Phil Rogers: Hendry taking too long

[Laura]

Phil Rogers / The Tribune[/url]"]

Given the dream of interim club President John McDonough to win the World Series next year and the one thereafter, it's hard to see why the Cubs should consider anyone seriously except Lou Piniella or Joe Girardi.

 

Hendry, however, already appears to be moving too slowly.

 

Ideally, Hendry would have announced Baker's replacement at the same news conference in which he announced he wasn't welcome to return. That is the way the Florida Marlins handled the Girardi situation, naming Fredi Gonzalez (a potential Cubs candidate). Hendry, on the other hand, said it wouldn't have been fair to Baker to shop for a replacement before creating a vacancy. He's right, and he's wrong.

 

Is Hendry's job ultimately to do the right thing by Baker or by those fans he and McDonough praised for singing "Go Cubs, Go" on the last day of a lost season?

 

When McDonough says he thinks Hendry's choice as manager should be someone who "gets" the Cubs, it sounds like he would be happy if Hendry went with Girardi. But the choice lies with the GM, who isn't saying much about his own preference. He's going to hire the guy he thinks gives him the best chance to win. Hopefully he will do that as soon as possible rather than spinning his wheels with a search that makes Bud Selig happy.

 

It's not hard for me to see why they should consider other candidates ... but if those really are the two Hendry is considering, he should get a move on.

[Mizzou]

He's taking too long? It's been five days since the season ended! Come on.

[RynoRules]

Agreed - if these two are his focus, why wait? Hendry never struck me as a guy who has a hard time making decisions (some of his trades are evidence of that, IMO), but as the pressure has begun to build it appears that the opposite is true.

 

EDIT: Though Bruce made a good point in another thread:

 

In fairness, they had to wait to see how the Girardi thing played out. It's one thing for the Marlins to seek permission to talk to a team's third base coach, quite another for the Cubs to ask to talk with another team's manager while that team was still playing. On top of that, they need to ask some questions on both sides on what exactly happened down there.

 

The Giants will take their time hiring a manager, too. As long as you get it done by the organizational meetings in November and don't lose out on your man, there's no real reason to rush.

 

If this is your last chance to get it right, you better well take your time and get it right.

[BigbadB]

He's taking too long? It's been five days since the season ended! Come on.

 

The end of Baker's tenure was inevitable. Yes, it's only been 5 days since the season ended, but even I knew Baker wouldn't be back after this disaster of a season. He's had all year to quietly research replacements.

 

He needs to replace these people quickly so that he can focus his energy on researching the guys that the Cubs will need to bring in to make this a competitive team in 2007.

 

I agree with the sentiment completely. But, I have no faith that Hendry will do what's right anway, so I probably won't spend much time on this topic.

[OBPMatters]

Isn't his thesis: Hendry follows trends, doesn't set them? I enjoyed the article, which is rare for a Rogers piece. It paints Hendry as someone who isn't quick to adapt.

[goonys evil twin]

He's taking too long? It's been five days since the season ended! Come on.

 

This is the same kind of thing we've heard the past several seasons, and offseasons.

 

The Cubs are losing ground. Don't worry, it's early.

The Cubs haven't signed any free agents. Don't worry, it's early.

The Cubs haven't improve the team this offseason. Don't worry, it's early.

 

 

A lot of people have talked about the need for somebody with the Cubs to get a sense of urgency. Waiting, calm and patience has done jack squat for this team. I think most of this is that Hendry is actually a very indecisive guy. He fluctuates from year to year in how he wants his team to look. His "I've decided I like guys who can catch the ball" line was a big red flag for a guy who can't put together a plan, execute that plan and stick to that plan. He shoots from the hip with regards to personel decisions. Dusty Baker was the last guy he targeted for a long time and then put a lot of effort int acquiring for a long time. Most everybody else was a situation where he just took what came to him. He was reactive to other team's moves and desired moves. He didn't get Nomar until Theo started to really try and make things happen. He got most of his guys either after their other options dried up or after all his own other options dried up. When he did set his sights on a specific player, Furcal, he came up short.

 

This is symptomatic of incompetent management. Most anybody can look at any specific situation in a vacuum and make a case to defend how Hendry handled a situation. But as always, when you look at the big picture, everything included, it's pretty easy to see his failings. He's a coach/scout who is in over his head in a management positions. He's worried more about offending the outgoing manager than getting a new one. He's worried more about doing things the right way than doing the right thing for the betterment of the team. He's not focused on bringing a championship caliber team to Wrigley.

