goonys evil twin

Ah...Goony...you remind me once again why you're my hero. To everyone preaching that we wait and see how the off season unfolds before crucifying Hendry and company, that's the exact same mantra that's been bandied the last few seasons. I bought in last year, so any criticism I levy is a result of waiting for the non-existant difference making moves last winter. what does it matter anyway? if the cubs win it will not be because of us and if they lose it will not be because of us. i love the cubs as much as anyone but it's only a game (and one in which all of us are only spectators who have no real after effects of them winning or losing). for hendry it his his lifes work and his career. i'm sure hendry & his staff dont care one bit about a few fans think about him and his moves and neither would i if i were in his position. So why spend time talking about it? Personally I don't care how anybody goes about being a fan, whether they are a "true fan", a bandwagon jumper, a fair weather or whatever. I'm a Cubs fan who really wants to see the Cubs win. I get passionate about that desire, and because of that I talk passionately about the team's happenings. If somebody else wants to see the team do something else, I don't really care. What I don't understand is why so many feel the need to play amateur pyschologist and talk the rest of us off the proverbial ledge, rolling their eyes at our angst. If you don't have a problem with the moves the Cubs have made, good for you. I'd like to not be upset. But I am, and I am well within my rights to be upset at the team, and I don't think anybody is justified in trying to tell me how immature I am, or how knee-jerk I am acting, or how unfair I'm treating Hendry. My complaints are toward a group of men who have accepted very public roles making very public decisions. I'm not wasting time on this site in an effort to nit-pick the moves other "civilians" want to see happen, it's all about the Cubs and what they do. And to date, whether it be this offseason, or this regime's era, or my lifetime as a Cubs fan, the results have not been anywhere close to satisfactory.

No, I do not have a position with the Cubs. Would you like right field?

He's been the GM for 3 years, and was ASST GM for a couple years before that, reportedly the force behind most of the moves officially signed off on by Andy. Hendry's fingerprints are all over this team already. This isn't his first offseason. This isn't a case of jumping to conclusions. I've seen the results of Hendry's work to date, and it's entirely unimpressive, to say the least. This isn't anything like jumping on a manager for one loss.

God forbid we actually make the effort to analyze what we've already seen and use that information to make an educated guess that we'll just see more of the same. An educated guess takes into consideration the deals to get Lee, Ramirez, Barrett, Murton, Nomar and Lawton. With all the payroll & talent available this offseason, he'll most likely make a big move. I don't care about big, I care about good. This team has gotten worse, and Hendry hasn't shown any sort of urgency to fix the biggest problems.

That's exactly what he's doing right now. RF is the biggest hole. SS isn't an urgent need, yet he seems to be putting 90% of his efforts into finding another SS, and the other 10% into overpaying for mediocrity at other spots (thus limiting the financial flexibility to fix the enormous RF problem).

I've said many times Giles isn't the only option, but RF is clearly the biggest need. How many times do I have to repeat that it's the only position on the team with no internal options? Does that not mean anything to anybody? They can get average production out of SS for minimal cost. They can't get crap out of RF for anything. This team appears to be more interested in creating a hole (dumping Walker) than filling the biggest hole (RF).

Trib execs have far great fish to fry than the Cubs. They "care" about running their corporation, which they should. I would love to see them clean house, I would have liked to see it a while ago. But Andy sold them on the build from within philosophy (which I agree with) and he apparantly has them convinced they are going in the right direction. The bottom line is every team has its business people and its baseball people. My problem is with the Cubs baseball people. I have a hard time finding fault in the business side. I don't have a hard time finding fault in the Andy/Jim/Dusty triumverate, and all their respective underlings, and yes, I do mean all.

Maybe you just don't like reading what I write and chose to ignore it. Or maybe you just didn't see it. My "crucification" of Hendry is based on what he has done. This team has fallen apart the past couple years, failing to meet expectations, or at least what should have been expectations, by a wide margin. Hendry has had something that very few GM's have had throughout his time here, and that is an ever increasing payroll. Many teams were cutting while the Cubs were going up, and he's been top 5 the whole time. Yet the Cubs just finished off a sub .500 season and don't seem all that concerned about a need for an overhaul. By now I feel safe in saying I know what type of player Hendry likes, and what type of player he's likely to go after. And I reserve the right to rip him for that until he proves to me that his way can win, because so far it hasn't.

If he has another disaster like last year and he and Dusty both recieve extentions as is rumored, then nobody here has a leg to stand on when trying to claim that the Trib wants to win. The Trib put all its trust in Andy, and they've given management alll the resources they could use to build a winner. It's the management that has let down Cubs fans, not the ownership.

If he has another disaster like last year and he and Dusty both recieve extentions as is rumored, then nobody here has a leg to stand on when trying to claim that the Trib wants to win. The Trib put all its trust in Andy, and they've given management alll the resources they could use to build a winner. It's the management that has let down Cubs fans, not the ownership.

God forbid we actually make the effort to analyze what we've already seen and use that information to make an educated guess that we'll just see more of the same.

That's just plain wrong. You don't try and correct bad decisions by compounding them with more bad decisions.

