CubsWin

It makes no difference whether you call someone a stupid GM or a stupid man, you are still saying that because he does things differently than you would or because you don't understand why he has done what he has done, that he is stupid. That exhibits either a lack of ability or a lack of willingness to understand another person's point of view. His reasoning may in the end be faulty or outdated, but doesn't mean that his reasoning is illogical or idiotic? He may, MAY, value certain abilities more than we do, does that mean that his reasons for valuing those abilities over others are non-existent or not based on sound experience and logic? There are plenty of reasons to be displeased with the job he has done and many of the decisions he has made. There are no reasons to think that he is an idiot. Idiot: 1. an utterly foolish or senseless person. 2. Psychology. a person of the lowest order in a former classification of mental retardation, having a mental age of less than three years old and an intelligence quotient under 25. Come on, guys. Lets move on. I thought abuck was saying that because hendry is bad at what he does, not because he disagrees with him. Whether or not you agree with his philosophy/strategies, it's impossible to argue that he's good at his job. Compared to other GM's, hendry is foolish/senseless. "utterly" is up for debate or conceivably, he has insanely bad luck I'd say its all up for debate. To think that it is hard and provable fact that Hendry is a bad GM is to know inside information that I don't think any of us who post here know. Because of that, it also means that you must have made up your mind on the subject and closed it to learning new information. Some might think that he is a good GM who's moves made the Cubs competitive in '03 and '04 and that injuries abnormally hurt his team's chances in '05 and '06. Others might think that he just got lucky in '03, failed to do enough in '04 and solidified his bad GMness in '05 and '06. I think it is probably somewhere in the middle. Injuries to key players did happen at an inordinate rate to the Cubs over the past two seasons and Hendry did fail to do enough in '04 and beyond. But does that make him bad? I think that's debatable.

According to the Sun-Times, Padilla is high on the Cubs wish list. At a minimum of 10 mill per, I almost wish he weren't...

I understand what you're saying, but budgetary principles can be stupid things to hang onto. Lets say you have to buy 2 items: You need to buy a TV and a DVD player. You have a fixed amount of money to spend on both. You go into Best Buy saying you want to spend no more than $1000 on the TV, and $300 on the DVD player. You bring $1300 with you. You get there, and you see an unbelievably good TV for $1150. It's more than what you resolved to spend, but it will make a huge difference in picture quality. Do you stick to your budgetary principle and get the inferioir TV that will get you by, and get your nice DVD player with a bunch of options, or do you change your budget around, get the nice TV that will make even a poor DVD player look awesome, and get a midrange DVD player? This is what Hendry is faced with. He has the choice between the really good 3B and a cheap bench, or an average 3B and a moderately priced bench. Which is going to make a bigger difference? Both will cost the same net amount of money; its where you allocate your funds that makes the difference. why should we buy a tv and dvd player when we can get 8 vcr's? Well played, Treeman. Well played? I think the point is an obvious one that no one on this board is disagreeing with. It should be noted that Ramirez may still sign with the Cubs. He's not gone yet. It also should be noted that I never said I agreed with Hendry. In fact, I said the opposite. I said sign him and move on. In other words, pay the man. Do what it takes to get the job done. That's what I want him to do in this instance. The above quote was written in response to people thinking they know exactly why Hendry wasn't going to sign Ramirez and that it was because he had spent 3 million on Rusch, 1.5 million on Miller and so on. The above quote showed that wasn't necessarily the reason why Hendry might choose not to resign someone. He might choose not to resign them because he doesn't think they are worth what they are asking and doesn't want to handcuff the team in the future. Or it could be a slew of other reasons that we don't know anything about. But I think the time is now to overspend. And I think Ramirez is worth overspending to keep. Thats the problem with message boards. People don't take the time to read everything, only quote certain passages and then wind up unintentionally taking things out of context. I still think it was well played and funny. I get that and thats cool. I thought it was obvious and putting words in my mouth.