 

The evaluation period regarding Baker exposed his in ability to make the tough, and right, decisions, in case there was any doubt before that.

[TheDude]

I love how there is only one single supportive statement in the article to back up the claim. His only answer to 'why' he is taking too long is because uncited other teams might hire the presumed top candidates first. Hrm.

 

He talks about other teams successes when jumping the gun, which has zero impact on the reality of the Cubs situation.

 

He talks about what should have been done (in his opinion) a year ago, which again has zero bearing on the current situation.

 

I'm not impressed with the article. Show me a source that says Piniella or Girardi is being interviewed by other teams and maybe a point is made.

[Laura]

If Hendry can multi-task, great.

 

I think people expected Hendry to move rapidly because

--as BBB notes, he should have been aware for some time now that he'd need to hire a new manager,

--I thought I heard his new boss make some noises about winning a world series and having a new sense of urgency about the business of winning, and

--the new trend in hiring managers seems to be to decide early who you want and then hire him when he becomes available before someone else can.

 

I suppose we should be grateful to the Marlins -- if Gonzalez were still in the mix, it might take forever.

 

In all seriousness, if the search continues beyond this next week, then signs will be pointing to either Hendry wanting someone affiliated with a playoff team and/or there perhaps being a disconnect between Hendry and McDonough on who the next manager should be.

 

Chris De Luca hints at that in his column today.

 

But when John McDonough took his marketing skills over to the baseball side of the shop -- replacing Andy MacPhail as team president Sunday -- the playing field shifted so favorably in Girardi's direction, you wonder why they even will bring in others for interviews.

 

This might have been mostly Hendry's decision to make two weeks ago. Today, it's hard to believe the Cubs would shake up the top of their baseball operations and leave the decision to The Last Man Standing.

 

Go back to the odd scene Sunday of MacPhail taking one for the team the day before Baker officially was dumped. Tribune Co. chairman Dennis FitzSimons made it clear Hendry is not flying solo.

 

''John is going to work with Jim Hendry and the rest of the organization to prepare for 2007,'' FitzSimons said. ''They have one mandate, and that's to win. ... They are going to focus on every facet of the organization to determine what we can do better to deliver a winner for our fans.

 

''John will be the point person for decision-making with the Cubs.''

[goonys evil twin]

He talks about what should have been done (in his opinion) a year ago, which again has zero bearing on the current situation.

 

What has happened with Hendry and the Cubs in the past clearly has a bearing on the current situation. We know Hendry's MO. Others know Hendry's MO. He's indecisive, incompetent, and in the end will be left with few options and be forced to bid against himself, as usual.

[Laura]

I love how there is only one single supportive statement in the article to back up the claim. His only answer to 'why' he is taking too long is because uncited other teams might hire the presumed top candidates first. Hrm.

 

Fredi Gonzalez had been considered among the top candidates for the Cubs job before he was hired by some other team first.

[soapy]

Hendry has never been a GM that made quick decisions, IMO. It seems every offseason he's played the I want to see how things play out game and ends up with lesser tier players. I don't see why this situation will be any different. It's frustrating, but expected.

 

I'm not a huge Girardi fan, but all this Piniella talk has be leaning toward Girardi in a big way. Piniella would be a huge mistake (and basically a resumption of what's gone on the last four years, IMO).

[YearofDaCubs]

Why is Hendry still here? He should have been fired along with the other bozos.

[CuseCubFan69]

He talks about what should have been done (in his opinion) a year ago, which again has zero bearing on the current situation.

 

What has happened with Hendry and the Cubs in the past clearly has a bearing on the current situation. We know Hendry's MO. Others know Hendry's MO. He's indecisive, incompetent, and in the end will be left with few options and be forced to bid against himself, as usual.

 

I agree. He did put himself out there for Furcal but was stung at the end and I hope this is the trend he is going to follow, know what you want and go after it and not what you said which would put the Cubs with an another top 10 pick in the draft in 2008. He's got to close the deal too.

[TheDude]

He talks about what should have been done (in his opinion) a year ago, which again has zero bearing on the current situation.

