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#Post#: 35202--------------------------------------------------
Re: Next GM for the Cubs
DIR By: Jes Beard
Date: September 27, 2011, 9:06 am
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--- Quote from: Eastcoastfan link ---
>
> What do you think about the Cubs taking a run at Ellsbury?
He's been unreal this year.
>
--- End Quote ---
Acquiring players immediately after career years, which is the
case with Ellsbury, generally results in seriously overpaying
for what you end up getting. The fact that Ellsbury is only now
28 certainly allows the possibility that he may actually still
get better, or may sustain his current level for a while, but
acquiring players who are at their peak generally only makes
sense for teams which are also at their peak, or for which that
player could be the key to getting the team there.
The Cubs simply are not that team. That means that if the Cubs
seek Ellsbury, they would compete with other teams for whom
Ellsbury would likely have greater value (such as a team which
was at its peak, or who saw itself as being just a player of
Ellsbury's caliber to put them over the top), and that would
likely mean overpaying for the value Ellsbury would provide the
Cubs.
--- Quote from: StrikeZone link ---
>
> One aspect of the Red Sox winning in 2004 that gets overlooked
is the acquisition of a player no one else in America wanted --
Kevin Millar.
>
> The Marlins had him traded to a club in Japan and when the Red
Sox heard that, they stepped in, worked out a deal for him and
next thing you know, "Cowboy Up" is on t-shirts and Millar is a
folk hero.
>
> Non-tendered free agents and guys like Millar of 2004, whose
club no longer wanted him, could go a long way to correcting the
problems of the Cubs for 2012.
>
--- End Quote ---
And you would identify those magical Kevin Millar's..... how,
exactly?
--- Quote from: StrikeZone link ---
>
> Also, turning the Cubs around is a process that doesn't need
to happen overnight but it doesn't necessarily need to take
years and years, either.
>
--- End Quote ---
That is clearly true. Hendry turned the team around from
terrible in 2006 to the playoffs in 2007 and the best team in
the league in 2008.
I hear he might be available to take over as GM and try the same
thing again now.
And he could probably have the same success if Ricket's family
allowed him to go on a comparable spending spree, inflating the
20012 budget by as much (on a percentage basis) over the 2011
budget, and over the average budget in the division, as the Trib
allowed in 2006-2007.... and if the Rickets and Cub fans were
satisfied with the prospect of another out year aftermath of
those contracts such as we have had from 2009 thru the present.
Quick fixes are like sugar highs. And the aftermath is also
about the same as the crash after the sugar high has worn off.
This team needs to rebuild to allow sustained success.
--- Quote from: StrikeZone link ---
>
> When I hear/see/read about how the Cubs should pass on a big
free agent like Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder because they're
"more than one player away," it just annoys the hell out of me.
I'm pretty sure that those guys are looking for more than a
one-year deal.
>
--- End Quote ---
Quite true. Just like Soriano did. And we have seen how well
that contract worked out.
Almost any time a major star in his prime signs a FA contract,
the team signing him to it comes to regret the deal after no
more than 2 years, and it has been that way pretty much since
the beginning of free agency. There is no reason to believe
that it would be any different if the Cubs signed either Pujols
or Fielder.
If, or when, the Cubs get in the position that such a signing
would put them over the top, go for it. But that is not now.
All that such a signing could do now is to make a terrible team
into a team which could actually compete with a bit of luck, and
each year after 2012 the contract would become an increasingly
large drain to the organization.
That approach simply makes no sense.
#Post#: 35258--------------------------------------------------
Re: Next GM for the Cubs
DIR By: Cactus
Date: September 27, 2011, 1:47 pm
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Bleacher Nation's Billy Beane profile
HTML http://www.bleachernation.com/2011/09/27/meet-the-gm-candidates-cheat-sheet-billy-beane/
#Post#: 35261--------------------------------------------------
Re: Next GM for the Cubs
DIR By: ben
Date: September 27, 2011, 1:56 pm
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Thanks for the GM articles, Cactus.
