Has the 2006 Payroll Been Slashed?

[HoopsCubs]

Has an imposter replaced the Jim Hendry we once knew? Where is the guy, who made the Choi for Lee trade when Baltimore backed out at the 11th hour? Where is the guy, who pulled together the 4 team deal that netted the Cubs Nomar when it looked like the 3 team deal was about to collapse? Who has kidnapped the real Jim Hendry? Please bring him back.

 

All kidding aside, I'm begin to wonder if the Tribune has suddenly (privately) slashed Hendry's payroll from the $100-105M range down to $85M for 2006. Are the Cubs about to be sold? Is MacPhail being punished for failing to deliver a post-season berth in 2004 and 2005?

 

Honestly, only a sudden, reduced payroll can effectively explain Hendry's passiveness to this point. I would have expected to see a much hungrier GM considering what the 2005 season was like, and the fact that he is working for his next deal. Does he really think Eyre, Howry, Perez, Rusch, Pierre and a low OBP RF make this team any better?

 

He's got to be financially handcuffed, right?

 

Either that, or he has his extension already in place, but has decided to surround Dusty with below-average players, so there won't be any justification to bring him back in 2007 after 2006 tanks.

 

I feel like something else is going on in the background here that we don't fully know or understand. Hendry's lack of dealing just seems very uncharacteristic.

 

Hoops

[Uncle Jim]

Are the Cubs about to be sold? Is MacPhail being punished for failing to deliver a post-season berth in 2004 and 2005?

 

 

 

We can only hope!!! :D

[CubinNY]

Hoops,

 

I wish I had as much confidence in Hendry as you. It appears to me that so far Hendry has gotten almost everything he has wanted. The difference is it is not the same things as we want.

 

Hendry signed Perez and Rusch pretty quickly and above market value. He signed Howry and Eyre pretty quickly and set the market. He went out and got his "lead off hitter" after Furcal split for more dough.

 

To me it appears as if Hendry hasn't really thought too much about RF at all. He passed on Giles and insisted he could get a RFer via a trade.

 

No, so far Hendry seems to be on track. The track leads to nowhere though.

[CardsFanInChiTown]

If they are looking to slash payroll than why did Furcal just such a big offer?

[YearofDaCubs]

Funny you mention that because 2 months ago I pointed out that MacPhail did not seem too confident about having a 100mil payroll when he was interviewed by the Score. Can you imagine the audacity of this organization to raise tickets, build more seats in the stadium as well as more advertising and then cut payroll by 85 mil?

[RynoRules]

I completely agree and have been saying for a while that we do not have enough info to fully understand what is going on in the front office.

 

I think it is possible that MacPhail and Hendry are being "punished" and thatteh budget has been lessened. Why would the Trib hand them the keys to the Porsche when they'veonly earned a nice Toyota?

 

I am most intrieged by your final theory - that JH is purposefully "dumbing down" the roster to justify non-renewing Dusty (a la Angelo and Jauron). Its interesting, though not likely.

 

I think it is highly likely that jim is simply gun shy b/c he realizes that its his behind this year; playing not to lose and not being agreessive, and thus nothing is getting done.

Edited December 14, 2005 by RynoRules

[YearofDaCubs]

Hoops,

 

I wish I had as much confidence in Hendry as you. It appears to me that so far Hendry has gotten almost everything he has wanted. The difference is it is not the same things as we want.

 

Hendry signed Perez and Rusch pretty quickly and above market value. He signed Howry and Eyre pretty quickly and set the market. He went out and got his "lead off hitter" after Furcal split for more dough.

 

To me it appears as if Hendry hasn't really thought too much about RF at all. He passed on Giles and insisted he could get a RFer via a trade.

 

No, so far Hendry seems to be on track. The track leads to nowhere though.

Totally agree. It's getting really hard to be optimistic about the Cubs chances for next year.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

To me it appears as if Hendry hasn't really thought too much about RF at all. He passed on Giles and insisted he could get a RFer via a trade.

