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Worst Manager in Cubs History

I got this idea in reading the diary in which we talk once again about the worst Cub in history, this time with some great research by Al.  My vote for this dubious honor has not changed: Todd Hundley.  When someone mentioned Dusty Baker, though, it occurred to me to stick with the negativity theme (I have nothing but positive engery focused toward the 2007 season, however) and discuss the worst Cubs manager(s) in team history.  As I stated in the aforementioned diary, my vote goes to Preston Gomez, who guided most of a last-place, 98-loss season in 1980, before getting canned near the end of July.  Gomez, in fact, had seven seasons as a Major League manager with San Diego, Houston, and the Cubs.  All but one of his teams finished last.  I'm curious what, exactly, he said in his interview that sold the Wrigleys on him.  Just wondering.  Anyway, have at it.  

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Two words.
Jim Essian.
"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al on Jan 31, 2007 10:24 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Second that....
Awful. Just terrible.
Throw Jacque Jones down the well, so the Cubs will be free...

by Ross on Jan 31, 2007 11:50 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Jim Essian's incompetence
I want to second Al's comment, with a specific reference to a single game. Major thanks to baseball-reference.com and Project Retrosheet, from which I was able to confirm my recollection.

On the Sunday evening of July 7, 1991, the Cardinals and the Cubs were on ESPN. The Cubs had brought up Laddie Renfroe for his cup of coffee as a reliever. He was a soft-tosser whose major-league career consisted of four games. July 7th was either his second or third of them. We went into extra innings against the Cards. This was the last game before the All-Star break. Only two other relievers were had been used that night, and only one had been used the previous night, and for one inning. Renfroe came in in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, blew a save and gave up two hits (run charged to McElroy), but he got through the 10th and 11th unscathed. The Cubs got a run in the top of the 12th (Dascenzo doubled in Dunston.)

Now, what do you do? You have a 29 year old reliever in line for his first major league victory. He's already pitched 2 1/3 innings and faced 9 batters. You have a rested bullpen, plus no pitcher who will be used in the next 3 days. The heart of the Cardinal lineup is scheduled (Zeile, Guerrero, Jose). What do you do?

That's right, you leave him in to be pummeled for 4 hits and one intentional walk in 5 batters in the bottom of the 12th. What a brilliant manager.

by BruceR on Jan 31, 2007 12:21 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

No question
From what I remember, all that Essian was able to do was stand at the top of the dugout step and clap his hands and cheer on the team. As much as I'd love to nominate Dusty and Baylor, Essian just had no business being a major league manager.

DmL

by dmlichte on Jan 31, 2007 12:38 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Essian
I third or fourth that. He was by far the worst Cub manager in my memory. He had no personality, and no ability to motivate the team. A total wallflower. Definitely not made for the job, and I'd guess he's never managed anywhere, even in the minors, since.
"Eighty-five percent of the $#@&$ world's working! The other 15 come out here! A %&$&# playground for the $&&*@!"

by danimal15 on Jan 31, 2007 9:56 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Actually
Essian was the Iowa manager at the time he was brought up to manage the Big league team.

Kasey

by kaseyi on Feb 1, 2007 5:59 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

OOPs...
I thought I read he was never a minor league manager BEFORE (not after).  Sorry...Al you really need an edit (or at least a delete function) on these entries for people like me who are still half asleep when posting)

Kasey

by kaseyi on Feb 1, 2007 6:01 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Joe Altobelli, Roy Johnson, Rene Lachemann
All of them have .000 winning percentages with the Cubs. Statistics are the universal truth.

Of course, they all each managed just one game, so take that for whatever it's worth.

