Trib article suggests end is near for inept coaching staff!

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

How much blame do you guys/gals put on Dusty and how much on Hendry? Until this season, it seems Hendry addressed every part of the team except the bullpen. So, I think Dusty was forced, many times, to stick with his starters longer than he would have wanted. I know he does some dumb things but with a better GM, he could have been better.

 

I place a lot of blame on Dusty. It goes all the way back to 2004. That team had as much talent as anyone and should have made the playoffs. Dusty is the manager and the team underacheived, especially in the last ten days of the season. That was the first strike against Dusty.

 

Last season, the team made numerous mistakes and mental errors. Dusty rather than addressing them, made excuse after excuse. That was the third strike.

 

This debacle of a season was strike three and it's time for him to go. I strongly believe his method and philosophy have influence Hendry on FA signings and roster moves. I have to wonder how much the Neifi and Rusch contracts might have been on account of Dusty pushing to have them brought back into the fold. I don't know the inside conversations, so I can't say for sure, but it does seem that Hendry has considered Dusty's ideas in roster configuration.

 

The losing streaks are another reason Dusty must go. Even bad teams win occassionally. When this team loses, it loses in a funk of 5-7 in a row. It's the manager's job to stop that.

 

Furthermore, when Baker was brought in, he was supposed to have a number of positives.

 

1. He would cultivate a culture of winning. Well, for the first two seasons, yes, but after that I've seen none of that attitude.

 

2. He would make FA recruitment easier as they would want to play for him. Well, since his arrival we've done nothing to attract the best FA. They still routinely choose the most dollars. In fact, we've signed no marquee FA (outside of bullpen arms) since Dusty's arrival.

 

3. He gets the most out of his players. It appears that Cubs players have underachieved under Dusty rather than overachieved. And when they overachieve, Dusty over-uses them and we end up with a 2-yr deal for Glendon Rusch.

 

He has no strenghts as I see them, and surely none to justify his contract. He, if I'm not mistaken, is paid more than any other manager. Could the 3 extra million we spend on Dusty not be better used in international scouting or on a major league player?

 

I've been on record saying I'd fire Hendry too if I were in control. That being said, Hendry's mistakes in no way absolve Dusty of his.

Edited July 5, 2006 by vance_the_cubs_fan

[Bruce Miles]

I don't think he is referring to the Cubs currently having a "quality pitching staff". I think he is saying the Cubs currently have the nucleus in terms of position players(the ones he mentioned) now they need to put together a quality pitching staff to complement.

 

The Cubs do not have a nucleus of position players, their position players suck. They need to put together a lineup and a pitching staff.

 

Do you really want to get rid of all the position players? If not, who would you keep. I'd guess DLee. Anyone else? Barrett? ARam? Murton? Cedeno? Walker (maybe for one more year)? None of the above?

 

Only Lee approaches irreplacable status, but I'd trade any of them in the right deal.

 

Agreed.

 

BTW, I l read up on Shines in Rogers' article this morning. Seems like a sharp guy.

 

8-[

 

 

 

 

Lets hope that Sullivan is dead on here.

 

 

Nicely played. Anybody named Razor would have to be sharp.

[Jehrico]

Hendry gets some blame for giving Jones, Neifi, and Rusch inflated, multiyear contracts. He also gets votes for the horrible Pierre trade and not having enough depth pitching wise.

 

However, despite all of that, despite the injuries, this team is better than they are performing. Dusty's career has been built on getting the most out of mediocre players, and he has been absolutely ineffective in that department. He's lost his touch. He might still be able to keep most of his players morale up and he might still be able to keep their respect, but he isn't getting the most out of hardly anyone on the team, other than maybe Jones, Barrett, and Blanco right now. Everyone else, IMO, could be doing better than what they are.

[Roast]

OMG AWESOME THREAD FIRE FIRE FIRE DUSTY NOW.

 

God i cant wait to hear the news. I can immagine it now...It will be like winning a game or something. I forget how that feels tho.

[Magnetic Curses]

maybe i'm totally off, but wasn't it razor shines that made that famous catch back in the 90s when he literally ran through the outfield wall?

 

If that's true, the man should be running the whole friggin' league.

 

that was brian mcrae, i think.

[AR-Baseball-Fan]

Waiting for Dusty to be fired reminds me of the feelings I had as a child waiting to open Christmas presents/ :D

[Ding Dong Johnson]

maybe i'm totally off, but wasn't it razor shines that made that famous catch back in the 90s when he literally ran through the outfield wall?

 

If that's true, the man should be running the whole friggin' league.

 

that was brian mcrae, i think.

 

Rodney McCray

[Magnetic Curses]

hendry supplies baker with the players baker wants, baker tells them to be aggressive but not to strike out.

 

hendry thinks that catching the ball can help score runs, dusty just wants his horses back.

