Jim Hendry Scheduled to be on Bruce Levine's Show

[JWCUB]

haha, the screener won't let me on air b/c my question isn't nice. :cry:

 

What was your question?

[Blueheart05]

haha, the screener won't let me on air b/c my question isn't nice. :cry:

 

You have to be crafty and switch it up once on air. :wink:

[BigbadB]

- ability is there to get hits, but we didn't have timely hitting last year

 

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

more pressure on b/c WSox won

- i guess

- we had such a bad year and they had a great year

- we won 79 games

- we were knocking on the door (2003) and it hasn't happened

- the bar was raised in '03

- we were better than '03 in '04

- it's my responisibility for the things that don't go well

 

phone

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if OF is solidified, why not move Pie or trade him?

 

only plays OF. no deal was offered that was appropriate and had no desire to trade him. most GMs ask for Pie up front even in the average type deals. he's not untouchable. anybody is possible to be traded if it makes the team better.

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Break Time

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

haha, the screener won't let me on air b/c my question isn't nice. :cry:

 

You have to be crafty and switch it up once on air. :wink:

 

:lol: :wink:

[Blueheart05]

- ability is there to get hits, but we didn't have timely hitting last year

 

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not.

 

I'm not so sure that the timely hitting was there. We left a lot of runners in scoring position including a number of basesloaded situations IIRC.

[BigbadB]

- cedeno and murton could eventually be #2 hitters

- we think we have some good candidates for the 2 hole

 

Eventually? I will absolutely scream if Neifi or Jones see any part of the top of the order this year.

 

Nice question for Jim:

 

Jim, did you know that Neifi Perez hit .305 in the 7th spot in the order last year? Did you also know that Neifi Perez hit .318 in the 8th spot?

 

Can you make sure Dusty knows this too?

[Banghart]

- ability is there to get hits, but we didn't have timely hitting last year

 

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not.

That is a really important point that we have to look at. The reason that came up was Levine asked Hendry a question about why did the Cubs lead the league in hits and last in walks. Levine said it was really strange how the Cubs did so well hitting, and were ninth in runs.

 

Hendry answered by saying that really strange to lead the league in hits, but just didn't get the job done with runners on third. It was a poor year in doing what you have to do. We are going to score more runs this year. We are going to be able to do more things this year like hit and run and run a bit more.

 

That was paraphrased, but Hendry did not say one word about the fact that the Cubs were last in walks or low OBP of the team. The focus was again on timely hitting, and the Cubs improved their offense because they should be able to run more.

 

There was one other thing that was interesting was the fact that Hendry made a specific point in saying that Murton and Cedeno could be no. 2 hitters down the line.

 

-Banghart

[BigbadB]

- ability is there to get hits, but we didn't have timely hitting last year

 

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not.

 

I'm not so sure that the timely hitting was there. We left a lot of runners in scoring position including a number of basesloaded situations IIRC.

 

It's difficult to have timely hitting when there are not many guys on base to create timely hitting in the first place.

[Balsa]

- ability is there to get hits, but we didn't have timely hitting last year

 

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not.

 

I'm not so sure that the timely hitting was there. We left a lot of runners in scoring position including a number of basesloaded situations IIRC.

 

It's difficult to have timely hitting when there are not many guys on base to create timely hitting in the first place.

 

Walks are fine but I'd rather have a team that relied on timely hits. You can't build a team around telling guys to walk. You can just try to stress pitch selection, which should lead to better hitting and more walks.

 

EDIT: I wouldn't be surprised if we were in the top five for runners left in scoring position. That happened all the time last year.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

- i enjoy ST unless we lose guys right off like in '04

- my kid is a big cubs fan

 

phone

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i've coached HS over 20 years. team chemistry is an intangible. great players don't equate to winning...arizona and anaheim for example. do you as GM get involved in that capacity or stay in clubhouse.

 

important to have good clubhouse. we haven't not won b/c of clubhouse. at pro level, it goes hand in hand with winning. it snowballs when winning, or pulling out of a bad stretch, like the WSox did last year when they ran the table after slumping. we added high character guys in offseason. the bigger the market, the more scrutiny. chemistry goes hand in hand with winning players.

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dusty's contract (and yours)

- i don't worry about it, never have

- you shouldn't presume extensions are there

- live out the contract

- we need to do better than last year - our main goal

 

phone

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in sept. Aramis was announced would undergo offseason workout program.

 

capable of having monster DLee numbers. young guy, 27 years old. hitting is natural for him. groin has become a chronic problem for him. he's in great shape. our guys have visited him in Dominican.

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- ARam hasn't been negligent, but usually it takes a jolt (like Prior who never had a twinge in his life until last year).

