According to the Score AM670 ,the cubs have a new manager...

[soapy]

color me happy.

 

This means that the cubs are finally ready to win. No more grand schemes of building from within or whatever ploy they've gone with in the past.

 

The best thing about this is that if it blows up in their face, it'll only be a year, maybe two in doing.

 

 

I fully expect a big off season and I expect the Cubs to be major contenders.

 

 

Lou is not wanting for money. Lou doesn't need to make a name for himself. Lou wants a WS ring. He wouldn't come to chicago if he didn't think there was a legit shot at a ring.

 

What? When have the Cubs tried to build from within? They're going to try & win now coming off a 90+ loss season and a declining farm system.

 

It's ironic that it's the exact scheme that they've tried forever, including hiring a "proven" manager.

Agreed. I don't see how this siginfies that the Cubs are "ready to win". They've been down this road before. I'm not happy about the move. I think it's pretty much lateral but...whatever. I'm more interested in what players are going to be brought in. I'm not as excited as many of you though. The Cubs have been spending money. Hendry had $100 million at his disposal this year and put together the worst team in the NL. I have little faith that he can put together a championship team with an extra $15 million.

 

Dusty had the Cubs within 1 game of the World Series for the first time in almost 60 years. So bringing him in wasn't the worst move in the history of the Cubs franchise.

 

I would rather have a manager that is a proven winner than hire an unproven and pray it works out. I am glad that Hendry is not trying to hire a sub .500 manager with the hope that the guy will all of the sudden become a winning manager once he comes to the Cubs.

 

Also, a team with a $115M payroll should never have to rebuild and foreit their whole season.

I don't think anyone is saying that hiring Dusty was the "worst move in the history of the franchise". The Cubs got close to the WS because a) their phenomenal young pitching (which some would say Dusty has helped destroy); and b) the Astros choked the last week of the season.

 

I don't understand what the "proven winner" thing has to do with this. Dusty was a "proven winner". The problem is, the Cubs simply don't have the players to compete and a fiery manager isn't going to change that. They need to use the extra payroll wisely, and I have little faith they will.

[E.J.]

Chicago Tribune[/url]"]Now that Piniella's commitment to Fox Sports is over and Cubs general manager Jim Hendry has completed his search, the announcement of Piniella as the next manager could come Monday or Tuesday, barring any last-minute snag in the process.

 

Suntimes[/url]"]Negotiations between the Cubs and their top managerial candidate advanced so quickly Sunday, the team expects to complete talks today and introduce Lou Piniella as their new manager by Tuesday, according to team and industry sources.

 

Formal negotiations on a multiyear contract with Piniella's Chicago-based agent, Alan Nero, began Sunday, the day after the veteran manager's duties as a Fox analyst ended with the conclusion of the American League Championship Series.

 

''I think we'll be ready to announce something in the next couple of days,'' Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Sunday night. ''I've been very pleased with how this process has gone.''

 

:wall: :wall: :wall:

[Wheelimus]

I'll give him a chance, he deserves at least that.

 

I want to say "i just hope he leaves pitching decisions to the pitching coach", but knowing that will be Rothschild...ugh.

[Pinktermite]

You guys should be jumping for joy that Dusty has been replaced. Instead, most of you lament that Lou was hired and continue to be negative.

 

I for one predict that Lou will not tolerate bad baseball and a few tantrums are what they need. The players they get will determine their success, but Lou CAN make them better. Jim Leyland is a fiery/grouchy manager, and you see what he got out of HIS team.

 

Girardi and Bochy and all the other candidates people wanted, just didn't cut it at a time when they need someone to "win" now.

 

I'll go on record as saying that Jim Hendry took a BIG risk hiring Uncle Lou...and it will pay off.

[Shawon12]

Welcome the white Dusty Baker. Ugh.

 

Oh, and if the Cubs manage to be successful in 2007 it will not be because of Lou Piniella.

 

I will go on record and agree with this right now.

 

Way to cover your butt. The comments of some on this great board are starting to diminish the quality it once had. Too many people jumping on the opinions of the outspoken.

 

I think if the Cubs win in '07, it will be 95% due to the players and 5% to the manager, no matter who they hire!!

[biittner77]

You guys should be jumping for joy that Dusty has been replaced. Instead, most of you lament that Lou was hired and continue to be negative.

