Bruce at it again....

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

What did Hendry have player wise to spend money on last season? He painted himself into a corner by not eating some cash and missing the boat of getting Vlad and Tejada when he had the chance.

 

Hendry could have gotten creative with his money and trades.

 

Had he signed Millwood for example, it would have freed him up to trade Prior in a deal for Tejada or Abreu. Instead he settled for Jacque Jones.

 

True again. He just doesn't seem to be a guy that wants to make that big leap. But, if he did trade Prior a lot of fans would of went nuts on him and that would put more pressure to win. These safe little moves got him an extension.

 

And to be honest, I'm not sure I'd have favored trading Prior even with Millwood in the fold. Hindsight is 20-20. I'm also not getting paid the big bucks to run this team either.

 

There were bats available this offseason. The Cubs had players to get them had Hendry spent wisely and been a little creative.

[YearofDaCubs]

What did Hendry have player wise to spend money on last season? He painted himself into a corner by not eating some cash and missing the boat of getting Vlad and Tejada when he had the chance.

 

He was not completely without options, both with free agents and potential trades for higher priced players.

 

But you are right. His lack of foresight in past years is what really hurt the team coming into 2006. Missed opportunities.

 

True. Drew was a possible I suppose and he signed Burnitz. As you said earlier Hendry's misguided passons for the prototypical leadoff hitter helped make the situation even worse.

 

That's in the past...now Hendry has to fix this mess and do it right this time.

IMO, Hendry has done such a terrible job that I look at this roster now and feel that Hendry does not have the capability to fix this team, especially in one year. He needs to go along with Dusty.

[Tracer Bullet]

great article

 

http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/beatwriters.asp?column=miles&id=206739

 

I agree, that is until the last few paragraphs. Michael Barrett is in no way one of the 5 biggest culprits for this season. I just can't even begin to believe that. He OPS'd .860 in April, near .800 in May, and over 1.000 in June - he's been solid all year. He didn't disappear when Lee went down.

 

Yes, he punched AJP in the face. At that point, the Cubs were already out of it. They had a 5 game losing streak when he was gone for 10 - true. But they lost 6 in a row earlier while he was playing. Not only that, but during the 13 games Barrett was out for his back & the suspension, Blanco played the best offensive baseball of his life. He OPS'd 1.055 in June (over 15 games, 13 of which were during Barrett's absence). What are the chances Barrett plays any better than that 1.055 during those 13 games? I'd say pretty frickin small. So whatever we lost by having Barrett miss 10 games for punching AJP, we gained by Blanco having a career 2 weeks.

 

Finally, I think a different team would use that punch as a rallying point. Barrett was clearly frustrated and got pissed and showed he wasn't giving up on the year. I was hoping the team would rally behind him and run off a string of Ws. Didn't happen, but I'm still ok w/ the punch. Not a great idea, but certainly not one of the reasons behind our team sucking.

 

It's precisely because of Barrett's strong numbers that I cited him. It doesn't matter if the Cubs were out of the race or not. His act was ill-timed and selfish. It also cost the Cubs a roster spot, forcing them to play with 24 men.

 

I don't think the 24-man roster is Barrett's fault either. They didn't replace him w/ a C until the very end of the suspension. Besides, Hendry and Baker have been terrible about properly filling those spots and using the guys anyway. Wasn't Guzman up the entire time Barrett was out? Did he even appear in a game? If we didn't need the 24th man, the 25th man is just icing.

[CuseCubFan69]

What did Hendry have player wise to spend money on last season? He painted himself into a corner by not eating some cash and missing the boat of getting Vlad and Tejada when he had the chance.

 

He was not completely without options, both with free agents and potential trades for higher priced players.

 

But you are right. His lack of foresight in past years is what really hurt the team coming into 2006. Missed opportunities.

 

True. Drew was a possible I suppose and he signed Burnitz. As you said earlier Hendry's misguided passons for the prototypical leadoff hitter helped make the situation even worse.

 

That's in the past...now Hendry has to fix this mess and do it right this time.

IMO, Hendry has done such a terrible job that I look at this roster now and feel that Hendry does not have the capability to fix this team, especially in one year. He needs to go along with Dusty.

 

I don't think he does either but he does have an extension so we'll see if he can redeem himself.

[YearofDaCubs]

What did Hendry have player wise to spend money on last season? He painted himself into a corner by not eating some cash and missing the boat of getting Vlad and Tejada when he had the chance.

 

He was not completely without options, both with free agents and potential trades for higher priced players.

 

But you are right. His lack of foresight in past years is what really hurt the team coming into 2006. Missed opportunities.

