Hendry Q&A:

[UK1679666180]

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071018&content_id=2271335&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

 

MLB.com: Is finding a regular catcher a top priority?

 

Hendry: I'm happy with [Geovany] Soto. I think Soto has a great chance to be the catcher on Opening Day

 

MLB.com: The Cubs farm system has been maligned in the past, and this season produced several standout players who contributed.

 

Hendry: We felt last offseason, the farm system was better than advertised. When the big league club had a bad year, like last year, and somebody doesn't come up and be Willie Mays right away, the whole farm system was maligned. It wasn't easy to sit back all winter and watch [player development director Oneri Fleita] take some abuse I knew he didn't deserve, and I'm glad for him now [to be rewarded with a promotion]. [The Cubs' farm system] was never maligned in the general manager world by my peers. I think a lot of people critical of our farm system couldn't name 10 people in our farm system.

 

The other thing that people don't realize is that way larger than 50 percent of the equation of player development is your scouting department. It doesn't matter who you are, but if you don't have the talent to begin with, it's hard to develop them. We now have arguably if not the top, certainly one of the top three scouting directors in baseball [in Tim Wilken]. You have a 20-year history with Tim and you can put his record up against anybody. I see an upswing in our farm system after his first two Drafts. If he can do that for three or four more, and we're increasing our commitment in Latin America, and increasing our commitment in Asia and Europe, we'll get even better. Do we have a little gap of the same kind of players maybe the last two drafts from a couple previous? Yes. Maybe some of the guys we were high on in Tim's Draft, maybe they won't pan out.

 

I can promise as a general manager, I have zero worries that between Tim Wilken, and Fleita, and [scouts] Paul Weaver and Steve Wilson in the international market we will have a continual flow of Major League players.

[Guest]

everyone should read the whole article. made me feel a little better about jimbo.

[Guest]

I was talking to Jon about this. Can someone help me out?

 

I can promise as a general manager, I have zero worries that between Tim Wilken, and Fleita, and [scouts] Paul Weaver and Steve Wilson in the international market we will have a continual flow of Major League players.

 

Paul Weaver is listed as a Special Assistant to the General Manager on cubs.com, is Hendry saying Weaver is an int'l scout like Wilson?

[daske17]

everyone should read the whole article. made me feel a little better about jimbo.

 

I didn't see anything in there about increasing OBP, so until then, he's got a ways to go.

[Guest]

everyone should read the whole article. made me feel a little better about jimbo.

 

I didn't see anything in there about increasing OBP, so until then, he's got a ways to go.

 

I said a little bit better, didn't I? :)

[CubColtPacer]

everyone should read the whole article. made me feel a little better about jimbo.

 

I didn't see anything in there about increasing OBP, so until then, he's got a ways to go.

 

He's had a lot of quotes over the last year where he mentions about how he wants to increase the teams OBP, in addition to the fact that when he sent Pie down he was quoted as the one thing he wanted Pie to work on was plate discipline. It may not have come into fruition on the roster yet (which ultimately is what matters if Hendry wants to keep his job) but Hendry's quotes from the first of the year on to that subject have been dramatically different from previous years.

 

I do agree that this article was very nice for him. For example, he was asked the question about situational hitting where it would have been very easy to simply agree with the question but instead he made sure to disagree with it. He showed faith in some of his young players like Hill and Soto, and everything in the article indicated that he's taking the whole season as more important than the small 3 game playoff sample. All of those were criticisms of Hendry in the past both in his actions and his words (making too many decisions because of small samples, no faith in young players, focusing on the wrong things) and it's nice to see that his words have changed. Hopefully he'll show this offseason that his actions have continued to change as well.

[badnews]

MLB.com: The Cubs farm system has been maligned in the past, and this season produced several standout players who contributed.

 

Uh, apparently my definition of "standout" is a little different from theirs.

[javy knows my name]

Hmm nothing mentioning Pie's chances to start in CF on opening day... Guess we just have to hope for a productive spring training for him

[Outshined_One]

If he can do that for three or four more, and we're increasing our commitment in Latin America, and increasing our commitment in Asia and Europe, we'll get even better.

