Hendry defends Derosa trade

[Andy]

After 2005, it was utter desperation to have a 'leadoff hitter' after the Corey/Neifi Experience, which is why we got Slappy.

 

And I will always believe that Hendry liked Dusty, thought he'd had a run of bad luck, and would've kept him if it weren't for the little fact that fans would have absolutely rioted.

[Guest]

After 2005, it was utter desperation to have a 'leadoff hitter' after the Corey/Neifi Experience, which is why we got Slappy.

 

Yeah, Hendry was pretty proud of himself for that one.

[davearm2]

Do you honestly think Hendry was the one who felt the need to make the lineup more lefthanded, and not Piniella?

 

I honestly believe the both did. I don't really know how anybody can try and pretend Hendry did not.

Of course both did. So I'll go back to what I said in the first place: It's amazing to me that all of this nonsense is being dumped in Hendry's lap. Piniella deserves a share of the responsibility. IMO more than half, but the exact ratio is irrelevant. Regardless, people are acting as though this is all Hendry's making, which is nonsensical.

 

I might agree with you on this one, but let me ask you this question....

 

Who was it exactly that hired Lou Piniella?

My understanding is this:

 

The Tribune hired someone named Dennis Fitzsimons (or somesuch) to be chairman and CEO.

Fitzsimons (or more likely a predecessor to him) hired Andy MacPhail to be President of the Cubs.

MacPhail hired Hendry to be GM. Hendry has since reported to two other Presidents: John McDonough and now Crane Kenney.

Hendry hired Piniella to be manager.

 

So you tell me what the point of who hired who is. Do all of the above folks share in the blame for the misguided quest for a more lefthanded lineup?

[Arnold Layne]

It always, at least partially, about the myopic need for more left handed hitters.

 

As for DeRosa, I'd love to have such a versatile player hitting 266/333/446 with eight homeruns, 31 runs and 32 RBI's. That's after his abysmal start. He's at 295/352/453 for the month of May, 341/426/512 the last 14 days, and 364/440/636 the last seven days. The rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.

 

 

OMG. He would be the team RBI leader, lol.

[erik316wttn]

It's supposed to be getting more GOOD left handed bats in there, not any crappy lefty bat you can scrape up.

 

Pfft. If it works for the bullpen, why not apply it to the lineup, too?

 

*sigh* if only I had learned to throw a baseball left-handed. it wouldn't matter if I could get hitters out or not, I'd still make tons of money for being terrible at my job.

[MembersOnlyJacket]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-28-mitchellmay28,0,6635577.column

 

"I remember when we signed DeRosa [on Nov. 14, 2006] and there was more second-guessing about that than anything," Hendry said. "Mark's a terrific guy and he was a good player for us. But the thinking in the winter was that we already had five right-handed hitters penciled in that weren't going anywhere. And we were concerned with how [Kosuke] Fukudome was going to come back [as a left-handed power hitter]. ... If he hadn't come back well and we kept Mark, we were probably looking at seven out of eight right-handed hitters every day in the lineup. Then we would have that issue again."

 

 

The Cubs hit .274/.793 last year vs RHP (2nd in the NL).

 

The Cubs are hitting .248/.734 this year vs RHP (11th in the NL).

 

I'm glad the lineup is balanced. No issues.

[Backtobanks]

It's supposed to be getting more GOOD left handed bats in there, not any crappy lefty bat you can scrape up.

 

And there isn't a person on this board that would have looked at Fontenot's production last year and Bradley's production throughout his career and describe either as "any crappy lefty bat you can scrape up". It's amazing how hindsight makes us all so much smarter.

[Derwood]

After 2006, it was a need for guys who can catch the ball.

 

After 2006, it was a need for guys who could play baseball

 

I thought it was a need for a manager who wouldn't destroy your two franchise pitchers' arms

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Not a complete abdication, no. But he does listen to his managers and tends to go out and get the players that his managers want, often times at a big detriment to the team.

 

Look how long Neifi, Bynum, Macias, etc stuck around because Dusty wanted them here. If Dusty hadn't wanted them, do you honestly think any of them would have ever seen playing time in a Cubs uni? It's important for a GM to have a good working relationship with his manager, but there are times he just needs to put his foot down and say no.

 

Hendry has made some dumb moves independent of his manager, but he's made some dumb moves because his manager wanted him to as well.

 

There's never been a shred of evidence than Hendry didn't want Neifi, Bynum, Macias, etc.

[17 Seconds]

Hendry sounds like a complete tool. Seriously, if you're defending trades to the media and the fans, then you probably need to rethink things.

[Andy]

Hendry sounds like a complete tool. Seriously, if you're defending trades to the media and the fans, then you probably need to rethink things.

