Cubs’ Ricketts making simple look complicated...

[waldo7239117]

To say it’s been a very strange time in the world of North Side baseball would be a disservice to much of the last 102 years.

So let’s just say it’s been a curious few months for the Cubs since they allowed Lou Piniella to retire on July 20 and remain on the job another five weeks.

Advertisement The move in July would have been to hire Ryne Sandberg or Bob Brenly, and let one finish the season and get a head start on 2011, unless the baseball people had no intention of ever installing either of those men as the next manager.

The reason for Tom Ricketts to wait, of course, was to see if Joe Girardi wanted to come home.

But if that were the case, then Ricketts should have made a change at GM as well, rather than force upon Jim Hendry a manager in Girardi whom Hendry had zero interest in four years ago.

If you recall, Girardi had been fired by nutty Marlins owner Jeff Loria as he was about to be named N.L. manager of the year.

But Girardi couldn’t even get an interview in Chicago until he called an old friend, who called John McDonough, who in turn called Hendry and set up a courtesy chat about the Cubs’ opening so that Girardi wouldn’t be embarrassed at failing to get in the door.

Now Ricketts wants to wait and see if Girardi will leave a job where he gets along great with the GM, the owner, makes a ton of money, and has a chance to win every year?

Logic suggests he’s using the Cubs as leverage right now, though crazier things have happened in sports and maybe Girardi would come home this winter.

But why now? Why wouldn’t he return after his next monster Yankees contract runs out in three or four years, when the Cubs’ bad contracts will be off the books?

Why not wait until there’s a GM in Chicago with whom he can work and in a system where he will have a say in all decisions?

Seriously, what happens when Hendry says Larry Rothschild has a job here for life and Girardi says he wants his own staff?

You haven’t even made it past the first day without a huge disagreement.

The job will still be here in a few years and one would suspect Girardi will still have a chance to be the first manager to win a title for the Cubs in more than a century, an albatross that seems to draw big names with Hall of Fame dreams, instead of scaring them away.

Meanwhile, the Cubs’ baseball people had settled on Mike Quade weeks ago and thought they’d be able to announce it by the middle of October.

That date has now passed.

Ricketts slowed the process this week and as owner he has every right to do so. In fact, we’ve been waiting for him to get involved for more than a year, but it makes no sense for him to hire a manager the GM doesn’t want.

Hendry’s got two years left on his deal and probably less time than that to prove to Ricketts he can fix this.

Bizarre, then, that Ricketts let Hendry keep the job and now isn’t letting him do the job.

This is more of the same Cubs nonsense we lived with under Tribune Co., something we thought we’d never have to see again.

For that reason, and since Ricketts chose to keep Hendry as GM, Quade makes more sense than Sandberg or Girardi.

Not only did Quade do a good job, but they can also put Quade on a short-term deal. Then, if Hendry and Quade can’t right the ship, they would be replaced at the same time, with a new GM hiring his own manager.

Ricketts has made some frustrating calls since he took over and this is yet another.

If the Cubs hire a manager for three or four years, and Hendry doesn’t survive, you have the next GM inheriting a manager.

That possibility only exists because Ricketts didn’t clean house when given the chance.

This is not about whether you like Hendry, and it’s not about who the most qualified manager is for the Cubs, because that’s painfully obvious.

This is about the hope when Tom Ricketts took over that the Cubs would be run in a professional way, building from the bottom up. It’s about making decisions that truly benefit the organization long term.

We had dreams of the Atlanta Braves, who more than two decades ago built a system, stuck with a plan, and kept their best prospects through some rough years while the kids grew up into winners.

They kept a GM and manager together who were in lock-step on baseball decisions, and who should both wind up in the Hall of Fame.

That was the dream for the Cubs.

Instead, you have a GM that needs a good winter in order to keep his job, while perhaps forcing him to take on a field manager he doesn’t want.

That’s not exactly the formula we had in mind.

Cubs’ Ricketts making simple look complicated - DailyHerald.com

Thoughts?

 

[cubsneedmiracle]

There may not be a new Yankees contract for Girardi..

That's the only way he'd even think of coming..

 

[waldo7239117]

Well....Texas is winning today and CC was pitching. And, Cliff Lee wasn't. That's a positive for Texas and a better chance the Yanks lose. Then, the Cubs could have a better chance to interview Girardi.

 

[Derkach77]

Girardi or Quade only two guys who should be considered in my opinion.

 

[Lex L.]

Hendry is no Schuerholtz.

And also that was a good piece. Thanks for posting.

 

[poodski]

I really agree with this article. I am a huge Hendry supporter, but if you are going to do his job for him why keep him around? You now leave him in a bad position that if the Cubs do well its because of Ricketts/Girardi, but if they do poorly its because of him and he is gone. He is in a lose-lose situation.

If it was going to go this way they should have fired Hendry.

 

[Jntg4]

I really agree with this article. I am a huge Hendry supporter, but if you are going to do his job for him why keep him around? You now leave him in a bad position that if the Cubs do well its because of Ricketts/Girardi, but if they do poorly its because of him and he is gone. He is in a lose-lose situation.

