendry couldn't have been dumped as soon as Ricketts bought the team. It would have been asinine to fire the one guy who actually sort of knows something about the team (as limited as it may be), until Ricketts gets his feet wet and figures out these things on his own as far as who can do what. As much as I hate Hendry and how it still baffles me that he's been with the organization this long, it really was the right call for the time being.

We all know getting this team back to a competitive level is going to take awhile. It screams of it. Hendry has made so many horrible contracts, which basically have inhibited the signing of big free market agents. It's hard to do anything when your hands are tied by the Special person contracts of Kosuke, Zambrano, Soriano, Ramirez, and to a lesser extent, Pena.

I agree that he needs to go. But as hard as it is for me to say it, Ricketts made the right call keeping him around just until he figures this organization out.

Another qualified person for the job. Maybe an assistant GM from teams that consistently win every year such as the Red Sox and Phillies. I hope you're right about Ricketts taking a step back because there was another stroke in this city named Michael McCaskey who ran the Bears into the ground in the mid to late 90's. He, like Ricketts, knew nothing about the sport he was operating and McCaskey was eventually forced out by his mother. Some of these billionaires who've been counting money their whole lives get these enormous egos and think that they can do a job that they aren't qualified to do. I'm not yet accusing Ricketts of this but I'm a little frightened that this will possibly be the case. I hope I'm wrong.

Suddenly the team has financial trouble? Actually, yes. According to what was written in the Los Angeles Times and local newspapers, the team is in violation of MLB debt rules so there is in fact a problem with the team's finances. It may or may not end up being a big thing, we won't know til later but I'm not counting on this team to make a huge splash in free agency next year.

After Hendry's contract is up, he should be let go. But in the time being, Ricketts needs to look for a baseball guy - someone who knows and loves the Cubs, who won't make such foolish decisions with money, a guy who can bring some competitiveness back to this ballclub.

And the real problem behind all of this is that as fans, we've waited 103 years for a championship, and to ask us to wait for 4 or 5 more isn't fair, but it has to be done.

And I realize that I've said there's always next year for about 13 years now. And I'm also one of the people who hates Ricketts and hates Hendry. But it's definitely not Quade's fault. It's hard to win games when it seems like the only guys who care anymore are Z and Byrd. And I'm also EXTREMELY tired of rebuilding, especially after '03 and '08, but as soon as these dumb ass contracts are expired, we can Hendry, hire a guy who knows what he's doing, and then a few years from then, the Cubs actually start to content and don't drop 8 games in a row.

And as far as the whole debt thing goes, I seriously doubt anything happens. Ricketts just spent almost a billion dollars on this team. Of course it's going to look like there's a lot of debt.

 

[daddies3angels]

Hendry couldn't have been dumped as soon as Ricketts bought the team. It would have been asinine to fire the one guy who actually sort of knows something about the team (as limited as it may be), until Ricketts gets his feet wet and figures out these things on his own as far as who can do what. As much as I hate Hendry and how it still baffles me that he's been with the organization this long, it really was the right call for the time being.

We all know getting this team back to a competitive level is going to take awhile. It screams of it. Hendry has made so many horrible contracts, which basically have inhibited the signing of big free market agents. It's hard to do anything when your hands are tied by the Special person contracts of Kosuke, Zambrano, Soriano, Ramirez, and to a lesser extent, Pena.

I agree that he needs to go. But as hard as it is for me to say it, Ricketts made the right call keeping him around just until he figures this organization out.



After Hendry's contract is up, he should be let go. But in the time being, Ricketts needs to look for a baseball guy - someone who knows and loves the Cubs, who won't make such foolish decisions with money, a guy who can bring some competitiveness back to this ballclub.

And the real problem behind all of this is that as fans, we've waited 103 years for a championship, and to ask us to wait for 4 or 5 more isn't fair, but it has to be done.

And I realize that I've said there's always next year for about 13 years now. And I'm also one of the people who hates Ricketts and hates Hendry. But it's definitely not Quade's fault. It's hard to win games when it seems like the only guys who care anymore are Z and Byrd. And I'm also EXTREMELY tired of rebuilding, especially after '03 and '08, but as soon as these dumb ass contracts are expired, we can Hendry, hire a guy who knows what he's doing, and then a few years from then, the Cubs actually start to content and don't drop 8 games in a row.

And as far as the whole debt thing goes, I seriously doubt anything happens. Ricketts just spent almost a billion dollars on this team. Of course it's going to look like there's a lot of debt.

I understand its not all Quade fault but he has made some really dumb moves, like letting THE BEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL hit 2 walk offs in 2 days. His lineups has my head shaking alot.

 

[Captain Iago]

Hendry couldn't have been dumped as soon as Ricketts bought the team. It would have been asinine to fire the one guy who actually sort of knows something about the team (as limited as it may be), until Ricketts gets his feet wet and figures out these things on his own as far as who can do what. As much as I hate Hendry and how it still baffles me that he's been with the organization this long, it really was the right call for the time being.

Excellent point. There are so many organizations that do this, though.

 

[Captain Iago]

Lets say Ricketts dumped Hendry at the beginning of this year...would that have changed the Cubs performance one iota? No, the Cubs still would have sucked. You can argue that the Cubs suckage is Hendry's responsibility, and in the end it is, but it would have been short-sighted for Ricketts to inherit a dysfunctional organization and immediately fire the one guy who has any idea how all the pieces fit together.

Very true, performance wouldn't have changed one iota. I still suspect $ had something to do with it as well.