 

the modern game has passed them by, men like them are going the way of the dodo.

[Magnetic Curses]

maybe i'm totally off, but wasn't it razor shines that made that famous catch back in the 90s when he literally ran through the outfield wall?

 

If that's true, the man should be running the whole friggin' league.

 

that was brian mcrae, i think.

 

Rodney McCray

 

rodney dangerfield.

[CubsInNC]

maybe i'm totally off, but wasn't it razor shines that made that famous catch back in the 90s when he literally ran through the outfield wall?

 

If that's true, the man should be running the whole friggin' league.

 

that was brian mcrae, i think.

 

Rodney McCray

 

rodney dangerfield.

 

Considering most of the time that Razor played for the Indianapolis Indians, they had solid brick walls, I don't think so, but it would be a good story. He used to drive snowplows in Indianapolis during the off-season.

[BigbadB]

I place as much, if not more, blame on Hendry.

 

But, Hendry firing Baker and his clowns is a step in the right direction. Hendry has a lot of the blame directed at him because he trusted Dusty's opinion on what kind of players he should sign.

 

The manager should not be making those decisions. The manager should be deciding how to correctly fill out a line up card, motivating the players to give their all, preaching fundamentals and putting the best team on the field. A manager is a field general. He leads his troups into combat with the goal of winning every battle.

 

The general manager is the guy who chooses the right guys (field general and troups) to go to battle.

 

It's not nearly that simple, but Hendry is guilty of allowing his manager to have too much say in how this team operates. That Hendry has taken this long to recognize this is a direct reflection of Hendry.

 

Firing Dusty and his clowns will not fix this team. It is however the first step needed to fix all the things that need to be fixed.

 

Speier is the perfect interim, IMO. While Razor sounds like the kind of guy I could get on board with, I doubt the Sox give Hendry permission to speak to him during the season. They have their own managerial issues going on too. He might be a candidate at season's end, but realistically, an interim is probably the only real option at this time. Hendry needs to take a more hands on approach to the rest of this season and just keep Speier on as his puppet.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

maybe i'm totally off, but wasn't it razor shines that made that famous catch back in the 90s when he literally ran through the outfield wall?

 

If that's true, the man should be running the whole friggin' league.

 

that was brian mcrae, i think.

 

Rodney McCray

 

rodney dangerfield.

 

Since I can't make a play on Dangerfield, I'll just point out that it really was Rodney McCray who ran through the wall.

 

Dammit, no other Dangerfields?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

"Razor Shines"? Awesome.

 

My recollection is that White Sox fans thought he'd get promoted up a year or two ago, but he had been outspoken about problems in the organization ... or maybe even he just joked about the White Sox not making the playoffs in '04? I'm trying to remember, there was some minor controversy, I'm sure someone else here remembers.

 

Actually, I believe that was Wally Backman?

 

Baseball Reference[/url]"]Backman was considered to be a candidate for the parent team Chicago White Sox managerial job after Jerry Manuel was fired following the 2003 season. However, reports emerged that Backman had been not-so-discreetly rooting against the White Sox during the season, in the hopes that Manuel would be let go and the managerial position would open up. As a result, the White Sox organization severed ties with Backman and he was hired by the Arizona Diamondbacks to manager their Class A Lancaster affiliate.

[cubfan1955]

I place as much, if not more, blame on Hendry.

 

But, Hendry firing Baker and his clowns is a step in the right direction. Hendry has a lot of the blame directed at him because he trusted Dusty's opinion on what kind of players he should sign.

 

The manager should not be making those decisions. The manager should be deciding how to correctly fill out a line up card, motivating the players to give their all, preaching fundamentals and putting the best team on the field. A manager is a field general. He leads his troups into combat with the goal of winning every battle.

 

The general manager is the guy who chooses the right guys (field general and troups) to go to battle.

 

It's not nearly that simple, but Hendry is guilty of allowing his manager to have too much say in how this team operates. That Hendry has taken this long to recognize this is a direct reflection of Hendry.

 

Firing Dusty and his clowns will not fix this team. It is however the first step needed to fix all the things that need to be fixed.

 

Speier is the perfect interim, IMO. While Razor sounds like the kind of guy I could get on board with, I doubt the Sox give Hendry permission to speak to him during the season. They have their own managerial issues going on too. He might be a candidate at season's end, but realistically, an interim is probably the only real option at this time. Hendry needs to take a more hands on approach to the rest of this season and just keep Speier on as his puppet.

Great point. While at SF I don't think Sabean and Dusty were best buds. Sabean supplied the players as he saw fit and I don't think Dusty had much input and I think I know now why that was.

[TheDude]

I don't place but a fraction of the blame on Hendry. Like most GMs, Hendry has both good and bad transactions on his resume. The good have had a greater impact to the roster than the bad and several moves that hindsight would declare bad/mediocre/flop were actually considered good at the time (Hawkins, Garciaparra, and Remlinger as examples).

