I know Hendry is not a populay guy right now but?

[Somedaysoon]

The reason he did not address LF or closer last off-season was because the Tribune told him to get rid of Sosa and put a limit on what he could spend. The Sosa saga lasted 4 months and by then there was really no one left to sign.

 

Sorry, Beltran was available but he is an overrated money hound. Hendry could not have signed him even if he wanted to because the Tribune would never allow it.

 

Same thing for J.D. Drew and Magglio Ordonez.

 

Hendry has his hands tied by the Tribune so I really can't fault him for not spending in the off-season.

 

Hendry has made plenty of mistakes the last two years but the Tribune is always the main culprit for our continued mediocrity. At least IMO they are.

[WindyCity]

I suppose he couldn't have tried to make a trade either......

 

I'm a Hendry fan, but he did a lousy job putting together the '05 Cubs.

[chicubs]

I dont think hes done that bad of job really, but has made two relatively large mistakes:

 

A) Sosa Trade: yah, i know Sammy sucks this year, but you could have gotten more than a MLB ultilityman and a minor league utility man while paying most of Sammy's salary.

 

B) Closer.

 

I dont think not having a name left fielder was that big an issue. If you look at the best champions that have always had some question marks that are usually fielded by an unknown who has a career year or some young upstart who turns out to be good....we found one, but the manager wouldnt play him.

[Chocolate Milk]

I used to be a big big hendry fan, but now I am completely indifferent to regarding his future.

[KatJ]

I used to be a big big hendry fan, but now I am completely indifferent to regarding his future.

 

Ditto.

[UK1679666180]

The Trib. has allocated the highest payroll in the NL for the Cubs. Blame the Cubs for lowering Sosa's trade value, video tapes of him leaving early, making the info. public, and then basically letting the other 29 teams know that the Cubs have to trade Sosa, so he can he had at your asking price. Whatever minute trade value Sosa had before the Cubs got involved in the slander campaign was ruined b/c the Cubs wanted to get in a war or words...

 

To compound that, they weren't going to sign another OF'er until they traded Sosa, which made it difficult when nobody wanted Sosa.

 

Hendry did not put the Cubs in a position to win this year, injuries and bad luck can't mask the problems surrounding this team.

[IowaCubsFan]

This season has proved Hendry's talents are vastly overrated.

[YearofDaCubs]

Hendry is the type of GM that always looks for the good deal. To me, it seems he doesnt like to pay market value for FAs. I jus do not see this team going after the big name free agents as long as he is GM. Who would want to sign here for 3 years when they can go somewhere else and have more years of guaranteed money? He ha snever signed a FA closer, yet he signs setup men instead and I think he does that because he doesnt want to front the money for a closer because they tend to be almost double the money of what a setup man usually asks for.

[NewUserName]

I said this somewhere else and I will bring it up again. Hendry and Dusty are a bad mix. Hendry wants to build thru the system Dusty doesnt want to play young players. Also I do believe that Hendry wanted Dempster to close from the get go. I dont have an exact quote but something he said during spring training on the Score made me believe this. I am not giving Hendry a complete pass (he hasnt fired Dusty, resigned Macias, Perez and Hollandsworth, shouldnt have acquired Lawton, signed Maddux for about twice as much as anyone else was going to pay)

 

I just kind of believe in the direction that Hendry seems to want to take us. I just dont think that he has the right manager to do it.

 

Iowacubfan The first time I heard Harry Carey say that he was a White Sox announcer talking about Jorge Orta

[chicubs]

going to pay)

 

I just kind of believe in the direction that Hendry seems to want to take us. I just dont think that he has the right manager to do it.

 

Well, Hendry doesnt agree with you. Hes given Dusty about 1 million votes of confidence.

[Cubfanintheknow]

I dont think hes done that bad of job really, but has made two relatively large mistakes:

 

A) Sosa Trade: yah, i know Sammy sucks this year, but you could have gotten more than a MLB ultilityman and a minor league utility man while paying most of Sammy's salary.

