It's time for change.

[cubswin2009]

1. The team is saddled with no trade clasues.

2. Dempster was given $14 million when an impact player like Dunn was out there.

3. Aaron Miles was given $5 million.

 

That, and that alone should eloquently show that our GM is not thinking in a clear fashion.

 

The change I would like to see is a new GM. Hendry has had his run. He's had a top 5 NL payroll his entire career as Cub's GM and is floating by a fraction above .500.

 

Dempster- 4/52

Bradley- 3/30

Gregg- 1/4.2

Miles- 2/5

 

Dunn- 2/20

 

Unreal

Orlando Hudson who was given Aaron Miles type money :yahoo:

[badnews]

A large payroll has helped to mask Hendry's blatant stupidity. We'll see how charitable people are feeling as Soriano gets less and less effective, etc.

 

Jim Hendry throws away money. That's not being a good GM. Anyone can spend money.

[YearofDaCubs]

1. The team is saddled with no trade clasues.

2. Dempster was given $14 million when an impact player like Dunn was out there.

3. Aaron Miles was given $5 million.

 

That, and that alone should eloquently show that our GM is not thinking in a clear fashion.

 

The change I would like to see is a new GM. Hendry has had his run. He's had a top 5 NL payroll his entire career as Cub's GM and is floating by a fraction above .500.

 

Dempster- 4/52

Bradley- 3/30

Gregg- 1/4.2

Miles- 2/5

 

Dunn- 2/20

 

Unreal

Hendry is a top 10 GM! LOL

[dew1679666265]

182 wins and 0 in the postseason!

 

The playoffs are a crapshoot, you have admitted this. You cannot build a team to specifically win a crapshoot. You build the best team you can (97 wins), you prepare as best you can and then you take your chances.

[17 Seconds]

182 wins and 0 in the postseason!

 

The playoffs are a crapshoot, you have admitted this. You cannot build a team to specifically win a crapshoot. You build the best team you can (97 wins), you prepare as best you can and then you take your chances.

 

That's true, but it's a copout for this team. Don't act like they were just unlucky the last 2 seasons. They choked. They crapped their pants the second the postseason started. That's not Hendry's fault though. Hendry is the last person I'd blame for the playoffs. I blame the players and Lou.

[dew1679666265]

1. The team is saddled with no trade clasues.

2. Dempster was given $14 million when an impact player like Dunn was out there.

3. Aaron Miles was given $5 million.

 

That, and that alone should eloquently show that our GM is not thinking in a clear fashion.

 

The change I would like to see is a new GM. Hendry has had his run. He's had a top 5 NL payroll his entire career as Cub's GM and is floating by a fraction above .500.

 

#1 is perfectly fine in some cases and unneeded in others. NTCs can be just fine, if they provide a benefit elsewhere.

 

2) Dempster has nothing to do with Adam Dunn. One is a pitcher and one is an outfielder. I was in favor of Dunn in the offseason, but Bradley was not a bad choice. It hasn't worked out so far, but Demp has nothing to do with it.

 

3) I won't argue this point.

 

None of those moves in and of themselves are worthy of firing him. Taken in their entirety, and with all the other moves he's made, there may be a case in the offseason if this team continues to underperform this year.

[dew1679666265]

182 wins and 0 in the postseason!

 

The playoffs are a crapshoot, you have admitted this. You cannot build a team to specifically win a crapshoot. You build the best team you can (97 wins), you prepare as best you can and then you take your chances.

 

That's true, but it's a copout for this team. Don't act like they were just unlucky the last 2 seasons. They choked. They crapped their pants the second the postseason started. That's not Hendry's fault though. Hendry is the last person I'd blame for the playoffs. I blame the players and Lou.

 

I was going to address this after your previous post, but how would you build a team of "non-chokers"? What players out there are certain not to choke in the playoffs? How can you or anyone tell? Will those players be good enough to win in the regular season?

 

It's not as simple as just saying we'll build a team filled with clutch players who can handle pressure. Those players, as a whole, must be good enough to win in the regular season to make the postseason in the first place.

 

Maybe they did choke the past two postseasons. If so, what would be your solution? Fire sale and start over? It was pretty much a team-wide slump, so it'd be inconsistent to get rid of some "chokers" and not others. What's the solution if that's your stance?