 

The highlighted portion is probably the best thing I heard from this interview. I really believe there are some terrific players waiting to be discovered in Europe and the parts of Asia which haven't been scouted very heavily. Granted, baseball is not as big there as other sports, but if you can find quality players for cheaper than the going rate for comparable talent from places like the Dominican Republic and Korea, that's a good thing.

 

We'll see if anything comes from it, but I think it's a great thing for this organization to be doing.

[Mephistopheles]

everyone should read the whole article. made me feel a little better about jimbo.

 

I didn't see anything in there about increasing OBP, so until then, he's got a ways to go.

 

im going to play devil's advocate here and say this:

 

Increasing our focus towards latin american and japanese prospects is way to HURT our OBP since both areas usually dislike walks.

[Guest]

everyone should read the whole article. made me feel a little better about jimbo.

 

I didn't see anything in there about increasing OBP, so until then, he's got a ways to go.

 

im going to play devil's advocate here and say this:

 

Increasing our focus towards latin american and japanese prospects is way to HURT our OBP since both areas usually dislike walks.

 

What great japanese or korean players are playing in the US right now? I don't feel like the Cubs have missed out on that much in that market.

[Mephistopheles]

That's a loaded statement, most japanese players don't come over here until after their prime {Ichiro, Matui(s) and Matsuzaka are the exception).

 

That said they've got quite a few good players here right now. There's a lot of young talent in Japan right now (especially on the pitching side of the game)

 

Yuki Saito

Yu Darvish

Masahiro Tanaka

Yoshinori Sato

 

All of these pitchers have the potential to be in the front half of a major league rotation, with Sato and Darvish being potential elite pitchers (Darvish could wind up being the best pitcher on the planet). There are several other guys who could be at that level, but more than likely middle of the rotatino guys (Uehara, Saito, Sugiuchi, etc). Pitchers from Japan have thrived, it's the offensive side of the game where they haven't. Jojima has done well and so has Ichiro as well as Iguchi. The Matsuis haven't.

[badnews]

Does the hype usually match the results though? Matsuzaka was supposed to be the best pitcher on the planet, with 8 pitches he could throw for strikes whenever he wanted, etc. I'd say the relief pitchers have thrived, but otherwise it's a little more unclear. One thing I've noticed about people talking about Japanese players - there is no tempered enthusiasm. Most everyone tends to be fantastic and people act like you'll get billions of dollars in new revenue or something.

 

I'm not sure I'm reading correctly that the Matsuis haven't succeeded. Hideki Matsui is fine. Iguchi doesn't impress me too much. Johjima's 2007 offense was good enough but not great, although his defense is pretty nice. Iwamura doesn't make much money, which is good considering his 3b numbers.

 

Also, I don't think you can make blanket statements about the tendencies of Asian or Latin American players.

[wvcbxl]

If he can do that for three or four more, and we're increasing our commitment in Latin America, and increasing our commitment in Asia and Europe, we'll get even better.

 

The highlighted portion is probably the best thing I heard from this interview. I really believe there are some terrific players waiting to be discovered in Europe and the parts of Asia which haven't been scouted very heavily. Granted, baseball is not as big there as other sports, but if you can find quality players for cheaper than the going rate for comparable talent from places like the Dominican Republic and Korea, that's a good thing.

 

We'll see if anything comes from it, but I think it's a great thing for this organization to be doing.

 

I'll be eager to read how Dwayne Kemp (the 19yr old Dutch INF) will be playing next year.

[UK1679666180]

I was talking to Jon about this. Can someone help me out?

 

I can promise as a general manager, I have zero worries that between Tim Wilken, and Fleita, and [scouts] Paul Weaver and Steve Wilson in the international market we will have a continual flow of Major League players.

 

Paul Weaver is listed as a Special Assistant to the General Manager on cubs.com, is Hendry saying Weaver is an int'l scout like Wilson?

 

I think he's the equiv. to an International supervisor, where Wilson is more of an area guy and Weaver is a crosschecker. With that role of assistant GM, it's wide open as far as his job duties, I assume being in charge of (non-Latin) international scouting is one of them.

