Kurkjian: Don't Blame Dusty

[Tracer Bullet]

Phew - it's not Dusty's fault after all. It's the injuries. If Lee, Prior and Wood were here, we wouldn't be last in nearly every offensive catergory. I was starting to get worried that there was really a problem with this team, guess it's just injuries.

 

From today's chat on ESPN:

 

Jon (Milwaukee, WI): Do you think that Dusty Baker will finish the season as the Cubs manager? Please tell me no!

 

SportsNation Tim Kurkjian: (1:07 PM ET ) I do. If he doesn't get fired today, on an off day, after being swept by the Marlins, my guess is he is going to make it through the season. I don't think he will get fired today. The Cubs are terrible right now but I can't blame the manager for that. The injuries to Prior, Wood and Lee are too much for any manager to overcome.

 

This only bothers me because if "respected" baseball people, like Kurkjian, are giving Dusty a pass, it makes it easier for Hendry to not only not fire him, but give him an extension. Ugh.

[sethuel1]

Bite me, Tim Kurkjian.

[CubfaninCA]

hey tim, they got wood back and have taken a further nosedive.

 

i didn't expect them to be over .500, w/ the injuries, but getting swept by florida's ridiculous.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Hey, Tim whatever your last name is. You have a face for radio and a voice for print. When you can stop watching the Orioles for more than a minute, then you may comment on my formerly beloved Cubs. Grow some nads, lump Baker and Hendry together, and proudly proclaim "yes they deserve to be fired and I hope they burn in hell!"

[abuck1220]

yeah, once prior gets back this offense is really going to take off.

 

i hate to defend dusty, but the majority of the blame does go to hendry. all the promise he showed in 2003 is but a distant memory now. the guy is a terrible GM. i want dusty fired too, but as long as hendry's in charge, it probably won't matter.

[Tracer Bullet]

Gets better. A few minutes later, he absolves Hendry of liability too. Not sure where the buck stops for Tim.

 

Mike (St. Louis): How/why did Hendry get an extension?

 

Tim Kurkjian: (1:36 PM ET ) Jim Hendry has done a good job with the Cubs. He deserved an extension. The injuries to his team are not his fault either. Having said that, if they at any point put a great deal of emphasis on Wood and Prior carrying the team, they are making a mistake. As talented as those guys are, they are just not durable enough right now to carry a team.

 

Leaving aside his claim that Wood and Prior are fragile (a separate point) - assuming that's true, and that the Cubs put a "great deal of emphasis" on them carrying the team - why isn't Hendry at fault? I did not realize Kurkjian was a moron.

[oldstyle81]

Phew - it's not Dusty's fault after all. It's the injuries. If Lee, Prior and Wood were here, we wouldn't be last in nearly every offensive catergory. I was starting to get worried that there was really a problem with this team, guess it's just injuries.

 

From today's chat on ESPN:

 

Jon (Milwaukee, WI): Do you think that Dusty Baker will finish the season as the Cubs manager? Please tell me no!

 

SportsNation Tim Kurkjian: (1:07 PM ET ) I do. If he doesn't get fired today, on an off day, after being swept by the Marlins, my guess is he is going to make it through the season. I don't think he will get fired today. The Cubs are terrible right now but I can't blame the manager for that. The injuries to Prior, Wood and Lee are too much for any manager to overcome.

 

This only bothers me because if "respected" baseball people, like Kurkjian, are giving Dusty a pass, it makes it easier for Hendry to not only not fire him, but give him an extension. Ugh.

 

the only thing that might be a positive is that kurkjackassistan isint around chicago very often. Dusty and Moron will have to put up with local media

[CubfaninCA]

baker's a lot more at fault. the players have taken on his "whoa is us" attitude. baker's supposed to be the motivator.

[Banedon]

It looks like he's just tiptoeing around this, not wanting to offend anyone...

 

The Dish (Carol Stream, IL): If the injuries aren't Hendry or Baker's fault, then who is to blame? Shouldn't Baker be at fault for pitching Prior and Wood to the edge in 2003? Is it Rothschild's fault? A trainer perhaps?

 

Tim Kurkjian: (1:39 PM ET ) It's a little bit of everyone's fault including ownership. At some point they are going to have to spend even more money to upgrade the team with premium free agents if the Cubs are going to win the World Series for the first time since the early 1900s. There is blame to go around in plenty of places but it is just not right to blame a trainer or pitching coach or any one person.

[oldstyle81]

baker's a lot more at fault. the players have taken on his "whoa is us" attitude. baker's supposed to be the motivator.

