thanks again to Jimmy D. …it is not easy to give a shit! All thoughts on Cubs are welcomed here.
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Hey All, Just an observation…but, why can’t we (the Cubs) develop some pitching (or some discipline at the plate)? 9th inning, Rafael Betancourt gets us 3 up, 3 down on 7 pitches (6 strikes, 1 ball). Earlier, Rex Brothers records 4 outs on 9 pitches (no double plays); I didn’t see the game live, so I can’t say whether or not one of those outs was on a caught stealing, but c’mon…let the reliever try to work himself into a bit of a jam for crying out loud. That doesn’t happen when you go up the plate “free swinging”….especially when you don’t have a real threat on offense. I don’t know why I give a shit anymore, but I still would like to see strides in the right direction. Shit, is that asking too much? – Jimmy D.
Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Matt Eberflus 
August 26, 2012 at 1:14 pm
….apparently it is. What would Dale Sveum say?
August 26, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Genre….something like “Dude, I don’t have my horses”.
August 26, 2012 at 3:36 pm
I’m pretty much done with baseball for the year (barring a White Sox playoff run). Going back to the thread a few days ago, if Keany isn’t fired after this season is over, then Theo isn’t that serious about rebuilding this franchise. I am also taking a cautiously optomistic approach to the Bears upcoming season. The preseason to me just is just the coaches trimming their roster.
The Hawks have been quiet in the offseason. The Bulls have been even more quiet…not a promising sign given all the moves that other teams have made.
If the Bears fuck up, it’s going to a cold and ugly autumn in Chicago.
August 26, 2012 at 5:43 pm
DVX….the winter will suck goat balls too..
August 26, 2012 at 6:40 pm
PATHETIC (the Cubs).
tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…
August 26, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Chris Volstad actually won a game…
August 27, 2012 at 12:10 am
I’m happy for him (really, no sarcasm intended).
August 27, 2012 at 9:39 am
Who is Keany? And why does he need to be fired from the Cubs?
August 27, 2012 at 10:28 am
Yeti…I think DVX is referring to Kenney (if so, Mitch is sleeping on the job).
Do you really need any further explanation?
August 27, 2012 at 11:12 am
Anybody who isn’t too busy trying to be a goddamned smart-ass could figure that out.
August 27, 2012 at 11:48 am
Oh, I forgot about Crane… Likely because he has no involvement on the baseball side of things. Pretty sure him and Theo have titles at the same level (both Presidents of their respective departments) so I doubt Theo can fire him. If Crane stays employed, that’s on Ricketts, not Theo.. And with Theo there, Crane does nothing with the onfield product (player wise) so him being there or being fired matters little to me. If he is able to generate additional revenue for the franchise through marketing ploys, then that’s good. More money for the franchise means more money for Theo to have wiggle room if he wants to sign a big ticket free agent at one point
August 27, 2012 at 12:10 pm
“Crane does nothing with the onfield product”
So that priest in the dugout in 2008 wasn’t his idea?
Hmmmmmm…
August 27, 2012 at 3:08 pm
The priest did not affect the game. Was it stupid? Yes. Did it cost the Cubs the series? No. Would he be able to do that now with the current regime? No. So what’s the issue? And I clarified that by onfield product, I mostly meant players. You ignored that part.
August 27, 2012 at 4:12 pm
The fact that it was STUPID…and happened during a playoff game speaks volumes. What part of that don’t you understand Yeti?
When people at the top behave stupidly, it sends a message to those below.
Perhaps there is somebody else in the universe that can raise money for poor Mr. Ricketts and the Cubs.
August 27, 2012 at 4:53 pm
Can someone provide a brief sumary of the successful and popular marketing efforts of Mr Kenney and justify his continued employment?
August 27, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Yeti sure as hell can’t.
August 28, 2012 at 12:26 am
There’s absolutely no reason to keep him; he can be replaced. Get rid of the stench of the old regime and start over.
August 28, 2012 at 11:30 am
The priest did not affect the game? Of course. He didn’t play in it. I do bet the players knew he was there and it probably was in their heads for that game or even series. I think someone should remind you that baseball is more of a mental game rather than physical. When that thought is in a player’s head, it can get to them and affect their play.
August 29, 2012 at 9:33 am
Here’s what Phil Rogers wrote: http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/ct-spt-0816-rogers-cubs-shakeup-chicago–20120816,0,5001410.column
I’ll save you the trouble of clicking on a link:
By Phil Rogers
On Baseball
August 16, 2012
Oneri Fleita? Chuck Wasserstrom?
