Bruce Miles dissects the MacPhail era

[goonys evil twin]

Rogers doesn't use the best examples, but he does lay the Cubs' problems at the feet of dysfunctional management and it's clear he believes the blame for the organizational failure should lie with MacPhail.

 

At least he's not blaming Cubs fans' racism for this mess. I view that as progress.

 

My problem is he doesn't seem to say Andy failed, he just wants Andy to do more of what he's already done. In my opinion, Andy has done too much. This isn't a rudderless ship, it's a ship that left port with bad maps.

[Guest]

I don't understand why Dusty had to be extended last fall. Makes no sense to me. I also don't see how ownership is the problem. They put up enough cash to build a winner. Other than that, what role do they have in this disaster (other than hiring MacPhail).

 

To me its dusty apologistic because it tries to transfer blame for the failures off of dusty. the article implies that the problem for dusty is that he wasn't extended last fall. Reality is Dusty is a piece of a much bigger problem but he is still a problem.

[Laura]

I don't understand why Dusty had to be extended last fall. Makes no sense to me.

 

Maybe I'm misinterpreting it, but he's saying the decision either way was one that should have been made earlier and that the careening about from person to person and idea to idea is part of the franchise's problem. But re-reading it and thinking back to the past off-season, it would seem likely that the end result would be Dusty getting his extension, so it is fortunate that didn't happen.

 

I also don't see how ownership is the problem. They put up enough cash to build a winner. Other than that, what role do they have in this disaster (other than hiring MacPhail).

 

I appreciate that recently they have spent the money needed to win and agree that the problem is bad money management (bad management in general) vs cheapness. My problem with ownership is that whether they spend the money or don't spend the money (and both have been the case under Trib ownership), they don't get the results that I care about -- consistent winning. They may care or they may not care; I don't care whether they care; I only care whether they can construct a winning team. Twenty-five years of Tribune Ownership demonstrates that they cannot.

 

Maybe it's my fault for rooting for a team run more on marketing savvy than baseball savvy and with a ballpark that is run like a theme park. I concede that.

 

Part of it is who they hire; part of it is that winning doesn't seem to be the main criterion for maintaining one's job; and part of it is the aforementioned lack of knowledge of how to build a winning team (the philosophical problem). A new owner may not invest as much money in the team. But a new owner may herald a change in philosophy, and I see little chance of that happening under current ownership and the current front office. I'd be thrilled if there was an abrupt turnaround this off-season and MacPhail and Hendry embraced OBP over gritty grinder players.

 

I also don't have a problem with an owner making money hand-over-fist. As a fan, I just hope that winning is also part of the package.

 

To me its dusty apologistic because it tries to transfer blame for the failures off of dusty. the article implies that the problem for dusty is that he wasn't extended last fall. Reality is Dusty is a piece of a much bigger problem but he is still a problem.

 

I don't know whether Rogers has been in support or against Dusty throughout his tenure. I got the impression more that he's taking MacPhail to task for not being accountable, and for that I agree. He also seems to be saying that Hendry has broad decision-making authority but is somewhat operating in a mangement vacuum with little input from above and with limited job security through '08 -- like a puppet with no one operating the strings. If so, that's another organizational problem that MacPhail created, whether it's because he hired the wrong guy or isn't providing that guy with the organizational support (and sometimes that means a 'no-man' in addition to a 'yes-man') to do his job.

 

And yeah, Dusty should go, but it would be nice if he gave the front office guys a ride out of town while leaving.

[Guest]

I still don't see the point on ownership. Had Fitzsimons hired a different team president, the team might be winning consistently. so you can blame the trib for hiring MacPhail but I don't see them as an owner that inhibits the team a la Pohlad or Loria. Those two go to show that its not the owner that breeds success, its the management.

 

I don't really disagree with Rogers, I just don't think the article is particularly well written or coherent.

[Laura]

I still don't see the point on ownership. Had Fitzsimons hired a different team president, the team might be winning consistently. so you can blame the trib for hiring MacPhail but I don't see them as an owner that inhibits the team a la Pohlad or Loria. Those two go to show that its not the owner that breeds success, its the management.

 

It seems to me that owners have two main roles:

 

1) hire people to build and run the team, and

2) operate the franchise financially (fund it, profit from it).