 

whoa as in we are so bad

 

or

 

Woe is us

[soccer10k]

Phew - it's not Dusty's fault after all. It's the injuries. If Lee, Prior and Wood were here, we wouldn't be last in nearly every offensive catergory. I was starting to get worried that there was really a problem with this team, guess it's just injuries.

 

From today's chat on ESPN:

 

Jon (Milwaukee, WI): Do you think that Dusty Baker will finish the season as the Cubs manager? Please tell me no!

 

SportsNation Tim Kurkjian: (1:07 PM ET ) I do. If he doesn't get fired today, on an off day, after being swept by the Marlins, my guess is he is going to make it through the season. I don't think he will get fired today. The Cubs are terrible right now but I can't blame the manager for that. The injuries to Prior, Wood and Lee are too much for any manager to overcome.

 

This only bothers me because if "respected" baseball people, like Kurkjian, are giving Dusty a pass, it makes it easier for Hendry to not only not fire him, but give him an extension. Ugh.

 

Didn't Peter Gammons rip the Cubs a few days ago?

[Magnetic Curses]

baker's a lot more at fault. the players have taken on his "whoa is us" attitude. baker's supposed to be the motivator.

 

baker's philosophy of "always be aggressive" is killing the team. i think hendry's more at fault than dusty, but firing dusty---and, most importantly, gene clines, will go a long way towards improving the OBP and SLG of this ballclub.

[soccer10k]

Bite me, Tim Kurkjian.

 

Agreed.

[goonys evil twin]

It looks like he's just tiptoeing around this, not wanting to offend anyone...

 

The Dish (Carol Stream, IL): If the injuries aren't Hendry or Baker's fault, then who is to blame? Shouldn't Baker be at fault for pitching Prior and Wood to the edge in 2003? Is it Rothschild's fault? A trainer perhaps?

 

Tim Kurkjian: (1:39 PM ET ) It's a little bit of everyone's fault including ownership. At some point they are going to have to spend even more money to upgrade the team with premium free agents if the Cubs are going to win the World Series for the first time since the early 1900s. There is blame to go around in plenty of places but it is just not right to blame a trainer or pitching coach or any one person.

 

What a namby pamby something or other.

 

Andy and Hendry have to love that this sort of feeling is still out there. You can blame so many people that you can't blame anybody, that way everybody gets off scott free. Bullhonky! Lots of people screwed up and changes need to be made. Falling back on the "spend more money" line is just a cowardice way out of explaining the problem. Why should spending more money help them if spending as much as they have for many years has left them where they are.

[Fro]

We need to start e-mailing all these clowns and telling them that 5-20 while playing most of the worst teams in the NL is unacceptable, no matter how many injuries we have.

 

It'd be one thing if we were playing .400 ball over the last 25 games, but we're way worse than that.

Edited May 25, 2006 by Fro

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Does Tim realize that a good GM would have already thought of obtaining more premium free agents? Isn't that what he said, Hendry's doing a good job?

[Master Shake]

Didn't we invade Kurkijan a couple years ago? I heard they were sponsoring terrorists.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

baker's a lot more at fault. the players have taken on his "whoa is us" attitude. baker's supposed to be the motivator.

 

baker's philosophy of "always be aggressive" is killing the team. i think hendry's more at fault than dusty, but firing dusty---and, most importantly, gene clines, will go a long way towards improving the OBP and SLG of this ballclub.

 

Get rid of everyone, MacPhail on down.

 

Oh yeah, and what sethuel said.

[Chocolate Milk]

Wow, what weak sauce wishy washy answers. Thanks for the insight, Tim.

[abuck1220]

wow, i didn't know the BS "bad luck" line was being bought at a national level. good to know that this horrible three year run is NOT the fault of hendry, baker, rothschild, or the trainers. BAD BREAKS!!!

[Banedon]

wow, i didn't know the BS "bad luck" line was being bought at a national level.

 

I don't think Gammons is buying it.

[Magnetic Curses]

wow, i didn't know the BS "bad luck" line was being bought at a national level.

 

bad luck is a very valid reason for a lack of success over a 5 game stretch, but when the stretch is over 20 games, then bad luck is a lame excuse for poor management at every level.

[CubfaninCA]

when did 2004 become horrible?

[Chocolate Milk]

when did 2004 become horrible?

 

Right towards the end, I think.

[TheDude]

I can't be the only one that noticed he said the Cubs are both terrible and suffered injuries. I don't have a "burn everyone" mentality, but someone should definately be held to some standard.

 

So I dislike the -everyone is to blame but not anyone specifically- line from Kurkijan. I think the hitting and pitching coaches are far more accountable than Hendry though.

 

Teams can win with toolsy complimentary players if coached properly. It may not be the favorite philosophy of this board (understatement of the year?), but it isn't necessarily destined for failure like this team demonstrates.