I very excite about this upcoming season! Jenqui!

by nextyearcub on Jan 31, 2007 10:27 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

worst manager
I got into a debate with some guys in the bleachers about this a few years ago. I suppose the big question is how do you define this? I would say that simply looking at wins/losses isn't enough. Some of the Cubs teams in the past simply haven't had the right mix of players to be successful. Others have had quality players but still have failed. Based on that logic. Leo Durocher, who had several future HOF and failed to win anything would have to factor into the discussion at some point.
AC 00 00 00 - BELIEVE

by mike on Jan 31, 2007 10:35 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Interesting point.
I was also going to nominate Gene Michael, but to be fair, he took over a sinking ship in 1986 that John McGraw or Connie Mack would not have been able to save.  In 1987, though, he had Sandberg, Dawson, and a rejuvinated Rick Sutcliffe.  The problem with that team was that the remaining guys from '84 (Moreland, Durham, Davis, Matthews, and Dernier) were getting older, and although the farm system was producing some great players, only Greg Maddux had made it to Chicago at that point.  

You make an interesting point about Durocher, though.  I guess a guy with great talent to work with who does not win deserves his fair share of scrutiny.  OK, you could chalk up 1969 to the Mets just getting hot and going on a Cinderella run.  But in 1970, they had the same team plus Joe Pepitone, and they still did not win.  

"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004

by ctcoff99 on Jan 31, 2007 11:07 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

The college of coaches
had to be one of the dumbest ideas of all time. The management who decided that gets my vote.
Spendry!!!

by mrcubsfan on Jan 31, 2007 12:02 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

Dusty Baker
I do not disagree with any of the names above, but I still have to mention Dusty Baker. What galls me is the guy was making 4 million bucks a year, and would never take any responsibility for the painful way the team was playing.

There was always an excuse.....too many day games, wind blowing too hard, too many injuries, broadcaster's fault. Like Stoney said and ctcoff99, this is a great signature, "Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship to port."

And Dusty just never should have let it slip away from us in 2003!!

Lastly and possibly the most important reason I nominate Dusty, is that I blame him for Stoney leaving the WGN broadcast booth.

by deadcatbounce on Jan 31, 2007 12:03 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

I agree with the call on Dusty......
While he was here he had no concept of how to handle young pitching or pitching at all considering that every year he was here Cubs pitching led the league in pitcher abuse points. That abuse might have been worth it if it produced a WS but it didn't.......he rode Prior and Wood all year like rented mules even in blowout situations when they had little practical purpose for even being on the mound and then when it really mattered......like in the NLCS......instead of using SP in relief he went with guys like Dave Veres? Mind you, guys he was reluctant to use during the regular season. Clement might not have wanted to pitch and Zambrano might have shitty at the tail end of the season but if your going to lose do it using your best guys, not scrubs that you wouldn't even use in 8-0 blowouts during the regular season. That was unforgavable imo. Add to that......

-2004
-The Neifi experience
-Freddy Bynum
-His ego
-Latroy as closer

and numerous other head scratching moves and at least from my experience watching the Cubs (1990-1997) and later from (2003-20??) Dusty without question was the worst manager I've ever seen. I think Hendry plays a small part in it too.....he signed Baker when he should have gone with Freddi Gonzazlez and worse yet after 2004 he kept Baker for another 2 years.

RAMIREZ!! PRIOR!!

by PriorandAramisfan23 on Jan 31, 2007 1:42 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

One of the most ridiculous comments I've read..
I just don't understand how a guy with one of the best winning percentages as a manager all time can be viewed as THE worst Cubs manager. I'll cut you some slack though since you say you didn't witness any of the disasters of the '70's and '80s.

The great thing about baseball is we can argue and have differing opinions.

I've argued pitcher abuse points with others here and I find it a stinking pant-load.

What happens within a short series is a poor way to evaluate a manager. See LaRussa's first few trips to the post-season as an overwhelming favorite. The '03 Cubs were predicted by NO ONE to do anything that year.

Baker will get another managing gig, unlike most ex-Cubs managers.

My view on the worst I've seen is a toss up between Essian, Trebelhorn, and Baylor. So much to choose from. I don't know how many times Baylor bunted a guy to third with no outs, only to watch Sammy strike out.