It makes no difference whether you call someone a stupid GM or a stupid man, you are still saying that because he does things differently than you would or because you don't understand why he has done what he has done, that he is stupid. That exhibits either a lack of ability or a lack of willingness to understand another person's point of view. His reasoning may in the end be faulty or outdated, but doesn't mean that his reasoning is illogical or idiotic? He may, MAY, value certain abilities more than we do, does that mean that his reasons for valuing those abilities over others are non-existent or not based on sound experience and logic? There are plenty of reasons to be displeased with the job he has done and many of the decisions he has made. There are no reasons to think that he is an idiot. Idiot: 1. an utterly foolish or senseless person. 2. Psychology. a person of the lowest order in a former classification of mental retardation, having a mental age of less than three years old and an intelligence quotient under 25. Come on, guys. Lets move on.

Thank you, thats all I'm saying. I might, it depends. I would interview him and find out what the heck has been going on behind the scenes. I'd need to know a lot more information. I'd want a lot of answers. But I would have no problem firing him.

His performance as a GM indicates otherwise. What about his performance indicates that he is stupid? what about his performance indicates that he isn't? he took a payroll that's higher than almost every team in baseball and used it to build one of the worst teams in baseball. You are truly asking someone to explain why they think a human being capable of being a General Manager of a Major League Baseball team is not stupid? i haven't seen any evidence that hendry is capable of being a gm for a major league baseball team. i maybe would stop short of saying he's an idiot, but he's certainly been a gigantic, without-a-doubt failure as a gm. he's made a couple decent trades, but he also put together the most pathetic team in all of baseball last year. the cubs are a laughingstock, and he's in charge. he's been terrible. Thank you. I disagree with your opinion, but at least you are calling him a failure instead of an idiot or stupid. An argument can be created for him failing the Cubs, but it cannot be created for him being stupid or an idiot.

A few month's ago I spent an nearly an hour typing up a laundry list of my Jim Hendry gripes that I posted. With no search funtion I can't provide it. I can easily provide a detailed analysis why I think Jim Hendry is a terrible GM. But I don't feel the need. Plenty support my arugment that he is indeeed "an idiot". "Plenty" think he is an idiot or stupid? Even if you are right in your declaration of your legion of followers, agreement does not equal ultimate reality, fact does. There are plenty of people out there who think that Elvis is still alive. Does that make it true? And there is a huge difference between being a terrible GM and being stupid. I don't think he is a terrible GM yet because there are a lot of good things that he has done that balance out your laundry list. But if he botches this off season, I might be changing my mind on that.

His performance as a GM indicates otherwise. What about his performance indicates that he is stupid? what about his performance indicates that he isn't? he took a payroll that's higher than almost every team in baseball and used it to build one of the worst teams in baseball. You are truly asking someone to explain why they think a human being capable of being a General Manager of a Major League Baseball team is not stupid? Just because two people disagree doesn't mean than one of them must be an idiot or stupid. People who think that display a real lack of willingness to understand another person's point of view.

The guy assembled a team with a 94 million dollar payroll, that managed to lose the 3rd most games in baseball. Any member of this board could take 94 million and build a team that is better. Anyone. Numbers don't lie, Hendry is an idiot. That response shows no willingness or ability to understand the vast complexities of the situation. Look, man, you are welcome to have your opinion and express it. But if you want your statement to hold up under scrutiny of logic and common sense you're going to have to do better than that.

I tend to think so, too. It just makes too much sense. But he might not. If he doesn't, he better have one helluva plan B. Just because Hendry isn't signing him before he hits the open market doesn't mean that he doesn't want to resign him or isn't going to resign him. Think about it, people. Ramirez opted out for reason. It was to get more money and the best way to get as much money as you can is to see what you are worth on the open market. If the reports are true that Hendry has offered something close to 5/75, that is a more than fair offer, IMO. If Kinzer thinks he can do better than that once he hits the open market, then he has to advise his client not to accept the offer. If Hendry thinks that Aramis won't get offered more than that, then it is also in the Cubs best interest to let Ramirez test the waters rather than up the offer before finding out what other people are willing to pay him. Its not like Hendry has pulled the offer off the table. Its called negotiations and there are two sides to them. If one side wants to create leverage by having more than one team in on the bidding, there is much you can do to stop them. Heck, maybe Ramirez doesn't like Piniella. Who knows?

His performance as a GM indicates otherwise. What about his performance indicates that he is stupid? Clearly he did some things that you disagreed with. I have disagreed with some of his moves (and non-moves) too, but that doesn't mean that he is stupid, does it? Can't two intelligent people disagree on something? Do all intelligent people agree on everything? IMO, what is stupid is thinking that because someone thinks differently than you that they must be an idiot. It shows a complete lack of understanding or willingness to understand someone else's point of view.