 

But Hendry has brought in/up good talent that simply didn't work out - and that is primarily Baker's staff's fault or plain bad luck. The list of names that failed under the Baker regime but went on to success elsewhere is piling up, and only the lower minor league guys like Nolasco and Sisco are Baker independent.

 

What was Hendry supposed to do when he supplied a talent to Baker and the talent simply didn't get playing time or proper instruction? Was Hendry at that point supposed to continue feeding Baker talent that wouldn't play, or actually get talent Baker would play?

 

You have to figure at some point Hendry's actions became tainted by Baker's execution. You throw a Choi, Patterson, or Dubois at Baker and it doesn't stick. You throw a Jones or Pierre at Baker and it does.

 

Get a management team that excels at youth development and plate discipline and the influence on the GM will correspondingly be felt.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

What was Hendry supposed to do when he supplied a talent to Baker and the talent simply didn't get playing time or proper instruction? Was Hendry at that point supposed to continue feeding Baker talent that wouldn't play, or actually get talent Baker would play?

 

He is Dusty's boss. If he has a plan, he should not let one of his subordinates get in the way of its execution.

[cubfan1955]

What was Hendry supposed to do when he supplied a talent to Baker and the talent simply didn't get playing time or proper instruction? Was Hendry at that point supposed to continue feeding Baker talent that wouldn't play, or actually get talent Baker would play?

 

He is Dusty's boss. If he has a plan, he should not let one of his subordinates get in the way of its execution.

Dusty and execution in the same post. Just reword it now. :D

 

Good point though.

[RynoRules]

Obviously Hendry deserves much of the blame, but this is a good step in the right direction if it happens. Hendry will then be on an Isiah Thomas like one year, plan IMO (i.e., if they stink again in 07', I think his head will role in spite of the fact that he will have a year left on his deal).

[Electron Blue]

What was Hendry supposed to do when he supplied a talent to Baker and the talent simply didn't get playing time or proper instruction? Was Hendry at that point supposed to continue feeding Baker talent that wouldn't play, or actually get talent Baker would play?

 

He is Dusty's boss. If he has a plan, he should not let one of his subordinates get in the way of its execution.

Dusty and execution in the same post. Just reword it now. :D

 

Good point though.

 

:) To paraphrase some old ball coach, "How do you feel about the team's execution today?" The reply, "I'd be in favor of it."

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

I don't think he is referring to the Cubs currently having a "quality pitching staff". I think he is saying the Cubs currently have the nucleus in terms of position players(the ones he mentioned) now they need to put together a quality pitching staff to complement.

 

The Cubs do not have a nucleus of position players, their position players suck. They need to put together a lineup and a pitching staff.

 

The nucleus being center..........Lee, Ramirez, and Barrett. That is a nucleus that can be built around. Especially by a team with money. Now the choices they make to add to that nucleus is another story.

 

This is assuming Ramirez is just having one bad season.

[IUBrian]

It's been exactly 10 years since Razor was my personal hitting coach. A guy who grew up in my hometown and played college ball at IU had a hitting camp here in Indianapolis and Razor was one of his instructors. He's probably the biggest baseball star in Indy strictly because of his tenure with our AAA club (9 years, are you KIDDING me?).

 

I honestly had lost track of him before seeing he was a AAA manager earlier this year when Charlotte played the Indy Indians.

 

Honestly, I wasn't overly impressed with him as a coach, but what did I as a 15 year old kid know at the time? If he's successful in a successful organization (god it hurts to call them successful) then it's worth a shot. While he didn't make me a major leaguer, it might have taken a miracle from above to do so.

 

Here's to Razor! And, as a Hoosier fan, if there's the possibility of seeing both Mike Davis AND Dusty Baker lose their job within 4 months of each other, I might just consider 2006 to be a HUGE success.

[Roast]

...With all this anticipation, I fully expect Bakers extention to be announced later today..

 

:(

[mlarner]

Here's to Razor! And, as a Hoosier fan, if there's the possibility of seeing both Mike Davis AND Dusty Baker lose their job within 4 months of each other, I might just consider 2006 to be a HUGE success.

 

:lol:

Here's to a big turnaround for both teams!!

[CubinNY]

IMO, Hendry has to do something this is getting pretty ridicilous.

[Mark Priors Calves]

Giving Jim Hendry a 2 year extention at the beginning of the 2006 season is going to be an obstacle in finding a good replacement for Baker. GM's and Managers have a tendancy to be tied together contractually. This new manager will only have 2 years under Hendry and then we're in the position of hiring a new GM who will an inherit a manager that he didn't hire. Also, I can't imagine too many managers with MLB experience would be willing to only sign a 2 year deal for to match up with Hendry's remaining 2 years. Hendry's extention created an unnecessary problem by having to hire a new manager with many stipulations.