The Cub Can Of Worms: Lenny Harris

by Al on Dec 19, 2008 9:23 AM CST in The Cub Can Of Worms Comment 26 comments

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Even though Lenny Harris was 38 years old in October 2002, he had had a decent year for the Brewers that year (.305/.355/.411, 103 OPS+ as a part-time player), was a good pinch-hitter (.306 with 22 pinch-hits in 2002), and so when new manager Dusty Baker (back when he was still liked) talked Jim Hendry into signing him as a free agent, most Cubs fans welcomed him as a good bench player.

photo via jamd.com

He started out fine -- on April 30 he was hitting .250/.280/.417, down a little from 2002 but nothing to be alarmed about. But then Dusty's first little obsession -- with bad hitters that became "his horses" -- started to show. He began to start Lenny at third base, despite the fact that he had the mobility of a statue and hadn't played third base on a regular basis since 1991. Between May 1 and the time he was finally released on August 2, he started 23 games at 3B -- including two after Aramis Ramirez was acquired from the Pirates. During that time he "hit" .168/.250/.187, which is to say, he might as well have just sat on the bench and announced "You can have another out, I'm just going to stay here and conserve energy."

Lenny, though, got the last laugh. Nine days after the Cubs let him go, he signed with the Marlins. Jack McKeon outsmarted Dusty Baker in the playoffs, and he knew how to use Lenny -- as a pinch-hitter. For Florida, Harris played in 13 games -- all but one as a PH. That one was a start in right field the day after the Marlins clinched their playoff spot. Apart from that start, he played in the field two other times, remaining in LF after pinch-hitting in two blowouts, one a win, the other a loss.

Had Dusty Baker known how to use Harris -- as Davey Lopes and Jerry Royster had done in Milwaukee in 2002, mostly as a PH, starting him occasionally in the outfield and rarely at 3B, he might have stuck around and contributed in the postseason. Instead, he got a World Series ring... for the Marlins.

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Is this the famous Lenny F. Harris I've heard so much about?

by LT on Dec 19, 2008 9:35 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Yes.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Dec 19, 2008 9:37 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think Harris deserves this treatment

If memory serves, Dusty didn’t have a lot of options at third before the Cubs got Ramirez. Didn’t Mark Bellhorn start there opening day? And didn’t Jose Hernandez get some time there, too?

I understand your point, Al. I just don’t think Harris should be in the same category as LaTroy Hawkins or Mel Rojas.

by elgato on Dec 19, 2008 9:40 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Bellhorn would have been a FAR better option.

But Dusty didn’t like his lack of hacking.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Dec 19, 2008 9:48 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think this is fair either.

Not Lenny’s fault he was used like this. This one, like so many others, is on Dusty.

Maybe a footnote in Dusty’s (forthcoming?) Cubs Can of Worms would be more approrpriate.

Provoking, though, no doubt. Enjoying the series, Al.

"Thank god I threw out my belt & shoelaces."-Bernies Mustache Wax on Evil BCB, 7/31/08

by Bildo1805 on Dec 19, 2008 10:09 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks.

Believe me, Dusty will be getting his due in this series.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Dec 19, 2008 10:57 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Lenny Harris was awesome.

Not at baseball, however.

Evey Hammond: Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. V: By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.

by dtpollitt on Dec 19, 2008 9:59 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I kinda liked Belhorn...

didn’t he hit 27 HRs for us that year?? Must have been on the Sosa diet.

by Lows05 on Dec 19, 2008 10:07 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Bellhorn hit 27 HR in 2002.

Then he got a new manager who wanted him to hack away instead of exhibiting his normal patience.

The results were predictable, and soon Bellhorn was sent packing.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Dec 19, 2008 10:08 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

(And never really replicated those results)

"Thank god I threw out my belt & shoelaces."-Bernies Mustache Wax on Evil BCB, 7/31/08

by Bildo1805 on Dec 19, 2008 10:09 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Bellhorn in 2004

The best Bellhorn did after 2002 was in 2004 with the world champion Red Sox hitting .264/.373/.444 with 17 HR’s and 82 RBI.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Dec 19, 2008 12:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And had Baker let him play his game...

… he’d have been fine for the 2003 Cubs, too.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Dec 19, 2008 2:37 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Wasn't Bellhorn the first Cub to hit a homerun

from both sides of the plate in the same inning?

"Booze, broads, and bullshit. If you got all that, what else do you need?" Harry Caray

by CubbieintheSouth on Dec 19, 2008 8:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yes.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Dec 21, 2008 8:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

question...

I think Dusty really turned out to be a bad manager, like most of you…but….had they won it all in ‘03, and then went on to have the same (lack of) success in his following years for the Cubs, would we still hate him so much…I think I still would, it wasn’t like it was HIS fault that AGon made the error, so I don’t hate him for the meltdown in ’03, but I do think he probably should have made a trip to the mound when it all started to unwind…just a thought…

by Lows05 on Dec 19, 2008 10:18 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Bunnies and sunshine would be coming out my rear for the entire '03 team,

had they won it all.