If you're defending trades to the media and fans, you're probably making stupid trades.

[17 Seconds]

After 2005, it was utter desperation to have a 'leadoff hitter' after the Corey/Neifi Experience, which is why we got Slappy.

 

It seems like every offseason he has some stupid little obsession that he thinks is going to be the final piece to a World Series win. Pierre before 06. He pretty much admitted that before 2007 he had a crapload of money and was going to buy some big time slugger at all costs. That left us with 8/136 of Soriano. Then before 2007 it was Roberts even though we had a good 2B. Then this year it was the left handed crap.

[17 Seconds]

Hendry sounds like a complete tool. Seriously, if you're defending trades to the media and the fans, then you probably need to rethink things.

If you're defending trades to the media and fans, you're probably making stupid trades.

 

yeah that too. he just sounds really bad here. kind of like when lou whined about steve phillips.

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

I'm not surprised. What do you expect from a bottom of the barrel GM? The guy doesn't know what he wants on his team year to year. Trying to get more left-handed is just stupid. I can understand making a move or two etc but they overdid it with the left-handed crap. I wonder what next year's pattern will be.

 

The #1 reason why Jim Hendry sucks. This organization has had no direction under Hendry.

 

The guy just doesn't get it...you can't build things...teams...with a bunch of blind guesses as to what might perfect it. Especially when the guesses aren't even his, and that just seems like most of the time.

[17 Seconds]

I wonder what his stupid obsession will be next offseason

[Little Slide Rooter]

I wonder what his stupid obsession will be next offseason

 

Finding a new job.

[17 Seconds]

You're delusional if you think hendry is getting fired

[Little Slide Rooter]

You're delusional if you think hendry is getting fired

 

I dont. The set up was just too perfect.

[TruffleShuffle]

the trade wouldn't have been so bad if fontenot hadn't completely fallen apart this month. i don't think anyone expected a .900+ ops but nobody expected this either.

[UK1679666180]

the trade wouldn't have been so bad if fontenot hadn't completely fallen apart this month. i don't think anyone expected a .900+ ops but nobody expected this either.

 

Agreed, the trade itself is fine by me. It's trying to replace that ability to play multiple positions on a fragile team with someone like Miles. Fontenot and Miles playing awful just compounds the problem.

[chasinf5s]

it was a bad trade but im more angry about Hendry trading Marquis for nothing more than a guy who was gone so smardigisaizia could be called up and sent down

[Soonernation]

I don't think Jim views this as an excuse he's trying to build. I think he honestly thinks that the Cubs needed another LH bat in order to be a better team, even if it meant that the LH bat wasn't likely to be quite as good as the RH bat it was replacing.

 

His infatuation with the side of the plate a guy stands on is but one of the many things that drive me crazy about JH.

 

It's not just Hendry, though. Traditional thinking tends to be that balance in a lineup is more important than having the best talent in the lineup.

 

I remember numerous times last year and offseason when ESPN analysts would bemoan the lack of left handed hitting in the Cubs' lineup and that being why they lost to the Dodgers.

 

Hendry is not alone in this thinking.

 

 

SO considering this right handed hitting line up won 97 games playing mostly against right handed starters, how the [expletive] did they do that? Totally a [expletive] excuse for why they lost to the Dodgers when in reality the same hitters that were hitting against right handed pitcher all year long with great success stunk it up when it mattered

[Gingerballs Lives]

Nice job, Jimbo. :thumbsup:

 

 

What a pile of excrement.

[Arnold Layne]

All Hendry had to do was go out and sign an impact, consistent lefty bat like Dunn rather than wasting $14 million on a non-impact player like Dempster. That was it. The pen was decent, the hitting ok. When I first heard about that I couldn't believe it. You don't give that kind of money to mediocre players.

[Guest]

I don't think Jim views this as an excuse he's trying to build. I think he honestly thinks that the Cubs needed another LH bat in order to be a better team, even if it meant that the LH bat wasn't likely to be quite as good as the RH bat it was replacing.

 

His infatuation with the side of the plate a guy stands on is but one of the many things that drive me crazy about JH.

 

It's not just Hendry, though. Traditional thinking tends to be that balance in a lineup is more important than having the best talent in the lineup.

 

I remember numerous times last year and offseason when ESPN analysts would bemoan the lack of left handed hitting in the Cubs' lineup and that being why they lost to the Dodgers.

 

Hendry is not alone in this thinking.

 

 

SO considering this right handed hitting line up won 97 games playing mostly against right handed starters, how the [expletive] did they do that? Totally a [expletive] excuse for why they lost to the Dodgers when in reality the same hitters that were hitting against right handed pitcher all year long with great success stunk it up when it mattered

 

Whoa. Ease up on the expletives. You can put an eye out with those things.