 

B) Closer.

 

I dont think not having a name left fielder was that big an issue. If you look at the best champions that have always had some question marks that are usually fielded by an unknown who has a career year or some young upstart who turns out to be good....we found one, but the manager wouldnt play him.

 

He did address the closer situation. Over the off-season he stated on several occasions he wanted Ryan Dempster to close. Dusty Baker wanted him in the starting rotation instead. Had Dempster been in the closer's role all along the Cubs would be better. Not significantly better, mind you, but at least around .500 unstead of six games under.

[JC]

The Trib. has allocated the highest payroll in the NL for the Cubs. Blame the Cubs for lowering Sosa's trade value, video tapes of him leaving early, making the info. public, and then basically letting the other 29 teams know that the Cubs have to trade Sosa, so he can he had at your asking price. Whatever minute trade value Sosa had before the Cubs got involved in the slander campaign was ruined b/c the Cubs wanted to get in a war or words...

 

To compound that, they weren't going to sign another OF'er until they traded Sosa, which made it difficult when nobody wanted Sosa.

 

Hendry did not put the Cubs in a position to win this year, injuries and bad luck can't mask the problems surrounding this team.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself. God knows I tried to every single day of the offseason...

[chicubs]

 

He did address the closer situation. Over the off-season he stated on several occasions he wanted Ryan Dempster to close. Dusty Baker wanted him in the starting rotation instead. Had Dempster been in the closer's role all along the Cubs would be better. Not significantly better, mind you, but at least around .500 unstead of six games under.

 

Well, apparently he doesnt have the balls to tell Dusty to his face and TELL him what to do because Dusty hasnt followed Jim's ideas at all this year.

[Cubfanintheknow]

 

He did address the closer situation. Over the off-season he stated on several occasions he wanted Ryan Dempster to close. Dusty Baker wanted him in the starting rotation instead. Had Dempster been in the closer's role all along the Cubs would be better. Not significantly better, mind you, but at least around .500 unstead of six games under.

 

Well, apparently he doesnt have the balls to tell Dusty to his face and TELL him what to do because Dusty hasnt followed Jim's ideas at all this year.

 

Unfortunately, Hendry telling Baker how to play the players is hard to do. If Hendry starts telling Baker how to use players, Baker quits. Not necessarily a bad thing. But it would be awfully difficult hiring a new manager when he knows his GM is going to micro-manage everything. I know I wouldn't want to take over a job knowing my boss is going to hover over me and do things I'm being paid to do. So telling him what to do isn't as easy as it sounds.

[SirPlopigus]

If you can't put together a winning team with $90 million, you might have some problems. Same with the Yankees

[YearofDaCubs]

If you can't put together a winning team with $90 million, you might have some problems. Same with the Yankees

Yankees overpaid for AVG players and most of them are getting old now. Their GM is probably one of the worst in baseball. What's our excuse?

[SirPlopigus]

If you can't put together a winning team with $90 million, you might have some problems. Same with the Yankees

Yankees overpaid for AVG players and most of them are getting old now. Their GM is probably one of the worst in baseball. What's our excuse?

Most of the players on the Yankees aren't average, they just aren't having good years. Same could be said for some of the Cubs

[TXCubsFan]

This season has proved Hendry's talents are vastly overrated.

 

I'm going to offer a dissent on the prevailing "Hendry is bad news" line here for the following reasons:

 

1. The lynchpins of the 2003 team - Wood, Patterson, Borowski, and Sosa - have cratered or at least may never return to previous form. Sosa is now off the juice. JoBo has reverted to pre-2002 form. Wood has been stubborn on his mechanics. Patterson has turned into Jerome Walton. All of this is hardly Hendry's fault.

 

2. Hendry has been smart avoiding overpriced, excessively long contracts for everyday players. The free agent market last year was awful. Way overpriced. A good GM avoids that market. Wasn't it Phil Rogers complaining that the Cubs should have signed Thome? How would you like the Cubs to have that albatross of a contract on our hands?