Well, sometimes nothin is a real cool hand.

by wicubfan on Jan 31, 2007 5:48 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Baker was not the worst
but most certainly isn't what I'd call 'good'.
TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Jan 31, 2007 7:26 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Agreed
Baylor was worse.  So were others.
PTBNL!

by gravedigger on Jan 31, 2007 7:29 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Here's the best example...
... I can remember of that, on June 27, 2002, although Sosa didn't strike out, he lined out:
CUBS 1ST: Patterson doubled to right; Stynes out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to first) [Patterson to third]; Sosa lined to shortstop; McGriff walked; Alou struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Reds 0, Cubs 0.

You see that? Baylor bunted a runner to third with nobody out in the FIRST INNING OF A SCORELESS GAME!!

It was almost as if he were daring the Cubs to fire him. A week later, they accomodated him.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al on Jan 31, 2007 7:47 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Yep..
This is exactly what I recall about the Baylor era. I don't know for sure, but my guess would be that the Cubs led the league in sacrafice bunts more than once during his years as manager. I really dislike the sacrafice bunt as a strategy..unless your pitching staff is just incredibly good.
Well, sometimes nothin is a real cool hand.

by wicubfan on Jan 31, 2007 8:08 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

More Dusty!
Yes, of course it is Dusty hands down!

This is similar to the Top 100 Cubs and so the bad managers from the 70s, managing little talent, are not worth mentioning--they are too far removed and essentially meaningless.

Dusty managed to contribute mightily, through poor use of the bullpen and rotation in the 2003 playoffs, to the Cubs missing the Series.  This is the frickin' world series at stake--NOT whether we finish .500.  It means far more.

The continued culture of incompetence grew worse under Baker each season.  He left his stamp on the team which was that players should not be held responsible for any mistakes and should never be criticized.  He cared more about arguing with broadcasters and getting them fired then he did about properly managing his team to the 2004 wild card.  All the while his team played worse and worse fundamentally down the stretch in 2004, as well as each following season.

He destroyed some very promising pitching arms or significantly contributed to their destruction which was a career trait or goal with him.

He was a total incompetent with respect to what counted most for scoring runs.  When we had power and lots of Ks he pushed for less Ks and more speed, and in 2006 we ended up with a roster with no power and no obp under his delusional belief that one could steal first base.

In the end he decided to blame all of the racists in Chicago for his incompetence in order to build sympathy for another job interview.

The Cubs were  actually talented enough to be in the World Series in 2003 and 2004 and this incompetent name dropping, hide behind my kid excuse maker pissed it away.

Dusty is numero uno and it aint close.

   

by DudeVf11 on Jan 31, 2007 11:28 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I think I have to steal......
Al's "long, sustained, applause" line.
RAMIREZ!! PRIOR!!

by PriorandAramisfan23 on Feb 1, 2007 1:43 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Sorry......
"loud sustained applause"........its late, I'm tired.
RAMIREZ!! PRIOR!!

by PriorandAramisfan23 on Feb 1, 2007 1:44 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

three words
Lou Piniella
Baby, you got a stew goin'

by Thelonious on Jan 31, 2007 12:07 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

My thought is that
the worst Cubs' manager I have ever seen is Joey Amalfitano. He took over for Gomez after he got canned, and didn't do any better, then managed the team in the strike season of '81.

by Bill M on Jan 31, 2007 12:24 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

In Amalfitano's defense...
... those teams were awful. NO ONE could have managed them to a winning record.
"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al on Jan 31, 2007 1:01 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

True, but
he still has the worst percentage of any manager the Cubs have had since 1900, who have managed at least 100 games. So, while he didn't have much to work with, from what I recall he wasn't a very good in-game manager either.

by Bill M on Jan 31, 2007 2:09 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

i hated
don baylor alot for some reason

by tbizzle83 on Jan 31, 2007 2:09 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

Because he...
...suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked.
PTBNL!

by gravedigger on Jan 31, 2007 2:57 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Frankie Frisch
should be a candidate

By the time Frisch got to be manager of the Cubs, the game had really passed him by and his strategy consisted of screaming at everyone--players, umpires, reporters, whomever and telling people how much better players were in his day.

