*** UPDATED x1 *** Hendry out as Cub GM
Friday, Aug 19, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Nobody can say that this is a gigantic surprise…
Jim Hendry has been dismissed as the Cubs’ general manager, the team announced on Friday.
He was the only general manager in franchise history to oversee three postseason clubs (2003, 2007, 2008) and was the first Cubs general manager to lead the franchise to consecutive postseason berths.
“My family and I appreciate Jim’s dedication during our time with the Cubs and thank him for his overall 17 years of service to the Cubs organization,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said. “It is time for a fresh approach in our baseball leadership and our search begins immediately for our next general manager.”
Hendry, 56, was named vice president/general manager on July 5, 2002 and departs as the third-longest tenured general manager in the National League and the third-longest-tenured general manager in franchise history behind John Holland (1957-75) and James Gallagher (1940-49).
“At end of the day, I’m not going to leave here with any problems,” Hendry said. “Tom Ricketts is a good man. We just didn’t win enough games.”
Whom do you think is (or should be) next to go?
*** UPDATE *** Via a commenter…
Owners of the Chicago Cubs have quietly launched a new campaign to rebuild Wrigley Field with public help — and this time, City Hall wants to be helpful.
Sources close to the matter say that team chief Tom Ricketts in recent weeks has met with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other government officials about a funding scheme that could be put before state lawmakers as soon as the Legislature’s fall veto session.
According to sources, the plan envisions as much as $200 million in public help for a $400-million rebuild of Wrigley, with officials given a menu of potential funding options to get the needed cash. […]
But others say that no agreement yet has been reached and could yet be a ways off, given big budget holes faced by the city, county and state.
Chances of cutting a deal now — at least in time for the veto session — are around 50-50, said a source involved in the talks, with Senate President John Cullerton long on record as advocating help for the team, which is a major employer in his North Side district.
- siriusly - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:37 am:
guillein is a goner this year too i think
- Wensicia - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:39 am:
Quade, bring back Ryne Sandberg.
- That Guy - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:42 am:
He’s leaving his successor a nice gift of crushing salaries for marginal players. Top 5 in payroll, bottom 5 in the division. That’s Hendry’s legacy.
- hawksfan - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:45 am:
Kenny should go before Ozzie. If the Cubs are smart they make a play for Rick Hahn.
- Bill - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:45 am:
The whole team should go next, maybe to Arlington Park. That would kill two birds with one stone.
- OneMan - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:47 am:
Wonder if Rod could get work release to be GM?
- Jimmy CrackCorn - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:48 am:
Crane Kenney. He is a Tribune accountant/turned Zell “yes man”/turned “it’s all Hendry’s fault, please don’t fire me Tom” scam artitst.
I really think it was the Zell/Kenney years that derailed this team and ultimately doomed Hendry. Finish the cleansing and get rid of Kenney.
How about a Billy Beane/Ryno GM-Manager combo to drag the baseball operations of this franchise into the 21st Century?
- Stones - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:49 am:
Zambrano. The culture has to be changed over there. Time to bring in some character guys.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:53 am:
You’re right Jimmy, Kenney ought to be the next to go. Pat Gillick might be persuaded to come out of retirement under the right circumstances, one of which surely would be to have complete control of the franchise. Ricketts ought to get a baseball guy in there, not a bean-counter.
- Shore - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:54 am:
Anything not bolted down. The best news of the year for the cubs is the commitment to the farm system which has been a problem now for 10 years since they brought prior up. At least now they are starting fresh and have some things like starlin and garza to build around. The nl central is very winnable and if they can get z off the payroll, they could get some more room.
A positive day.
- Michelle Flaherty - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 12:03 pm:
Tony LaRussa. He’s to blame for all of this.
- Tuds Sterkel - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 12:13 pm:
I don’t know if this was covered here yesterday, but Ricketts is back to begging at the public trough for money to renovate the stadium.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/section/blogs?blogID=greg-hinz&plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&uid=1daca073-2eab-468e-9f19-ec177090a35c&plckPostId=Blog%3a1daca073-2eab-468e-9f19-ec177090a35cPost%3acb12b486-68dc-4004-8e41-afb01a97e5fe&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest
My suggestion is that papa Ricketts disown his son and take the loss on the team.
