Cubs Win, Zambrano Goes, Hendry Stays?

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He was talking to a couple of people (they seemed to be reporter types – wearing credential tags around their necks) about how our attendance was in pretty good shape, compared to, say, Tampa the last few years – and Tampa had been in the middle of pennant races.

Then they talked about how you can get free agents coming off of terrible years and save money, like they did with Carlos Pena.

Granted, I wasn’t in the conversation. But I was sitting 3 feet away.

Also, IMMEDIATELY after the game ended they brought the grounds crew out and told the Little Sluggers contingent that they would NOT be allowed to run the bases as promised due to the day’s rain. By that point, the crowd consisted almost entirely of 5 year olds and their parents. Lots of sad faces. But I guess you can’t control the weather.

or part of the solution. We have a lot of problems and they are not part of our solution. Time to move on. Leo, Lou and Dallas, we need a little old school baseball like these three brought to the Cubs. Get it done.

That’s certainly not the sweeping change this organization needs, is it??

At the end of the day, we need quality, MLB talent on the field that knows how to win baseball games. That’s the bottom line…

It has to stop it’s culture of embracing mediocrity. Can’t see that changing anytime soon.

I’m sure I’m not alone in never wanting to see Carlos Zambrano pitch another game for the Cubs either. Deserting your mates in their time of need is the stuff of cowards.

…a specific change to replace Hendry? Hendry was given an opportunity and he has had mixed results. The opportunity has been more than reasonable given it is such a results oriented business. There’s nothing personal here, but it astonishes me that the ownership might think that there is a reasonable chance that the results will significantly improve if they keep Hendry. When you consider time, resources and results I would have no problem letting him go now, before the season ends. I hope that this ownership can find a qualified replacement from a successful organization, I’d start looking for someone from Boston and Tampa if they need suggestions.

but read what was written. It’s so open-ended and so arbitrary, has no mention to time, there could a bunch of events that end up make it look true or blow it right out of the water.

bought the Cubs for a couple of reasons, and one had to be for investment. Well, they are watching the stock go down fast. We are becoming a joke in MLB. Teams in small markets get a pass when this bad, we dont.

I’ll make my flight arrangements.

Is for Tom Ricketts to watch the Showtime series The Franchise: A Season With the San Francisco Giants. It will provide insight into how a professional baseball organization operates. In just the first episode they are forced to handle injuries, poor play and tough decisions about minor league prospects.

Ricketts is dilusional if he thinks the group in charge is the correct group to turn this mess around.

…that Hendry and at least some of the Ricketts family were acquainted going back to Jim’s days at Creighton, long before the Cubs were on the market.

It’s possible, or even likely, that the family would not have placed a bid without knowing that Hendry would remain indefinitely as GM. Also, with its ongoing minority interest, the Trib likely has a nice comfort level with Trib-hires Jim and Kenney remaining in place.

To that shrinking group of fans who actually care about the team’s performance and still wonder when the Ricketts will perform due diligence on their billion-dollar investment, it now should be clear that the family did their homework three years ago, and the bottom line is: Jim’s the man. Also, barring a 12-game losing streak before the end of this year, this means we will indeed get to witness QE2 (Quadetative Easing, pt.II).

He’s on a bad team, playing for a bad manager who he doesn’t have an ounce of respect for. Add those things up, and a man-child will act like a child….

I also think that’s part of his declining performance. Some people in this world, who don’t have enough pride in what they do, will not perform a job well for a boss [Quade] that they, and everyone else around them [other players], don’t respect.

If he was on a better team, playing for one of the game’s best managers, in a winning organization… I don’t think he’d act this way. In fact, I think he’d enjoy one of his finest seasons in a while if he were say… on the Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox or a TLR managed Cardinals team.

It’s on the right sidebar. Please vote.

For the good of the fans, and for the good of your own future as players in 2012, please lose out the rest of the way. If you continue to win series like you’ve been doing in the month of August, you may once again have to play next year with Mike Quade as your manager.

Ricketts will not part with either of them because the finances don’t permit it, especially since they’re going to have to eat a lot of Zambrano’s contract.

Sunk costs. How I hate them.

Nice win last night. The Cubs seemed to be at ease and focused. Colvin’s timing and stroke looked very good, with the exception of one down-and-in pitch from the Braves LHP. Re: the Zambrano Follies – the Cubs should put him on the Disqualified (Dysfunctional?) List with no pay, one month at a time for the next 24 months or whatever it is. Tell the Players Union to go pound sand. Go Cubs, let’s win the series today!

I predict the Cubs and Zambranos people and the union meet somewhere in the middle and work out a settlement of his contract. Everyone saves a little face in that situation.

Do we have anyone but a clubhouse attendant to verify Zambrano said he was retiring?

And we don’t have any reliable sources that say Quade and/or Hendry are coming back next year. In fact the most reliable sources in town say its unlikely.

And Quade and Hendry probably make at most 2 million combined guaranteed next year. I really doubt this wil factor in the decision.

And as far as Ricketts goes do I have to remind people he’s owned the team 2 years!?!?!?!?

Can we also get rid of this idea that because someone made a bad decision it means he doesn’t care which seems to be a common thread of the Ricketts bashing.

The same thing as if a player is playing badly it means he doesn’t care. That’s just as goofy.

I mean, i get that some people are going to defend the Cubs at all costs…even when ALL evidence is to the contrary….it’s kind of amusing actually. Like very subtle performance art.

I actually think its the people that wish Sandberg was manager now who hate him.

Why would you wish this on him?

…but I agree he has to go.

I think he’s a good (not great) GM, but he clearly is an awful manager of people. How many of these indidents have happened under his watch? Players “running themselves” unceremoniously out of town like this? Sosa, Bradley, and now Zambrano have all made dramatic exits from town under Hendry’s watch and at a certain point you have to see it as a trend. That’s not even counting situations like Sandberg (which has some parallels), Silva, and some other smaller issues that indicate that employee management is a joke over there.

Ricketts will let the contract play out for no reason other than that he’s more concerned about spending than anything else. Likely the same with Quade. No one wants to discuss the possibility but I wouldn’t be surprised if he gradually eases the payroll down another $5-10M this year, rather than going out and spending big likely everyone expects. All he’s shown so far is that he cares an awful lot about the bottom line.

I don’t react to Twitter feeds so I refuse to believe it. Although if Ricketts is as clueless as he is portrayed…

Sadly this is how bad this team is…

Wish the owner had backbone and a clue.

This is what Cub fandom has been reduced to….

Hope you are happy Mr. Ricketts!!! Lets get those profits up!!!!!

The title and artist… IIRC, the lyrics involved: ♫♪"we’re on the road to nowhere…"♪♫ Can anyone help with this?

should aquire Z (stickin us w/ Dunn/Rios). Seems Buerle “can’t” be retained with both those players there…

What is German for Doofus?

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/-8216-Bierbrauer-8217-Greinke-goes-to-bat-w?urn=mlb-wp15893

as far as the BCB’ers on here who believed that Hendry wasn’t going anywhere…..are you ready to join us now? The angry Cubs fans that refuse to go to another Cubs game…

Al, if I were you….I’d sell all 81 of your tickets next year…..