Do We Really Want This Team to Make the Playoffs?

[Derwood]

Aside from the "blah blah anything can happen blah 2006 Cardinals blah blah" reasons....

 

....do we really want this team to make the post season? do we want anyone in the new ownership, the front office, the media, etc. thinking this team is doing anything right? do we want this insanely mediocre team to be be rewarded in any way, shape or form?

 

this isn't sour grapes. i just don't know what we accomplish by making the playoffs. outside of an outright WS victory, it just seems useless.

[jyoung55]

Yes.

[ninetynineplus]

absolutely. i am so loyal to the cubs because i want them to be in the playoffs. the "aside from the blah" is a rather large element to push to the side as well. there are few times in my life that have been more enjoyable than the 2003 playoffs. mlb says it right when they say "we live for this". it's true, the cubs in the playoffs is something i live for.

[Mizzou]

What kind of Cubs fan would ever, EVER, not want them to make the playoffs?

 

No offense Derwood, but [mephistoles]this is a stupid thread[/mephistoles]

[shnsajax]

A taste of the playoffs might give the new owner even more hunger and do everything to get Arod.

[dew1679666265]

Aside from the "blah blah anything can happen blah 2006 Cardinals blah blah" reasons....

 

....do we really want this team to make the post season? do we want anyone in the new ownership, the front office, the media, etc. thinking this team is doing anything right? do we want this insanely mediocre team to be be rewarded in any way, shape or form?

 

this isn't sour grapes. i just don't know what we accomplish by making the playoffs. outside of an outright WS victory, it just seems useless.

 

Whoever the new owner is, he'll bring in his own ideology. Individual players who are performing will be kept, but if an underperforming player doesn't fit the philosophy of the new owner, (possibly) new GM, etc. they won't be kept - playoff run or not.

 

Either way, I don't think wholesale changes will or should be made. This team has the basis to be very good, it just needs the right parts added (a few guys with good to very good OBPs, a little more power, etc). The only way I think major changes would be made is if the team was as terrible as last year, at which point Hendry would definitely be fired and the team would go through a rebuilding mode with a new GM.

 

So, in short, yes I want this team to make the playoffs because I see no good in them not making it.

[BDWeav71]

A taste of the playoffs might give the new owner even more hunger and do everything to get Arod.

 

 

Kind of what I was thinking. And to answer the original post....of course we want them to make the playoffs.

[Little Slide Rooter]

A taste of the playoffs might give the new owner even more hunger and do everything to get Arod.

 

After 2003, the feeling was they had that hunger and were going to do whatever it took to build off of that team and make it back the next year. We all remember how that turned out. 4 years later, and the only players left from that team are Ramirez, Zambrano, and Wood(who is a shell of his '03 self). Hopefully they've learned that they can throw around all the money in the world, and its only going to take you so far.

[Derwood]

i'm not actively cheering against the team, believe me, but I don't see what the difference between finishing a game out and being swept by the Mets really is

[rynefan]

I want any Cubs team make the playoffs, but I'll admit, if it does happen, this isn't the way I pictured it going down. Two great months (June and July) plus a weak division might just = a playoff spot. Stay tuned. But I'll take it!

 

I know what the OP is saying. Could be embarrassing, but good teams get beat, too, so let's have a shot.

[NewUserName]

I want the Cubs to make the playoffs. Just because I am a Cub fan.

 

Truth is though I dont think they are headed in the right direction to win a WS. I think the only way they get there from where they are is by adding a crap load more payroll. Short of that I think they need to blow it up start from scratch.

[Guest]

I totally see where Derwood is coming from. Hendry completely changed track and really hurt this team in a few ways after 2003 (because of how close the Cubs came in 03).

[Derwood]

I totally see where Derwood is coming from. Hendry completely changed track and really hurt this team in a few ways after 2003 (because of how close the Cubs came in 03).

 

i couldn't care less about being embarrassed in the playoffs. i just don't want the team thinking they did anything right. okay, "anything" is hyperbole, but i don't want an 83 win team to make the NLCS and for new ownership and/or the front office to think they're on the right track here.

 

i'll put the question another way: which would you prefer, making the playoffs and seeing Hendry extended another 2 or 3 years, or missing the playoffs and getting a new GM?

[jiml60]

I've been a fan for close to 40 years, witnessed the heartbreaks of 1969, 1984 & 2003 and that team from the south side win it all, so there's not much more that can disappoint me.

 

I will be extremely disappointed though if this team makes the playoffs and the new owners validate Hendry by extending his contract (though I think only the Canning group would possibly do this).

 

Hendry failed to build on 2003, though MacPhail and DFB deserve a healthy dose of blame - they ruined Wood and Prior, (yes I am blaming management for that) failed to sign any difference makers for the offense and continually signed the same type of horse bleep player.

 

I want to see the Cubs, for once, become a perennial contender. This team is built to catch lightening in a bottle not become a dominant force in the NL. For that Hendry deserves to be shown the door at the end of the season even if the season ends in late October.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I always want to make the postseason. Even if this team gets unceremoniously bounced in three quick games, I'd still rather make it than not.

