2013

[Backtobanks]

You're right. Hendry didn't inherit an 89 win team. He inherited a team that had a damn good foundation that made the playoffs in year 2 for him. He [expletive] that team up within an extremely short time, spent wildly to get good again, had no plan whatsoever to stay good, and this is why Theo was brought in. To clean up a [expletive] mess. Sorry, but Theo was the right hire, whether he's managed a rebuild or not. You could quit bitching, try to see things how he's looking at it, or you can continue to moan and groan about what it is we're NOT doing. But you need to figure out the reason we're NOT spending big right now is because a very well thought of GM took a look at the roster he had inherited and saw that it was SO [expletive] up, a complete teardown was the best way to go.

 

I never said that Theo wasn't a good hire. As for my bitching, I read post after post about Hendry from others before I respond. I don't have a problem about spending big now, but as I mentioned before Cespedes was there for the taking and Darvish was a possibility instead of sitting on the money. I accepted the complete dismantling for 2012, but I think completely tanking 2013 makes a turnaround difficult for 2014. In the end, none of us have any other choice but to hope that Theo's plan works. I'm just not as confident or patient as some of you probably because I've waited longer than most of you.

[davell]

I understand and respect the length of time you've followed the Cubs. Things are different with this regime and if you're not following the minors and the draft, you should. It'd probably show you things are progressing when the major league product looks awful. There's been plenty of guys here starting to follow much closer. It'd be easier for you to see progress at least.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm still waiting for the Koolaide drinkers to admit that Theo has any faults or has ever made a mistake.

 

Why?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I understand and respect the length of time you've followed the Cubs. Things are different with this regime and if you're not following the minors and the draft, you should. It'd probably show you things are progressing when the major league product looks awful. There's been plenty of guys here starting to follow much closer. It'd be easier for you to see progress at least.

 

The problem is that I'm not convinced that the transition from "The low minors look awesome" to "the majors look awesome" is as easy, likely or quick as fans and possibly this organization hopes.

[davell]

I don't think for a second we're counting on all these guys to make it to the majors though. Baez and Soler? Yeah. I figure even Almora possibly could be trade bait. If not, I guess he's waiting behind Brett and we can be patient, because that means Brett makes it. On the other hand, guys like Candelario, Vogelbach, maybe some of the pitching we just drafted, Villanueva, Amaya, whoever else, they'll be trade bait. Along with guys we draft next year possibly. Hell, Baez could wind up getting dealt for all I know. But some of these guys WILL be very solid trade pieces once they're in full season ball.

[Guest]

Theo is really, really smart. Hendry isn't.

 

That's all that really matters to me.

 

Yeah it's great that all of us smart people can post on message boards while the not-so-smart can be special assistant to the GM of the most successful franchise in the history of team sports.

 

Ah, the ever so solid "if they have the job, they must be better at it than the rest of the entire world" argument... made even stronger by the boys club hiring that goes on in professional sports.

[Backtobanks]

Theo is really, really smart. Hendry isn't.

 

That's all that really matters to me.

 

Yeah it's great that all of us smart people can post on message boards while the not-so-smart can be special assistant to the GM of the most successful franchise in the history of team sports.

 

Ah, the ever so solid "if they have the job, they must be better at it than the rest of the entire world" argument... made even stronger by the boys club hiring that goes on in professional sports.

 

Well Hendry has had a job in baseball as a coach, scout, general manager, and special assistant to a general manager all of his adult life which puts him a few steps ahead of posters on a message board.

[Sammy Sofa]

Reality states otherwise.

[Sammy Sofa]

LULZ at the master of the multi-team trade planting himself in the corner by lecturing people for daring to think they can think on the level of MLB GM's.

[Backtobanks]

Reality states otherwise.

 

Yeah the reality is that we're posting on message boards and he's had a long-time career on many levels of baseball, but in you go ahead and keep believing that you're smarter than he is and he's just been lucky all of his life.

 

 

LULZ at the master of the multi-team trade planting himself in the corner by lecturing people for daring to think they can think on the level of MLB GM's.

 

At least I understand that this message board is for entertainment purposes. It's a shame that you really believe that the fact that you post every 30 seconds somehow makes you smarter than the rest of the world.

[Guest]

Reality states otherwise.

 

Yeah the reality is that we're posting on message boards and he's had a long-time career on many levels of baseball, but in you go ahead and keep believing that you're smarter than he is and he's just been lucky all of his life.

 

 

So you think that Jim Hendry is definitely smarter than everyone else in the world because he's had that career? Or at least smarter than everyone posting on message boards and not working in baseball?

[Guest]

I sure hope the rest of the world isn't dumber than Dusty Baker. He has worked in baseball a really long time, though, so it seems likely.

[davell]

Look, there's no one here who could walk in and competently take over as a GM right now. But, if given a lifetime career in baseball, it changes things dramatically too. The intelligence of some people here or anywhere else, for that matter, is certainly high enough to do the job. Jim Hendry is not some MIT graduate with 12 degrees. This is baseball, not rocket science and Hendry simplified things moreso than most do currently. Which is a good bet as to why he's no longer a GM. Edited August 27, 2012 by davell

[Little Slide Rooter]

Reality states otherwise.

