Cubs and Hendry reportedly agree to 3 year deal

… this is the same report we’ve been discussing for the last few days. Yes, they’re talking, but no agreement has yet been made.

As I have asked before, I will again ask anyone who posts links from sites like this to PLEASE post the link to the original article — it’s right there on the page.

Article was in yesterday’s Sun-Times.

Thanks.

When you have an entiire radio station that constantly makes fun of his physical appearance it’s hard to get reliable information on Hendry, The Score talks more about his weight than his job performance. The only time that has had anything to do with his job is when he had the heart problem.

I know my limitations when it comes to leadership and chewing people’s butts to get things done. I’m much more suited to be a loyal and hard-working part of the system when there is someone above me calling the shots and making sure the overall vision of the department is being realized.

At the same time I cannot worry about it either because whoever becomes the new owner will make his/her own evaluation on Jim Hendry. Having spent one billion plus to acquire the Cubs I doubt several years still owed on Hendry’s new contract will get in the way of objective decision on who should be GM under a new regime.

Hendry has definite limitations. He’s starting to look too much like Ned Coletti to me in that his main “strength” is spending big dough. Hendry has made some dubious personnel moves under his big check strategy and the farm system remains subpar.

He lives in fantasyland.

He must have compromising photos of Sam Zell.

4 people have said “Nay!” in the poll.

Assuming this 3-year deal appears to be imminent, what is your guys’s or gals’s reasoning?

(Assuming it wasn’t just a ‘going against the norm’ vote)

…I’m fine with him. He doesn’t strike me as a genius, and he’s had his failures, but he busts his ass for this team and does the best he can with what he’s got. If he is resigned for three years, I can live with it.

As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m not Hendry’s biggest fan. I believe he’s very short sighted, has spend a TON of money and gotten mixed returns and overall views the game with a very narrow view. Further his financial decisions have really sunk his team into a situation where it will either a.) have little flexibility or b.) will have to raise payroll to closer to $150M/season.

That being said, I’m glad he’s being extended for potentially three years. Here’s why. First off, its clear that with the team’s ownership situation, had Hendry departed for Seattle, the team was not going to be able to land a top notch GM. My guess is that they would not even have tried, simply handing over the reigns to Randy Bush. So knowing that Hendry is not going to be replaced by someone who is going to come in and revamp the organization, you stick with Hendry. If you’re going to stick with Hendry, you make sure that he is thinking not just about the short term of saving his job, he’s also concerned about the long term health.

IMO the long term deal means very little about whether he’s here a year or so from now or not. A new owner and potentially a new president is going to make the decision on their own, regardless of the years remaining on Hendry’s deal. They have their own people and if their people want to hire someone else as GM, thats going to happen. Hendry, in the meantime, hopefully won’t dig the team deeper over the long term in order to gain a short term edge, thereby saving his job.