 

3. Hendry has been excellent at tactical trading, which is appropriate when you think you're close to being a winner. This team is clearly not a winning ballclub anymore. Let's see what Hendry does this offseason now that he has the time, money, and prospects to make some strategic decisions.

 

4. Hendry has been learning from his mistakes. No big contracts to middle relievers. Getting minor leaguers who control the strike zone (Murton, Moore).

 

I will wait until next spring to see how the Cubs will be transformed before I jump on the "Out with Hendry" bandwagon.

Edited August 11, 2005 by TXCubsFan

[Backtobanks]

I said this somewhere else and I will bring it up again. Hendry and Dusty are a bad mix. Hendry wants to build thru the system Dusty doesnt want to play young players. Also I do believe that Hendry wanted Dempster to close from the get go. I dont have an exact quote but something he said during spring training on the Score made me believe this. I am not giving Hendry a complete pass (he hasnt fired Dusty, resigned Macias, Perez and Hollandsworth, shouldnt have acquired Lawton, signed Maddux for about twice as much as anyone else was going to pay)

 

I just kind of believe in the direction that Hendry seems to want to take us. I just dont think that he has the right manager to do it.

 

Iowacubfan The first time I heard Harry Carey say that he was a White Sox announcer talking about Jorge Orta

 

I agree completely. One of Hendry's faults is that he lets the manager handle the day-by-day on field issues and he has said this many times. Everyone wanted Hendry to sign Beltran, Benitez, Percival, trade for Dunn, Wagner, Huff, etc. Every one of those players have been totally overpriced and wouldn't have made a difference this year. This year has been a disaster, but if anyone is going to get us out of this mess, I think it's Jim Hendry. I think there will be some settlement with Baker and he will leave to go to greener pastures with both the Cubs and Baker saying good things about each other. Of course, both sides will be glad that Baker is out of Chicago. I do think there will be a lot of changes during the offseason. I think the Cubs might reach some kind of settlement with Maddux for him to retire. I think Maddux has too much pride to hang around as a below-average #4 or #5 starter and tarnish his reputation. As you said, the real problem is Baker and his philosophy clashing with Hendry's. If Baker had given the kids a chance and used Dempster as closer from the beginning, our record might not be any better, but at least we would have a plan for next year. Unless Baker changes his philosophy, the Cubs go into next year with questions about 2B, SS, LF, CF, RF, #3,4,& 5 starters, bullpen, and Murton and Cedeno's ability to play in the majors.

[Shawon12]

Has everyone forgotten about Andy Sisco?

[YearofDaCubs]

If you can't put together a winning team with $90 million, you might have some problems. Same with the Yankees

Yankees overpaid for AVG players and most of them are getting old now. Their GM is probably one of the worst in baseball. What's our excuse?

Most of the players on the Yankees aren't average, they just aren't having good years. Same could be said for some of the Cubs

They overpaid for Wright and Pavanno. Those are the two I was ensinuating to.

[YearofDaCubs]

This season has proved Hendry's talents are vastly overrated.

 

I'm going to offer a dissent on the prevailing "Hendry is bad news" line here for the following reasons:

 

1. The lynchpins of the 2003 team - Wood, Patterson, Borowski, and Sosa - have cratered or at least may never return to previous form. Sosa is now off the juice. JoBo has reverted to pre-2002 form. Wood has been stubborn on his mechanics. Patterson has turned into Jerome Walton. All of this is hardly Hendry's fault.

 

2. Hendry has been smart avoiding overpriced, excessively long contracts for everyday players. The free agent market last year was awful. Way overpriced. A good GM avoids that market. Wasn't it Phil Rogers complaining that the Cubs should have signed Thome? How would you like the Cubs to have that albatross of a contract on our hands?

 

3. Hendry has been excellent at tactical trading, which is appropriate when you think you're close to be a winner. This team is clearly not a winning ballclub anymore. Let's see what Hendry does this offseason now that he has the time, money, and prospects to make some strategic decisions.

