The Problem With The Cubs

The previous week, the Cubs finally got around to firing Jim Hendry. This was a move that needed to be done a long time ago, yet the Cubs showed a lot of patience and leeway with someone who displayed an amazing amount of gross incompetence at his position.

During his tenure, Hendry had a habit of overpaying players based on their prime years, or players coming off of career years. Unfortunately, those prime years were often on other teams. Here are a few of the contracts that he signed players to:

• Alfonso Soriano – 8 years, $136Million, no-trade clause
• Kosuke Fukudome – 4 years, $48Million, no-trade clause that he was able to get Fukudome to waive
• Milton Bradley – 3 years, $30Million
• Jacque Jones – 3 years, $15Million
• Jason Marquis – 3 years, $21Million
• Carlos Zambrano – 5 years, $91.5Million, no-trade clause
• Carlos Pena – 1 year, $10Million

With his horrific history in free agency and as a general manager, why did the Cubs allow him to continue in this role? Perhaps the answer lies deeper in the history and psyche of the organization. Since the Cubs last won the World Series in 1908, they have had 44 winning seasons over the past 103 years. Of those 44, 25 were before 1947. This equates to the Cubs having 19 winning seasons in 64 years. Losing is part of the tradition in Cubs Land, and they do not seem to want to change this.

So, why do the Cubs embrace their status as losers? Hell, sportscasters refer to them as the ‘Lovable Losers’ on a continual basis. Despite this, their fans do not care. Wrigley is packed almost every night, as the Cubs fans seem to treat it as a bar with the world’s most expensive cover charge. The baseball game is secondary – it’s about sitting on the bleachers and drinking beer with a few friends. They would be better served just doing that at a bar with the game on the television. Why should management change anything, when the ballpark is filled all the time?

If the Cubs are serious about building a contender, they need to change this mentality immediately. They need respected baseball people in decision making positions that understand what it takes to win. They need a general manager that is intelligent, capable of evaluating players and personnel, and is willing to build up their farm system. They need a manager that will change the culture of the clubhouse and make the players into winners. In short, they need to stop being the Cubs.

However, this will not happen. The Cubs will replace Jim Hendry with someone else equally incompetent. Someone like Omar Minaya. Enjoy another 100 years without a title, Cubs fans. Ownership doesn’t care enough to bring you one.