If it was going to go this way they should have fired Hendry.

Ya, pretty much. Hendry seems to always get screwed over by fans blaming him for trades they really likes too at first.

 

[waldo7239117]

I don't hate Hendry and I don't really hate his trades. Just his FA signings (Sori, Grabow, Bradley, etc).

 

[The Bandit]

I don't hate Hendry and I don't really hate his trades. Just his FA signings (Sori, Grabow, Bradley, etc).

Grabow was a trade... he was a horrible resign. a short list of horrible contracts by JH

Soriano
Bradley
Zambrano
Fukudome
and some others

 

[Captain Obvious]

Grabow was a trade... he was a horrible resign. a short list of horrible contracts by JH

Soriano
Bradley
Zambrano
Fukudome
and some others

The problem with Soriano is the length of the deal. That's all the Trib's fault, because they threw on like 2 extra years.

Bradley wasn't that bad. It was 10 million and Hendry made a great trade to get him out of it.

Z's contract is not bad. It's just a little long. He had to give him that contract though.

Fukudome is from overseas, so we naturally had to overpay for him.

Some others? Wow.

 

[Lex L.]

The problem with Soriano is the length of the deal. That's all the Trib's fault, because they threw on like 2 extra years.

Bradley wasn't that bad. It was 10 million and Hendry made a great trade to get him out of it.
Z's contract is not bad. It's just a little long. He had to give him that contract though.

Fukudome is from overseas, so we naturally had to overpay for him.

Some others? Wow.

At the end of the day, the Cubs were still lacking a left handed bat...even after this "great" trade. Sorry, but its hard to call anything involved with the Bradley deal great even if he got a productive player for one year.

We spent a lot of money on a left handed bat that was a huge risk and two years later, we were still with out and that contract was prohibitive.

And all misses like that, has affected the reluctance to spend money now. So, not only was that a bad deal 2 years ago, it had long arms. Its affecting today.

 

[Captain Obvious]

At the end of the day, the Cubs were still lacking a left handed bat...even after this "great" trade. Sorry, but its hard to call anything involved with the Bradley deal great even if he got a productive player for one year.

You fail to acknowledge all the cash Hendry got in that trade as well.

 

[Lex L.]

You fail to acknowledge all the cash Hendry got in that trade as well.

Big deal. Did that cash fill the need of a left handed bat?

 

[Captain Obvious]

Big deal. Did that cash fill the need of a left handed bat?

If we sign Adam Dunn, yes.

 

[Lex L.]

If we sign Adam Dunn, yes.

Its funny. Last offseason and at the beginning of last year, I was big on Hendry trading for Adrian Gonzalez. Sadly, his value has probably gone up since San Diego had a solid season.

Id still rather have Gonzalez but I acknowledge that he's probably less attainable than last year. So, Im with you on Dunn. He kills at Wrigley not unlike the way Dawson used to light it up when playing in Wrigley when he was with the Expos. They need to move Aramais up to 3 and have some left handed thunder at 4 or 5. I think Gonzalez is actually more on par with Fielder and Pujols and Dunn is a step down but still, I think Dunn would be a step up from Lee.

Id like a 3,4, 5 of Ramirez, Dunn, and Soriano. Or something like that. You cant rule out Colvin either. It looks like he has some talent too.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Its funny. Last offseason and at the beginning of last year, I was big on Hendry trading for Adrian Gonzalez. Sadly, his value has probably gone up since San Diego had a solid season.

Id still rather have Gonzalez but I acknowledge that he's probably less attainable than last year. So, Im with you on Dunn. He kills at Wrigley not unlike the way Dawson used to light it up when playing in Wrigley when he was with the Expos. They need to move Aramais up to 3 and have some left handed thunder at 4 or 5. I think Gonzalez is actually more on par with Fielder and Pujols and Dunn is a step down but still, I think Dunn would be a step up from Lee.

Id like a 3,4, 5 of Ramirez, Dunn, and Soriano. Or something like that. You cant rule out Colvin either. It looks like he has some talent too.

Not really. He hasn't impressed me with a damn thing.

 

[Lex L.]

Not really. He hasn't impressed me with a damn thing.

Well, here it is. I was pleased with what I saw of him but not so pleased that Im "like OMG...he is our future". Remember Jerome Walton? Some guys come in and flash their first year and then thats it. This is why Im not at all on board with this massive youth movement even though Ive liked seeing what the young guys can do when they were brought up. Im not seeing how going Atlanta Braves of the early 90s is such a great idea. And one of the reasons is Schuerholz vs Hendry.

 

[USCChiFan]

If the Cubs sign Dunn, they IMO have top sign a backup who can play strong defense at 1st, like Casey Kotchman. While he can't hit will, he's a good defensive 1st baseman

 

[Captain Obvious]

If the Cubs sign Dunn, they IMO have top sign a backup who can play strong defense at 1st, like Casey Kotchman. While he can't hit will, he's a good defensive 1st baseman

Why would we do that?

 

[Lex L.]

Why would we do that?

Situational player for late in the game. Thats typically when theyre used.