Advice for the new Cubs boss
Now that the sale of the Cubs from the Tribune Co. to Tom Ricketts and his family is finally done _ it took only three baseball seasons _ I’m sure Tom will be inundated with advice, which I’m sure already has poured in.
With that in mind, what’s a few more bits of free advice, which is always worth the price? So here we go, and feel free to add your own:
Put baseball ops on notice. GM Jim Hendry and his crew have delivered three division titles in seven years but only a 6-12 record in the postseason and no World Series appearance. Among the non-playoff years, 2006 and 2005 were disasters. This year and 2004 were winning seasons, but ultimately were disappointing, with the Cubs collapsing in epic fashion in ’04 and never really getting over the hump this year. Hendry made a nice mid-course correction by hiring Tim Wilken as scouting director in 2006. The 2010 draft will be Wilken’s fifth, and after five drafts, we should have a pretty good idea of where the system is going. But the ultimate result is how the big club does, and Ricketts should tell Hendry he wants to see the Cubs playing ball in October 2010 and be on course to do the same every year thereafter.
Hire a “baseball man.” I’ve editorialized on this before, and I’ll do it again. Go out and see if Pat Gillick, John Schuerholz or Sandy Alderson is interested in being Hendry’s “ear,” if not necessarily his boss. If you must keep Crane Kenney around as Hendry’s nominal boss, fine, but let him concentrate on strong-arming Mesa for that new spring-training home, tending bar at the Captain Morgan club and improving Wrigley Field. Hendry could use a seasoned and wise baseball man to steer him away from giving multiyear deals to the likes of Aaron Miles, Neifi Perez and Glendon Rusch.
Spend wisely, not lavishly. We’ve been over this one before, too. If our old pal Andy MacPhail were still around (and it was time for him to go when Crane pushed him out the door in 2006 so I’m not staying he still should be here), the Cubs and their fans would not be looking at five more years of Alfonso Soriano. But the Trib, in one final attempt at glory, chose the drunken-sailor approach to spending, and Tom Ricketts and his family are left with the clean-up chores. Money looks to be tight for 2010, but in the coming years, if the Cubs want to spend $100-plus on one player, he should be a pitcher the caliber of CC Sabathia or a position player who can excel in all facets of the game.
Go ahead and fix the park. If it takes a season of playing elsewhere, by all means fix up Wrigley Field. The bleacher expansion, done on the watch of MacPhail and unsung exec Mark McGuire, was done tastefully and seamlessly. Wrigley needs better food, wider concourses, bigger and better office space, a roomier home clubhouse, modern batting cages, better bathrooms and more fan amenities. Fortunately for this group, former owner P.K. Wrigley took care of the ballpark (if not the ball team) in his day, meaning the Ricketts family can probably make the existing structure work. And if you want a JumboTron on one of the rooftops, knock yourself out.
Call it what you want. The Cubs have won exactly zero world championships since the current ballpark went from being Cubs Park to Wrigley Field. So I’m not sure what “tradition” the traditionalists are talking about when they worry about selling naming rights. If the Cubs win a World Series at Ameritrade Park at Wrigley Field or McDonald’s Park because the extra revenue went to player payroll, I’m sure the traditionalists will get over it and enjoy the parade.
One last thing. Get rid of the blue uniform tops. They’re a favorite of Carlos Zambrano, but they didn’t do him a whole lot of good this year. Go with home whites and road grays, like the Cubs did under John McDonough in 2007, and scrap the softball jerseys.
I’ll collect my consultant’s fee on Friday.
Is Lou bored, or did having Bradley on the club cause Lou to sort of give up? This team has a lot of good parts and a couple gaping holes. I can't even remember who played centerfield in '09 and for that matter anybody playing center since Rick Monday. I'd take the Cubs more seriously if they had a better defensive outfield, which would really help when they're on the road. They are stuck with Soriano, but maybe he could do less damage at second base? Probably not.
we need to update the scoreboard so that all 30 teams can be viewed innning by inning.
I am totally with the bandwagon to tear down wrigley and/or to build a new stadium. . .
I used to love going to Cubs games, until I went to a place called AT&T Park. . .and then I went to this other place called Oriole Park at Camden Yards. . .anyway, basically, you go to any modern park and then come back to WF with a critical eye, everything but the actual field is so inept and outdated that it MUST be holding the club back. . .regardless of how rabid our fan base has been over the past 25 years. . .
So, if the mission is to win. . .and I think we all feel that is the message we're going to get on Friday. . .I think that having a refurbished Wrigley or a new park altogether is the only path to really get there. . .