Those are the guys who had to go? Come on, Tom Ricketts, you’re smarter than this.
Since before you became Cubs chairman, you have been speaking on a daily basis with the guy who has done more to hurt your organization than anybody, the guy who is holding it back as it treads water on the business side and hits rock bottom on the field.
Crane Kenney plays penny ante poker with the ripe tourist business at Wrigley Field but in more than a decade hasn’t figured out a way to make the improvements that will unleash Wrigley’s potential.
The club’s president for business operations just allowed the highly respected Janet Marie Smith to leave the Orioles for the Dodgers when no organization needed her ballpark brilliance more than the Cubs (and, no, that she still consults for the Cubs is not enough).
Someday I might meet someone who can explain how he’s an asset to the organization, but if I do it will be a first. The guy at the top should be on his way out alongside Fleita, Wasserstrom and anybody else who is asked to turn in his copy of “The Cubs Way,” and don’t tell me that this job shuffle has nothing to do with Kenney because he’s not on the baseball side.
When big league coaches are supplementing their salaries hitting grounders to accountants and fraternity boys six hours before a game, what’s the difference, really? Isn’t it all business?
When Theo Epstein was being recruited to run the Cubs, he found it more than a little odd that Ricketts and Kenney had just fired Jim Hendry and rewarded one of his right hand men, farm director Fleita, with a four-year contract.
Epstein, according to sources, would not have taken the baseball president’s job if he had not gotten an affirmative answer to this question: If I decide we don’t need him, can I fire Fleita?
It was nothing against Fleita, but rather a question on authority and the chain of command in the organization. And in recent weeks, Epstein decided it was time to use the authority he had.
In the wake of Tim Wilken’s promotion to be a special assistant to Epstein, Fleita’s contract as vice president of player personnel was terminated Wednesday. Wasserstrom, manager of baseball information and a 25-year employee of the Cubs, was fired and Ari Kaplan, manager of statistical analysis (a Ricketts import) was reassigned as a consultant to Ricketts.
These were most likely the first painful moves in a series as Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and VP scouting/player personnel Jason McLeod arrange their ultimate staff — one that retains some of the Hendry holdovers they have worked with since November and imports some new faces (like just-hired scouting director Jaron Madison).
Everyone in baseball knew a shake-up was coming at some point, as Epstein essentially retained Hendry’s staff when he took over. The questions left now are how widespread will the changes be and how many more staffers will Epstein add from Yawkey Way?
With Red Sox President Larry Lucchino continuing to wield influence over the baseball ops staff in Boston, the time seems ripe for Epstein to import more former co-workers.
Rumors have persisted throughout the season that the Cubs are interested in hiring at least two of the holdover coaches that are working under the embattled Bobby Valentine — hitting coach Dave Magadan and bullpen coach Gary Tuck. Would guys like Mike Hazen and Brian O’Halloran, who are assistants to GM Ben Cherington, still be off limits to the Cubs? We might find out as soon as the season ends.
Fleita was with the Cubs for 18 years, beginning as a minor league manager and spending a stint as an area scout. He called himself “a lucky guy” when I talked to him Wednesday night.
“I’m very proud of some things we accomplished,” Fleita said. “I’m thoroughly grateful for the opportunity and the people I worked with. Tom Ricketts treated me great. … I just wish I had done a little more to help hoist that (championship) trophy.”
It shouldn’t take him long to find work, if he wants it. He’s a very solid baseball guy who treats everyone well. He’s a great listener and has opened a lot of doors for the Cubs, in Latin America and elsewhere. But since when do you get rid of a GM and promote his farm director while you are searching for his replacement?
Extending Fleita’s contract while the GM’s job was open was a bad move. It was a Kenney move.
It could cost Ricketts about $1 million if he winds up paying Fleita his full salary over the next three years. This, of course, is business as usual for the Cubs as they finish the transition from Tribune Co. to the Ricketts family.
Accounting by CSN Chicago finds that with Fleita the Cubs now will have paid about $49 million to players, managers, coaches and executives who no longer work for them. That sounds to me like a crazy way to run the business.
Who has had the most authority during this era?
Can he continue to dodge accountability?
progers@tribune.com
August 29, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Yeah, but genre, Clown Kenney IS serviceable at his position.
On his knees under Fanboys desk. It’s the only reason I can come up with as to why that dumb bastard is still there.