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<!--quoteo(post=101339:date=Jun 14 2010, 07:35 PM:name=BackyardLegend)-->QUOTE (BackyardLegend @ Jun 14 2010, 07:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Here is a rundown of some mistakes I believe Hendry made...
<b>1) He has never acquired a true lead-off hitter.</b> Since 2003, we have struggled to produce timely runs. Sure, we've had some great offensive seasons from Lee, Ramirez and everyone else in between, but we have never had that first inning guy getting on, getting over and getting across the plate. Juan Pierre was an attempt, but he played on a lousy team.
<b>2) He hired Lou Piniella over Joe Girardi.</b> Maybe I'm in the minority on this one, but I don't care, I think the Piniella hire was pretty bad. Lou has been a good manager in the past, but he's never inspired great successes out of his players. He won a World Series 20 years ago and a lot has changed since then. He won 116 games in a season with the Mariners, but failed to get them into the big show. As far as I'm concerned, his successes are well overblown, and he's overrated. Besides, we went the "big manager" route once with Dusty, and we all saw how that fared. Girardi was someone who wanted to manage the Cubs because he understood what playing in this city meant. He's young and willing to take a challenge, but at the same time he won't deal with the bullshit. Girardi showed that he can manage young talent with no expectations in that season of his with the Marlins, and at the same time he has now shown that he can manager big talent with even bigger expectations by winning it all last year. Sure some of this may be retrospective thought, but Jimbo dropped the ball on this one.
<b>3) Lack of team leaders.</b> After that embarrassment with Stone/Carray and the clubhouse, Hendry should have taken a cue from Emporer Palpatine and wiped them out, all of them. Instead, we severed ties with a few players, but never went down the route of blowing it all up. Lee and Ramirez, I'm looking at you. Look, I think those two are fine ballplayers, and have had nice careers numbers wise, but when it comes to leadership, guts, and clutchness, those two fall well short. This team has needs an everyday player who goes out there and wins fuckin' ball games. Not people who start slow every year, endure huge slumps, and wine when there's clamor for them to move down in the order. This team needs its Jeter, its Manny (I'll take the antics), its Halladay, whoever. Hendry has never looked at the intangibles, the things that don't show up on Baseball Reference when signing a player. Yes this is a numbers game, but the only number that should matter to the Cubs is 11...in the 11 games it takes to win the WS. Guys like Soriano, Bradley and Theriot comes to mind (even though Ryan is in house).
That's all for now.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That was pretty much 99% empty rhetoric. I don't think you really addressed any single actual Hendry failure. The only one that comes close is the leadoff hitter part and I'm not even completely sure that's something you can pin entirely on Hendry.
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For me, it's not about getting specific on what he did wrong, it's about the bigger picture. The fact is, the Cubs have the 3rd highest payroll in baseball behind the Yankees and Red Sox, and this team is an absolute fucking mess right now. If that isn't "evidence" enough that Hendry needs to go, I don't really know what else to tell you.
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<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->But when he's constantly doing obviously stupid things, and then, to no one's surprise, those moves blow up in his face exactly like most of us predicted, then perhaps it's time to try something new. That's just my opinion, and maybe I'm wrong.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think this is exactly what Rapp is looking for. What are the obviously stupid things he's done. I would think if anyone on the site has specific ammunition to point out what an idiot Hendry is, it would be you. Instead of just saying "He fucked up", show your work.
I've done about all the arguing about this I'm going to do, but I think some of the anti-Hendry brigade has some of their facts wrong. Just as an example, Jstraw said:
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->We've also been watching him overpay and offer too many years to replacement level talent year after year.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
From what I can tell, and the info I have might be wrong, but I looked at the entirety of Hendry's free agent signings. I count exactly TWO guys who fit this description. John Grabow and Neifi Perez. It's possible I missed someone, but even guys like Jacque Jones was BETTER than a replacement player when they signed him, and for two out of three years he earned more than he was paid (at least according to fangraphs), so he doesn't fit that description. Guys like Milton Bradley, while being a bad signing, in no way shape or form could be described as "replacement level".