 

True. Drew was a possible I suppose and he signed Burnitz. As you said earlier Hendry's misguided passons for the prototypical leadoff hitter helped make the situation even worse.

 

That's in the past...now Hendry has to fix this mess and do it right this time.

IMO, Hendry has done such a terrible job that I look at this roster now and feel that Hendry does not have the capability to fix this team, especially in one year. He needs to go along with Dusty.

 

I don't think he does either but he does have an extension so we'll see if he can redeem himself.

Redeem himself? NO WAY! I'm not falling for that one. He's has had several chances starting from 2004 and on to redeem himself. I'm confident in saying that there is no way Hendry will get himself out of this mess.

[CuseCubFan69]

What did Hendry have player wise to spend money on last season? He painted himself into a corner by not eating some cash and missing the boat of getting Vlad and Tejada when he had the chance.

 

Hendry could have gotten creative with his money and trades.

 

Had he signed Millwood for example, it would have freed him up to trade Prior in a deal for Tejada or Abreu. Instead he settled for Jacque Jones.

 

True again. He just doesn't seem to be a guy that wants to make that big leap. But, if he did trade Prior a lot of fans would of went nuts on him and that would put more pressure to win. These safe little moves got him an extension.

 

And to be honest, I'm not sure I'd have favored trading Prior even with Millwood in the fold. Hindsight is 20-20. I'm also not getting paid the big bucks to run this team either.

 

There were bats available this offseason. The Cubs had players to get them had Hendry spent wisely and been a little creative.

 

When Hendry came aboard and was chosen the GM I thought this:

 

-This guy knows the minors inside and out and will be great for future growth.

-He was an ex-coach so he knew what to look for in a manager

-I'm not sure about his player movement ability but the Hundley deal was a stroke of genius and quite creative I thought at the time.

 

Now:

 

-Infatuation with toolsy players and old baseball sterio types.

-Horrible choice of manager for what the team had.

-Wierd love for overpaying below average players

-Always looking for the lightning in a bottle

[jwhatti]

Infielder Neifi Perez (.269 OBP) should only start once a week — and never bat second.

 

I yell this at the TV everyday that they announce the line ups. This drives me nuts!!!

[CuseCubFan69]

What did Hendry have player wise to spend money on last season? He painted himself into a corner by not eating some cash and missing the boat of getting Vlad and Tejada when he had the chance.

 

He was not completely without options, both with free agents and potential trades for higher priced players.

 

But you are right. His lack of foresight in past years is what really hurt the team coming into 2006. Missed opportunities.

 

True. Drew was a possible I suppose and he signed Burnitz. As you said earlier Hendry's misguided passons for the prototypical leadoff hitter helped make the situation even worse.

 

That's in the past...now Hendry has to fix this mess and do it right this time.

IMO, Hendry has done such a terrible job that I look at this roster now and feel that Hendry does not have the capability to fix this team, especially in one year. He needs to go along with Dusty.

 

I don't think he does either but he does have an extension so we'll see if he can redeem himself.

Redeem himself? NO WAY! I'm not falling for that one. He's has had several chances starting from 2004 and on to redeem himself. I'm confident in saying that there is no way Hendry will get himself out of this mess.

 

The extension says otherwise. This team doesn't cut anyone if they are owed money as much as some of us would hope they would. heck, he and MacPhail won't even get rid of Baker and his contract is over at the end of the year.

[CuseCubFan69]

Infielder Neifi Perez (.269 OBP) should only start once a week — and never bat second.

 

I yell this at the TV everyday that they announce the line ups. This drives me nuts!!!

 

You and me both. I think if Baker made a move like putting Murton at the 2 spot it would make it look like he was wrong for not doing it in the first place so it ain't gunna happen. Dudes got pride to worry about.

[soccer10k]

I would put the Furcalholic in there for obvious reasons.

[The Voice of Reason]

Bruce - As long as you are asking for the Red Sox's budget, how about obtaining their GM (Theo) as well?

[NewUserName]

I am glad that you put Hendry as #1. I agree that Baker is a lousy manager but Hendry's blame goes much deeper. Including keeping our lousy manager.

 

The thing that has always bothered me is that Hendry gets a lot of credit for bringing in 3 guys Barrett, Lee and ARam. Which admittingly are upgrades over what the team had at the time. He also probably gets too much credit for the Hundley trade. Though the 2 players he got were important reasons for the 2003 season, neither was unreplaceable. They also only played a combined 3 years with the team. This trade was not like Sosa for George Bell or anything like that. It was a good move nothing more. Lastly it has been over 2 1/2 yrs since any of these moves have been made.

 

Hendry has also "finally" improved the bullpen, after throwing darts at the board for 4 years it is better than it was in 2003.