Edited October 21, 2007 by UK

[RynoRules]

Best part of that whole thing is that Soto is the starter. That could have a really wonderful trickle-down effect on the rest of the team insomuch as it frees up some cash to spend on position(s) (RF? SS?) where we don't have internal solutions.

[Keener98]

Best part of that whole thing is that Soto is the starter. That could have a really wonderful trickle-down effect on the rest of the team insomuch as it frees up some cash to spend on position(s) (RF? SS?) where we don't have internal solutions.

 

Well he did only say he has a "great chance" not that is was a given he was the starter.

[Backtobanks]

everyone should read the whole article. made me feel a little better about jimbo.

 

I didn't see anything in there about increasing OBP, so until then, he's got a ways to go.

 

He's had a lot of quotes over the last year where he mentions about how he wants to increase the teams OBP, in addition to the fact that when he sent Pie down he was quoted as the one thing he wanted Pie to work on was plate discipline. It may not have come into fruition on the roster yet (which ultimately is what matters if Hendry wants to keep his job) but Hendry's quotes from the first of the year on to that subject have been dramatically different from previous years.

 

I do agree that this article was very nice for him. For example, he was asked the question about situational hitting where it would have been very easy to simply agree with the question but instead he made sure to disagree with it. He showed faith in some of his young players like Hill and Soto, and everything in the article indicated that he's taking the whole season as more important than the small 3 game playoff sample. All of those were criticisms of Hendry in the past both in his actions and his words (making too many decisions because of small samples, no faith in young players, focusing on the wrong things) and it's nice to see that his words have changed. Hopefully he'll show this offseason that his actions have continued to change as well.

 

It was a nice article, but I am amazed by posters who dislike Hendry making a big deal about what he didn't say. He didn't say Pie would start in CF, he didn't say tha Soto was absolutely the starter for 2008, he didn't say anything about improving the OBP, etc. It seems to me that Soto and Pie playing regularly is a decision that the manager makes and not the GM. As for the OBP, it might improve with an off season acquisition or possibly with additional coaching by Gerald Perry.

[Vanilla Ice]

That's a loaded statement, most japanese players don't come over here until after their prime {Ichiro, Matui(s) and Matsuzaka are the exception).

 

That said they've got quite a few good players here right now. There's a lot of young talent in Japan right now (especially on the pitching side of the game)

 

Yuki Saito

Yu Darvish

Masahiro Tanaka

Yoshinori Sato

 

All of these pitchers have the potential to be in the front half of a major league rotation, with Sato and Darvish being potential elite pitchers (Darvish could wind up being the best pitcher on the planet). There are several other guys who could be at that level, but more than likely middle of the rotatino guys (Uehara, Saito, Sugiuchi, etc). Pitchers from Japan have thrived, it's the offensive side of the game where they haven't. Jojima has done well and so has Ichiro as well as Iguchi. The Matsuis haven't.

 

We could have Soto and Sato

[Roast]

That's a loaded statement, most japanese players don't come over here until after their prime {Ichiro, Matui(s) and Matsuzaka are the exception).

 

That said they've got quite a few good players here right now. There's a lot of young talent in Japan right now (especially on the pitching side of the game)

 

Yuki Saito

Yu Darvish

Masahiro Tanaka

Yoshinori Sato

 

All of these pitchers have the potential to be in the front half of a major league rotation, with Sato and Darvish being potential elite pitchers (Darvish could wind up being the best pitcher on the planet). There are several other guys who could be at that level, but more than likely middle of the rotatino guys (Uehara, Saito, Sugiuchi, etc). Pitchers from Japan have thrived, it's the offensive side of the game where they haven't. Jojima has done well and so has Ichiro as well as Iguchi. The Matsuis haven't.

 

We could have Soto and Sato

 

Then that jackass on TBS wouldn't know what to call soto.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I was talking to Jon about this. Can someone help me out?

 

I can promise as a general manager, I have zero worries that between Tim Wilken, and Fleita, and [scouts] Paul Weaver and Steve Wilson in the international market we will have a continual flow of Major League players.

