Bleacher Bums Forum

They need to hire a club president that will install an organizational philosophy and stick with it.  There can be no more of Hendry's constant changing of lanes from "guys who can catch the ball" to "speedy leadoff guys" to "left-handedness" or whatever wild hair he finds the morning after the World Series ends. (StrikeZone)

I've given BenSF a hard time in the past for his constant calls for the Cubs to hire someone is "smart" and has a "plan" like Sandy Alderson.  And I do think he's vastly oversimplified things in his comments on those subjects.

That said, I have to admit that there seems ample evidence that the Cubs do lack a consistent philosophy/approach regarding developing players who are strong on the fundamentals and have a balanced approach to the game of baseball.  The same seems true, too often, in the players that have been acquired through trades or free agency.  That stuff is easier said that done, but it does seem that the Cubs do this less well than some others.  Given the number of years Hendry has had to put his stamp on the organization, it's fair to hold him responsible problems in that area.

As to Hendry and Ricketts ...

If the contracts that are currently burdening the Cubs are really the result of prior pressure from ownership to try to goose up the value of the team for sale, then I can't blame Hendry too much for them.  But if that’s the case, I do blame the Ricketts family for both keeping Hendry in place and at the same time not giving him some financial flexibility within which he could operate, given the burden of the existing contractual load from that period. 

I have no idea how the Ricketts family views things, and we’ll probably never really know what the factors were in entering into those contracts. 

But as someone who has supported Hendry, for the most part, over the years, even I think it’s time to make a change at the top – assuming this team doesn’t turn things around in a very big way.  And I don’t think there is much likelihood that’s going to happen this year.  Bruce Miles raises very good questions about the risks associated with that, but if the Cubs end up having three straight bad years in a row with such a huge financial investment, something very fundamental has to change.  And that probably needs to start with Hendry.  The Cubs franchise is clearly a highly valued one in baseball, so I suspect the challenge would be a welcome one, if the right person could be found to turn things around.

I hope the Cubs make everyone, including me, look foolish for the gloomy assessment for this season and beyond.  After all Samardzjia has certainly performed far better than expected - so as the kid in Angels in the Outfield liked to say, "It could happen."  But I'm thinking that's not very likely.

If this keeps up the Ricketts are going to have to do "Undercover Boss" for real.

No doubt that Hendry is not a "visionary" kind of GM.   It's pretty much mend and fix each year--and that depends on who's out there available at a given point in time. I suppose if you consistently makes good decisions, you can win that way.  But, the bottom line is the bottom line.  I'm not a Hendry basher.  I think he's a smart guy.  But you have to win.

Most of the current guys on the club have this strength and that deficiency.  But, really good clubs have guys like that all over the place. What's missing on this club are a few stars. Arguably, the only guy on the club who is among the very best at his position  is Marmol at closer.  We need a few impact players.

There will be money to spend next year to get a guy like that at 1B.  Sign Fielder or Pujols.  An impact guy at 1B.  The two biggest offensive holes are at #3 and #4, you fill one of those right there.  A year more experience and maturity, maybe Castro can be more of a #3 guy next year.  I don't know, but I could see that.

Either Kosuke or Byrd will be gone after this season--and B. Jackson takes over in CF--probably at leadoff.  That adds to overall team speed, a big deficiency of the current club.  That's Jackson-Barney-Castro-Fielder, top 1/2 of the lineup.  Kind of interesting.

If you sign Fielder or Pujols at 1B, maybe not a bad idea to see if Flaherty/LaMahieu can take over at 3B next year from day one.  They're not youngsters in terms of age.   Spend some more of cleared payroll on pitching.

Somebody recently compared the current version of Soriano to Dave Kingman.   Three or four years ago, that would have seemed ridiculous, but it's kinda true now.  Funny thing is that, for a time, Kingman was one of the Cubs best players.  I guess there are worse things than a bad defensive LFer who can slug .500.  The two comps to Kingman at baseballreference are Greg Vaughn and Frank Howard.  I think you can live with a LFer of that ilk at #6 or #7 in the lineup, even with poor defense.  By the way, is Soriano any worse defensively than Ryan Braun?   We' d all love to have Braun.

Give me stars at #3 and #4  in the lineup and a true ace #1 starter, a bit more overall team speed, and better defense---and you have a nice ballclub.   Presto!   

That brings me to Garza.  Not saying that he's a #1, but I think Garza has been terrific this season.  Love the guy.  And, he's 27.  I can't embrace the "mortgaging the future" argument when you get back a pitcher like this at that age.  He has really good stuff and he's tough-minded and durable (knock on wood).  He's far and away the best starting pitcher on the staff.  Glad to have him.

Ok, since everyone wants to get rid of Hendry, let's start hearing some names to replace him.  I'll start:

Kim Ng has paid her dues.  She's been an exec with the Dodgers and Yankees and seems to know the job well.  And she's available.

Let's call it constructive criticism.

How do you suppose Boris now feels about traveling all the way from Australia to see a team masquerading as a major league ball club?

I wonder if he is on the way and hasn't seen the results from Cincinnati yet.

Cactus mail.

That brings me to Garza.  Not saying that he's a #1, but I think Garza has been terrific this season.  Love the guy.  And, he's 27.  I can't embrace the "mortgaging the future" argument when you get back a pitcher like this at that age.  He has really good stuff and he's tough-minded and durable (knock on wood).  He's far and away the best starting pitcher on the staff.  Glad to have him.

I have nothing against Garza. He's a good pitcher. It's just that there's so much deadwood on this team that I expect him to be long gone through free agency before the Cubs play their next preseason game. So I'd much rather we'd kept Lee and Archer.