 

I for one predict that Lou will not tolerate bad baseball and a few tantrums are what they need. The players they get will determine their success, but Lou CAN make them better. Jim Leyland is a fiery/grouchy manager, and you see what he got out of HIS team.

 

Girardi and Bochy and all the other candidates people wanted, just didn't cut it at a time when they need someone to "win" now.

 

I'll go on record as saying that Jim Hendry took a BIG risk hiring Uncle Lou...and it will pay off.

 

I'm not sure how hiring say, Joe Girardi, would be a sign that the Cubs don't want to win now.

 

I'm also not willing to give Hendry any credit for hiring someone to "win now" as that's as much an effort to save his own job as anything else. Furthermore, it could potentially make a bad situation worse. When the GM is desparate to win now that's when the worst trades tend to transpire. Garland for Karchner for example.

[soapy]

You guys should be jumping for joy that Dusty has been replaced. Instead, most of you lament that Lou was hired and continue to be negative.

 

I for one predict that Lou will not tolerate bad baseball and a few tantrums are what they need. The players they get will determine their success, but Lou CAN make them better. Jim Leyland is a fiery/grouchy manager, and you see what he got out of HIS team.

 

Girardi and Bochy and all the other candidates people wanted, just didn't cut it at a time when they need someone to "win" now.

 

I'll go on record as saying that Jim Hendry took a BIG risk hiring Uncle Lou...and it will pay off.

Well, thanks for letting us know what we should be doing. For some reason I was under the silly impression that this was a place where one could express varying opinions of his or her favorite team. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

 

Lou will not tolerate bad baseball? I'm not sure what you even mean by that. Are tantrums going to make Jones and Izturis better baseball players? Are tantrums going to make Mark Prior healthy? As you stated subsequently, it's the players brought in that will matter most. Not whether or not Lou will throw fits in the dugout/clubhouse.

 

Also, the Tigers are where they are because of their pitching. See the 2003 Chicago Cubs (and the large majority off teams that have made it to the World Series).

[wastra]

Well, I don't know if Lou will be as bad as Dusty or not (I tend to think not), but Jim Hendry continually seems to gravitate to the worst of available options on almost every personnel decision he makes, and that is starting to infuriate me.

[C.C.]

You guys should be jumping for joy that Dusty has been replaced. Instead, most of you lament that Lou was hired and continue to be negative.

 

I for one predict that Lou will not tolerate bad baseball and a few tantrums are what they need. The players they get will determine their success, but Lou CAN make them better. Jim Leyland is a fiery/grouchy manager, and you see what he got out of HIS team.

 

Girardi and Bochy and all the other candidates people wanted, just didn't cut it at a time when they need someone to "win" now.

 

I'll go on record as saying that Jim Hendry took a BIG risk hiring Uncle Lou...and it will pay off.

 

I'm not sure how hiring say, Joe Girardi, would be a sign that the Cubs don't want to win now.

 

I'm also not willing to give Hendry any credit for hiring someone to "win now" as that's as much an effort to save his own job as anything else. Furthermore, it could potentially make a bad situation worse. When the GM is desparate to win now that's when the worst trades tend to transpire. Garland for Karchner for example.

 

Let me ask you -- If your the owner of the Cubs and (by all indications) are about to spend 115 mil. wouldn't you want to bring in a season vet manager opposed to a 2nd year manager?

[jmajew]

Welcome the white Dusty Baker. Ugh.

 

Oh, and if the Cubs manage to be successful in 2007 it will not be because of Lou Piniella.

 

I think Lou is a notch or two above Dusty.

 

If Piniella knows how to contruct a lineup, I don't see how the offense cannot improve over what it was last year. I think he is smart enough to not bat Izturis or Neifi or Cedeno 2 in the lineup. Putting Murton or Barrett there would be a huge improvement over what we have had and alone should provide us with quite a few more runs. So right there would be about 3-5 more wins.

[Mephistopheles]

http://fireloupiniella.blogspot.com/

 

already....

[wastra]

It IS a very Yankees-like move, though isn't it? Throw money at the biggest available name to solve a problem?

 

 

I'm not sure it's a GOOD thing, but it seems very Yankee-like to me.

[Backtobanks]

Welcome the white Dusty Baker. Ugh.

 

Oh, and if the Cubs manage to be successful in 2007 it will not be because of Lou Piniella.

 

I will go on record and agree with this right now.

 

Way to cover your butt. The comments of some on this great board are starting to diminish the quality it once had. Too many people jumping on the opinions of the outspoken.