On the plus side, he didn't bunt much.

Bob Kennedy should also be a candidate--I don't know much about him as a manager, but there has to be a reason a team with Banks, Williams, Santo and Brock were so bad.

And I do remember him as a GM, when he was the architect of those hideous teams of the early 80s.  That must be an indicator that he had no baseball sense whatsoever.  

On the other hand, as a GM he was better than the guy who preceded him, the infamous Salty Saltwell who's experience for the GM job was that he was in charge of concessions at Wrigley Field.  For those of you who think that the beer vendor could do  a better job as GM than Hendry; it's been tried.  He wasn't.

A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants

by Josh77 on Jan 31, 2007 2:13 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

Actually...
... Kennedy wasn't that bad. His first year, the Cubs had their first winning record in 17 seasons.

And the teams he built in the late 70's (1977-78-79 are the ones I'm thinking of in particular) contended when they really had no business doing so.

He's responsible for the Cubs acquiring Bill Buckner, one of the better deals they made in that era.

He may not be the best, but he's far from the worst.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al on Jan 31, 2007 2:15 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah
but I wonder how much he lucked into the Buckner deal.

The Cubs did have that magical half of the 1977 season (the year that made me a Cub fan) but one of the trades that he made was the terrible Madlock trade, in which he traded Bill Madlock for Bobby Murcer and Steve Ontiveros because Madlock was going to be a free agent and wanted a big raise.  But he forgot to check that Murcer was also going to be a free agent and wanted a big raise, and ended up paying Bobby Murcer more than Bill Madlock was even asking for.

He also made the Manny Trillo trade and signed Dave Kingman.

That to me indicates that they guy just lucked into the 1977 season.

Oh, and go back and check.  The Cub never had a winning record under Kennedy.  The 1977 team collapsed all the way down to 81-81.

A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants

by Josh77 on Jan 31, 2007 2:32 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Maybe.
Did Kennedy make the Madlock deal? Or was that Saltwell?

I'm guessing Kennedy made it under orders from P. K. Wrigley.

Those Cubs didn't finish over .500, true. But they had better records than the team did the three previous years.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al on Jan 31, 2007 4:20 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Kennedy...
....took over on 11-24-76.One of the problems he inherited was both Madlock and Rick Monday wanted multiyear contracts with big pay raises - and the Cubs of that era just didn't do big pay raises.

Here's a quote from P.K.Wrigley after hiring Kennedy:  "No ballplayer is worth more than $100,000 and I'm not sure they're worth that much.  We'll just have to field the best team we possibly can.  We don't expect to win any pennants.  All I'm trying to do is survive.  You can't give out more than you take in, not forever."

Given P.K.'s position, it's not surprising that Kennedy traded first Monday, then Madlock.  As Josh mentions above, though, Kennedy erred with Murcer's contract situation.

by HolyMackeral on Jan 31, 2007 10:53 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Frisch
According to some accounts, Frankie Frisch actually tried to fine his players for talking with opposing players, which I'm sure is a philosophy straight from his Gashouse Gang Cardinals teams of the 1930's.  But let's face it, the Cubs of the 1950's were not going to win anything, so what difference did it make if his players actually spoke with guys wearing a different uniform?  I think Frankie was out of the game pretty quickly after his Cubs stint was over.  
"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004

by ctcoff99 on Jan 31, 2007 2:44 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Was Essian the guy.....
Who let Andre Dawson go jaw to jaw with an umpire
long enough to get tossed from the game---before
Essian quit clapping and got there to protect Dawson?

by BillV on Feb 2, 2007 2:47 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

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