The 2010 season will be another in a century-long series of crossroads for the Cubs. They’re really not a contender in any rational sense of the word. They can win the NL Central, but only if every single major question mark turns out to be an exclamation point.
A mere 16 months ago, the team was coming off a regular season in which they led league in victories with a dynamite offense and stifling pitching. Now they’re hoping for miracles. Whoever runs this big market franchise has done some major fucking up.
That whoever is, of course, Hungry Jim Hendry. When Tom Ricketts and sibs took over ownership of the team this past fall, he announced he would stick with Hendry, much to my chagrin. The assumption in Wrigleyville is that Hendry has one year to make coq au vin out of the steaming pile of shit he’s created.
J’accuse!
Some have suggested Ricketts is only hanging on to Hendry so the Hungry One can clean up his swamp of ill-advised back-loaded, NTC, long-term deals before another GM comes aboard. That’s like giving George Bush a third term just so he can turn around Iraq and Afghanistan and fix the economy. It’s hard to believe a successful business clan like the Ricketts would think that way.
One guess is that Ricketts is somewhat satisfied with the work Hendry’s done in his seven and a half years at the helm. Somewhat because Ricketts refused to say outright that Hendry would keep his job through the length of his contract. What’s even more likely is that Ricketts didn’t want to eat the three years remaining on Hendry’s deal, having loaded himself up to the Adam’s apple in debt to buy the team.
With a year’s-worth of revenues (including 3M in attendance as well as WGN radio & TV and Comcast broadcasting fees) in their pockets, the Ricketts family ought to be feeling a tad more flush after the upcoming season. Here’s hoping the Cubs will lose 90 games in 2010 — as I’ve predicted.
That kind of plummet in two years would have to spell the end for Hendry. Couple the parent squad’s demise with the fact that Hendry’s farm system has produced nothing more than the pedestrian Ryan Theriot as a position player and only a psychotic would hold on to the man in charge. Then again, some might say anyone who chooses to buy the Cubs is by definition psychotic.
In case you didn’t know, Hendry was the boss of the farm system before he became GM under president Andy McPhail (or, as I like to refer to him, that phallus in a sweater vest.) Hendry was hired as director of player development in 1995. The best thing his farm system ever produced was Carlos Zambrano, not a bad pomegranate at all, but too many of his other home-grown pitchers were spectacular talents who had no idea how to pitch or were allowed to throw with such poor mechanics that their shoulders, elbows and psyches all turned into spaghetti. As for his position players, his system gave us a couple of brilliantly athletic greyhounds and a few other serviceably talented guys, none of whom had any idea how to play the game (notice a trend here?) The hallmark of the Hendry-era farm system is the utter lack of focus on fundamentals and smart baseball. Throw in the fact that his draft record has been as woeful as any of his predecessors’ in the last half century, and you’re looking at one crappy baseball boss.
“I Never Heard Of That Rule!”
If the Cubs do indeed lose 90 in 2010, then Hendry’s out. I’m fairly certain that the poverty-stricken A’s will lose 90-100 games this year, which may mean Billy Beane‘ll get the axe as well. Talk about your perfect storm! I want to see what Beane can do running a big-market team. Among my predictions for 2010 and the ensuing off-season is this whistle-in-the-dark: Billy Beane will become the Cubs’ GM.
On the other hand, if the Cubs OD on luck pills this year and sneak into another division championship, Hendry’s safe for another year, maybe two. That’d be bad.
The Cubs will have anywhere from $25M to $40M freed up next off-season. The contracts of Ted Lilly ($12M) and Derrek Lee ($13M) are up and Aramis Ramirez ($15 average over 2011 and ’12) holds a player option. The Athletics‘ total player payroll in 2009 was $62M. What might Beane do with that kind of dough? My mouth waters just to think of it.
Hungry Jim Hendry would probably give long-term deals to Paul Konerko, Edgar Renteria and Jamie Moyer.
Please, please, please, Cubbies — lose 90!