 

I think if the Cubs win in '07, it will be 95% due to the players and 5% to the manager, no matter who they hire!!

 

I totally agree. I stated in one post that I doubt that there would be a swing of more than 3 games no matter whether they hired Piniella, Bochy, Girardi, or Brenley. Whether we want to admit it or not, these guys are all competent enough to win with the right players.

[NomarSammy]

On the subject of Hendry's terrible personel decisons. I just don't understand everyone's fascination with ripping Hendry's every move. I just dont see it. other than Neifi and Glendon Rusch--what are his other bad moves?

 

J Jones? Howry? Eyre? Trading for ARAM? Pierre?

 

Someone PLEASE explain to me all of the terrible moves that Hendry has made, because I just dont see them. I think actually he has a better defense with the injury bug than Baker does.

 

Maybe I am off base, but I just hear constant ripping of Hendry and aside from the 2 moves I mentioned earlier, I just dont know what else he is supposed to do. Also, I didnt even mention all of the players that people around here wanted and he didnt pay that went to other teams and stunk!

[goonys evil twin]

It IS a very Yankees-like move, though isn't it? Throw money at the biggest available name to solve a problem?

 

 

I'm not sure it's a GOOD thing, but it seems very Yankee-like to me.

 

It's the 2nd time in a row that Hendry has gone with that option. Why he thinks he must do that with the manager, but then avoid guys like Carlos Beltran is beyond me.

 

FWIW, Torre was actually not much of a name when they hired him. He was a failed journeyman manager, perhaps most comparable currently to Buck Showalter (without the control freak controversy). Torre (and Cashman) were example of the Yankees going away from the big name.

[frostwyrm]

Funny nobody has mentioned Lou's salary as an issue. I expect he'll make about what Dusty made: $4-5M. That's $4-5M that won't be spent on players.

[goonys evil twin]

On the subject of Hendry's terrible personel decisons. I just don't understand everyone's fascination with ripping Hendry's every move. I just dont see it. other than Neifi and Glendon Rusch--what are his other bad moves?

 

J Jones? Howry? Eyre? Trading for ARAM? Pierre?

 

Someone PLEASE explain to me all of the terrible moves that Hendry has made, because I just dont see them.

 

Do you think a team loses 90 games on accident? It's a series of moves. Hendry re-upped Alfonseca with a big raise when it was unwarrented and unnecessary. He brought in guys like Macias, Perez, Rusch and Estes who all sucked and received way to much playing time. He's overpaid for mediocrity repeatedly, and avoided the opportunity to acquire difference makers, unless those players came with an asterisk (like the banged up Nomar, or the getting dumped by a payroll slasher Ramirez and Lee).

 

He focused on the bullpen last year when the lineup and rotation were huge question marks, then he filled in the lineup and rotation with mediocre players like Jacque Jones and an injured Wade Miller.

 

The Cubs have lost a ton of games with Hendry. That doesn't happen if all but 2 of your moves are good.

[goonys evil twin]

Funny nobody has mentioned Lou's salary as an issue. I expect he'll make about what Dusty made: $4-5M. That's $4-5M that won't be spent on players.

 

All just part of Hendry's misguided assumption that a big name manager can make the team better.

[soapy]

On the subject of Hendry's terrible personel decisons. I just don't understand everyone's fascination with ripping Hendry's every move. I just dont see it. other than Neifi and Glendon Rusch--what are his other bad moves?

 

J Jones? Howry? Eyre? Trading for ARAM? Pierre?

 

Someone PLEASE explain to me all of the terrible moves that Hendry has made, because I just dont see them. I think actually he has a better defense with the injury bug than Baker does.

 

Maybe I am off base, but I just hear constant ripping of Hendry and aside from the 2 moves I mentioned earlier, I just dont know what else he is supposed to do. Also, I didnt even mention all of the players that people around here wanted and he didnt pay that went to other teams and stunk!

I will freely admit that not every move of Hendry's is terrible, but there are many that are. Some examples:

 

-You already mentioned Neifi and Glendon

-TRADED FOR Macias

-Ordonez

-Womack

-Bynum

-Giving Alfonsecca a raise

-Maddux for Izturis

-Maddux contract before 2004

-Juan Pierre trade

-Dusty (both hiring him originally and not firing him before 2005 or 2006)

-This is debatable, but I'd say he spent way to much putting together the bullpen as currently constructed. Howry has been good, but he overpaid for Howry, Eyre and Dempster IMO.

