Official Apologize to Hendry Thread

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I'd say Hendry got the better end of the Barrett/Miller deal.

 

Wasn't Oakland just a middle-man there? They got Barrett from Montreal for a ptbnl and the next day traded him to Chicago for Miller. I don't know who the ptbnl was, but I thought that was just a slightly delayed 3-team trade. Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly.

The Oakland Athletics sent Bret Price (minors) (December 19, 2003) to the Montreal Expos to complete the trade.

Miller was traded to Oakland for a PTBNL, Barrett was traded to the Cubs for a PTBNL, and they each turned out to be that player nearly the same day (if not the same day). it confused me to the point where my brain hurt

[Backtobanks]

 

I don't think anyone forgets it takes 2 to make a trade. I think we look at Hendry's track record and his inability to string together years of success, despite now having a big payroll and a weak division, and find him lacking as a GM. Doesn't mean he doesn't try or doesn't make some good moves.

 

Weak Division? In the last 5 seasons, when we haven't won the division (2004, 2005, 2006), a team from the NL Central has played in the World Series. The Central's the best division in baseball this year.

 

You can't really blame Hendry for 2004 either... you definitely can for 2005/2006 though.

 

That really doesn't mean all that much. Doesn't mean the division was strong those years. It may have been (in 2004, it certainly was), but the fact that the teams from the division made the World Series doesn't mean the division was strong.That said, the NL Central is certainly a very strong division right now compared to others.

 

How do you determine the division is strong? What other criteria can you use? The All Star game (an exhibition game)? Best record (with unbalanced schedule)? East Coast media bias? The bottom line is that the winner of the WS is the best team and the loser in the WS is the 2nd best team.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

 

I don't think anyone forgets it takes 2 to make a trade. I think we look at Hendry's track record and his inability to string together years of success, despite now having a big payroll and a weak division, and find him lacking as a GM. Doesn't mean he doesn't try or doesn't make some good moves.

 

Weak Division? In the last 5 seasons, when we haven't won the division (2004, 2005, 2006), a team from the NL Central has played in the World Series. The Central's the best division in baseball this year.

 

You can't really blame Hendry for 2004 either... you definitely can for 2005/2006 though.

 

That really doesn't mean all that much. Doesn't mean the division was strong those years. It may have been (in 2004, it certainly was), but the fact that the teams from the division made the World Series doesn't mean the division was strong.That said, the NL Central is certainly a very strong division right now compared to others.

 

How do you determine the division is strong? What other criteria can you use? The All Star game (an exhibition game)? Best record (with unbalanced schedule)? East Coast media bias? The bottom line is that the winner of the WS is the best team and the loser in the WS is the 2nd best team.

 

false.

[NCCubFan]

The bottom line is that the winner of the WS is the best team and the loser in the WS is the 2nd best team.

Wrong. The Cardinals weren't the best team in 2006. They were simply the team that got hot at the right time.

[Larry Horse]

I'll apologize when we get to the World Series.

 

Seconded

[swordsman]

Was Hendry responsible for the Huntley trade to the Dodgers?

No, but he was responsible for the Hundley trade. :D

 

Touche...Or you could spell it with a D if you want. ;)

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

Since Dusty left town I think he's done a very good job overall.

We can also look at it as since MacPhail left. That may be just as significant.

I'm glad to see people are finally realizing what a pure cancer MacPhail was to this organization. He has one thing on his mind..the commish job when Selig vacates it...that is why he never approved mega bucks outside of the Sosa extension. He is a vile plague..but Baltimore's problem now at least.

[Soul]

I'll apologize when we get to the World Series.

 

Seconded

 

Exactly what I was going to post.

 

Thirded.

[twothousandfive]

He always has done a good job of evaluating the talent on his own team,

 

At the major league level, I agree. I can't help but wonder about his ability to get value back for true prospects.

 

I think of Bobby Hill, Choi and Mitre as guys where, once he saw them in the majors, he knew they were just fodder, and found a team that hadn't figured that out. But I can't help but wonder if that analysis extends into the minors. Now, maybe it's because the Cubs just haven't been able to get anyone to the prized prospect level, but Corey Patterson, Felix Pie (?), Ronny Cedeno, Bobby Hill, Angel Guzman, and others seem to have really hit peak value at triple A. As a result they got a shot with the Cubs, and none (so far) have proven themselves.

 

Of course, that might be a philosophy -- rarely trade a high minors guy until you see him at Wrigley. It's worked out, but I wonder if it is luck or design.

[Soul]

Position player development. That's where we've failed. Not just Hendry, up & down the org. Soto could be the best player to come through here since Gracie. If he continues to produce, hopefully it signals a new era where we can get some all star talent out of our own minors.

 

I actually think we've done alright developing pitching talent.

[Amazing_Grace]

I'll grant that he's put together a good team this season, and we did make the playoffs last season. Still, let's not forget that this is after having Piniella negate most of the moves he made over the previous season (benched Izturis, benched Jones then moved him to CF, moved Theriot back to SS, mostly benched Scott Eyre), and do a much better job handling the starting pitching staff with regards to pitch counts, and changed the hitting philosophy from swing at everything to work the count. So, he gets some credit, but not as much as I give Piniella or frankly, the Trib and whoever the owner is now, who gave Hendry the money to buy his way out of his, and Dusty's, mistakes. I do forgive him a lot of what happened in 05-06 with the turnaround the past two seasons.

 

Hendry has always struck me as the sort of GM that gives his managers what they want, to the extent that he can. What Dusty wanted was awful, so the team was awful. What Lou wants is much better, so Hendry suddenly appears to be a much better GM. My opinion of him has improved a lot the past season and a half because I've come to believe that Hendry wasn't as much of the problem as Dusty was, and Hendry's main mistake was hiring possibly the worst manager in baseball then giving him too much influence over how the team was set up. Hiring Dusty is the mistake that I'll hold against Jim, and not firing him while he continued to mess up our young players and abuse Z's arm in 06 is still a complete mystery to me. I'm off the fire Hendry bandwagon, but I'm not calling him GM of the year either. Now, if the Cubs win a WS, then all is forgiven and he can stay GM for as long as he wants no matter how awful the team is.