 

So except for C, 1b, 3b and bullpen the Cubs are about equal or worse at all other areas of the team since 2003. Our starting pitching isnt even close. Though some because of injuries but at what point do you stop relying on the injuried players. Though our bench wasnt exactly filled with studs in 2003 it was better then the bench is now. We are way below at LF, RF, CF and SS(yes AGone put up an equal obp as cedeno with power and better defense) than we were in 2003. About equal at 2b if Walker is getting majority of starts.

 

So the about %75 of the team is below what it was in 2003. Only 3 or 4 of guys on the current roster can be expected to improve in the future. Lastly the minor league system went from being in everyones top ten 5 years ago to being in everyones bottom 10 now.

 

Hendry has gotten a lot of credit for a couple of big splashes but has tore down a solid base with little to build on in the next couple of years. That with a record of throwing money at bad "projects" and inability to get rid of a bad coaching staff has this ship sinking and probably not going to get better in the next couple of years

[frostwyrm]

We've become spoiled. The average baseball fan would be ecstatic to have a $94 million payroll for his favorite team. Cubs just need to spend more wisely, not spend more.

[beowulf28]

What did Hendry have player wise to spend money on last season? He painted himself into a corner by not eating some cash and missing the boat of getting Vlad and Tejada when he had the chance.

 

Hendry could have gotten creative with his money and trades.

 

Had he signed Millwood for example, it would have freed him up to trade Prior in a deal for Tejada or Abreu. Instead he settled for Jacque Jones.

 

True again. He just doesn't seem to be a guy that wants to make that big leap. But, if he did trade Prior a lot of fans would of went nuts on him and that would put more pressure to win. These safe little moves got him an extension.

 

And to be honest, I'm not sure I'd have favored trading Prior even with Millwood in the fold. Hindsight is 20-20. I'm also not getting paid the big bucks to run this team either.

 

There were bats available this offseason. The Cubs had players to get them had Hendry spent wisely and been a little creative.

 

When Hendry came aboard and was chosen the GM I thought this:

 

-This guy knows the minors inside and out and will be great for future growth.

-He was an ex-coach so he knew what to look for in a manager

-I'm not sure about his player movement ability but the Hundley deal was a stroke of genius and quite creative I thought at the time.

 

Now:

 

-Infatuation with toolsy players and old baseball sterio types.

-Horrible choice of manager for what the team had.

-Wierd love for overpaying below average players

-Always looking for the lightning in a bottle

 

Right on, Cuse! :cry:

[The Voice of Reason]

We've become spoiled. The average baseball fan would be ecstatic to have a $94 million payroll for his favorite team. Cubs just need to spend more wisely, not spend more.

 

Disagree. How many less of their 26 championships would the Yankees have if they didn't have the highest payroll year after year. I would guess it would be quite a few. It's not a coincidence that the next highest # of WS championships is like 9.

 

Increasing the payroll doesn't guarantee a WS but it does increase your margin for error and with the right GM can help teams remain competitive year after year like the Yankeees and Red Sox.

[KatJ]

Maddux has pitched good enough to win in several of his losses. I would say he has kept the Cubs in most of the games he has started.

 

He was terrific in April. He was HORRIBLE in May and June. He hasn't been so hot in July so far.

 

Only ONE win since he racked up the first six before May even started. And for those of you who don't believe in W-L at all, he's gained four full points on his ERA.

[KatJ]

We've become spoiled. The average baseball fan would be ecstatic to have a $94 million payroll for his favorite team. Cubs just need to spend more wisely, not spend more.

 

Disagree. How many less of their 26 championships would the Yankees have if they didn't have the highest payroll year after year.

 

Point taken, but with this division - heck, this league (NL), a team with a $94 million payroll shouldn't be three games from the cellar. Note that the team actually in the cellar has a payroll less than half that of the Cubs.

 

The cash spent on this team should yield excellent, or at least very good performance, regardless of freak injuries like a broken wrist.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

We've become spoiled. The average baseball fan would be ecstatic to have a $94 million payroll for his favorite team. Cubs just need to spend more wisely, not spend more.

 

Disagree. How many less of their 26 championships would the Yankees have if they didn't have the highest payroll year after year. I would guess it would be quite a few. It's not a coincidence that the next highest # of WS championships is like 9.

 

Increasing the payroll doesn't guarantee a WS but it does increase your margin for error and with the right GM can help teams remain competitive year after year like the Yankeees and Red Sox.

 

How many of the 26 World Series have the Yankees won with the highest payroll?

 

Obviously you're right that the higher payroll increases flexibility and margin for error, but I think as it pertains to the Cubs we're in more need of better decisions with the money than more money itself, though both are plenty useful.

