Friday, July 21, 2006

Patience gone wild

We are taught as youngsters that patience is a good thing. We are also taught as youngsters that you can have too much of a good thing.

Jim Hendry’s patience has sent the Cub baseball operations into complete disarray. The Cubs currently find themselves 20 games under .500--in a league where .500 would put them smack dab in the middle of the NL wild card race. The Cubs find themselves playing for another “next year”. The trouble is the General Manager has left his manager out in the wind. So, Dusty Baker has to win games to keep his job. Jim Hendry’s patience in regards to the manager has created a major conflict of interest between the needs of the ballclub and the needs of the field manager.

The team needs to play youngsters everyday and find out if they can or can’t contribute to this team winning down the line. The trouble is those players do not give manager Dusty Baker the best chance to win everyday. So, Phil Nevin, Neifi Perez, and others continue to take at bats as Dusty Baker tries to figure out how to save his own job. It was in the best interest of this organization for Jim Hendry to have made a decision regarding the field manager official (one way or the other) earlier this season. By not making any decision, the Cubs yet again are letting another second half slip away without figuring out what they have for “next year”.

Now let’s look at another area where the GM is showing great patience. He is yet to start dealing his veteran players. While teams like the Cleveland Indians have decided to start taking prospects in deals, the Cubs sit. Your minor league system is in shambles. You have the opportunity to add a few prospects in deals. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR CRULLER JIM? I have no idea, but he is waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more. The man has incredible patience. Do you think he’s this patient at Krispy Kreme in the morning?

The time for the Cubs to extend or fire Baker was earlier this season. The time for the Cubs to restock there crappy farm system is now. Now is not the time for this general manager to be patient.

As a Cub fan I’ve learned: patience gets you 99 “next years”.

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