dfnowak

Kenney's reputation is also known by national writers...then again, they must be lying too (sarcasm)

I think the feeling between Hendry and Kenney was mutual. Unless you think Hendry is a liar. Meant to say Phil Rogers instead of Hendry

Your argument for canning Kenny is that two of the worst sportswriters in Chicago don't like him? I'll reserve judgement until I see what da bum thinks. Combined with other Chicago media members. Do you see a common theme here on Kenney? Regardless of your opinion on these media members, they have a lot more access into the Cubs organization than you or me. access doesn't mean unbiased. Then why are there so many media members with negative things to say about him? I don't think its a coincidence

B/c you are more in tune w/ the league than them? Id like to know what questions you asked Hendry during his press conference on Friday.

So, nobody else is concerned about Kenney being involved in the GM hiring process but me??? I guess we'll see who is hired. If Friedmman or Cashman are hired, than I'll be wrong. But, if some assistant GM is hired, Im sure you will assume that's what Ricketts wanted all along.

I would hope not. If the likes of Friedman or Cashman are being interviewed and they point out that as a condition of being hired that Kenney must be sent packing or put in the far corner, I would hope that Ricketts would comply.

Your argument for canning Kenny is that two of the worst sportswriters in Chicago don't like him? I'll reserve judgement until I see what da bum thinks.[/quote Combined with other Chicago media members. Do you see a common theme here on Kenney? Regardless of your opinion on these media members, they have a lot more access into the Cubs organization than you or me.

For those of you who still don't believe that Crane Kenney is a concern, here are more articles that indict him: Phil Rogers http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0821-rogers-cubs-future-chicag20110821,0,5919833.column - "But his firing fixes nothing, especially with Crane Kenney somehow still hiding out in Tom Ricketts' blind spot." - "Hendry's departure to become a turning point, Ricketts has to hire a GM who does better. And it helps nothing to have Kenney involved in the search, even if Ricketts is running it." - "But the reality is that everything the Cubs do these days has become a little bit harder with Kenney in the office once occupied by MacPhail and John McDonough" - "Hendry made some awful decisions, for sure. But Kenney's hands were all over a lot of them, especially the mega-contracts given Alfonso Soriano — Hendry felt the Cubs could sign him for five years but his bosses tacked on three to blow the other interested teams out of the water — and Carlos Zambrano." Joe Cowley http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/7164989-573/jim-hendry-shouldnt-be-only-casualty-when-cubs-clean-house.html - "Then there’s the 190-pound clown in the room that is team president Crane Kenney." - "Kenney is a laughing stock around the league. His very ­presence cheapens the value of the GM position for the Cubs." - "Kenney has a history of showing he can’t help but make himself more important than he really is." I know Phil Rogers is kind of an idiot, but this is another of many media members who think that keeping Kenney around is a problem for the search of the next GM. I'm sorry, but like the saying goes, "where there's smoke, there's fire." I don't want anything getting in the way of hiring the best possible candidate. It sounds like Ricketts would like to hire someone with GM experience. But, if an assistant GM gets the job, there will always be doubt that Kenney had something to do with an experienced GM not being hired.

I just wish Ricketts would either get rid of him or give him a new title and keep him away from the baseball operations entirely. Do you honestly think that any prospective GM would look at working along side Kenney as a positive?

For those of you who don't think Crane Kenney isn't an influence: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0820-kenney-cubs-hendry-chicag20110820,0,896539.story "Kenney resented Hendry's popularity with his players and the media" If he's just dealing with the business aspect of the Cubs, why the hell does he care about Hendry's popularity with the players and media? "While Kenney will be somewhat involved in the decision to hire the next general manager" Why the hell would Kenney be involved at all if he just deals with the business aspect??? While Ricketts stated that Kenney runs the business operations and is not responsible for any baseball decisions, I'm still concerned. I don't want this guy impacting (aka scaring away) any potential GM hire. Removing the title of Team President from Kenney would be a nice start.