As to the on-field product, I still believe the Cubs can win in the 2010-2012 window with a nucleus of Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster and Marmol provided the other position players (either the ones we have or new ones) embrace OBP. I expect Soriano will be better in 2010.
So, my suggestion would be to give Lilly and Lee extensions now (1-2 years). That will keep Aramis happy. I'm always worried he'll void his player option and bolt. I don't think he does that if Lee and Lilly are around, and Bradley gets shipped out.
Hoops
My best guess is that 2010 will be a year of observance on the part of the Ricketts. A year from now is when I would expect their strategic vision for the franchise to really be initiated. Safe to say I think Jim Hendry is a lameduck in 2010.
The number one priority MUST be to develop a state-of-the-art player development system. The Cubs have been terrible at player scouting, selection and development ever since Dallas Green left in a huff.
I encourage the owners to ignore the fans when it comes to baseball decisions and to actively listen to the fans when it comes to the 'fan experience' decisions. Don't be afraid to sit at Wrigley and talk to folks.
Hire the smartest baseball guys possible and let them do their job.
You want a baseball man, bring back Dallas Green.
I'm a Cub Fan since 1952, and I love the Cubs win or lose. But the ballpark should be
torn down, and a new facility with better club house, place for the relief pitchers to
warm up besides the side of the stands, more seating, better washrooms, better food,
more parking. The heck with the traditionalist love of the park. Is there enough room for
all this, would the new owners have enough money to do this ?
And the Cubs need to get more athletic. Better players in the minor league system.
Is Tim Wilkin really that good.
I've been a diehard since 1977 and been going to Wrigley for 33 years. Bottom line the place is a dump in need of extreme makeover. If it were up to me and I had a spare billion dollars lying around I would build a brand new ballpark, either near the Kennedy or out in Arlington Heights adjacent to the racetrack.
Last time I drove past the racetrack there weren't any empty lots big enough to build a state of the art ballpark and parking lots. Where do you think they are going to come up with this land??
I'm another old-timer (started following the Cubs in 1960) who thinks its time to get rid of Wrigley Field. I'm all for a modern stadium, near a highway, with parking other conveniences for the fans and players. Contrary to what some believe, the team does not belong to the folks in Wrigleyville to sponge off of. Sometimes I think it stays put for the bars and roof-tops. If the yuppie bear-drinkers want tradition, plant some ivy on the new parks walls.
P. S.
If the former Twins G.M. is available, grab him.
I think his last name is Ryan. He built better teams than Hendry with alot less money.
Some guy named Andy, I think.
Agree with Bruce's advice.
Here's my two cents worth.
I don't see hiring a "baseball man" and keeping Hendry as compatible. It's either one or the other. Hiring Scheuerholtz and keeping Hendry and then trying to figure out who is above who can't work.
Hendry has had his chance. He's been given a general managers dream. Practically unfettered power and one of baseball's biggest payrolls.
His only good deals have been Ted Lilly, the first DeRosa move, and the signings and trades where he took advantage of underfunded teams such as the Pirates and Marlins.
The list of Hendry over priced signing busts is long. Soriano, Fukodome, Bradley, Gregg, Heileman, Sosa's ridiculous long term contract, and so on.
As far as Wrigley Field is concerned.
Keep the bleachers, the centerfield scoreboard.
With the way new stadiums are being built with the retro look, a rebuilt upper deck and lower deck with a retro Wrigley look would be ok.
As it is, the Cubs are only one more piece of concrete falling down from the upper deck from being forced by the city to rebuild.
Here's some free advice for the Ricketts.
Buy as many of the apartments across from Wrigley as financially possible. You can then advertise on the buildings.
Now that's big time worthwhile advice.
I expect a big time consultant fee.
I realize that it's all about marketing and selling merchandise, but those blue tops are cheezy when compared to the traditional Cub unis.......
Let Hendry go first and foremost. Put him in Minnesota and he would field a team that 0-162. The only thing that has saved his butt all these years is the fact he could spend willy-nilly until this past summer.
Great teams are built through the minor league system. Take the Red Sox, who developed Pedroia, Ellsbury, Youkilis, Lester, Buccholz etc. and traded even more for studs (Hanley for Beckett for example). Then they patch with FAs and more trades, guys like Lowell, Dice-K.
All the great teams have cores that are homegrown, even the Yankees (Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Cano, etc.). You can't keep relying on 30+ year old free agents, you need young, cheap players to be key players and then use the payroll flexibility to continually re-evaluate and fill holes.