- Cincinnatus - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 12:46 pm:
Why don’t we just bring up the AAA team and see what happens…
- Anonymous - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 12:55 pm:
Why reward the mediocre at best, players, with HUGE salaries and benefits? Always blaming one individual for an entire teams dismal performance is wrong. typical example look at Zambrano.. Go get a real job.
- Ghost - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 12:56 pm:
Rickets have plasted providing support for those who are turly in need. This multi-millionare family is not in need. Have them fund their private business. After all, no govt handouts.
They wont agree to health care whic uses tax dollars tohelp the sick, but they are all for hundreds of millions of tax payer money to secure their profits???
- Team Sleep - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 12:56 pm:
I think it’s time the Cubs start planning for a new stadium. Unlike my BoSox, Wrigley Field makes the Cubs - not the other way around. The Ricketts are falling into the same trap; they think Wrigley will solve all their problems. Wrong. They need a new stadium and they need to quit scheduling so many games during weekdays. It drains players.
That said, it’s probably good that the Cubs didn’t have Ryno manage this year. Such a disappointing season would’ve put a crimp in his standing with the Cubs faithful. They need an Epstein/Anthropolous/Daniels-type GM who can crunch numbers, pick great college talent and effectively mix young and old talent.
- Then again... - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 1:27 pm:
==Top 5 in payroll, bottom 5 in the division. That’s Hendry’s legacy.==
Heh… well, thanks to our South Side compatriots, we’ve actually been pushed out of the top 5 payrolls. And by “division” I’m going to assume you meant “league”. Otherwise, we’re still in line for a shot at a playoff spot!
Agreed with earlier posters. Kenney needs to go. This is an organizational problem. I THINK Ricketts gets that, based on his statement that Randy Bush is not a candidate for long term GM.
After that, resharpen the axe because Angelo’s head needs to roll, too.
- Anonymous - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 1:29 pm:
Good for Cullerton. As far as I know, baseball still cannot be off-shored by Accenture, so he should be able to at least keep those few jobs for his district. And we might need baseball even more as some of our progressives keep moving fo-ward.
- Anonymous - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 1:35 pm:
(Unless of course, Rahm and Kirk have a devious and dastardly plan to replace baseball with ballet. Hmmm….)
- Black Ivy - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 1:37 pm:
Another chink in the Cubs non-existent armor!
Now if only my baby White Sox could have stepped up and overtaken the Clevand Indians. This is a far more interesting topic of conversation. Go White Sox!
- Shore - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 1:42 pm:
Then again you couldn’t be more wrong. Until hendry, october baseball was frankly something that even the most diehard long time cub fans considered a foreign concept. the team won its first postseason series since 1908 under him when they beat the braves in 2003 and he had us in the playoffs 3 of his first 6 years. In contrast the team had been in the playoffs 3 times prior to that in 60 years. Things ended badly, but he gave us hope for a few years in there.
- Whatever - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 1:59 pm:
Crane Kenney and Mike Lufrano — they completely botched the Wrigley deal, among other things. They’re in WAY over their heads.
- Anonymous - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 2:05 pm:
Rich, I know you don’t take requests, but if you did, I’d suggest Annie Lennox and ‘No More I Love Yous’ to close out our week and to celebrate culture and all its absolutely breathtaking drama!
- Then again... - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 2:06 pm:
I’m not sure why you singled me out, but you know what, you’re right! GM for life! I L-O-V-E the way my team has played under Hendry.
Nevermind the mismanaged arms, the overpaid bats, and the only-now-somewhat-productive farm system. As long as we make it to the playoffs a couple few times a decade, right?
This isn’t Cincinnati. This is Chicago. I want a winner.
- Anonymous - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 2:12 pm:
Sorry, I forgot the word “stunningly” in my last post: “…to celebrate culture and all its absolutely STUNNINGLY breathtaking drama”.
- Nearly Normal - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 2:33 pm:
WGN TV did a survey asking about the use of public funds for Wrigley upgrade. The results were about 9 out of 10 saying NO.
Hendry’s departure was long overdue. Should have been let go years ago.
- Ghost of John Brown - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 2:40 pm:
As a devout Sox fan, I am going to dedicate 12 real seconds to actual caring and mourning for the Cubs loss. 12 whole seconds. Here we go……………… OK, I feel cleansed now.
- 42nd Ward - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 3:06 pm:
A bad day for Reinsdorf. His nightmare is Hahn at Wrigley.