Crane Kenney wants to be commish?

[UMFan83]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-1025-cubs-crane-kenney-chicago--20111025,0,6854434.story

 

The media's strange obsession with Crane Kenney continues:

 

A former Tribune Co. attorney who wound up as team president and top adviser to Ricketts, Kenney rubbed many the wrong way while climbing the corporate ladder.

 

His business contacts and ability to enhance Wrigley Field revenues make Kenney a valued asset of the Ricketts family, while his reputation for turning the ballpark into his own playground annoys others. An associate of both Ricketts and Kenney said the Cubs owner feels they "owe" Kenney.

 

"Tom is an uber-fan when it comes to the Cubs, but he doesn't know baseball," the associate said. "He looks at Crane as someone who deserves his undying loyalty because he helped him with the financials of the sale.

 

"Someone advised Tom that he needed a sacrificial lamb when he took over, to separate them from (Tribune Co.). But he wouldn't do it. He kept Crane, and really did nothing at first to change the culture, except to extend employees' benefits. The talk at the (Tribune) Tower was that Crane wanted more than anything for the Rickettses to retain him so ultimately he could wind up commissioner of baseball."

Whether it's getting some bottled water from the dugout during a game, using the team's training room for his own personal use or refusing to give up the biggest office at Wrigley Field to the team's new owner, Kenney has angered someone in every nook and cranny at Wrigley.

One former Cubs employee predicted it won't happen anytime soon.

 

"I'm not fully convinced Crane is completely out of the baseball side," the source said. "Let's wait and see."

 

More about pissing off a non-profit he was on the board of, Lou's opinion of him, etc at the link

Edited October 25, 2011 by UMFan83

[Magnetic Curses]

that makes no sense

[Geech]

that makes no sense

 

Only because you don't hate Crane Kenney enough.

[Sammy Sofa]

I am absolutely baffled as to how Kenney has been made into this bizarre baseball supervillain.

[UMFan83]

Hah, here's another good snippet

 

Former general manager Jim Hendry was reportedly livid over the holy water incident, believing Kenney put his publicity-seeking ways ahead of the team that had been trying to put the "curse" in the rearview mirror.

[manbearcub]

I don't really understand why people here defend him?

[Guest]

I am absolutely baffled as to how Kenney has been made into this bizarre baseball supervillain.

 

 

It sounds like he's kind of a childish ass. That'll rub people the wrong way.

[USSoccer]

Did this guy bang every sportwriter's wife?

[Laura]

B&B were yelling about how the first question at tomorrow's pressed had to be about Crane & his continued influence in baseball ops.

[UMFan83]

I don't really understand why people here defend him?

 

Not defend him, just think its weird that he's the sacrificial lamb for the media. Sure maybe he's a childish ass like David said, but nothing he's really done deserves this magnitude of scorn.

[Guest]

I don't really understand why people here defend him?

 

I don't either.

 

I don't know much about him. All I do know of him is that most people seem to think he's a tool...I've never met the guy and as long as he's not involved in baseball (which seems to be up for debate for people), and he's not like expensing a bunch of custom uniforms or something, I don't really care.

 

The strangest part of that story to me was where he wouldn't give up his office to the owners. Huh?

Edited October 25, 2011 by David

[Sammy Sofa]

I don't really understand why people here defend him?

 

I don't either.

 

Wait, what? You both don't know why people here with at least a couple brain cells between them find the stories that try to paint Kenney as the root of what's wrong with the Cubs to be rather ridiculous?

[manbearcub]

I would have fired him for the priest thing alone not to mention being here for however many years as a tribune lackey. I see nothing positive that he has done, if we are cleaning house why stop at him? A lot of this stuff has to be true at this point.

[manbearcub]

I don't really understand why people here defend him?

 

I don't either.

 

Wait, what? You both don't know why people here with at least a couple brain cells between them find the stories that try to paint Kenney as the root of what's wrong with the Cubs to be rather ridiculous?