 

Yeah the reality is that we're posting on message boards and he's had a long-time career on many levels of baseball, but in you go ahead and keep believing that you're smarter than he is and he's just been lucky all of his life.

 

 

So you think that Jim Hendry is definitely smarter than everyone else in the world because he's had that career? Or at least smarter than everyone posting on message boards and not working in baseball?

 

He made some awful decisions, and a lot went wrong for him, but the fact is that there are 30 MLB GM jobs, and a ton of guys that would love to take them, and I'm not just talking about message board posters and radio callers here. Anyone who managed to hold down one of the the most sought after jobs in sports for as long as Hendry did suggests that he was clearly doing a lot of things right, though we might not know just what.

[Guest]

The funny thing is, I never said that I could do Hendry's job better than he did it. I said that I was glad Theo can, because he's a lot smarter than him.

[sneakypower]

hey b2b, now tell us how smart Matt Millen is

[Backtobanks]

Reality states otherwise.

 

Yeah the reality is that we're posting on message boards and he's had a long-time career on many levels of baseball, but in you go ahead and keep believing that you're smarter than he is and he's just been lucky all of his life.

 

 

So you think that Jim Hendry is definitely smarter than everyone else in the world because he's had that career? Or at least smarter than everyone posting on message boards and not working in baseball?

 

He made some awful decisions, and a lot went wrong for him, but the fact is that there are 30 MLB GM jobs, and a ton of guys that would love to take them, and I'm not just talking about message board posters and radio callers here. Anyone who managed to hold down one of the the most sought after jobs in sports for as long as Hendry did suggests that he was clearly doing a lot of things right, though we might not know just what.

 

AMEN to that.

[SouthSideRyan]

hey b2b, now tell us how smart Matt Millen is

 

Turns out Dave Littlefield does not in fact have manure for brains, but actually is one of the 100 smartest baseball minds of all time.

[USSoccer]

 

He made some awful decisions, and a lot went wrong for him, but the fact is that there are 30 MLB GM jobs, and a ton of guys that would love to take them, and I'm not just talking about message board posters and radio callers here. Anyone who managed to hold down one of the the most sought after jobs in sports for as long as Hendry did suggests that he was clearly doing a lot of things right, though we might not know just what.

 

AMEN to that.

 

The very fact that Zoolander there is agreeing with you logically should tell you something.

[fromthestretch]

He made some awful decisions, and a lot went wrong for him, but the fact is that there are 30 MLB GM jobs, and a ton of guys that would love to take them, and I'm not just talking about message board posters and radio callers here. Anyone who managed to hold down one of the the most sought after jobs in sports for as long as Hendry did suggests that he was clearly doing a lot of things right, though we might not know just what.

 

 

The fact is there are a limited number of MLB television play-by-play jobs, and a ton of guys that would love to take them, and I'm not just talking about message board posters and radio callers here. Anyone who managed to hold down one of the most sought after jobs in sports for as long as Hawk Harrelson has suggests that he has clearly been doing a lot of things right, though none of those things has actually ever been witnessed.

[sneakypower]

 

He made some awful decisions, and a lot went wrong for him, but the fact is that there are 30 MLB GM jobs, and a ton of guys that would love to take them, and I'm not just talking about message board posters and radio callers here. Anyone who managed to hold down one of the the most sought after jobs in sports for as long as Hendry did suggests that he was clearly doing a lot of things right, though we might not know just what.

 

AMEN to that.

 

The very fact that Zoolander there is agreeing with you logically should tell you something.

a model idiot

[Gilby]

Jim Hendry wasn't terrible. I'd definitely take Theo or Jed alone over him, but Hendry is better than guys who currently hold GM positions.

[Gilby]

Reality states otherwise.

 

Yeah the reality is that we're posting on message boards and he's had a long-time career on many levels of baseball, but in you go ahead and keep believing that you're smarter than he is and he's just been lucky all of his life.

 

 

So you think that Jim Hendry is definitely smarter than everyone else in the world because he's had that career? Or at least smarter than everyone posting on message boards and not working in baseball?

 

He made some awful decisions, and a lot went wrong for him, but the fact is that there are 30 MLB GM jobs, and a ton of guys that would love to take them, and I'm not just talking about message board posters and radio callers here. Anyone who managed to hold down one of the the most sought after jobs in sports for as long as Hendry did suggests that he was clearly doing a lot of things right, though we might not know just what.

 

We know that he acquired the two cornerstones of the team for basically the last 7-8 years for peanuts.

[Backtobanks]

hey b2b, now tell us how smart Matt Millen is

 

Apparently smarter than the owner that hired him. The owner fell for a guy that talked about sports (like posters) as opposed to someone who actually had experience in coaching, scouting, managing, and player development.

[SouthSideRyan]

I just wish we had a President/GM combo that had experience coaching and scouting rather than being stuck the BOY GENIUSES