[beowulf28]

Pretty good, except for:

 

For example, why is the Tribune Co. spending $94 million on player payroll when the Boston Red Sox are at $120 million?

 

If you're saying what I think you're saying, I disagree Bruce. Our payroll, in and of itself, is not the problem. We've given too much money to the wrong people, I know . . . but spending $26 million more isn't going to make problems go away, especially if you're just trying to catch an AL team in the Payroll Standings.

 

But, really, other than that, great article.

 

I think he's right on, on all counts. And there's probably more...as Bruce said, he just picked 5 areas that needed to be blamed.

 

The payroll is larger than many clubs' payroll, but it needs to be larger to get the top-teir player that the Cubs need.

 

Also, I think Mr. Miles was correct in putting part of the blame on Michael Barrett. Barrett was selfish for what he did. He's probably the second best hitter on the club, and he effectively took the bat out of his own hands with the stupid punch he threw. Who could count on Henry Blanco having a career ten games?

[Tracer Bullet]

Also, I think Mr. Miles was correct in putting part of the blame on Michael Barrett. Barrett was selfish for what he did. He's probably the second best hitter on the club, and he effectively took the bat out of his own hands with the stupid punch he threw. Who could count on Henry Blanco having a career ten games?

 

No one counted on Blanco's performance, but we got it. So losing Barrett for 10 days meant equal production at the plate and probably better defense at C. If you can find any evidence at all that suggests that Barrett's absence actually cost us any games or kept us from contending this year, I'd like to see it. But I don't think you can.

 

No, it wasn't wise of Barrett to punch AJP, but it cost the Cubs nothing. Not a thing. Same offensive production, better D, and the 24-man roster argument doesn't hold water (see my earlier post about Guzman).

 

The problem w/ our team sucking is we go hunting for scapegoats. Barrett isn't one - he's been solid to very good all year. He's one of the few and maybe the only one who can say that (Z sucked for the first month).

[A New Era]

 

I had the same thought while reading that. I think a better #5 culprit would be the hitting coaches and their crap approach to teaching plate discipline. Or actually their lack of ability to teach plate discipline.

 

I know he mentioned him earlier in the article, but if Dempster was playing like the Dempster of last year, the Cubs would only be 10 games out....pretty much where they were last year as far as the standings go.

 

How woulc they be 10 games out? The Cubs are 20 games out. Dempters has saved 14 of 19 opportunities (and it's sad there's only been 19 opportunities, isn't it?). That's 5 blown saves. Dempsters problems are part of the problem, but they are nowhere near the main problem.

[bhogg]

the cubs are 14.5 games out.

 

If they'd have won 4 of Demp's blown saves, they'd be 38-50 and 10.5 games out

[Shilzzz]

it's unrealistic to expect perfection from a closer in general, and specifically one who rarely gets work in save situations.

[NorthsideAvenger]

It's precisely because of Barrett's strong numbers that I cited him. It doesn't matter if the Cubs were out of the race or not. His act was ill-timed and selfish. It also cost the Cubs a roster spot, forcing them to play with 24 men.

 

'm not going to lie, I absolutely LOVED what Barrett did to AJP. AJP deserved what he got. Now don't get me wrong, I don't condone violence against other human beings, but seeing as AJP is not a human being, I say...an eye for an eye.

 

With that said....at the time of "the punch" the Cubs were already out of it, and on crappy teams, such as our :roll: beloved Cubs :roll: , players will often look after himself over the team, seeing individual stats are the only thing they are playing for. Now we all kow Baker wasn't going to defend Barrett, and chances his teammates weren't either, simply because they were prolly to busy playing the PS3/XBox 360 or something like that. So, I don't mind Barrett looking after himself.

 

I know, I know, I sound like a raving lunatic, I blame on the 2006 Cubs syndrome.

[The Voice of Reason]

We've become spoiled. The average baseball fan would be ecstatic to have a $94 million payroll for his favorite team. Cubs just need to spend more wisely, not spend more.

 

Disagree. How many less of their 26 championships would the Yankees have if they didn't have the highest payroll year after year. I would guess it would be quite a few. It's not a coincidence that the next highest # of WS championships is like 9.

 

Increasing the payroll doesn't guarantee a WS but it does increase your margin for error and with the right GM can help teams remain competitive year after year like the Yankeees and Red Sox.

 

How many of the 26 World Series have the Yankees won with the highest payroll?

 

Obviously you're right that the higher payroll increases flexibility and margin for error, but I think as it pertains to the Cubs we're in more need of better decisions with the money than more money itself, though both are plenty useful.

 

 

All 26.