For all the talk about the specific oddity of Lee having so few opportunities, wasn't there a similar stat where Burnitz had the most opportunities but came through the fewest times? OBP all around is much more of a problem than OBP in the leadoff spot. Order isn't that important. What matters is overall production. The fact that the Cubs are so intent on narrowing their focus to one spot is disturbing, while the apparant willingness of a large segment of the media and fan base to applaud that focus is just bewildering. This was not a team that was a leadoff hitter away from championship. They had candidates for the spot, but chose not to use them. I refuse to justify inefficient personel moves with the "save Dusty from himself" theory. It's Jim's own fault that Dusty is here, he can't get a free pass for bad moves just because they were made in an effort to stop Dusty from screwing up too much. That is called throwing good money after bad, and it's a piss-poor management philosophy.

That is not at all irrelevant. That's the crux of the matter. The Cubs are not prioritizing their needs. They are overspending on mediocrity and/or redundancies, and completely ignoring the single biggest problem on the team. RF is the one spot with no potential internal option that would stand a chance of providing at least average production. They are spending maximum dollars for minimum, or at least lesser improvement. Whoever they get for 2nd base won't be a better hitter than Walker, if he's replaced (with the possible exception of Marcus Giles). Furcal would be better than Cedeno, but potentially not all that much of an improvement. And in order to make those moves, they will be left with very little to address the single biggest hole on the team, RF.

No, the main problem was that not enough people got on, throughout the lineup. Giles could provide a .400+ OBP from the 2 spot, blowing away any potential improvement Furcal would provide. Focusing strictly on the top of the lineup is a terrible mistake. It wasn't 1 or 2 spots that struggled, it was the entire lineup, outside of Lee, Ramirez, and to an extent, Barrett. Burnitz was awful in the middle of the lineup. He was like having Furcal in there, which nobody would try.

How many times do we have to hear this excuse? I'm just wondering, you know, to rank it amongst the it's too cold in April, the wind was blowing in, there's too many day games, we don't have enough speed and other excuses. Yes, that excuse has been laid out before. And it's BS. First off, it's highly unlikely that a top free agent would eliminate a big market club with a ton of money to spend from consideration. Second, it's the GM's job to get the talent here. Other GM's have managed to talk guys into going places where they initially had no interest.

What is the conspiracy?

The Yankees. Then he would magically become a great guy to have around. How sick would that be Godzilla LF Bradley CF Giles RF Shef DH I'm pretty sure Giambi will be their primary DH this year.

He is not very, very good. He's very, very talented, and a decent QB. He hasn't done much, so without all the hype coming in, I don't think he'd receive much praise. No one player wins the game. Vick gets credit for not hurting his team, and for helping them win. But he doesn't win on his own. And it's not like Atlanta has put together some ungodly record under his command either.

You can never lose that war, especially if you're the target.

No doubt, but my problem is that I don't think Hendry appreciates the value of a Giles, and his idea of an upgrade will result in similar production to last year, which would be unacceptable. The only reason so much focus has been on Giles is that he's so obvious. I don't think Hendry had a problem with last year's RF production, and that is the biggest roadblock facing this team. He is very likely to settle, once again, for mediocrity.

when has he not been a credible source? People rightly criticize his reporting but what he reports about the Cubs comes out true. Again, I'll ask a question that was left unaswered a page back. When has Sullivan reported someithing that later turned out to be false? The burden is on those of you who say he is not credible. I've just seen him bashed here quite a bit. Over what specifically... I don't recall. Just seems any time a Sullivan article is posted it's followed by a series of condescending posts. Not saying there's anything w/ the condescension. Just seems like some flip floppin is going on today. :) I've seen a lot of people complain when Sullivan reports things in a not so pleasent light. If he says players are bitching about announcers, then he's a muckraker who is trying to be the story. I don't personally like his style, mostly due to those absurd Q&As he does on chicagosports.com. He comes across as somebody who is dying to become a regular on Around the Horn, or as a guy who hates following the Cubs. But when he reports on things he thinks will happen with the team, they seem to come true, a lot. I think the Sullivan hate is more of a shoot the messenger instead of addressing the message situation.

I feel that way as well, and that's what ticks me off. I'm not even sure Hendry thinks Giles is as good as he is, or that he could help the team. Giles is not the only option, but he is the best available right now and easiest to obtain (it takes only money, not money and trade bait). I think Hendry is probably counting the days until he can sign an Encarnacion or Preston Wilson type, or that he'll be lucky enough to get his golden child Burnitz back for less money.

I really don't see the Yankees still having interest, unless they are intent on moving Sheffield. The Yankees have been dying for a great defensive CF for 3 years now. One of the biggest problems has been Bernie in center, with no other good options backing him up. I really see them trying to go after a legit CF, which Giles is not. If the Yankees do go bonkers for Giles, and offer 5/58 or something, then I couldn't be all that pissed that Jim missed out. But I'm not going to just assume he'll get a massive deal. Everything I'm hearing right now suggests he's still in a very reasonable price range. And if he does sign for a reasonable price, then I will be very upset if Hendry stays out.

So now Giles is a stop-gap? I have no doubt that Hendry's plan was to build around the young guys that are here now. But at some point in time when building, you have to put the roof on. Lee, Ramirez and (especially) Barrett is not enough. It's not a matter of building around Giles, it's a matter of filling out the rest of the lineup with the best possible candidate.