Can someone please explain to me why Hahn is so highly thought of? I am probably putting too much emphasis on the organization he works for, but where is the body of evidence suggesting he is a top candidate? A - What does this mean? Please tell me it's not, "He probably Sox because he works for the Sox and I hate them and Ozzie is dumb lol!" B - http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/candidates-for-the-chicago-general-manager-job/ I think what he's referring to is the bad paper the Sox are paying to Peavy, Rios and Dunn and their lack of farm system, both of which can be attributed to Kenny Williams

Perhaps one who heard Ricketts say today that the new GM will report directly to him, and recognizes that hearsay about Kenney doing nebulous things like "meddling" would be a ridiculous reason to pass on an opportunity as great as the Cubs GM position. I hoppe you are right and that Kenney has no effect on the hiring process. Although, Kenney getting launched would make me feel a lot better about that. He runs the business side of the Chicago Cubs. That fact has been clear as day for years. It's been repeated by those in charge many times. Well, Boars and Bernstein on the Score have been saying that Kenney considers himself a part of the baseball operations. Its fine and dandy that Ricketts has declared Kenney his Business guy, but unless Ricketts puts up a wall to keep Kenney away from the baseball operations, what's to stop him? That's what concerns me.

Perhaps one who heard Ricketts say today that the new GM will report directly to him, and recognizes that hearsay about Kenney doing nebulous things like "meddling" would be a ridiculous reason to pass on an opportunity as great as the Cubs GM position. I hoppe you are right and that Kenney has no effect on the hiring process. Although, Kenney getting launched would make me feel a lot better about that.

Talk is cheap. Ricketts should have pulled the trigger months ago. Why the delay until now? Kenney needs to go too. The guy is a bean counter, not a baseball guy. I don't want him anywhere near an evaluation of anyone. I'm not as up on some of the GM prospects as some are, but I always thought the Twins organization has done a very good job of evaluating talent with a limited payroll. I got no horse in the race, just want the best person for the job. Yeah, why is Clown Kenney being retained? According to Boars and Bernstein on the Score, Kenney thinks of himself as a baseball executive and will be a part of the GM hiring process. What real GM will want to work for the Cubs if Kenney involves himself with the baseball operations??? Lol what does Crane Kenney even do that inspires so much anger? Exist? He's a Trib lawyer who thinks he's a baseball executive. What quality prospective GM will work for the Cubs if Kenney is going to try to meddle himself in baseball decisions?

Talk is cheap. Ricketts should have pulled the trigger months ago. Why the delay until now? Kenney needs to go too. The guy is a bean counter, not a baseball guy. I don't want him anywhere near an evaluation of anyone. I'm not as up on some of the GM prospects as some are, but I always thought the Twins organization has done a very good job of evaluating talent with a limited payroll. I got no horse in the race, just want the best person for the job. Yeah, why is Clown Kenney being retained? According to Boars and Bernstein on the Score, Kenney thinks of himself as a baseball executive and will be a part of the GM hiring process. What real GM will want to work for the Cubs if Kenney involves himself with the baseball operations???

He better still not be here on Sept 1 when the minor leaguers are called up. There's no point in having him taking innings away from potential bullpen pitchers on next year's team. If he's not traded (which I don't think will happen), DFA him. He's not going to be here anyways and you have to pay the rest of this years' salary anyways, so cut your losses early and see what the minor leaguers got.

Nah. They have to make a change. Just to satisfy the fanbase if anything. I fear Ryno is going to be our next manager. Its not to say that Ryno wont be a good manager. But, I worry that Ricketts will want to hire Sandberg, when it should be the nnext GM's decision. That may limit who our next GM will be if they are forced to hire Ryno as the next manager. That's not the right way to run an organization.

What? No Randy Bush on this list? Weird...

I don't know who in their right mind would want Koyie Hill back, besides Jim Hendry. So, if Hendry is back again next year, this could be a moot point. Regardless, wouldn't you rather Clevenger playing every day down in the minors than backing up Soto? Unless, they traded Soto and had Clevenger and Wellington Castillo battle for the starting job in ST and brought in a better veteran catcher than Koyie to be the backup.