[rynefan]

Hendry is awesome. The first move tonight should be to release Cotts. He's horrible.

 

Keeping Cotts just boggles my mind.

[17 Seconds]

182 wins and 0 in the postseason!

 

The playoffs are a crapshoot, you have admitted this. You cannot build a team to specifically win a crapshoot. You build the best team you can (97 wins), you prepare as best you can and then you take your chances.

 

That's true, but it's a copout for this team. Don't act like they were just unlucky the last 2 seasons. They choked. They crapped their pants the second the postseason started. That's not Hendry's fault though. Hendry is the last person I'd blame for the playoffs. I blame the players and Lou.

 

I was going to address this after your previous post, but how would you build a team of "non-chokers"? What players out there are certain not to choke in the playoffs? How can you or anyone tell? Will those players be good enough to win in the regular season?

 

It's not as simple as just saying we'll build a team filled with clutch players who can handle pressure. Those players, as a whole, must be good enough to win in the regular season to make the postseason in the first place.

 

Maybe they did choke the past two postseasons. If so, what would be your solution? Fire sale and start over? It was pretty much a team-wide slump, so it'd be inconsistent to get rid of some "chokers" and not others. What's the solution if that's your stance?

 

Like I said, I don't blame Hendry for the playoffs the past 2 years. I was just pointing out that the "bad luck" or "small sample size" argument is a pretty weak one. They choked, flat out. They couldn't handle the moment.

 

So yeah, my point wasn't to argue how to address that, because I don't know. I honestly thought bringing in Bradley was made more for that reason that anything, apart from being a lefty. I think Hendry saw what happened in the last 2 postseasons and he felt like he had to shakeup the chemistry. Not a bad idea really, but he went about it all wrong.

 

So yeah, I don't have a solution and I'm not criticizing Hendry for the playoffs. Jus tsaying that it kind of sucks because as soon as we choked again last year, I became pretty confident that this core/mix/whatever won't win a title. I just don't see it. Of course I could be wrong and it's just my opinion. I'm just saying I don't see it.

[17 Seconds]

Hendry is awesome. The first move tonight should be to release Cotts. He's horrible.

 

Keeping Cotts just boggles my mind.

 

yeah but you're gonna feel stupid if we get rid of cotts and then we have to use marmol against a lefty

[UMFan83]

Hendry is awesome. The first move tonight should be to release Cotts. He's horrible.

 

Keeping Cotts just boggles my mind.

 

Why did we even get Cotts? Because he was a World Series hero with the White Sox? David Aardsma is closing for Seattle, while Cotts is the worst pitcher in a horrific bullpen, after 2.5 crappy seasons and a long stint in the minors. Another great move by Hendry.

[dew1679666265]

Like I said, I don't blame Hendry for the playoffs the past 2 years. I was just pointing out that the "bad luck" or "small sample size" argument is a pretty weak one. They choked, flat out. They couldn't handle the moment.

 

So yeah, my point wasn't to argue how to address that, because I don't know. I honestly thought bringing in Bradley was made more for that reason that anything, apart from being a lefty. I think Hendry saw what happened in the last 2 postseasons and he felt like he had to shakeup the chemistry. Not a bad idea really, but he went about it all wrong.

 

So yeah, I don't have a solution and I'm not criticizing Hendry for the playoffs. Jus tsaying that it kind of sucks because as soon as we choked again last year, I became pretty confident that this core/mix/whatever won't win a title. I just don't see it. Of course I could be wrong and it's just my opinion. I'm just saying I don't see it.

 

Ok, now I get your point more.

 

The sample size argument was more in regards to the people arguing that this team isn't a good team because they lost 6 games. As for the cold streak, I think it was a mix of both. I don't think they handled the pressure particularly well and that contributed to the poor play. Ultimately, though, if things had started well in the playoffs I think the story would have been much different.

 

As for whether this core can win, I still think they can. I'm less confident now, obviously, than I was, but the talent is still there. Most of the offseason moves didn't help our chances, but if the starting lineup is healthy and performing well heading into the playoffs, this team has as good a chance as any.

[Derwood]

wow, Aardsma's been a pimp for Seattle

[dew1679666265]

Hendry is awesome. The first move tonight should be to release Cotts. He's horrible.