Why do you think he is good at his job when everything is pointing in the other direction?

[UMFan83]

You would have fired him for asking a priest to bless Wrigley Field before a playoff series? Why?

[Sammy Sofa]

I would have fired him for the priest thing alone not to mention being here for however many years as a tribune lackey. I see nothing positive that he has done, if we are cleaning house why stop at him? A lot of this stuff has to be true at this point.

 

Because his main job is handling the business aspect of the Cubs. If the Ricketts want to keep going forward and totally reshape the FO further and give him the boot, fine, I'm not going to lose sleep over it, but the continued stories that try to make it sound like he's attempted to run the baseball side of things are flimsy at best.

Edited October 25, 2011 by Sammy Sofa

[Guest]

I don't really understand why people here defend him?

 

I don't either.

 

Wait, what? You both don't know why people here with at least a couple brain cells between them find the stories that try to paint Kenney as the root of what's wrong with the Cubs to be rather ridiculous?

 

People here almost act as though they know him and know the things being said aren't true. How the hell do we know he isn't a source of ridicule throughout baseball?

 

Where there's smoke, there's fire. There are enough stories of what an epic tool the guy is that I am inclined to believe there is truth to them.

 

 

You edited out the part where I said I don't really care as long as he's not impacting the product on the field, though. I just don't understand defending him.

[Guest]

My first thought upon seeing this thread: "Is this from Wittenmyer or Sullivan?"

[Guest]

You would have fired him for asking a priest to bless Wrigley Field before a playoff series? Why?

 

Definitely going to far to fire him (especially at that point in time) but also definitely a bit embarrassing and [expletive] stupid.

[UMFan83]

I don't really understand why people here defend him?

 

I don't either.

 

Wait, what? You both don't know why people here with at least a couple brain cells between them find the stories that try to paint Kenney as the root of what's wrong with the Cubs to be rather ridiculous?

Why do you think he is good at his job when everything is pointing in the other direction?

 

The article says that Kenney has done a great job on the business side of things.

[manbearcub]

You would have fired him for asking a priest to bless Wrigley Field before a playoff series? Why?

That and lying afterwards trying to blame the priest for it.

[Sammy Sofa]

I don't really understand why people here defend him?

 

I don't either.

 

Wait, what? You both don't know why people here with at least a couple brain cells between them find the stories that try to paint Kenney as the root of what's wrong with the Cubs to be rather ridiculous?

 

People here almost act as though they know him and know the things being said aren't true. How the hell do we know he isn't a source of ridicule throughout baseball?

 

Where there's smoke, there's fire. There are enough stories of what an epic tool the guy is that I am inclined to believe there is truth to them.

 

 

You edited out the part where I said I don't really care as long as he's not impacting the product on the field, though. I just don't understand defending him.

 

I'm not defending him so much as scoffing at the shitty sports journalism in this town.

 

Basically I think everything indicates he does a good job handling the business side of things. So long as this focus I really don't care about him. The repeated efforts to villainize him are just funny.

[Geech]

The article says that Kenney has done a great job on the business side of things.

 

I believe other articles have as well. The level of hate he draws is seriously bizarre to me, and I have never heard a good reason for it.

[UMFan83]

You would have fired him for asking a priest to bless Wrigley Field before a playoff series? Why?

 

Definitely going to far to fire him (especially at that point in time) but also definitely a bit embarrassing and [expletive] stupid.

 

Maybe, but it had no effect on the games, so what does it matter. If any other team had a priest bless a field before a playoff series, it wouldn't have even made the newspaper. But in Wrigley it becomes an embarrassing story. T for the Cubs. The only thing I'll gripe about is not doing it in private before people were at the park.

[UMFan83]

You would have fired him for asking a priest to bless Wrigley Field before a playoff series? Why?

That and lying afterwards trying to blame the priest for it.

 

That was stupid but no reason to fire someone, especially because there is no way to know what was really said or how it came about.