Author Topic: Cubs in '11  (Read 57343 times)

davep

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1080 on: June 01, 2011, 10:31:35 pm »
I bet you that the Cubs would not be more than 40 games behind the first place team by July 1, 2011.

You gave me 100 to 1 odds.

davep

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1081 on: June 01, 2011, 10:31:53 pm »
At least that is how I remember it.

Jes Beard

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1082 on: June 01, 2011, 10:34:13 pm »
I think it was 10-1 odds that the Cubs would not win 90 games.

craig

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1083 on: June 01, 2011, 10:41:05 pm »
Agree with reb that having an interested but hands-off owner is good, if the owner provides payroll and gets good baseball personnel to run the baseball stuff. 

It remains to be seen whether he will provide good payroll, or get good baseball personnel. 

I admit I haven't been particularly impressed with what he says when he talks.  It's not just a matter of talking vague when he's trying to avoid being critical.  He just doesn't seem to sound that sharp.  The ability to say anything thoughtful or analytical, some guys always sound that way when they talk even if they are being diplomatic.  But he doesn't to me, and doesn't always seem like he remembers the question or answers the question even when doing so would do no harm. 

 


davep

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1084 on: June 01, 2011, 11:13:34 pm »
Actually, it was 10 - 1 that the Cubs would not win their division.

Eastcoastfan

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1085 on: June 02, 2011, 06:37:18 am »
JR, I love that picture!

I am not saying that I think TR is smart; I just think that it is impossible for him to keep Hendry et al. after this year.  I think the pressure will be enormous to appoint a real president and let him set up his own team.

If he stays with this same arrangement after this year, well, then, there simply are no words.

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1086 on: June 02, 2011, 07:18:02 am »
Which is why I said he needs to keep his mouth closed.  Was it Franklin or Twain: Better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

FITS

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1087 on: June 02, 2011, 07:46:51 am »
Actually it was Abe Lincoln who said that, Curt.

JR

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1088 on: June 02, 2011, 07:51:01 am »
Actually it was Abe Lincoln who said that, Curt.

And thus, Curt proves his point.

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1089 on: June 02, 2011, 07:57:25 am »
FITS wins a point!  And since Abe Lincoln was once in my kitchen!...

And JR, you prove the point on a regular basis.  :)~~~

Ron

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1090 on: June 02, 2011, 08:04:19 am »

I am not saying that I think TR is smart; I just think that it is impossible for him to keep Hendry et al. after this year.  I think the pressure will be enormous to appoint a real president and let him set up his own team.

If he stays with this same arrangement after this year, well, then, there simply are no words.

I suggest you prepare for a sustained period of silence then.  While I think it is conceivable that Hendry would lose his job after this year, I doubt there's better than a 50-50 chance of that, maybe far less. 

There are loads of people here who have thought Hendry to be a lousy to mediocre GM for a long time.  That's clearly not been Ricketts' view, and I doubt that one season - a season in which Ricketts himself placed severe limits on Hendry's options - will change that.  While Ricketts has talked about wanting to be competitive in the short run, his emphasis has been on building a strong organization for the future.  If his priority had been the short run, he wouldn't have reduced the major league budget this season. 

And I don't think external pressure is going to mean much to Ricketts.  I think his decision on Hendry will probably rest primarily on whether he believes that the guy has put into place a system that is likely to create a strong major league team over the coming years (presumably sometime beyond 2012).  And frankly, I think that ought to be his primary concern - not quieting frustrated fans or judging Hendry on this year.

I say this not because I want Hendry retained.  At this point, assuming the right person replaced him, I'd like to see someone else take a crack at the job.  I just think that the decision whether to keep Hendry as GM will be made based on Ricketts' assessment of the future, not the present or past.
« Last Edit: June 02, 2011, 08:09:28 am by Ron »

Playtwo

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1091 on: June 02, 2011, 08:18:41 am »
We can all agree that the Cubs have been lousy so far.  I would give the majority of the blame to the injuries to our starting pitching.  A lot of blame goes to the poor defense, mostly attributable to having a roster of players who by and large are weak to mediocre in this area.  Quade deserves some blame, but not nearly as much as many here seem to think.  Although the mental mistakes seem to be a bit less than what we saw most of last season, I'm disappointed that Quade hasn't been able to tighten this area up even further.  But I doubt that any manager would be doing a whole lot better with the cards Quade was dealt.  As far as Ricketts, I still think it's too early in his regime to make a judgment.  One thing's for sure- he's not likely to make any mistakes as a result of knee-jerk reactions.

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1092 on: June 02, 2011, 08:34:18 am »
Fire them all and kill all the lawyers!

(That last bit was from Shakespeare.)

AZSteve

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1093 on: June 02, 2011, 08:38:39 am »
leave it to Curt to bring culture into the conversation ::)

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1094 on: June 02, 2011, 08:42:55 am »
My doctor says he's never seen so many cultures in one person.