 

4. Hendry has been learning from his mistakes. No big contracts to middle relievers. Getting minor leaguers who control the strike zone (Murton, Moore).

 

I will wait until next spring to see how the Cubs will be transformed before I jump on the "Out with Hendry" bandwagon.

Tru, but when it is all said and done its getting into the playoffs that counts, and its going to be 2 years of not in it.

[YearofDaCubs]

I said this somewhere else and I will bring it up again. Hendry and Dusty are a bad mix. Hendry wants to build thru the system Dusty doesnt want to play young players. Also I do believe that Hendry wanted Dempster to close from the get go. I dont have an exact quote but something he said during spring training on the Score made me believe this. I am not giving Hendry a complete pass (he hasnt fired Dusty, resigned Macias, Perez and Hollandsworth, shouldnt have acquired Lawton, signed Maddux for about twice as much as anyone else was going to pay)

 

I just kind of believe in the direction that Hendry seems to want to take us. I just dont think that he has the right manager to do it.

 

Iowacubfan The first time I heard Harry Carey say that he was a White Sox announcer talking about Jorge Orta

 

I agree completely. One of Hendry's faults is that he lets the manager handle the day-by-day on field issues and he has said this many times. Everyone wanted Hendry to sign Beltran, Benitez, Percival, trade for Dunn, Wagner, Huff, etc. Every one of those players have been totally overpriced and wouldn't have made a difference this year. This year has been a disaster, but if anyone is going to get us out of this mess, I think it's Jim Hendry. I think there will be some settlement with Baker and he will leave to go to greener pastures with both the Cubs and Baker saying good things about each other. Of course, both sides will be glad that Baker is out of Chicago. I do think there will be a lot of changes during the offseason. I think the Cubs might reach some kind of settlement with Maddux for him to retire. I think Maddux has too much pride to hang around as a below-average #4 or #5 starter and tarnish his reputation. As you said, the real problem is Baker and his philosophy clashing with Hendry's. If Baker had given the kids a chance and used Dempster as closer from the beginning, our record might not be any better, but at least we would have a plan for next year. Unless Baker changes his philosophy, the Cubs go into next year with questions about 2B, SS, LF, CF, RF, #3,4,& 5 starters, bullpen, and Murton and Cedeno's ability to play in the majors.

Reaching a settlement with Maddux and Baker would be two great things to happen to us.

[JC]

Has everyone forgotten about Andy Sisco?

 

Never.

[Satch80]

I agree that Dusty and Hendry are not on the same page. I believe that Hendry promoted Cedeno and Murton during their hot streaks intending them to play and spark the team but Dusty didn't follow through.

But I also agree that a GM can't tell a manager who to play or that GM would never be able to hire another quality manager.

 

Hendry is smart, a great deal maker and for the most part has avoided deadly contracts. But he's not always smart about building a team.

If you look at St Louis, a very good model within our payroll, every good bat they brought in from outside their own system also carried a good ( usually gold) glove.

 

Their WS 2005 team was built bringing in at some point Edmonds ( gold glove), Matheny ( gold glove) Renteria ( gold glove) Walker ( gold glove)

Rolen ( gold glove). They hit the ball great ( except Matheny) but also

caught the ball great.

 

Contrast that with players Hendry has brought in . Barrett, Walker, Nomar, Aramis, Lawton. All average to below average on defense.

 

I also question the player mix. Some players need to be high OBP and contact hitters to offset the free swinging power hitters. We simply can't have all HR types with no table setters or we will go into prolonged slumps like last year and this year.

 

But the bottom line this year has been the inconsistent pitching. Teams just can't overcome that very well. I'm reminded of the 2003 Cardinals who's bullpen blew game after game and pitchers like Tomko, Simo and Anderson imploded game after game. Even their imposing lineup couldn't overcome that.

 

The Cub's bullpen has blown a ton of games and their starters have blown up too often too early. No team is going to win like that.

So Hendry is going to have to spend the winter getting the pitching situation righted or wqe'll be looking at another long season in 2006.