 

changes at Wrigley (bleachers, restaurant)

- haven't been out there a whole lot (arby contracts kept me busy)

- we've enhanced Wrigley w/o harming ballpark

- get more people in the seats and help us

 

stan zalinksi (scout)

- great scout who wants to stay with hs and college kids

- can rely on for pro trades

- Barrett and Rusch were his guys

- scouted Jacque Jones (felt Jones would surprise some people)

 

are we right there with houston and st. louis now?

- they deserve the recognition they've gotten

- we need to get out of the gate better

- cards have been ahead of us big time by may

- division will be tight battle

- don't assume cards are worse b/c of losses

- we improved defensively and athletically

 

Clemens

- don't know if he'll continue to pitch

- great pitcher, hopes goes to another team besides houston if pitches, lol

 

later Jim!

 

DLee is coming on soon. 8)

[BigbadB]

- ability is there to get hits, but we didn't have timely hitting last year

 

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not.

 

I'm not so sure that the timely hitting was there. We left a lot of runners in scoring position including a number of basesloaded situations IIRC.

 

It's difficult to have timely hitting when there are not many guys on base to create timely hitting in the first place.

 

Walks are fine but I'd rather have a team that relied on timely hits. You can't build a team around telling guys to walk. You can just try to stress pitch selection, which should lead to better hitting and more walks.

 

Having guys on base to be driven in isn't just walks. But, the only thing lacking from the Cubs offense last year was walks. Toss another 150 walks on their team stats for last year and the problem with run scoring isn't even a discussion.

[RynoRules]

Wow, Meat. Fantastic summary. Thanks much.

 

He did not say anything unexpected, and I am thrilled that Murton and Cedeno will be starting. If those two play at a high level, this an entirely different team.

 

Just one optimistic view.

[bmkhawk]

I'd ask why aren't you forward thinking enough to have landed Andy Marte and Kelly Shoppach for yourself, instead of wasting time on deadbeats like Jacques Jones, Neifi Perez, Marquis Grissom and Pagan Angel? Just curious Jim.

 

Instead of wasting your thoughts away on pipe dreams, how 'bout you come up with some possible scenario where the Cubs could actually acquire those two without giving up some key component for next year's team? I don't see the Cubs just sitting around with an extra Coco Crisp to throw the Red Sox way and please don't suggest Patterson.

 

So many fans here seem insistant on focusing on the "why not" rather than the "how"...no wonder so many have a warped sense of reality. Of course, playing video game GMs have that impact sometimes....

 

Thanks for taking a personal shot at dkwg at the end there. That was uncalled for.

Oh please.

 

Don't be so overly sensitive.

 

Anyone who thinks that the Cubs could have gotten Marte and Shoppach without messing up the team the Cubs are going to put on the field this year is in a fantasy land. It's not hard to pull of these trades in video games...maybe that is a factor in leading to this warped perception of reality.

 

"Personal shot"? Give me a break.

[Balsa]

Hendry seems really convinced that Jones is better than his numbers suggest.

 

If he's right, I'm going to give Hendry a lot of credit. If not, I'll be prepared to call for his head.

 

Basically, my opinion of Hendry rests on Jones' performance.

[BigbadB]

I'd ask why aren't you forward thinking enough to have landed Andy Marte and Kelly Shoppach for yourself, instead of wasting time on deadbeats like Jacques Jones, Neifi Perez, Marquis Grissom and Pagan Angel? Just curious Jim.

 

Instead of wasting your thoughts away on pipe dreams, how 'bout you come up with some possible scenario where the Cubs could actually acquire those two without giving up some key component for next year's team? I don't see the Cubs just sitting around with an extra Coco Crisp to throw the Red Sox way and please don't suggest Patterson.

 

So many fans here seem insistant on focusing on the "why not" rather than the "how"...no wonder so many have a warped sense of reality. Of course, playing video game GMs have that impact sometimes....

 

Thanks for taking a personal shot at dkwg at the end there. That was uncalled for.

Oh please.

 

Don't be so overly sensitive.

 

Anyone who thinks that the Cubs could have gotten Marte and Shoppach without messing up the team the Cubs are going to put on the field this year is in a fantasy land. It's not hard to pull of these trades in video games...maybe that is a factor in leading to this warped perception of reality.

 

"Personal shot"? Give me a break.

 

READ THE PM I SENT YOU!

 

And a refresher course on the NSBB Guidelines might be in order as well, which you can find in my sig.

Edited January 28, 2006 by BigbadB

[JWCUB]

Hey Meat, did it sound as if Hendry is done making moves for the winter?

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Hendry seems really convinced that Jones is better than his numbers suggest.

 

If he's right, I'm going to give Hendry a lot of credit. If not, I'll be prepared to call for his head.

 

Basically, my opinion of Hendry rests on Jones' performance.

 

it seems like that view comes from Zalinski and Hendry trusts Zalinski (scout).