 

What has happened with Hendry and the Cubs in the past clearly has a bearing on the current situation. We know Hendry's MO. Others know Hendry's MO. He's indecisive, incompetent, and in the end will be left with few options and be forced to bid against himself, as usual.

 

No. Hendry's MO has been to target the guy he wants and go get him. He has done this time and again, so I don't see how anyone could say otherwise.

[BigbadB]

No. Hendry's MO has been to target the guy he wants and go get him. He has done this time and again, so I don't see how anyone could say otherwise.

 

That's a tad bit inaccurate. Hendry's MO has been to target the guy he wants and ATTEMPT to go get him. He has not always been successful getting the guy he targets.

 

Personally, I've grown a bit tired of that philosophy. He should be targeting several guys and working aggressively to land more than just one guy. Options can be a good thing.

[Soriano12]

THe longer you wait to hire your manager, the more likley you are to have garabage assistants.

 

Kranitz wants to follow Girardi, but how long can he turn down an open

offer from Gonzales?

[goonys evil twin]

No. Hendry's MO has been to target the guy he wants and go get him. He has done this time and again, so I don't see how anyone could say otherwise.

 

He's done that only with Baker and Barrett. Everybody else was a matter of teams dumping players, or being left with the last guy on the list. He got guys like Burnitz, Jones, Pierre only after flirting with others first and then settling. I don't see how anybody can defend Hendry as eagerly as you do. He's a failure.

[Laura]

Rozner's take.

 

Barry Rozner / The Daily Herald[/url]"]

Contraction

 

The Cubs already have put new boss John McDonough in a tough spot, as the team looks for a new manager but has a GM on a short leash.

 

Might it have been better to give McDonough a clean board on which to scribble, instead of inheriting contracts?

 

Now, it’s possible that the new manager will outlast the current GM, meaning the next GM will inherit a manager.

 

It doesn’t make sense, and it might make a sane manager wonder if this is a good spot to land right now.

 

Sounds familiar

 

When Ed Lynch fired his first manager, Jim Riggleman, he developed a bunker mentality for the first few months after that and never really came out of that shell.

 

Lynch didn’t survive the next July.

 

Now, insiders say Jim Hendry is beginning to act the same way after whacking his first manager. Here’s hoping he comes out of it quickly and doesn’t meet the same fate.

[CuseCubFan69]

Rozner's take.

 

Barry Rozner / The Daily Herald[/url]"]

Contraction

 

The Cubs already have put new boss John McDonough in a tough spot, as the team looks for a new manager but has a GM on a short leash.

 

Might it have been better to give McDonough a clean board on which to scribble, instead of inheriting contracts?

 

Now, it’s possible that the new manager will outlast the current GM, meaning the next GM will inherit a manager.

 

It doesn’t make sense, and it might make a sane manager wonder if this is a good spot to land right now.

 

Sounds familiar

 

When Ed Lynch fired his first manager, Jim Riggleman, he developed a bunker mentality for the first few months after that and never really came out of that shell.

 

Lynch didn’t survive the next July.

 

Now, insiders say Jim Hendry is beginning to act the same way after whacking his first manager. Here’s hoping he comes out of it quickly and doesn’t meet the same fate.

 

Hendry has to remember that there is a lot of failure in baseball and it's how you bounce back from it that makes you successful or a failure. If he does indeed dwell on this the Cubs are in a lot of trouble. Bounce back Jim and do your job.

[Backtobanks]

Hendry might need a little time to hire a manager, but assuming all of the speculation (Girardi, Brenly, Piniella) is correct he could at least start interviewing these three. If he's interested in others they can be interviewed later.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

If Hendry is going to take all month, you'd at least think he would have time to visit with Larry Dierker.

[Southpaw191679666239]

You know... I thought by getting rid of Dusty, we'd be on the right track ... *sigh*. I'm about 2-3 levels below "guarded optimism". ](*,)

[CuseCubFan69]

If Hendry is going to take all month, you'd at least think he would have time to visit with Larry Dierker.

 

If he planned on doing that it would take 2 months then.

[SouthSideRyan]

I hope Hendry waits so long he misses out on Piniella.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

If Hendry is going to take all month, you'd at least think he would have time to visit with Larry Dierker.

 

If he planned on doing that it would take 2 months then.

 

He's probably trying to read the book first. But he's decided to read Kevin Kennedy's before that on reccomendation from Rob Dibble.