I understand what you're saying, but budgetary principles can be stupid things to hang onto. Lets say you have to buy 2 items: You need to buy a TV and a DVD player. You have a fixed amount of money to spend on both. You go into Best Buy saying you want to spend no more than $1000 on the TV, and $300 on the DVD player. You bring $1300 with you. You get there, and you see an unbelievably good TV for $1150. It's more than what you resolved to spend, but it will make a huge difference in picture quality. Do you stick to your budgetary principle and get the inferioir TV that will get you by, and get your nice DVD player with a bunch of options, or do you change your budget around, get the nice TV that will make even a poor DVD player look awesome, and get a midrange DVD player? This is what Hendry is faced with. He has the choice between the really good 3B and a cheap bench, or an average 3B and a moderately priced bench. Which is going to make a bigger difference? Both will cost the same net amount of money; its where you allocate your funds that makes the difference. why should we buy a tv and dvd player when we can get 8 vcr's? Well played, Treeman. Well played? I think the point is an obvious one that no one on this board is disagreeing with. It should be noted that Ramirez may still sign with the Cubs. He's not gone yet. It also should be noted that I never said I agreed with Hendry. In fact, I said the opposite. I said sign him and move on. In other words, pay the man. Do what it takes to get the job done. That's what I want him to do in this instance. The above quote was written in response to people thinking they know exactly why Hendry wasn't going to sign Ramirez and that it was because he had spent 3 million on Rusch, 1.5 million on Miller and so on. The above quote showed that wasn't necessarily the reason why Hendry might choose not to resign someone. He might choose not to resign them because he doesn't think they are worth what they are asking and doesn't want to handcuff the team in the future. Or it could be a slew of other reasons that we don't know anything about. But I think the time is now to overspend. And I think Ramirez is worth overspending to keep. Thats the problem with message boards. People don't take the time to read everything, only quote certain passages and then wind up unintentionally taking things out of context.

The Cubs have stood firm on their principles, and as a result have not gotten a premium free agent in Lord knows how long? 15 years? 20? And, as a result, the Cubs don't have any terrible long term contracts that are binding their hands behind their back. They have plenty of money to spend this off season. There is a trade off. Its not all just the down side of not having gotten a premium free agent in a long time. There are positives, too. And clearly negatives, as well. I'm not happy about missing out on Beltran or Guerrero. But I'm glad Lee signed for what he did. Sometimes, players simply don't want to play in Chicago for a variety of reasons. To think we know that its because of Hendry's ineptitude or the fact some other player is getting paid 3 million a year for two years is simply impossible to know with any degree of certainty. That said, I want Hendry to get it done. Give him what he wants and move on. But to think that it is valid to say that Ramirez won't return because Hendry signed Wade Miller or someone else is simply unsupportable.

exactly. everyone always says that contracts like rusch's aren't the problem with the cubs. if that's the case, tossing another 3 million a year towards aramis shouldn't be a tough decision at all. ah, very well put.... I had never thought of it this way. Next time someone says a contract like Rusch or Izturis isn't why the Cubs are losing, remind them that ARam got away because the Cubs wouldn't pay him the extra $3M per year that another team offered. One problem with that argument is that no one really can know the reason why someone would not agree to pay 3 million more per season. Is it because they don't have it in their budget, in which case overpaying for players like Neifi or Rusch would have an affect? Or is it that they don't think the player is worth that much money? If you think that paying a guy 15 million a year is more than generous and easily more than his worth when compared against other players of his caliber, but he demands to be paid 18 million, do you give in and allow yourself to get played or do you stand firm on your principles? Remember, you don't know if he actually has any other offers out there that are higher than 15 mill. All you know is that his agent just faxed over a counter offer asking for 3 million more per season. Do you give in?