So it's easy to make general complaints about Hendry's record, but I think it gets tougher to do when you have to back it up with specific complaints.
I'll just add two things. Many of you are making the "proof is in the pudding" argument. While I could argue that Hendry's overall track record looks worse than it is because of the way the team performed in 6 playoff games, I would agree the team looks pretty bad right now. But bear in mind, changing the GM is THE most disruptive thing you can do to a team, so you'd better be sure that it's the right move. Also bear in mind that the braintrust that ran the Cubs in 1986 had just as much reason to run Dallas Green out of town as Ricketts has now. I don't think the Cubs were a better team for having done that.
I wish that I believed in Fate. I wish I didn't sleep so late. I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders.
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I don't hate Hendry, but I think he has had a much better track record on trades (when they don't involve dumping salary or disgruntled veterans) than he has had in signing free agents. He has made some really good trades actually, so that is his specialty. He has also had a lot of success drafting and signing pitchers since day 1, but has failed miserably in position player development. The problem with all of the above is that over the past 4 years or so, the focus has been on free agency above all else, and we are paying for this through a bloated payroll and unmanageable roster. Hendry should still get credit for building out our scouting department, especially internationally, and finally drafting some promising position players since Wilken and Bush were hired, but he will be long gone before we can pass final judgment. All-in-all he gets a C from me. So much promise and so little to show for it.
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<!--quoteo(post=101364:date=Jun 14 2010, 08:54 PM:name=BT)-->QUOTE (BT @ Jun 14 2010, 08:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->But when he's constantly doing obviously stupid things, and then, to no one's surprise, those moves blow up in his face exactly like most of us predicted, then perhaps it's time to try something new. That's just my opinion, and maybe I'm wrong.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think this is exactly what Rapp is looking for. What are the obviously stupid things he's done. I would think if anyone on the site has specific ammunition to point out what an idiot Hendry is, it would be you. Instead of just saying "He fucked up", show your work.
I've done about all the arguing about this I'm going to do, but I think some of the anti-Hendry brigade has some of their facts wrong. Just as an example, Jstraw said:
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->We've also been watching him overpay and offer too many years to replacement level talent year after year.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
From what I can tell, and the info I have might be wrong, but I looked at the entirety of Hendry's free agent signings. I count exactly TWO guys who fit this description. John Grabow and Neifi Perez. It's possible I missed someone, but even guys like Jacque Jones was BETTER than a replacement player when they signed him, and for two out of three years he earned more than he was paid (at least according to fangraphs), so he doesn't fit that description. Guys like Milton Bradley, while being a bad signing, in no way shape or form could be described as "replacement level".
So it's easy to make general complaints about Hendry's record, but I think it gets tougher to do when you have to back it up with specific complaints.
I'll just add two things. Many of you are making the "proof is in the pudding" argument. While I could argue that Hendry's overall track record looks worse than it is because of the way the team performed in 6 playoff games, I would agree the team looks pretty bad right now. But bear in mind, changing the GM is THE most disruptive thing you can do to a team, so you'd better be sure that it's the right move. Also bear in mind that the braintrust that ran the Cubs in 1986 had just as much reason to run Dallas Green out of town as Ricketts has now. I don't think the Cubs were a better team for having done that.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ok, Bradley may not be "replacement level" but there is no evidence that the market for Bradley was anywhere near what Hendry gave him.
You don't count a guy like Aaron Miles?
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<!--quoteo(post=101371:date=Jun 14 2010, 10:24 PM:name=jstraw)-->QUOTE (jstraw @ Jun 14 2010, 10:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=101364:date=Jun 14 2010, 08:54 PM:name=BT)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BT @ Jun 14 2010, 08:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->But when he's constantly doing obviously stupid things, and then, to no one's surprise, those moves blow up in his face exactly like most of us predicted, then perhaps it's time to try something new. That's just my opinion, and maybe I'm wrong.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think this is exactly what Rapp is looking for. What are the obviously stupid things he's done. I would think if anyone on the site has specific ammunition to point out what an idiot Hendry is, it would be you. Instead of just saying "He fucked up", show your work.