 

Keeping Cotts just boggles my mind.

 

Why did we even get Cotts? Because he was a World Series hero with the White Sox? David Aardsma is closing for Seattle, while Cotts is the worst pitcher in a horrific bullpen, after 2.5 crappy seasons and a long stint in the minors. Another great move by Hendry.

 

When we traded Aardsma to the Sox for Cotts, Aardsma was a young reliever who was struggling with control and was decent but not special.

 

Cotts was a fairly average reliever with a terrific year under his belt. Plus he was a lefty.

 

This is also the first season Aardsma has been anything but average to below average since his season with the Cubs.

 

They're two very similar relievers in many ways.

[dew1679666265]

wow, Aardsma's been a pimp for Seattle

 

He has been fantastic this season.

[SouthSideRyan]

I added in today's PAs to Cotts's numbers and it's something like a 640 OPS against vs. righties and 1320 vs. lefties.

 

It's hilarious.

[rynefan]

Hendry is awesome. The first move tonight should be to release Cotts. He's horrible.

 

Keeping Cotts just boggles my mind.

 

yeah but you're gonna feel stupid if we get rid of cotts and then we have to use marmol against a lefty

 

Maybe, but between the time I hear Cotts is gone and the time the next disaster hits, I can fool myself for a while. I like living in that place. LOL

[TruffleShuffle]

cotts needs to go and so does patton. those are two guys who contribute absolutely nothing to the quality of the team. it's embarrassing that we gave away mike wuertz for peanuts but have those two losers in the bullpen.

[Guest]

cotts needs to go and so does patton. those are two guys who contribute absolutely nothing to the quality of the team. it's embarrassing that we gave away mike wuertz for peanuts but have those two losers in the bullpen.

 

Lou didn't like Wuertz, Gaudin or Vizcaino. Surely, Lou's feelings should be put before wins and losses, right?

[CUBZ99]

cotts needs to go and so does patton. those are two guys who contribute absolutely nothing to the quality of the team. it's embarrassing that we gave away mike wuertz for peanuts but have those two losers in the bullpen.

 

Patton looked good last night. His breaking pitch looked devastating and I wouldn't mind Lou actually giving him a chance to pitch once in awhile. As far as Cotts and Heilman are concerned, I have no idea why they are still on the roster.

[wastra]

I blame Hendry for being a sucker for scouting reports and not "understanding" the statistics that can either support or discount those reports.

 

It's what makes him a slave to "recent performance" without the ability to predict a "return to normal" performance with any accuracy.

 

 

Dempster/Miles are good examples...a good season amidst a lot of mediocre ones combined with scouts who love their Stuff/tools convinces him they've just "found it" instead of "had career years that they won't repeat."

[Little Slide Rooter]

cotts needs to go and so does patton. those are two guys who contribute absolutely nothing to the quality of the team. it's embarrassing that we gave away mike wuertz for peanuts but have those two losers in the bullpen.

 

Its got to be at the point by now that Cotts is more shocked than anyone that hes still on this team.

[Derwood]

life would be much simpler if we could return to the days of the 4-man rotation and 3-man bullpen

[sneakypower]

182 wins and 0 in the postseason!

 

The playoffs are a crapshoot, you have admitted this. You cannot build a team to specifically win a crapshoot. You build the best team you can (97 wins), you prepare as best you can and then you take your chances.

 

That's true, but it's a copout for this team. Don't act like they were just unlucky the last 2 seasons. They choked. They crapped their pants the second the postseason started. That's not Hendry's fault though. Hendry is the last person I'd blame for the playoffs. I blame the players and Lou.

choking- check

pants crapping- check

 

now, say something about testicles quick and we've got all bases covered

[Gingerballs Lives]

cotts needs to go and so does patton. those are two guys who contribute absolutely nothing to the quality of the team. it's embarrassing that we gave away mike wuertz for peanuts but have those two losers in the bullpen.

 

Lou didn't like Wuertz, Gaudin or Vizcaino. Surely, Lou's feelings should be put before wins and losses, right?

 

He didn't like Eyre, either.

 

I mean, he wasn't an all-star but compared to most of our current pen, he was.

 

:boggle