Browse >
Home / February 2011
When Lou Pinella announced his retirement this past fall and the Chicago Cubs tapped career minor leaguer Mike Quade as their new manager, a storm of epidemic proportions befell the front office. First, general manager Jim Hendry hired an unknown relative to continue the starving organization's quest for its first World Series title since 1908. As if that wasn't enough? Hendry also spurned one of the most popular Cubs players in franchise history, Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. While the decision boggled the minds of many fans, it wasn't so much that Hendry made the decision, but rather how he ...
Besides the relatively rosy picture Cubs management paints, described in Part I, there is another view as to why the Cubs lost last year. The bottom line is that one really doesn’t have to buy into the bad luck or underachievement excuses. There are legitimate doubts about the steps that have been taken to improve the team.
Actually, you could go on and on analyzing just what happened to this team in 2010, and I have done so to some extent on my blog. The truth is there was only a little bad luck and in terms of underachievement, well, a ...
If we were discussing Aramis Ramirez three years ago, things may be a little bit different. From 2004-2006, he averaged 35 HR a year.
He followed that up with years of 26 and 27 HR (though he had over 100 RBI in each of those seasons). He was considered one of the better options at third base, and rightfully so.
The past two years, however, have dramatically changed our opinion of him. He’s missed time in both 2009 and 2010 thanks to a dislocated shoulder and bruised thumb.
If that were the only problem, then maybe he wouldn’t have fallen so far. However, ...
« Previous Page