I really don't think that Giles was an option at all. It seemed like almost everyone knew he was going back to the Padres cause he didn't get barely any offers.

[JeffH]

Well, as it stands now, if you platooned Corey Patterson and Jerry Hairston in RF, made Jerome Williams your 5th starter, and added Ryan Theriot to the bench, your payroll would be around $92 million, so I doubt that the payroll has been cut to $85 million.

 

Not to let my naivete show, but it has always been said that the Cubs stood financially on their own - the payroll was not augmented by other Tribune revenue streams. If that's true, the payroll shouldn't be negatively affected by struggles in any other Tribune business lines.

[BigbadB]

I don't see it that way. He was given a blank check to spend on Furcal even after blowing ridiculous amounts of money on Rusch, Neifi and Eyre.

 

He had this blank check and they knew they still needed to fill holes in CF, RF and possibly in the rotation even after they signed Furcal.

 

It appears to me that he has just failed to land the guys "he" wanted.

 

I was worried at the end of the season that the Tribune might tighten the budget considering they now seem to be doing worse each year they expand the payroll. That doesn't seem to be the case.

 

To me, he gambled the entire offseason on landing Furcal.

 

That gamble might end up costing some jobs. But, I'll stop there. The offseason isn't over yet.

[CubinNY]

To me it appears as if Hendry hasn't really thought too much about RF at all. He passed on Giles and insisted he could get a RFer via a trade.

I really don't think that Giles was an option at all. It seemed like almost everyone knew he was going back to the Padres cause he didn't get barely any offers.

 

That could be. In which case the Pierre trade makes even less sense. For a marginal upgrade the Cubs gave up three of their biggest trade assests.

 

Please let us not rehash the Pierre signing here and stick to the topic of the thread.

Edited December 14, 2005 by CubinNY

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

RF never was a priority. Where else was Pie going to play after we acquired Pierre (who was always a Hendry target even if we got Furcal)? Whoever plays RF is just going to keep Pie's spot warm (in Hendry's ideal universe). I think that eliminates a FA outfielder like Jockstrap Jones b/c of the likely contract length (thank God) even though we have to deal with low production in a corner outfield spot (he's a CF, not a corner OF).

[BigbadB]

To me it appears as if Hendry hasn't really thought too much about RF at all. He passed on Giles and insisted he could get a RFer via a trade.

I really don't think that Giles was an option at all. It seemed like almost everyone knew he was going back to the Padres cause he didn't get barely any offers.

 

Was it that Giles wasn't interested in going anywhere but back to San Diego, or is it that no one offered enough money to justify a move?

 

I think it's that no one would cough up the 15m a year it would take to make him move. The Cubs had the money, the hole in the outfield, the hole in the middle of the order and it was a perfect fit. For the money it would have taken to sign Furcal (if he signed the Cubs deal), Neifi and Rusch, they could have had Giles. That's my opinion.

 

That, coupled with Hendry's mad love for Pierre to hit lead off, which he was still able to make happen whether he got Giles or not fixed that spot as well. Furcal was not someone we HAD to have. Giles, in my opinion, WAS!

 

We heard about LA's offer of 13m a year for Furcal. Where was the Cubs offer of 15m for Giles? Giles might have told Hendry from day 1 that he wasn't interested in leaving San Diego, but I still would have thrown out a 15m a year offer to see if he'd change his mind. And if he turned down 15m a year, I'd shut up about the whole thing.

 

Money and baseball players have always gone hand in hand. I'd have a tough time believing that Giles was so enamored with staying in San Diego that he would toss several million aside to stay. Especially considering SD not only lowballed him on a contract, but Hoffman as well and made NO offers for Ramon Hernandez.

 

I won't believe Hendry made an attempt to contact Giles until I hear he did. I won't believe Giles wanted to stay here in San Diego all along until I hear he rejected big money elsewhere.