I've done about all the arguing about this I'm going to do, but I think some of the anti-Hendry brigade has some of their facts wrong. Just as an example, Jstraw said:
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->We've also been watching him overpay and offer too many years to replacement level talent year after year.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
From what I can tell, and the info I have might be wrong, but I looked at the entirety of Hendry's free agent signings. I count exactly TWO guys who fit this description. John Grabow and Neifi Perez. It's possible I missed someone, but even guys like Jacque Jones was BETTER than a replacement player when they signed him, and for two out of three years he earned more than he was paid (at least according to fangraphs), so he doesn't fit that description. Guys like Milton Bradley, while being a bad signing, in no way shape or form could be described as "replacement level".
So it's easy to make general complaints about Hendry's record, but I think it gets tougher to do when you have to back it up with specific complaints.
I'll just add two things. Many of you are making the "proof is in the pudding" argument. While I could argue that Hendry's overall track record looks worse than it is because of the way the team performed in 6 playoff games, I would agree the team looks pretty bad right now. But bear in mind, changing the GM is THE most disruptive thing you can do to a team, so you'd better be sure that it's the right move. Also bear in mind that the braintrust that ran the Cubs in 1986 had just as much reason to run Dallas Green out of town as Ricketts has now. I don't think the Cubs were a better team for having done that.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ok, Bradley may not be "replacement level" but there is no evidence that the market for Bradley was anywhere near what Hendry gave him.
You don't count a guy like Aaron Miles?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Don't forget Sweaty Joe Borowski, and almost every other bullpen signing. Maybe replacement level is a poor gauge in the bullpen area where guys regularly vacillate from good, to terrible, to replacement level, to Cubs, to terrible.
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Maybe I misunderstand the question, but I could list like 10 poor free agent signings/re-signings without giving it a ton of thought.
Let's keep the game going. Jason Marquis.
Now you.
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And if we're not just talking replacement level or even position players...was Samardzija going to get that contract from just any GM looking to lock up a wide receiver?
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Henry Blanco was another overpaid replacement level player.
Scott Eyre another.
Bob Howry the first time.
Grabow, Aaron Miles, Neifi of course. Then theres jamming our bullpen up with the bright white kid rule 5 pick (can't remember his name).
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<!--quoteo(post=101350:date=Jun 14 2010, 07:34 PM:name=Dirk)-->QUOTE (Dirk @ Jun 14 2010, 07:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=101339:date=Jun 14 2010, 07:35 PM:name=BackyardLegend)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BackyardLegend @ Jun 14 2010, 07:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Here is a rundown of some mistakes I believe Hendry made...
<b>1) He has never acquired a true lead-off hitter.</b> Since 2003, we have struggled to produce timely runs. Sure, we've had some great offensive seasons from Lee, Ramirez and everyone else in between, but we have never had that first inning guy getting on, getting over and getting across the plate. Juan Pierre was an attempt, but he played on a lousy team.
<b>2) He hired Lou Piniella over Joe Girardi.</b> Maybe I'm in the minority on this one, but I don't care, I think the Piniella hire was pretty bad. Lou has been a good manager in the past, but he's never inspired great successes out of his players. He won a World Series 20 years ago and a lot has changed since then. He won 116 games in a season with the Mariners, but failed to get them into the big show. As far as I'm concerned, his successes are well overblown, and he's overrated. Besides, we went the "big manager" route once with Dusty, and we all saw how that fared. Girardi was someone who wanted to manage the Cubs because he understood what playing in this city meant. He's young and willing to take a challenge, but at the same time he won't deal with the bullshit. Girardi showed that he can manage young talent with no expectations in that season of his with the Marlins, and at the same time he has now shown that he can manager big talent with even bigger expectations by winning it all last year. Sure some of this may be retrospective thought, but Jimbo dropped the ball on this one.
