We all know the memorable moves of Jim's tenure. We know how he fleeced the Pirates in 2003 for Aramis Ramirez. We know he put together a team 5 outs away from going to the World Series. We're aware that he traded Hee Seop Choi for Derrick Lee, and took a savvy flyer on Ryan Dempster in 2004.
We also remember that he gave Alfonso Soriano one of the worst contracts in baseball history. We'll never forget the disastrous signing of powder keg Milton Bradley to a three year $30 million dollar contract which then spawned into Carlos Silva. We'll never forget his undying loyalty to his favorite son, the recently suspended Carlos Zambrano, when he signed Zambrano to a $91 million dollar extension in 2007.
I could go on with numerous other ridiculous moves Hendry's made which have equated to a couple of division titles, three managerial hires, a 9 game postseason losing streak, and most importantly zero World Series championships, but you can go somewhere else to find someone dancing on Hendry's grave. This post is more geared toward where the Cubs go from here.
Hendry's dismissal should have been a move that gives Cub fans hope. Hendry's departure would serve as a symbol that Tom Ricketts finally realized that Hendry's ways of building a baseball team are no longer viable. It would show that ownership has realized they have been operating under antiquated philosophies, as well as spent money and resources foolishly. This realization along with cutting Hendry loose, would be the beginning of moving the Cubs in a direction of becoming a progressive organization. Somehow, I don't get the sense that is happening after today, and the reason is because this should have happened in the fall of 2009.
Look before you jump to any conclusions, let me be clear that it's not because they retained Crane Kenney. Crane Kenney is for losers like WSCR-AM's Dan Bernstein to obsess over. My concern stems from someone more important. Someone who is responsible for Kenney being in the position he currently finds himself in, and that man is Tom Ricketts.
Ricketts does not impress me as a man who possesses a vision and testicular fortitude necessary to execute his vision. Ricketts has been trying to buy this team since 2007, finally got his team in 2009, and according to Ricketts himself, is just now starting to put a plan together for who he wants to hire as general manager.
That is the last thing any Cub fan should want to hear. If he truly knew what he was doing, Ricketts should have cleaned house immediately in 2009. Ricketts should have had replacements for both Kenney and Hendry ready to take over immediately before the 2010 season. I don't buy the built in excuse of "Oh Tom had to learn the business for his first year or two". B.S. You never heard that excuse applied when John Henry bought the Red Sox. Almost immediately upon takeover, Henry brought in Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein. Henry had a vision in his mind and a plan in place before he took over. He identified the people he needed to execute it, and two years after buying the team, the Red Sox won the World Series.
While the Cubs are a different franchise with different economic realities on their payroll than the Red Sox, that by no means excuses the lack of assertiveness Ricketts has shown during his brief time as owner. Bottom line, Ricketts has not shown that he is worth of any degree of trust from Cub fans that he will hire the right GM, even when he does something correct like firing Jim Hendry.
That fact, is way more scarier, and deserves way more wrath than Crane Kenney...