-Signing J. Jones to three year contract

 

I'm sure there are several more that I'm leaving out. This is just off the top of my head.

[CubColtPacer]

Funny nobody has mentioned Lou's salary as an issue. I expect he'll make about what Dusty made: $4-5M. That's $4-5M that won't be spent on players.

 

Does a manager's salary come out of the budget? I think the player budget will likely be the same regardless of the manager's salary. It shouldn't be that way (since all money really comes out of the same budget-a cutback in one spot should mean in an increase in another spot), but I think that major league teams like to separate those two areas completely and try not to let them affect one another.

[CuseCubFan69]

Funny nobody has mentioned Lou's salary as an issue. I expect he'll make about what Dusty made: $4-5M. That's $4-5M that won't be spent on players.

 

All just part of Hendry's misguided assumption that a big name manager can make the team better.

 

Hendry has no plan or he's being told what to do. If this does happen I have to hope I'm pleasently surprised.

[C.C.]

Welcome the white Dusty Baker. Ugh.

 

Oh, and if the Cubs manage to be successful in 2007 it will not be because of Lou Piniella.

 

I will go on record and agree with this right now.

 

Way to cover your butt. The comments of some on this great board are starting to diminish the quality it once had. Too many people jumping on the opinions of the outspoken.

 

I think if the Cubs win in '07, it will be 95% due to the players and 5% to the manager, no matter who they hire!!

 

I totally agree. I stated in one post that I doubt that there would be a swing of more than 3 games no matter whether they hired Piniella, Bochy, Girardi, or Brenley. Whether we want to admit it or not, these guys are all competent enough to win with the right players.

 

I agree. The amount of crying on this board has reached a epic-like proportion. Any of the 4 above mentioned managers I'd would be fine with. Piniella is just as proven as Bochy and Brenley so what's the problem here?

[goonys evil twin]

Funny nobody has mentioned Lou's salary as an issue. I expect he'll make about what Dusty made: $4-5M. That's $4-5M that won't be spent on players.

 

All just part of Hendry's misguided assumption that a big name manager can make the team better.

 

Hendry has no plan or he's being told what to do. If this does happen I have to hope I'm pleasently surprised.

 

If he's being told what to do, I have to assume he'd be hiring Girardi. After how hot and heavy he was for Baker, Lou is just too perfect a fit to be his next passion. Similar to Baker on the field, but a big enough change in the clubhouse to justify the move.

[Soriano12]

It's gonna be hard for Piniella to manage next season, judging by that very large bus he has already been thrown under.

[CubColtPacer]

On the subject of Hendry's terrible personel decisons. I just don't understand everyone's fascination with ripping Hendry's every move. I just dont see it. other than Neifi and Glendon Rusch--what are his other bad moves?

 

J Jones? Howry? Eyre? Trading for ARAM? Pierre?

 

Someone PLEASE explain to me all of the terrible moves that Hendry has made, because I just dont see them.

 

Do you think a team loses 90 games on accident? It's a series of moves. Hendry re-upped Alfonseca with a big raise when it was unwarrented and unnecessary. He brought in guys like Macias, Perez, Rusch and Estes who all sucked and received way to much playing time. He's overpaid for mediocrity repeatedly, and avoided the opportunity to acquire difference makers, unless those players came with an asterisk (like the banged up Nomar, or the getting dumped by a payroll slasher Ramirez and Lee).

 

He focused on the bullpen last year when the lineup and rotation were huge question marks, then he filled in the lineup and rotation with mediocre players like Jacque Jones and an injured Wade Miller.

 

The Cubs have lost a ton of games with Hendry. That doesn't happen if all but 2 of your moves are good.

 

I think with Hendry (and what Goony is alluding to) it is more of what he hasn't done than what he has. Most of his really bad moves that have been talked about are really just bench moves or things like that which have little bearing on a ballclub. In the past two years though, for whatever reason, Hendry has not brought a single impact player to the ballclub. The closest are Jones, Erye, and Howry, who are all decent to nice pieces of a ballclub, but none of them are an impact player. This team needs more impact players to be highly successful, and Hendry has to go out and get them this offseason. If he does that, the little moves will be seen as much less important. Right now, they have to be seen as important, because that's all we've seen for 2 1/2 years now.