Can the starting pitching be fixed for 2012?

[jersey cubs fan]

.500ism is probably the best we can hope for in 2012, but there's nothing wrong with that.

 

There absolutely is a whole hell of a lot wrong with that.

[Guest]

.500ism is probably the best we can hope for in 2012, but there's nothing wrong with that.

 

There absolutely is a whole hell of a lot wrong with that.

 

He's talking about given the current circumstances. Unless you think there's a clear path to being a 90 win team next year.

[Sammy Sofa]

.500ism is probably the best we can hope for in 2012, but there's nothing wrong with that.

 

There absolutely is a whole hell of a lot wrong with that.

 

He's talking about given the current circumstances. Unless you think there's a clear path to being a 90 win team next year.

 

Well, gooney had to delete the rest of the post to remove the context so he could find something to argue about.

[Tarver]

It's telling when Hendry says something that makes a lot of sense and people still piss and moan about it.

 

There does seem to be a general feeling that his head must roll or the franchise won't be able to move on.

 

The results speak volumes. To me, it's simple as that. He hasn't gotten it done, for whatever reasons. And he's been given more than enough time to do so. Time to move on.

 

See I'd completely buy that, but then Brian Sabean went and won a WS without Barry Bonds.

 

This is what I was alluding to in the transactions thread Mojo. People seem to already be rationalizing the possibility that Hendry might be retained. It can't be rationalized or spun.

[Sammy Sofa]

That's a stretch. That's one guy. You're going to struggle to find many people here that don't want Hendry fired. Claiming that there are "supporters" or "apologists" all over is just wrong.

[Tarver]

I never said "all over". And there were people here who argued to extend Hendry back in April.

[Sammy Sofa]

Freaks, apparently. It's still ridiculous to call out "supporters" when anyone calling for Hendry to be extended is little more than the types of trolls that constantly show up here complaining about lazy ballplayers and are just meatballs. In short, they're not worth a damn.

[Tarver]

Freaks, apparently. It's still ridiculous to call out "supporters" when anyone calling for Hendry to be extended is little more than the types of trolls that constantly show up here complaining about lazy ballplayers and are just meatballs. In short, they're not worth a damn.

 

One of them was Tim.

[Sammy Sofa]

Tim, explain yourself. Why would you be calling for the extension of Jim Hendry in April of 2011?

[Tarver]

I think the argument was something about how a FO shake-up could hinder our chances at signing Pujols.

[Guest]

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=59208

[Sammy Sofa]

Wait, now I'm confused. What does that have to do with extending Hendry? Isn't Hendry already under contract through next year if he's not fired?

[Tarver]

Frankly, I wouldn't mind extending Hendry at this point to a very modest extension - say, 1-2 years - and letting him continue the current process. I certainly wouldn't mind a new GM, either, but I'd be very nervous about the hire. I'd also be nervous about it impacting the signing of Pujols or Prince, which is easily the most important thing this team has to get done in the next few years.

[Sammy Sofa]

Ugh, gross. But I'm still confused since I thought Hendry was already on the payroll through next year.

[Benchwarmer]

Ugh, gross. But I'm still confused since I thought Hendry was already on the payroll through next year.

 

Don't be confused, Hendry is still signed thru 2012. Our only chance to sign a big name FA is to fire Hendry immediately, get our new GM in here and then make our moves on rebuilding the team, including a new manager. Pujols/Fielder will want to see what the team has for 2012 before even talking to us.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm pretty sure the main things Pujols and Fielder are going to be concerned about is whether or not a team can offer them the money and years that they want. I really, really doubt they give a [expletive] whether Mike Quade has been fired or not.

[ChiCubs23]

Hello all. Newbie here. What has Ricketts had to say during all this? He made such noise when he bought the club about being a fan and wanting the Cubs to win, etc. Or is he too busy with is lawsuits to say anything?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Hello all. Newbie here. What has Ricketts had to say during all this? He made such noise when he bought the club about being a fan and wanting the Cubs to win, etc. Or is he too busy with is lawsuits to say anything?

 

He's said generic stuff, but the early results in the draft and international prospect signings indicate he's willing to make them a significant focus for the organization.

[jersey cubs fan]

Hello all. Newbie here. What has Ricketts had to say during all this? He made such noise when he bought the club about being a fan and wanting the Cubs to win, etc. Or is he too busy with is lawsuits to say anything?

 

Lawsuits? Like the one against his father's company? I doubt he's very busy with it.

 

He hasn't had anything to say, but saying things doesn't really matter. He's apparently choosing to wait until the offseason to make any change, at which point we can only hope he cleans house. But there's been no indication that is his plan.

[Tarver]

Let's hope Heyman's source just cleans Tom's pool:

 

But two factors lead one person who has dealings with Cubs owner Tom Ricketts to believe that Hendry will be retained: 1) Ricketts is anything but an impetuous fellow, and 2) he likes Hendry. Others connected to the Cubs agree that the rapport is strong between the owner and GM

 

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/jon_heyman/08/03/chicago.cubs/index.html#ixzz1U08VzbDm

[ChiCubs23]

Ok, since I was brilliantly not paying much attention to the story about the lawsuit, I thought it was the Cubs' owner. Didn't even realize his father owned the company, I thought the company owner and Cubs owner were the same. Doh!

[Brett]

Let's hope Heyman's source just cleans Tom's pool:

 

But two factors lead one person who has dealings with Cubs owner Tom Ricketts to believe that Hendry will be retained: 1) Ricketts is anything but an impetuous fellow, and 2) he likes Hendry. Others connected to the Cubs agree that the rapport is strong between the owner and GM

 

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/jon_heyman/08/03/chicago.cubs/index.html#ixzz1U08VzbDm

 

Heyman kind of lost my trust when he referred up front to "catcher Jeff Baker" (which, of course, has subsequently been fixed). It's hard to feel like someone who could make that mistake is THAT tapped into the Cubs.

[Sammy Sofa]

I don't think "liking Hendry" necessarily means much of anything. Based on everything we've seen pretty much everyone in baseball who knows Hendry likes him. You can still like someone and fire them. And firing Hendry after this season is pretty [expletive] far from being impetuous.

[Backtobanks]

Let's hope Heyman's source just cleans Tom's pool:

 

But two factors lead one person who has dealings with Cubs owner Tom Ricketts to believe that Hendry will be retained: 1) Ricketts is anything but an impetuous fellow, and 2) he likes Hendry. Others connected to the Cubs agree that the rapport is strong between the owner and GM

 

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/jon_heyman/08/03/chicago.cubs/index.html#ixzz1U08VzbDm

 

I could see Ricketts hiring Gillick as president with final say over all baseball issues and keeping Hendry as GM. Gillick has said he wouldn't want a "parallel move" (GM), but would consider a higher job and Ricketts continues to say nice things about Hendry. If he doesn't retain Hendry as GM, I could see him offering Hendry a job somewhere in the organization.

[Soul]

I don't think "liking Hendry" necessarily means much of anything. Based on everything we've seen pretty much everyone in baseball who knows Hendry likes him. You can still like someone and fire them. And firing Hendry after this season is pretty [expletive] far from being impetuous.

 

Definitely.

 

Hendry's been doing this a long time. Firing him shouldn't carry with it the same meaning as it would a GM who didn't make it past a couple years. It should be easy to cast this thing as Jim moving on to the next phase of his life. Which is probably exactly what it is.