Elegy over the grave of another Cub season
Next year, the Cubs will have new owners.
By winning he division this year, Jim Hendry has made a case for remaining as their GM (Walt Jocketty, in case you haven't heard, is leaving St. Louis; both he and manager Tony LaRussa are rumored to be heading to Cincinnatti). Unless Hendry acts decisively over the winter to turn a team that won 83 games, barely won baseball's weakest division, and was swept in the NLDS into a team that can win 95 or more, rank close to the top of the whole league, and have an honest shot at going all the way, he'll deserve to be fired by the new owner, divisional title or not.
Carlos Zambrano is not Brandon Webb. We need a stud at the top of the rotation, not merely an often-dominating pitcher who can eat up innings but can't be counted on to be a true stopper. Z simply isn't consistent enough for that role. Hendry did well do build his team this year on the assumption that neither Mark Prior nor Kerry Wood would be around, or at least able to make much of a difference. Now he needs to go the next step and replace one of them.
We can't count on Felix Pie to come into his own and be the all-world center fielder everybody expects next year. We need to come up with somebody- preferably a clutch hitter; more than anything else it was those men we left on base that beat us in the series with the Diamondbacks- to play a strong defensive center field as well as pick up the slack at the plate. We need at least one and probably two more strong relief pitchers. And since Cliff Floyd will probably retire, Jacque Jones will have to play right; we can't count on him to continue as a Pie surrogate.
Hopefully a few new faces and a new owner will bold well for the centennial year of the Cubs' last world championship. Once again, in any case, it's "wait 'till next year."
Now if my Bears lose to the archrival Packers tonight- as I fear that they will- I'll really be in a bad mood.
By winning he division this year, Jim Hendry has made a case for remaining as their GM (Walt Jocketty, in case you haven't heard, is leaving St. Louis; both he and manager Tony LaRussa are rumored to be heading to Cincinnatti). Unless Hendry acts decisively over the winter to turn a team that won 83 games, barely won baseball's weakest division, and was swept in the NLDS into a team that can win 95 or more, rank close to the top of the whole league, and have an honest shot at going all the way, he'll deserve to be fired by the new owner, divisional title or not.
Carlos Zambrano is not Brandon Webb. We need a stud at the top of the rotation, not merely an often-dominating pitcher who can eat up innings but can't be counted on to be a true stopper. Z simply isn't consistent enough for that role. Hendry did well do build his team this year on the assumption that neither Mark Prior nor Kerry Wood would be around, or at least able to make much of a difference. Now he needs to go the next step and replace one of them.
We can't count on Felix Pie to come into his own and be the all-world center fielder everybody expects next year. We need to come up with somebody- preferably a clutch hitter; more than anything else it was those men we left on base that beat us in the series with the Diamondbacks- to play a strong defensive center field as well as pick up the slack at the plate. We need at least one and probably two more strong relief pitchers. And since Cliff Floyd will probably retire, Jacque Jones will have to play right; we can't count on him to continue as a Pie surrogate.
Hopefully a few new faces and a new owner will bold well for the centennial year of the Cubs' last world championship. Once again, in any case, it's "wait 'till next year."
Now if my Bears lose to the archrival Packers tonight- as I fear that they will- I'll really be in a bad mood.
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