[HoopsCubs]

RF never was a priority. Where else was Pie going to play after we acquired Pierre (who was always a Hendry target even if we got Furcal)? Whoever plays RF is just going to keep Pie's spot warm (in Hendry's ideal universe). I think that eliminates a FA outfielder like Jockstrap Jones b/c of the likely contract length (thank God) even though we have to deal with low production in a corner outfield spot (he's a CF, not a corner OF).

 

If what you are saying turns out to be true, then Hendry is probably waiting until Dec. 20 to see who gets non-tendered: maybe the Jay Gibbons/Craig Wilson platoon will be cheap.

[BigbadB]

RF never was a priority. Where else was Pie going to play after we acquired Pierre (who was always a Hendry target even if we got Furcal)? Whoever plays RF is just going to keep Pie's spot warm (in Hendry's ideal universe). I think that eliminates a FA outfielder like Jockstrap Jones b/c of the likely contract length (thank God) even though we have to deal with low production in a corner outfield spot (he's a CF, not a corner OF).

 

If what you are saying turns out to be true, then Hendry is probably waiting until Dec. 20 to see who gets non-tendered: maybe the Jay Gibbons/Craig Wilson platoon will be cheap.

 

He can't afford to go cheap in RF at this point.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

RF never was a priority. Where else was Pie going to play after we acquired Pierre (who was always a Hendry target even if we got Furcal)? Whoever plays RF is just going to keep Pie's spot warm (in Hendry's ideal universe). I think that eliminates a FA outfielder like Jockstrap Jones b/c of the likely contract length (thank God) even though we have to deal with low production in a corner outfield spot (he's a CF, not a corner OF).

 

If what you are saying turns out to be true, then Hendry is probably waiting until Dec. 20 to see who gets non-tendered: maybe the Jay Gibbons/Craig Wilson platoon will be cheap.

 

Why would Baltimore non-tender Gibbons?

 

I'd really like to pick up Wilson on the cheap, since he apparently isn't going to fit in with "Tracyball". I'm still a proponent of bringing in Rondell White for OF depth as well.

[craig]

Hoops, come in off the ledge!

 

I don't see Hendry functioning all that differently from his past.

 

Last year, he was allegedly very hot for Dan Kolb, but when the price got too high he stopped. Two years ago he wanted AJ Pierzynski, but when Twins demanded too much, he pulled back and settled for Barrett. We know he tried to trade for a RF last winter too, but when the prospect cost got too hot he stopped and settled for Burnitz. He wanted Kotsay this summer, but when the cost got too high, he stopped.

 

Seems to me he always decides about how far he's willing to go for a guy, and then if that's not enough he stops. That's to his credit, seems to me. Whether his choice of which guys to target and how much is too much, that's a matter for debate. But seems to me that when he's looking at guys now, he's doing the usual this-far-but-no-further as he always does, whether considering cost-in-trade or cost-for-FA. And since the supply-demand is so unfavorable this year, sellers are setting a very stiff price, be that FA's for money or teams in trade.

 

As Jeff notes, Hendry is already around $92 or so, with RF wide open. Add in the expected $9.5 he anticipated spending on Furcal and he'd be over $100, with RF still wide open and intent to fill that too. I don't think he's been choked by lack of funds. I think to a greater degree he's getting choked by a dwindling pool of trade-value minor leaguers.

[JeffH]

Craig, get the heck out of here with that reasonable analysis. That kind of thing is not welcome here.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I, too agree that the payroll hasn't been slashed, but it's more that there's not many players worth spending the money on. Hendry had allocated 9-10 million for Furcal, and when he didn't get him, he hasn't found a use for that money just yet. Maybe we'll see it spent on Tejada, but that remains to be seen.

[Lefty]

RF never was a priority. Where else was Pie going to play after we acquired Pierre (who was always a Hendry target even if we got Furcal)? Whoever plays RF is just going to keep Pie's spot warm (in Hendry's ideal universe). I think that eliminates a FA outfielder like Jockstrap Jones b/c of the likely contract length (thank God) even though we have to deal with low production in a corner outfield spot (he's a CF, not a corner OF).