<b>3) Lack of team leaders.</b> After that embarrassment with Stone/Carray and the clubhouse, Hendry should have taken a cue from Emporer Palpatine and wiped them out, all of them. Instead, we severed ties with a few players, but never went down the route of blowing it all up. Lee and Ramirez, I'm looking at you. Look, I think those two are fine ballplayers, and have had nice careers numbers wise, but when it comes to leadership, guts, and clutchness, those two fall well short. This team has needs an everyday player who goes out there and wins fuckin' ball games. Not people who start slow every year, endure huge slumps, and wine when there's clamor for them to move down in the order. This team needs its Jeter, its Manny (I'll take the antics), its Halladay, whoever. Hendry has never looked at the intangibles, the things that don't show up on Baseball Reference when signing a player. Yes this is a numbers game, but the only number that should matter to the Cubs is 11...in the 11 games it takes to win the WS. Guys like Soriano, Bradley and Theriot comes to mind (even though Ryan is in house).
That's all for now.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That was pretty much 99% empty rhetoric. I don't think you really addressed any single actual Hendry failure. The only one that comes close is the leadoff hitter part and I'm not even completely sure that's something you can pin entirely on Hendry.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Who can you pin this stuff on then? Is Hendry not in charge of personnel? Was he not in charge of bringing Piniella in?
"Last year, I was sort of a kid and I was a little scared, I ain't scared any more."
Quote:- Hank Aaron
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<!--quoteo(post=101381:date=Jun 14 2010, 10:02 PM:name=Ace)-->QUOTE (Ace @ Jun 14 2010, 10:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Maybe I misunderstand the question, but I could list like 10 poor free agent signings/re-signings without giving it a ton of thought.
Let's keep the game going. Jason Marquis.
Now you.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is a great example. I'll bet a lot of guys agree with you on this. And I don't know how else to put it, but you are wrong.
Marquis was signed for a total of 21 million dollars for 3 years. We bitched and moaned and pissed and screamed (I'm sure I was one of those screaming as well). Marquis proceeded to "earn" over 32 million during those 3 years. In every single year of that deal he earned more money than he was paid. Even if you don't agree with Fangraphs valuation, it's almost impossible to argue that this was a bad signing. This is a pro-hendry argument, not an anti one.
I will admit that I missed Aaron Miles though. For some reason the spreadsheet I found on Hendry didn't include that one.
I wish that I believed in Fate. I wish I didn't sleep so late. I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders.
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<!--quoteo(post=101389:date=Jun 14 2010, 10:53 PM:name=BT)-->QUOTE (BT @ Jun 14 2010, 10:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=101381:date=Jun 14 2010, 10:02 PM:name=Ace)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ace @ Jun 14 2010, 10:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Maybe I misunderstand the question, but I could list like 10 poor free agent signings/re-signings without giving it a ton of thought.
Let's keep the game going. Jason Marquis.
Now you.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is a great example. I'll bet a lot of guys agree with you on this. And I don't know how else to put it, but you are wrong.
Marquis was signed for a total of 21 million dollars for 3 years. We bitched and moaned and pissed and screamed (I'm sure I was one of those screaming as well). Marquis proceeded to "earn" over 32 million during those 3 years. In every single year of that deal he earned more money than he was paid. Even if you don't agree with Fangraphs valuation, it's almost impossible to argue that this was a bad signing. This is a pro-hendry argument, not an anti one.
I will admit that I missed Aaron Miles though. For some reason the spreadsheet I found on Hendry didn't include that one.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The spreadsheet was ashamed.
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In Hendry's favor, if some one told me last Winter than Silva would be 8-1, and that Byrd would be hitting .333, I'd have been impressed.
There's nothing better than to realize that the good things about youth don't end with youth itself. It's a matter of realizing that life can be renewed every day you get out of bed without baggage. It's tough to get there, but it's better than the dark thoughts. -Lance
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<!--quoteo(post=101396:date=Jun 14 2010, 11:22 PM:name=KBwsb)-->QUOTE (KBwsb @ Jun 14 2010, 11:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->In Hendry's favor, if some one told me last Winter than Silva would be 8-1, and that Byrd would be hitting .333, I'd have been impressed.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Silva's new nickname is Powerball.
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<!--quoteo(post=101335:date=Jun 14 2010, 06:04 PM:name=KBwsb)-->QUOTE (KBwsb @ Jun 14 2010, 06:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Hendry hasn't been given a fair shake?
It's all "unfair?"<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Did you ignore everything about my post besides this?
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