But, they didn’t. Thus, hate. It’s totally without reason. But still, hate.

"Thank god I threw out my belt & shoelaces."-Bernies Mustache Wax on Evil BCB, 7/31/08

by Bildo1805 on Dec 19, 2008 10:23 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't really blame Dusty for '03

The 2002 Cubs were horrible. Hendry made some good moves to improve the team (Grudz, Karros, Ramirez, Lofton, Simon) and Wood, Prior and Clement had career seasons. But Dusty still had a pretty weak lineup (Damian Miller and Gonzalez starting the whole year) and a bad bullpen other than Borowski.

In other words, I think Dusty did good things with the ’03 team, and I think he did a good job juggling the injuries and problems of the ’04 team before the final 10 days.

And those last 10 days really hurt the Cubs over the next two years, because players like Farnsworth, Alou and Sosa had to be let go and weren’t easily replaced. No one is more to blame for all of that than Dusty.

by elgato on Dec 19, 2008 12:02 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Completely agree

Dusty should have went out and tried to calm Prior down. One other thing that I really hated Dusty for also ocurred in game 6. After he took Prior out, if memory serves me correctly, he brought in Kyle Farnsworth (not exactly known for his pinpoint control). What’s the first thing Farns’ does? Intentionally walks Mike Lowell to load the bases. Now, I completely understand playing matchups/percentages, but Farns’ had control issues as it was. I thought it was a huge mistake to bring him in in that pressure situation and then have him start off by throwing 4 straight balls. I think it may have affected him mentally, judging by how the rest of the inning ended up.

Maybe I am missing something here, but to this day I still don’t understand, if Prior was coming out of the game anyway, why Dusty didn’t just have him walk Lowell intentionally, then bring Farnsworth in.

In another quote attributed to him while coaching for the 1962 Mets, Hornsby was asked how well he thought he could hit the current crop of pitchers if he were playing today, to which he replied "I guess I'd hit about .280 or .290". When asked why he'd hit for such a low average, Hornsby replied "Well, I'm 66 years old, what do you expect?"

by SotoRiot on Dec 20, 2008 2:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Baker or Harris?

This almost seems more like a Dusty Baker can of worms. In the very least, this post shows proof that maybe he wasn’t a very good manager.

I’m not saying thats a bad thing either….

by TheHawkRules on Dec 19, 2008 11:08 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

hah seems like a lot of these started off with

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. "

BCB Works Miracles: It saved my English grade!

by Chanman25 on Dec 19, 2008 11:13 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Pinch-Hitting Numbers

Harris got 212 pinch hits in 804 pinch hit AB’s.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Dec 19, 2008 12:20 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

those 212 pinch hits are the all-time record...

I think it’s worth noting that Lenny holds the record. He was always an easy guy to root for, either with the Cubs or another team, so in that sense he doesn’t have much in common with the Hundleys and Farnsworths that have graced Al’s list.

That being said, he frustrated me to no end during his brief stint with the Cubs as he looked completely washed up. As Al pointed out, he was a wretched fielder. Looking at his BR page, I noticed that he was allowed to play 52 games at shortstop early in his career. Aside from the comic mental image of Lenny Harris trying to play short, this is also remarkable because he posted an .873 fielding percentage…that wouldn’t cut it in high school baseball.

"Some people will look at a glass of water and say it's half-empty, while another guy will look at it and say it's half-full. A Cubs fan looks at the same glass and asks, "When's it gonna spill?" - Mike Royko

by LaddieRenfroe on Dec 19, 2008 2:00 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow, that is scary.

I wonder if he was originally drafted as a SS.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Dec 19, 2008 2:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Fanshots

I just realized I don’t know how to make a fanshot. It’s not big enough for a fanpost.

Maybe I’ll just post it here.

Urgent prayer request for my best friend’s Mom. Any prayers would really be appreciated.

MaIne South Hawks 2008 Class 8a Champs!

by cubstoseriesby100 on Dec 19, 2008 2:38 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Found an error in your article

“hadn’t played third base on a regular basis since 1991”

This HAS to be an error, because no manager in there right mind would play a guy at the hot corner after 12 years. Oh wait, Dusty was the manager? nevermind.

by JPetey on Dec 19, 2008 2:46 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I love the reference to Dusty's "horses" I miss Dusty's equine appetite...

…and Dusty probably thought he owed Harris at least 400 Abs given that smokin’ April that he gave the team, LOL…Dusty’s favorite song must be “Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses”

by DudeVf11 on Dec 19, 2008 5:18 PM CST reply actions 0 recs