It's an organizational issue. Look at their minor league affiliates: Iowa ranks last out of 16 teams in the PCL with 353 walks. Top team (Tacoma) has 515. Tennessee ranks 8th out of 10 teams in the Southern league with 361 walks. Top team (Jacksonville) has 464, bottom team (Mississippi) has 353. Daytona ranks 9th out of 12 teams in the FSL with 333 walks. Top team (Bradenton) has 446, bottom team (Clearwater) has 285. Peoria ranks 15th out of 16 teams in the Midwest league with 297 walks. Top team (Lansing) has 431, bottom team (West Michigan) has 286.

How exactly should the Cubs have gotten those guys? Anderson was traded because 1B is locked down by A-Gon and they have Ortiz DHing. Uehara is obscenely good. Who did the Cubs have that would have been comparable offers? Please tell me where I said the Cubs could have gotten those guys? Regardless, I would have to say both the Orioles and A's won those trades and it seems to me that contending teams are getting desparate. Don't you think the Cubs could have gotten similar for Marshall as the O's got for Uehara??? Imagine what they could get for Garza! But, sadly it seems that Hendry won't trade these guys or even someone like Pena who's contract runs out after this year. If you didn't think the Cubs could have or should have gotten those guys then why even bring them up? If the Cubs couldn't fill the needs then it's completely redundant. And no, the Cubs couldn't have gotten the same or similar for Marshall. Look at Marshall's numbers. Pretty good, right? Look at Uehara's numbers and then try to contain your baseball boner. They're THAT good. He's disgustingly good. THAT'S the rare reliever that teams look at and think "yup, gonna have that guy close after we sign him to a new deal," not a soft tossing LH. And again, why would they trade Garza? He's young, an excellent pitcher and under their control for years. Trading him creates a gaping hole in a starting rotation that already needs a major pickup. Trading him like the A's moved Harden makes no sense. The A's can spare Harden. The Cubs can't spare Garza. The reason I brought them up was using them as examples as to how teams seem desparate for veterans. Although, ESPN is reporting that the Harden deal is falling through. You are obviously trying to put words in my mouth instead of just taking my post literally. You are right about Uehara's sick stats, but I do think the Cubs could get some good prospects for Marshall if he were available. Bottom line is, nobody on the Cubs right now, except for maybe Castro, should be untouchable if offered a deal you can't refuse...even Garza.

How exactly should the Cubs have gotten those guys? Anderson was traded because 1B is locked down by A-Gon and they have Ortiz DHing. Uehara is obscenely good. Who did the Cubs have that would have been comparable offers? Please tell me where I said the Cubs could have gotten those guys? Regardless, I would have to say both the Orioles and A's won those trades and it seems to me that contending teams are getting desparate. Don't you think the Cubs could have gotten similar for Marshall as the O's got for Uehara??? Imagine what they could get for Garza! But, sadly it seems that Hendry won't trade these guys or even someone like Pena who's contract runs out after this year.

By cracky! By cracky!

What's also disheartening is that it seems like there are a lot of teams' top prospects either being traded or rumored to be in trades...the Orioles got Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter for Uehara and the A's will get Lars Anderson for Rich freakin Hardin??? And the Cubs won't trade some of their veterans b/c of some dilusion they will need them to compete next year??? :banghead:

well its certainly a concern, now. I'm hoping the Ricketts are extremely upset with Hendry and have tied his hands until they can find a capable gm to fix this teams problems. My guess is that this is not the case however. Not allowing Hendry to trade guys you don't plan to bring back would be a terrible decision by Ricketts. My biggest concern is that Ricketts won't approve pursuing Fielder/Pujols - and that would be an indictment of him. I've also thought of the conspiracy theory that maybe Ricketts doesn't want Hendry making trades that affects the future of the team, meaning that Hendry wont be a part of that future. But, if that's the case, why hasn't Hendry been fired already and replaced? Maybe ricketts doesn't have a replacement yet and is just waiting until the end of the season? I can see not wanting Hendry to trade guys that have a contract beyond this year and waiting for the next GM to make that call, but it doesn't make sense w/ guys who don't have contracts after this year. Sorry, just playing conspiracy theory here and trying to come up w/ an explanation.