Any of Epstein, Beane, Friedman would be a HUGE improvment, in
my opinion...tho' none may be willing to move.
Hahn sounds like another solid guy to me.
My hope is that Ricketts invests whatever money otherwise
earmarked for FAs in the future and is willling to spend it to
get the BEST POSSIBLE executive to lead the franchise! If we
get someone great, that person will very likely be worth 5X (if
not 10X) more than whoever will be the best FA next year and/or
the year after!
#Post#: 35264--------------------------------------------------
Re: Next GM for the Cubs
DIR By: Jes Beard
Date: September 27, 2011, 1:59 pm
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ben, the problem is knowing whether someone is going to "be
great."
Even after to get a GM, if you are trying to rebuild a
franchise, which is what the Cubs need, you are not going to be
able to tell jack about them for the first couple of years, at
least not based on the W/L record.
#Post#: 35270--------------------------------------------------
Re: Next GM for the Cubs
DIR By: Deeg
Date: September 27, 2011, 2:35 pm
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I think the bloom is off the rose with Beane. He can't escape
blame for Oakland's dismal record the last few years. He's a
bright guy and we could do worse, but I'd much, much rather have
Epstein, Friedman or even Cashman.
#Post#: 35281--------------------------------------------------
Re: Next GM for the Cubs
DIR By: Jes Beard
Date: September 27, 2011, 3:05 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
If you look at Beane's entry in wikipedia, you have to wonder if
part of the reason the A's have not done too well of late is
that he has lost focus and is not paying a great deal of
attention to them any longer, regardless what his position might
be.
HTML http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Beane
[i]On January 4, 2007, the software company NetSuite named Beane
to its board of directors. NetSuite co-founder Evan Goldberg
cited Beane's ability to combine facts with instinct as an
important factor in the decision to involve him in the
company.[7]
When the A's ownership group agreed to purchase the
reincarnation of the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League
Soccer, Beane, who is an avid supporter of Tottenham Hotspur of
the English Premier League, began developing a system for
objectively analyzing soccer players. He has agreed to help the
Earthquakes front office develop a method for building a
cost-effective team, as the salary cap in MLS is even more
restrictive than the A's small-market status in Major League
Baseball.[8]
Beane served as a consultant, and also appears in the video game
MLB Front Office Manager.
He has been married twice; he has a daughter from his first
marriage and twins from his current marriage.[5]
#Post#: 35283--------------------------------------------------
Re: Next GM for the Cubs
DIR By: Cactus
Date: September 27, 2011, 3:12 pm
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Ken Rosenthal - Theo Epstein to the Cubs now unlikely
HTML http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/theo-epstein-unlikely-to-leave-boston-red-sox-for-chicago-cubs-in-wake-of-collapse-092711
HTML http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/theo-epstein-unlikely-to-leave-boston-red-sox-for-chicago-cubs-in-wake-of-collapse-092711
#Post#: 35284--------------------------------------------------
Re: Next GM for the Cubs
DIR By: brjones
Date: September 27, 2011, 3:14 pm
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Sounds mostly like Rosenthal speculation. I did think this was
interesting, though:
--- Quote ---
>
> The Sox, though, would be far more likely to part with manager
Terry Francona, either by declining his option for 2012 or, in
an effort not to look too callous, by offering him a new deal,
but one that he likely would refuse.
>
--- End Quote ---
Francona wouldn't be the worst manager the Cubs could hire.
#Post#: 35286--------------------------------------------------
Re: Next GM for the Cubs
DIR By: Cactus
Date: September 27, 2011, 3:16 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: brjones link ---
>
> Sounds mostly like Rosenthal speculation.
>
--- End Quote ---
Rosenthal does do a good job of being on both sides at the same
time.
#Post#: 35293--------------------------------------------------
Re: Next GM for the Cubs
DIR By: ben
Date: September 27, 2011, 4:10 pm
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Another guy who could be interesting and would also represent a
significant upgrade is Larry Beinfest...with Marlins down this
year and potentially having to deal with Ozzie's nonsense in the
future, he may be ready to move on.
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