I am surprised not too many are mentioning this. Because it's not particularly true, especially since he's left St. Louis. He missed more than half the 2005 season. I know a lot of people want him, but when you sign him you have to guess that he'll likely miss about a quarter of the season. Since his first full season in 2000, Drew has averaged 120 games per season, so you are dead on. On average, he misses about 1/4 of the games each season. Now that number will fluctuate, but if you account for his missed games by having an adequate back-up option for CF on your 40-man roster Pie then Drew makes a lot of sense for the Cubs because he is exactly what they lack: a left-handed, RBI producing, OBP machine with the ability to play both RF and CF. Get him. But first resign Aramis and get one of the 3 top of the rotation starters.

Now that would be a good idea. Depending on what would be traded away, yes. Daisuke is still my first choice. Resigning Ramirez the most pressing issue. And then signing J.D. Drew. It doesn't seem very likely for the Cubs to pull off all of that, but if they did... Theriot-2B Murton-LF Drew-CF Lee-1B Ramirez-3B Jones-RF Barrett-C Izturis-SS Zambrano Matzusaka Hill Heilman Prior/Miller I suppose you could sign a free agent 2B as well, but that's gets the job done, I think.

Isn't that bad? It would be one of the best offensive OFs in baseball assuming Sheffield's production doesn't drop off the face of the earth and those guys don't get injured anymore than their average. Can Soriano play RF?

Yep I'm guessing that deal took weeks for Hendry to put together - probably wasn't answering Aram's phone calls that whole time either. Aren't the GM meetings after our exclusive negotiating rights end? That ends friday. But don't worry, we have Wade Miller. He might be healthy. Signing Miller has nothing to do with Ramirez. Drop it. Talk about Miller in this thread or start another one. This is annoying. Mods?

Yep I'm guessing that deal took weeks for Hendry to put together - probably wasn't answering Aram's phone calls that whole time either. :lol: :lol: I'm not sure why you are laughing. The assumption that Hendry isn't working hard to sign Ramirez is ridiculous and baseless. All of the negotiations have already happened from every report I've read. The ball is now in Kinzer's court to shop around and see if anyone is willing to beat and then come back to the Cubs and see if they are willing to match. That's how this game is played. Isn't it?

A rotation in shambles last season with injuries, and he openly admits a "gamble". Arrogance. Pure Arrogance. Wow. You really need to take a step back. Nothing wrong with what Hendry said. He's welcome to his opinion. Its just not based in reality.

Miller is making 1.5 million guaranteed base salary with incentives up to 5.25. I highly doubt, disgruntled, that a one year, 1.5 million dollar contract will have any bearing on whether the Cubs resign Aramis Ramirez. In the real world, what will have a bearing on that, is what Aramis wants to do with his life and his career. Where he wants to live. How much money he wants to be paid. And then whether Hendry agrees that Aramis is worth what he and his agent think he is. That is what will call the shots. Not a 1.5 million dollar, one year contract. Get real. There are plenty of things to criticize Jim Hendry for, you don't need to invent any. And criticizing him for signing Wade Miller to that low of a base salary is unsupportable. If you want to needlessly criticize him for losing Ramirez before it actually happens, be my guest...

I'm not sure I wouldn't rather keep Jacque (never thought I'd say that) and put Drew in CF... (with the rest of your moves in mind) Murton Giles Lee Ramirez Drew Barrett Jones Izturis Looks better to me... Small issue, but I don't know why Drew would be BEHIND the big RBI guys. He's a career .393 OBP guy. Lee has only been that good at getting on base, once....and that was his awesome 2005. Drew's my #3 hitter. I could understand 4th to break up the RHs and have Lee 3rd, since he would still likely be the team's best hitter. But yeah, Drew in CF would be great. Of course, this is all just speculation until Hendry actually signs the guy, but if he is signed I think I would bat him 3rd as well. Depending on who is hitting around him, Drew and Jones might be the only left-handed bats the Cubs would have. If J.D. along with maybe a 2B were the only offensive FA signing, the line-up could read... Theriot or FA 2B Murton Drew Lee Ramirez Jones Barrett Izturis Its not the Yankees line-up, but with the right pitching staff, it would be enough to compete, thats for sure.

He would be the perfect fit. A good OBP guy who can play CF and move over to RF when Pie is ready who also happens to bat lefty. Just what the GM ordered...

Nah, you shut up. I'll dream while I can 'cause its more fun that way.

I did hear on ESPNews earlier today that the Seibu Lions would meet Friday to determine whether they would accept the high bid. I guess its Friday there now, right?