 

The Tribune has hired the right financial people. They just can't get over the hump of hiring the right baseball management people. As reprehensible as Pohlad's and/or Loria's actions have been, they have been more successful at fielding championship teams than the Tribune Company has been, especially if you introduce the financial aspect into consideration.

 

If nothing else, if I were a Trib stockholder or executive, I'd want someone to explain how so much money could be spent on such lousy teams, even given the profits ... and I certainly wouldn't want to keep pouring money into such a futile enterprise, especially when the people deciding to spend the money don't change. Keep the financial people -- even assuming that's MacPhail's 'real' job now -- since they're doing their job and can the baseball people, or soon we won't even be able to take cold comfort in the Trib continuing to throw money at their team.

[wastra]

I think the biggest problem with the Trib is the same problem with MacPhail- there just never seems to be any repercussions for pathetic on-field performance.

 

Macphail hires Hendry and spends a ton of cash, the cubs suck, MacPhail is still the "golden boy" due to profits.

 

Hendry spends that money terribly, the cubs suck, he gets an extension.

 

Dusty uses the poor players in the worst seeming ways, the cubs suck even more, and he finishes out his ENTIRE contract when no other organization in baseball would have let him finish out this season.

 

Neifi is on of the worst offensive players in baseball, Rusch is at best a mediocre pitcher, and they both get two year deals for twice their market worth.

 

 

It's like no one in the organization really CARES about winning ballgames. I can't think no another organization of any sort on the planet that actually seems to reward failure like the Cubs do.

[SCCubbieFAN]

My take on Rogers' statement/opinion regarding when a decision should have been made on Baker is that management decisions should be made well before the season begins so those issues do not cloud or disrupt the decisions that need to be made during the season. Not knowing if or when Baker would stay or go ended up being a soap opera among other soap operas that played out this season.

[Soriano12]

Any thoughts one what the atmosphere at the convention will be like this

February?

 

Will MacPhail and Hendry even show up?

 

 

:lol:

Edited September 28, 2006 by Soriano12

[dalgreen]

Any thoughts one what the atmosphere at the convention will be like this

February?

 

Will MacPhail and Hendry even show up?

 

 

:lol:

 

We ask the same question every year and they (at least Hendry) shows up. Depending who he hires as manager, I suspect he won't get hammered by fans.

[Laura]

Morrissey's turn to rip MacPhail. Nice Title: Blame Rolls Downhill

 

Rick Morrissey / The Chicago Tribune[/url]"] While Tribune Co. chairman, president and chief executive officer Dennis FitzSimons runs around trying to keep all the plates spinning, the two luckiest guys in the world have to be Andy MacPhail and Jim Hendry.

 

If life were fair, when Cubs manager Dusty Baker gets the ax, the franchise's president and general manager would be feeling the edge of it too.

 

This pathetic season truly has been a team effort, and how MacPhail and Hendry are able to keep their jobs can be explained only by the turmoil inside Tribune Co.

 

In 12 years under MacPhail, the Cubs have been to the playoffs just twice. They have lost 90 or more games five times in that span. Please rid your mind of the idea that the Cubs don't spend money on players. They do. The failures have nothing to do with a lack of spending. They have to do with a lack of vision.

 

Before MacPhail moved from general manager to president and handed Hendry the day-to-day duties of running the club five years ago, Hendry was the Cubs' assistant GM, scouting director and player development director. He gets a lot of credit for the Cubs' 2003 playoff run, but he also should get the majority of the blame for the sorry state of the team's farm system.

 

The Cubs are a huge success at the gate, thanks to the eternally sunny and fermented Wrigley Field, and an utter failure on the field. So the easy analysis is that ownership doesn't care about wins and losses as long as 3 million paying customers pass through the turnstiles every year.

 

And too bad that at a time when the franchise needs to make sweeping changes, its ownership has too many other issues on its plate.

 

Question: At what point do you say, "This isn't working?"

 

Answer: About 98 years ago

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

It's a very well written article. A house-cleaning would be nice.

[goonys evil twin]

Good job Bruce.

[Master Shake]

RE: That 'ten things to improve Cubs karma' list...

 

 

IMHO, there is at least one thing on the list that I'd be in favor of. Not flying the 'L' flag.