Cubs are lifeboat without oars thanks to GM Hendry
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commentary by Jay Mariotti*
May 9, 2006
Because he treats media people well and has fared better than most Cubs general managers, which places him among the world's tallest midgets, Jim Hendry tends to avoid criticism in rough times. Sorry, I'm taking away his free pass. He is to blame for the wretchedness of this slip-sliding wiffle-ball squad, leaving the lineup so limp that champagne should be wheeled into the clubhouse when a run is scored.
Creative doomsayers can debate what the ''C'' on the cap stands for. I say Crisis.
And I don't want to hear a lot of premature woo-wooing about Kerry Wood, who struck out 12 in five scoreless innings Sunday night. I say he was pitching against the Lansing Lugnuts and to check back in three weeks, when his right arm is screaming.
Sure, Derrek Lee is a wonderful player. No, he isn't the most indispensable hitter in baseball history, which is how the ballclub has responded since his wrist was fractured. With their 6-3 stumble Sunday in San Diego, the Cubs have lost eight of their last nine games thanks to an offense that has produced the second-fewest runs in the majors, went 28 innings without a run, went 80 innings without a multi-run inning and finally snapped an 0-for-20 skid with runners in scoring position. If these troubles persist, I'm almost ready to suggest a call to a certain unemployed, kiss-blowing, heart-tapping, bat-corking gladiator who hangs out in South Beach nightclubs.
Think I'm kidding? Even when Sammy Sosa was hitting .235, pulling a Ferris Bueller and becoming a Wrigleyville pariah, the offense never was this comatose. The White Sox shoot off fireworks after every home run. The Cubbies should shoot off fireworks every time a batter gets wood on the ball. Either that or call up Felix Pie, who may as well be utilized in this lifetime if he's a five-tool stud as advertised.
Offseason moves turn to mush
Why is Hendry responsible for this? Because he built a house of cards, not factoring in calamity while spending the offseason trying to answer the championship across town. Because he didn't supply enough reinforcements for the every-day lineup and starting rotation in case Lee went down or, more predictably, Wood and Mark Prior weren't healthy. Because he signed mediocre, boo-sensitive Jacque Jones to play right field instead of a serious hitter. Because his Juan Pierre leadoff investment has involved too many hitless games -- 12 so far, with a .209 batting average since Lee's injury -- and no throwing arm to speak of. Because kids such as Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno can't be expected to carry ailing teams. Because there's too much pressure on the struggling Aramis Ramirez, more a complementary slugger than a Manny Ramirez, when Lee is on the disabled list.
Don't tell me about injuries and bad luck, either. Every team deals with stuff during a six-month, 162-game season, and through time, the best organizations have shown ways of surviving and managing obstacles effectively. The Cardinals have been without Scott Rolen periodically the last two seasons, yet haven't missed a beat. If the Sox lost Jim Thome or Mark Buehrle to an injury, would they fall apart? Not at all -- because Ken Williams has cushioned his offense and rotation just enough to offset significant blows. ''We don't want to win it once,'' Williams says. ''We want to win it again.'' Cubs management claims to have the same desire for the jugular, but the men in charge have shown no ability to execute a championship plan. If so, there would be more foresight, a better Plan B mechanism in place when key injuries strike.
Dusty Baker may seem lifeless in the dugout, but I'm not sure he can do much when the talent level is limited. I've said for weeks that Hendry erred in not acquiring a proven starting pitcher or two, that he placed too much faith in the ongoing, nausea-inducing Wood/Prior rehab circus. Even with the inspirational April of Greg Maddux and effectiveness of rookie Sean Marshall, the rotation remains a mess thanks to the short-circuited emotional wiring of winless Carlos Zambrano, the struggles of Glendon Rusch and Jerome Williams and the inevitable breakdowns when a raw Angel Guzman starts. You can try to defend Hendry and say the poor performances aren't his fault, that he can't catch a break with Wood and Prior. But he's the one who fell in love with his club. He's the one who assumed Jones and Pierre were enough fuel for the offense. He's the one who thought Rusch and Williams would cement the rotation. And he's the only guy in town -- hell, in baseball -- who honestly thinks Wood and Prior will return to 2003 form for a prolonged period.
Faith in Wood is misguided
Go ahead and jump on the Hope Train after Wood's rehab start against Class A hitters. Go ahead and squeeze that ''BELIEVE'' bracelet after he struck out the side in the first inning and allowed only one hit and one walk. The point isn't how he looks now. It's how long he stays healthy if and when he returns to Wrigley. By now, Cubdom should have the process memorized: towel toss, soft toss, long toss, throwing on flat ground, throwing off a mound, throwing simulated games, pitching in the minors, then returning to the majors and pitching a few games before something else tweaks and the DL door re-opens. This, you should know, is the last time the Cubs go down that road. If Wood suffers another serious setback, he'll be a former Cub come November, one of the saddest stories in Chicago sports history.
Hendry can't win. As if times aren't hard enough, he was accused of verbally abusive treatment by a former supplemental first-round draft choice named Matt Clanton. In an interview with Steve Holley of InsideTheIvy.com, a Cubs-related Web site, Clanton said the Cubs accused him of faking injury during a three-year minor-league career that included only two pitching appearances before he was released this year.
''It was honestly the darkest point in my life,'' said Clanton, who signed for $875,000 in 2002. ''Jim Hendry once quoted to me, 'This [organization] is not a democracy. It is a dictatorship. You shut the [bleep] up.' All the while, I was injured on the job and could not physically perform.''
Meanwhile, Cubdom agonizes and waits ... for runs, for better health, for help. In fairness to Hendry, it's too early in the season for other clubs to help him make meaty deals, which is why his trade focus is on Jeff (.216) Conine. ''The reality is, we just need a lot of our own guys to do a better job,'' Hendry said.
That would suggest the Cubs are better than they've looked lately. True or not, it may be too late to recover by the time Lee returns and Wood and Prior come back in whatever condition they're in. Survival means constructing a team capable of staying competitive under duress. Hendry left them two bats and two arms short.
A lifeboat without oars, you might say.
*Jay Mariotti is a regular on ''Around the Horn'' at 4 p.m. on ESPN. Send e-mail to inbox@ suntimes.com with name, hometown and daytime phone number (Letters run Sunday.) |
