When The World Is Running Down...

Lou Piniella announced that he will retire at the end of the 2010 season. In a related note, he also announced that Candy will be given out to children on October 31, 2010. I'm kidding about the second part, but I write that to illustrate the point that this news is hardly surprising to anyone who has followed the Cubs this season. I once wrote that Lou Piniella is the most successful Cub manager they've had since their 1908 championship, but alas "most successful" is not synonymous with "good". Lou has done several things that are beyond goofy in terms of his management of the team, and it was clear that the game had passed him by. So his departure really isn't newsworthy, but the way it was announced sure is.

What makes this newsworthy for starters, is that it was announced barely a week after the All-Star Break. That's a little unusual. It also was done in a way that suggested Lou will be given some sort of send-off but yet in Lou's mind, the Cubs "aren't out of it yet"...whatever that's supposed to mean? What really struck me as strange though was the presence of Tom Ricketts and the things he said.

Ricketts said he's fully committed to Jim Hendry as Cubs GM, which if you're a Cub fan that should make you sick. It's been 7 years 2 - going on 3 managers, and whole lot of awful, bad long term contracts with enough no-trade clauses to choke a camel during Hendry's time as GM. For the owner to still back a man with that kind of track record who has pissed away all of that former Tribune and now Ricketts' money in a way that prohibits any kind of quick turnaround is mind blowing. That said, I'm still going to give Ricketts the benefit of the doubt because he was not in a position to announce that Hendry was on the hot seat....as he's sitting RIGHT NEXT TO HIM at the podium. Ricketts also might not have wanted to take the focus away from Lou's announcement considering Lou is revered in many baseball circles. I would hope (and I'm sure Cub fans would agree with me) that Rickett's knows that firing Jim Hendry is what he needs to do, and doesn't feel like tipping his hand just yet.

One of the first emails The Beard received when the news broke was if I thought there was any chance Joe Girardi would leave the Yankees to become the Cub manager. My response was that it's going to take a whole lot more than Joe Girardi, or Bob Brenly, or Ryne Sandberg to turn the Cubs around because it's going to require massive reconstructive surgery, rather than cosmetic. To paraphrase Jerry Krause, the Cubs situation isn't a team issue, but rather an organizational issue. The Rickett's Family needs to clean house at every level of the front office and start fresh with an innovative General Manager/President/Director of Baseball Operations. Rick Hahn, or Damon Oppenheimer, or Scott Proefrock are among the hottest untested names. That's a good place to start.

The Cubs need to start somewhere deep, bold, and innovative, because quite honestly there's nowhere to go but up. A new manager alone does not provide enough boost to launch the Cubs rocket...

Lou Piniella Might Have Alzheimer's

I've gotten into it with a couple of my friends lately regarding the non-story, story that is the Lou Piniella-Steve Stone spat that served as a backdrop for the White Sox-Cubs Meatball Series. Before you read any further, take a look at this footage which summarizes the whole spat, and tell me who handled it with more eloquently and rationally, Lou or Steve?

After viewing that, allow me to share my thoughts on the matter. Steve Stone is an analyst. He makes a very nice living not only serving as color commentator for Chicago White Sox broadcasts, but he also serves as a baseball analyst for Comcast Sports Net and various other media i.e. The Score. We all know Steve Stone's long history and bitter ending of his broadcasting services with the Chicago Cubs. Stone is not too shy about letting people know he has an ego, and at times it has rubbed people the wrong way. Dusty Baker and Kent Merker are living examples of guys who have taken exception to Stone for exactly those reasons. 

The crux of the argument that I've had about people who have defended Lou's outburst, seems to stem from them not liking Steve Stone and finding him annoying. Again though, I believe that liking or disliking Steve Stone is irrelevant and here's the reason why. The issue was Stone suggesting that Lou has not played Tyler Colvin enough this season. Now Lou's response wasn't "I disagree, I think I've played him enough", or maintain his "It wouldn't be fair to the other three veteran outfielders" theory. Lou decided to go "Street Cred" on Stone in a major way, even though Fred Mitchell asked Lou a question about Jake Peavy! Lou brought up the fact that Stone hasn't managed, been a coach, or a farm director, and therefore has no right to question Lou's lineup making. I won't get into the slippery slope of whether or not Lou thinks ANYBODY who hasn't done those things has no right to criticize him. All I will ask though is WAS STEVE STONE RIGHT? Lou didn't answer that question during his outburst did he?

Flash forward 72 hours later, and this report crosses the wires. Now Lou thinks Colvin should play more?! Are you kidding me?! After all of Lou's histrionics and strident yelling about who has done more as a manager in baseball. After all of his grandstanding, self-indulgent righteous indignation, and "1800 wins" B.S., Lou does the EXACT THING Stone said he should do?! You have got to be kidding me Lou. That is completely PATHETIC, and you should be ashamed of yourself. What's also disturbing if you are a Cub fan, is that this isn't the first time he's reversed himself after yelling at a member of the media for suggesting something to him either.

So the question now becomes, does Lou have Alzheimer's Disease, or did he realize that Stone might be right? If it's the former, then he needs professional help right away. If it's the latter and if he's concerned with showing any kind of class or accountability, he might want to think about apologizing to Stone, or at the very least admit that Stone might have had the right idea about giving Colvin more playing time.