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Hey Meat, did it sound as if Hendry is done making moves for the winter?

 

he didn't say anything about making more moves. i don't know if that implies he's done.

 

my opinion:

we're not done if the right deal came along. it sounds like hendry has been tied up doing the arbitration work with Prior, Z, etc. so the deal-making period may have cooled off for us. we're pretty set other than a starting middle infielder (possibly), but it sounds like Cedeno is getting a starting SS job and we have 3 guys who can play 2B (Perez, Hairston, Walker).

[Balsa]

Hendry seems really convinced that Jones is better than his numbers suggest.

 

If he's right, I'm going to give Hendry a lot of credit. If not, I'll be prepared to call for his head.

 

Basically, my opinion of Hendry rests on Jones' performance.

 

it seems like that view comes from Zalinski and Hendry trusts Zalinski (scout).

 

That doesn't mean that I'm not gonna blame Hendry if Jones is a bust. Or give him credit if he perfroms well. Hendry committed the guy to a three year deal after two bad years. It was his choice to follow that scout's advice. Hendry better hope he's right.

[Balsa]

Some parts that made me really optimistic:

 

- confident Mark Prior is completely healthy

- Wood should be ready open week (or at worst a couple weeks behind according to doctor who did surgery)

- Rusch and Williams are fine

 

Maddux hired a trainer in offseason (first time in 20 years he's done that)

- Greg has been really getting after it

 

We need need need those pitchers to stay healthy. That bit about Maddux is especially encouraging. It'll be great if he's off to a better start.

 

Our season depends on this pitching to stay healthy. It's as simple as that.

 

EDIT: How many Cubs players is that now that are training in the offseason?

 

Hairston

Maddux

Barrett

Zambrano?

Aramis

Pierre

...?

Edited January 28, 2006 by Balsa

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Hendry seems really convinced that Jones is better than his numbers suggest.

 

If he's right, I'm going to give Hendry a lot of credit. If not, I'll be prepared to call for his head.

 

Basically, my opinion of Hendry rests on Jones' performance.

 

it seems like that view comes from Zalinski and Hendry trusts Zalinski (scout).

 

That doesn't mean that I'm not gonna blame Hendry if Jones is a bust. Or give him credit if he perfroms well. Hendry committed the guy to a three year deal after two bad years. It was his choice to follow that scout's advice. Hendry better hope he's right.

 

i completely agree, although i am somewhat comforted that it was Zalinski, who has a good track record with guys like Barrett and Rusch (scrap heap special), rather than a general impression of the scouts. i've given up all hope that Hendry knows what OBP is, so we'd better pray Zalinski is on the money.

[JWCUB]

Some parts that made me really optimistic:

 

- confident Mark Prior is completely healthy

- Wood should be ready open week (or at worst a couple weeks behind according to doctor who did surgery)

- Rusch and Williams are fine

 

Maddux hired a trainer in offseason (first time in 20 years he's done that)

- Greg has been really getting after it

 

We need need need those pitchers to stay healthy. That bit about Maddux is especially encouraging. It'll be great if he's off to a better start.

 

Our season depends on this pitching to stay healthy. It's as simple as that.

 

And IF the pitching stays healthy, then we have an over-load of pitchers we can deal at the deadline. Could be a great position to be in. But as we all know that the if is a HUGE IF.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

- ability is there to get hits, but we didn't have timely hitting last year

 

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not.

 

I'm not so sure that the timely hitting was there. We left a lot of runners in scoring position including a number of basesloaded situations IIRC.

 

It's difficult to have timely hitting when there are not many guys on base to create timely hitting in the first place.

 

Walks are fine but I'd rather have a team that relied on timely hits. You can't build a team around telling guys to walk. You can just try to stress pitch selection, which should lead to better hitting and more walks.

 

EDIT: I wouldn't be surprised if we were in the top five for runners left in scoring position. That happened all the time last year.

 

You cannot rely on timely hitting. You can't get "timely hitters". Everyone would like to come up with the timely hit, but you're just rolling the dice to see if you come up with success. When you build a team that can take a walk, not only do you have more opportunities to come up with that hit, but you aren't as dependent on the luck outside your control.

[Balsa]

You cannot rely on timely hitting. You can't get "timely hitters". Everyone would like to come up with the timely hit, but you're just rolling the dice to see if you come up with success. When you build a team that can take a walk, not only do you have more opportunities to come up with that hit, but you aren't as dependent on the luck outside your control.

 

I agree to an extent. But I would never build a team with walks as my centerpiece. I would much rather have a hit than a walk. Like I said, the best case is to build up a player's pitch selection so they don't end up chasing pitches six inches above their head ala Corey Patterson. Corey's problem wasn't that he didn't take enough walks per se, it was that his pitch selection was crap, which lead to less walks and less hits than he should have had.