[SouthSideRyan]

This is nuts, of course we do. What Vance said. I'm a fan of the current team first, the long term team second. That doesn't mean I want to mortgage the future for present success, but it certainly doesn't mean I want to give up the playoff for a possible change in philosophy on building a team.

 

This isn't like rooting for the team to lose down the stretch to get Dusty fired and get us a high draft pick. That's the difference between 75 wins and 66 wins, and really who cares at that point. Wanting the team to fall short because they might get smart because of it, that's lunacy.

[Yeti]

i really want to watch october baseball in wrigley, and i'm guaranteed to do so if this team makes the playoffs...that said, this team aint gonna win squat! wow, i'll be able to buy another "central division champs" t-shirt...big whoop...only in my 30's but im still gonna die w/o seeing the cubs win it all

[hawkeyecub]

Of course we do. This isn't the NBA where making the playoffs means nothing and means you get a lesser quality draft pick (who can make instant impact).

 

There are few enough teams and the nature of the game makes it so that any of the 4 teams have a very reasonable chance at getting to the World Series. Especially in the NL.

 

We're getting new ownership regardless of what happens this year and they're eventually going to get their people in here. Hendry isn't such a disaster that his being retained an additional year will significantly hamstring our chances in the near future. We have a ton of money tied up already and I believe he's committed and forced to making cost-effective moves.

Really whether he comes back or not, the core and bulk of the team will be roughly the same in '08 and probably '09.

[Laura]

Yes.

 

The organization apart from ownership could stand learning how to win. They're in first place. They should win this division. Take it from there.

[Guest]

I totally see where Derwood is coming from. Hendry completely changed track and really hurt this team in a few ways after 2003 (because of how close the Cubs came in 03).

 

i couldn't care less about being embarrassed in the playoffs. i just don't want the team thinking they did anything right. okay, "anything" is hyperbole, but i don't want an 83 win team to make the NLCS and for new ownership and/or the front office to think they're on the right track here.

 

i'll put the question another way: which would you prefer, making the playoffs and seeing Hendry extended another 2 or 3 years, or missing the playoffs and getting a new GM?

 

The Cubs making the playoffs won't guarantee Hendry being extended and missing the playoffs won't guarantee a new regime. We don't know enough about the new ownership to know what they'll be thinking or doing. I don't think that's a fair question. Either way, I expect Hendry to be back next season.

 

I'll take the playoff games even if it's a sweep (especially if the games are in San Diego [maybe even Phoenix] so I can find my way to my first Cubs playoff game).

[Butterscup1679666578]

Yes.

 

The organization apart from ownership could stand learning how to win. They're in first place. They should win this division. Take it from there.

 

Exactly. I know the 2006 Cardinals-type playoff run only comes around once in a blue moon, but I'd at least like to have the CHANCE to pull off a miracle run like that. Can't do it if you don't get the opportunity.

[nilodnayr]

Of course we do. This isn't the NBA where making the playoffs means nothing and means you get a lesser quality draft pick (who can make instant impact).

 

There are few enough teams and the nature of the game makes it so that any of the 4 teams have a very reasonable chance at getting to the World Series. Especially in the NL.

 

We're getting new ownership regardless of what happens this year and they're eventually going to get their people in here. Hendry isn't such a disaster that his being retained an additional year will significantly hamstring our chances in the near future. We have a ton of money tied up already and I believe he's committed and forced to making cost-effective moves.

Really whether he comes back or not, the core and bulk of the team will be roughly the same in '08 and probably '09.

 

What Derwood is saying is that the implications of making the playoffs could be much much worse than an NBA team sneaking out of the lottery.

 

Using the assumption that a playoff appearance validates the organizational phlosophy and therefore would mean continued lack of hope for a truly good team and missing the playoffs would create a turnover in front office personel, I see where he's coming from. HOWEVER, as Rais is pointing out, those are some big assumptions. Missing the playoffs might cause a change in the regime, but theres no guarantee it will be an upgrade. While I'm no Hendry fan, there are worse options out there. Its no guarantee that DePo will be his predecessor if we miss the playoffs.

[mhuber92211]

 

I understand the logic but wouldn't missing the playoffs by 3 games be the same thing as losing in the 1st round?

 

Remember that only 8 teams make the postseason so regardless of the opinion of how good the team is, it is still special to see the red ivy behind Cub players.

[frostwyrm]

I do want the the Cubs to make the playoffs, but I understand what Derwood is getting at it. The Cubs really are a ridiculously mediocre team. They wouldn't be over .500 in any other division. The risk here is that if this overpriced mediocrity sneaks into the playoffs it will give Hendry job security plus a mandate to continue his usual brain-damaged methods for another few years. He's already done plenty of longterm damage and another 2-3 years of Hendry could screw up the Cubs for most of a decade. If they make the playoffs this year I want either a World Series win or an embarrassing 1st round elimination.

[NCCubFan]

Its no guarantee that DePo will be his predecessor if we miss the playoffs.

Actually, it's a guarantee that DePo will NOT be Hendry's predecessor. MacPhail was his predecessor. :D