 

Paul Weaver is listed as a Special Assistant to the General Manager on cubs.com, is Hendry saying Weaver is an int'l scout like Wilson?

 

I read that as these 3 guys plus Wilson in the international market.

[Warpticon]

That's a loaded statement, most japanese players don't come over here until after their prime {Ichiro, Matui(s) and Matsuzaka are the exception).

 

That said they've got quite a few good players here right now. There's a lot of young talent in Japan right now (especially on the pitching side of the game)

 

Yuki Saito

Yu Darvish

Masahiro Tanaka

Yoshinori Sato

 

All of these pitchers have the potential to be in the front half of a major league rotation, with Sato and Darvish being potential elite pitchers (Darvish could wind up being the best pitcher on the planet). There are several other guys who could be at that level, but more than likely middle of the rotatino guys (Uehara, Saito, Sugiuchi, etc). Pitchers from Japan have thrived, it's the offensive side of the game where they haven't. Jojima has done well and so has Ichiro as well as Iguchi. The Matsuis haven't.

 

I would love some background on Yu Darvish, because that is so not a Japanese surname.

[nilodnayr]

That's a loaded statement, most japanese players don't come over here until after their prime {Ichiro, Matui(s) and Matsuzaka are the exception).

 

That said they've got quite a few good players here right now. There's a lot of young talent in Japan right now (especially on the pitching side of the game)

 

Yuki Saito

Yu Darvish

Masahiro Tanaka

Yoshinori Sato

 

All of these pitchers have the potential to be in the front half of a major league rotation, with Sato and Darvish being potential elite pitchers (Darvish could wind up being the best pitcher on the planet). There are several other guys who could be at that level, but more than likely middle of the rotatino guys (Uehara, Saito, Sugiuchi, etc). Pitchers from Japan have thrived, it's the offensive side of the game where they haven't. Jojima has done well and so has Ichiro as well as Iguchi. The Matsuis haven't.

 

I would love some background on Yu Darvish, because that is so not a Japanese surname.

 

Meph did a write up on him and a couple other (I don't remember which forum), but hes half Iranian IIRC. He let up like 129 hits in 207 innings or something insane like that.

[shnsajax]

everyone should read the whole article. made me feel a little better about jimbo.

 

I didn't see anything in there about increasing OBP, so until then, he's got a ways to go.

 

He's had a lot of quotes over the last year where he mentions about how he wants to increase the teams OBP, in addition to the fact that when he sent Pie down he was quoted as the one thing he wanted Pie to work on was plate discipline. It may not have come into fruition on the roster yet (which ultimately is what matters if Hendry wants to keep his job) but Hendry's quotes from the first of the year on to that subject have been dramatically different from previous years.

 

I do agree that this article was very nice for him. For example, he was asked the question about situational hitting where it would have been very easy to simply agree with the question but instead he made sure to disagree with it. He showed faith in some of his young players like Hill and Soto, and everything in the article indicated that he's taking the whole season as more important than the small 3 game playoff sample. All of those were criticisms of Hendry in the past both in his actions and his words (making too many decisions because of small samples, no faith in young players, focusing on the wrong things) and it's nice to see that his words have changed. Hopefully he'll show this offseason that his actions have continued to change as well.

 

It was a nice article, but I am amazed by posters who dislike Hendry making a big deal about what he didn't say. He didn't say Pie would start in CF, he didn't say tha Soto was absolutely the starter for 2008, he didn't say anything about improving the OBP, etc. It seems to me that Soto and Pie playing regularly is a decision that the manager makes and not the GM. As for the OBP, it might improve with an off season acquisition or possibly with additional coaching by Gerald Perry.

 

I really don't think Hendry needs to name Soto the starter right now. I think it is pretty much assumed, and I think this offseason will show that Soto intends to be the starter.

[Irrelevant Dude]

I can promise as a general manager, I have zero worries that between Tim Wilken, and Fleita, and [scouts] Paul Weaver and Steve Wilson in the international market we will have a continual flow of Major League players.

I realize it's a common name, but this doesn't happen to be Steve Wilson the Cubs LHP from the early 90's does it?