08-11-2009, 10:41 AM
<!--quoteo(post=56973:date=Aug 11 2009, 09:08 AM:name=Coldneck)-->QUOTE (Coldneck @ Aug 11 2009, 09:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=56970:date=Aug 11 2009, 09:47 AM:name=Scarey)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Scarey @ Aug 11 2009, 09:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->And in defense of Hendry, I think he threw the future out the window for a good opportunity in the now. While I agree, it's not a great way of running a team, if he would have won it all one of the last three years none of us would care. He went for the big gamble and it's looking like he may be coming up snake eyes. I was pretty much 100% agreeable with Hendry's moves though, so I can't personally cast stones in retrospect.
I knew when he was signing some of these contracts that we would be tied down to some huge contracts, but I wanted him to do what he needed to do to get a very good opportunity to win. I think there's no doubt he was successful last year, but the players fucked up in the playoffs. I would say he was successful again this year, but it's been an odd season. Players have underperformed big time, injuries are popping up all over the place, and certain shit-on-paper hill billy ball clubs have taken advantage. But that's baseball for you and it's really only an argument for you in the fact that Hendry shouldn't have put all his eggs in one basket for such a strange sport with so many variables.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I don't think it is ever right to throw the future out the window to the extent that Hendry did. He basically said I probably won't be around in 2010 - 2012, may as well go out with a bang. While I can understand his motivation, it just shows how poor this club is managed. Somehow the Marlins are always competitive with a payroll 25 % the size of ours. Similar things can be said about the Rays, Twins, DBacks (this year excepted) and Rockies (2 of last 3 years). The common theme with these teams is that they are built from within. Our farm system is consistently ranked in the bottom third of baseball. We spend fortunes on players that don't pan out (Samardzija) and take senseless gambles on others (Colvin). We have some decent role players that came from the farm, but outside of Zambrano (who's making $$$) we have no top line players making huge contributions that came from within. Hopefully Wells can be the first in a long time to fit that description.
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The problem you're stating here is vastly different than what the thread was originally written about though. The Cubs didn't try to make their farm system crap, they just had the wrong personnel making the decisions. That's a problem they've already corrected by hiring in Tim Wilken. Yes, he got off to a bad start with the Colvin pick, but besides Colvin Wilken has missed on exactly one other 1st round pick in the last 19 years (assuming Colvin is already a miss, he has 13/19 make it to the majors, 2/19 misses, and 3/19 inconclusive). That is incredibly consistent relatively speaking. The inconclusives right now are Vitters, Cashner, and Jackson and all three look to be on the right track.
Besides that, the Cubs have made a commitment to scouting in the Pacific rim and that seems to have paid off with top prospects Dae-Eun Rhee and Hak-Ju Lee.
Overall, the Cubs minor league system has taken a huge step forward, and I think this was Hendry's plan really. I think he was trying to use the Red Sox model of buying up big time free agents while building a farm system to fill in holes. It hasn't exactly worked out the same with the Cubs because the free agents have fallen flat quickly. Again, I can't blame him because I agree with the way he did things, the results just suck.
And for the record, I disagree that Hendry was just spending all the club's money because he knew he wouldn't be around when the contracts started weighing the Cubs down. I think the biggest reason they Cubs started spending the last few years was to get quick results to increase the value of the team for the sale. So, they increased payroll which let Jim carry out his plan.
I knew when he was signing some of these contracts that we would be tied down to some huge contracts, but I wanted him to do what he needed to do to get a very good opportunity to win. I think there's no doubt he was successful last year, but the players fucked up in the playoffs. I would say he was successful again this year, but it's been an odd season. Players have underperformed big time, injuries are popping up all over the place, and certain shit-on-paper hill billy ball clubs have taken advantage. But that's baseball for you and it's really only an argument for you in the fact that Hendry shouldn't have put all his eggs in one basket for such a strange sport with so many variables.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I don't think it is ever right to throw the future out the window to the extent that Hendry did. He basically said I probably won't be around in 2010 - 2012, may as well go out with a bang. While I can understand his motivation, it just shows how poor this club is managed. Somehow the Marlins are always competitive with a payroll 25 % the size of ours. Similar things can be said about the Rays, Twins, DBacks (this year excepted) and Rockies (2 of last 3 years). The common theme with these teams is that they are built from within. Our farm system is consistently ranked in the bottom third of baseball. We spend fortunes on players that don't pan out (Samardzija) and take senseless gambles on others (Colvin). We have some decent role players that came from the farm, but outside of Zambrano (who's making $$$) we have no top line players making huge contributions that came from within. Hopefully Wells can be the first in a long time to fit that description.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The problem you're stating here is vastly different than what the thread was originally written about though. The Cubs didn't try to make their farm system crap, they just had the wrong personnel making the decisions. That's a problem they've already corrected by hiring in Tim Wilken. Yes, he got off to a bad start with the Colvin pick, but besides Colvin Wilken has missed on exactly one other 1st round pick in the last 19 years (assuming Colvin is already a miss, he has 13/19 make it to the majors, 2/19 misses, and 3/19 inconclusive). That is incredibly consistent relatively speaking. The inconclusives right now are Vitters, Cashner, and Jackson and all three look to be on the right track.
Besides that, the Cubs have made a commitment to scouting in the Pacific rim and that seems to have paid off with top prospects Dae-Eun Rhee and Hak-Ju Lee.
Overall, the Cubs minor league system has taken a huge step forward, and I think this was Hendry's plan really. I think he was trying to use the Red Sox model of buying up big time free agents while building a farm system to fill in holes. It hasn't exactly worked out the same with the Cubs because the free agents have fallen flat quickly. Again, I can't blame him because I agree with the way he did things, the results just suck.
And for the record, I disagree that Hendry was just spending all the club's money because he knew he wouldn't be around when the contracts started weighing the Cubs down. I think the biggest reason they Cubs started spending the last few years was to get quick results to increase the value of the team for the sale. So, they increased payroll which let Jim carry out his plan.