The biggest problem the Cubs have with their minor league system is that they don't really try to develop it. They don't realize that playing this full season with Andres Blanco, and using the money saved on Aaron Miles to sign high school kids in the later rounds of the draft would be an infinitely better use of the money. They do great work in Korea, which I commend them for, but don't really have a foot in the door in any other countries.
Basically, if ownership's #1 goal is to make the Cubs minor league system the best in baseball, wins will follow.
...and I would add, the baseball man shouldn't be Hendry's ear, he should be his eyes.
Hendry does not posses the savy of what it takes to build a strong foundation (scouting, player development, roster assembly) and his flawed philosophies have only been shielded by a few years of big time spending. They need someone who can oversee the building of the right organizational identity, that pays off and doesn't require FA signings or trades every year to scramble to fill holes.
I think Hendry has positives, but feel he has been miscast for what his skills are. The foundation is not there and hasn't been since Hendry ran the farm since 1994. Hire a good baseball man (who will have Rickett's ear) and let him directly fill the gaps that Hendry has not been able to fill.
I would guess selling naming rights is going to be one of the first tasks on Rickett's list. There is probably 250-300 mil to be had for a 20 year deal, and that could help to pay for revamping the ballpark.
If you can tear down Yankee Stadium you can tear down Wrigley...Yankee Stadium had 26 times the the "tradition". If tradition is winning!!!
Soriano was the premiere free-agent of the 2006 off-season. At the time, he was durable, fast, a power bat, and a strong arm, which they thought they could turn into a decent defensive outfielder. We know now that was all wrong, and I was not in favor of the signing even then because Soriano is the type of player that tumbles quickly when the skills start to erode, but if $100 millions contracts should only be given to players who "excel in all facets of the game," that described Soriano in the Winter of 2006.
Isn't defense considered to be a facet of baseball? Soriano was so poor defensively that he was told he would have to play the outfield. He's never adapted to the outfield after playing LF for four years with Washington and Chicago and it's been painful to watch him trying to get by out there. Furthermore, his career OPS is .836 and he topped .900 just once. His career .278 BA and .326 OBP are very mediocre, unless those are numbers for a utility player making less than a million dollars or so. I'm really not sure how anyone can describe Soriano as someone who excelled in all facets of the game before the Cubs signed him nor defend the Cubs for making the huge mistake of handing him that contract.
late last year Hendry explained why he signed Soriano. homers and stolen bases. let's be honest, he never was a 5 tool player. he had the athleticism but apparently never worked at it.
There's a big difference between an athlete and a baseball player. Why is it that Pie and Patterson come to mind when I think of athletes that went into baseball but aren't baseball players?
Tear it down...
1) Wrigley is too small for the Market it serves.
2) Its Old...really old. To all of the knuckle heads like David Kaplan Wrigley isn't the Roman Colliseum, its a crumby old ballpark from an era gone by. How many World Series have been won there by the Cubs...ZERO!!!
3) The Bathrooms...stink
The Food ...stinks
The amenities...stink
"...isn't the Roman Colliseum..." now that's funny and a great point
Ditto, Ditto
Very good for starters Bruce, though I'm not sure how they would go about increasing the size of the concourses and clubhouse while adding bathrooms and updated batting cages, without decreasing the number of seats. But the sale is good news, at least it appears to be. Hopefully it's not just all lip service intended to improve the chances of the Ricketts being awarded the purchase, and they actually will do their best to bring the Cub fans the championship they so richly deserve.
Yeah, the physical plant is going to present some challenges. I don't know how they accomplish it all either, but I know they've talked about several options. We'll hear more Friday.
You about covered it Bruce. Well done.
At this point there should be two primary goals...in this order.
1. Get to World Series.
2. Win World Series.
Period.
If it means gutting Wrigley....calling it something else...moving the team.....whatever. Just accomplish 1 & 2.
...If those goals were stated by Tom Friday, much as McDonough stated them at the end of the disastrous '06 season. They didn't get there under McDonough, but at least the goal was stated.
To add:
Do not give long term deals to relief pitchers.
Do not give long term deals to players off a career year (Gary Matthews Jr, Aaron Rowand)
Stop with the No Trade Clauses and opt-out's
And...Stop scalping your own tickets! (who owns that ticket shop now by the way?)
..for the jersey issue. Sorry, I like the blue "softball" tops.. :-)
I also like the road grays, so either is fine by me.
I agree they need a real baseball man to "guide" Hendry.
It's also nice knowing an actual FAN of the ballclub now owns them. What a concept..
Especially when worn at home. I can tolerate them on the road.
I'm with Bruce on all the points.
I do agree they only need to be worn on the road...