 

If what you are saying turns out to be true, then Hendry is probably waiting until Dec. 20 to see who gets non-tendered: maybe the Jay Gibbons/Craig Wilson platoon will be cheap.

 

He can't afford to go cheap in RF at this point.

 

Cheap can still be productive. But I'll grant you, Hendry doesn't appear to be the best guy to make that argument.

[Andy]

Craig, get the heck out of here with that reasonable analysis. That kind of thing is not welcome here.

Yeah, Craig, that makes too much sense. I'm much happier here in the "Hang Hendry" mob. :wink:

[AramisRamirez]

if we went into the season with this lineup we'd get crushed. it would be a terrible terrible season. wood will make his first appearence 2 months into the season. he will promotly get rocked and go back on the DL. prior will pitch 150 IP. neifi will start and bat second (stab me with a rusty knife if thats the case).

 

now you add the RF we'll probably get (jacque jones is likely) we're still no where near the cards.

 

on the other hand, you bring in tejada for 3 prospects (not 5) we get good in a hurry. he changes our outlook. but a simple addition of jones and we're a 85 win team yet again.

 

does anybody have a syanide connection? im looking to score just in case opening day rolls around and neifi perez is batting #2 in the order. ill settle for a gun or heroin that i can shoot in my forehead also.

[sethuel1]

if we went into the season with this lineup we'd get crushed. it would be a terrible terrible season. wood will make his first appearence 2 months into the season. he will promotly get rocked and go back on the DL. prior will pitch 150 IP. neifi will start and bat second (stab me with a rusty knife if thats the case).

 

now you add the RF we'll probably get (jacque jones is likely) we're still no where near the cards.

 

on the other hand, you bring in tejada for 3 prospects (not 5) we get good in a hurry. he changes our outlook. but a simple addition of jones and we're a 85 win team yet again.

 

does anybody have a syanide connection? im looking to score just in case opening day rolls around and neifi perez is batting #2 in the order. ill settle for a gun or heroin that i can shoot in my forehead also.

nah, you've gotta inject the heroin into your eyeballs.

[craig]

I don't think he's been choked by lack of funds. I think to a greater degree he's getting choked by a dwindling pool of trade-value minor leaguers.

 

Just to belabor a bit more, I think part of this is his own choice, and partly the result of having some prospects too good to surrender easily.

 

It may be that Hendry is *not* offering Murton, or Cedeno, or Pie, or Guzman. Perhaps not even Hill.

 

For Tejada or Dunn, sure. But I don't think he's shopping many of those kinds of prospects for Aubrey Huff or earlier for Brad Wilkerson. I think he's seeing most of those guys (perhaps not all...) as A prospects who he won't trade except for a very good major leaguer. If a couple of those guys weren't quite so good, and were more in the B+ class like Nolasco or Brendan Harris or Beltran or Bobby Hill when they were traded, Hendry might have alittle more to work with.

 

But he's kind of asking a lot from his farm. He wants it to fill LF (Murton) and SS (Cedeno), the Maddux rotation spot (Guzman or Hill), he's already spent farm parts to get Pierre, and he still wants the farm to have enough left over to get a good RF and a good middle infielder. All this while having two recent farm graduates integral guys in the pen (Ohman and Wuertz), plus having another youngster (Williams) already in the rotatin.

 

Not a lot of farm systems have that kind of blend of quality and quantity and depth.

[goonys evil twin]

Craig, get the heck out of here with that reasonable analysis. That kind of thing is not welcome here.

Yeah, Craig, that makes too much sense. I'm much happier here in the "Hang Hendry" mob. :wink:

 

Well, it's either the Trib secretly slashed the payroll and Jim has been handcuffed, or Jim is incompetent. If you believe Hoops' theory, that would be somewhat of a defense for Hendry (although it would really bring into question the overspending on mediocrity).