Grading The Chicago Cubs, Part III

Manager Lou Piniella did not receive the highest grade among the Cubs' coaches.  Who did?

Lou Piniella vs. Jim Hendry: Who Should Get The Boot?

The Chicago Cubs are 3-0 since sending Milton Bradley to his bedroom without desert.  Too bad the streak comes too little, too late as the season enters its final stretch of games.

Manager Lou Piniella and GM Jim Hendry are on the firing line because of the roles they've played in the downfall of a team that won 97 games last season.  But it's unlikely both will be filing unemployment papers anytime soon.  However, it might be time for one of these two to hit the road.

Which one should it be?

Why Ryne Sandberg Is The Answer

For once, Phil Rogers has written something that does not make me want to throw up.

I approached this subject with Dave Duncan and am ready to do so with Ryne Sandberg.

I've never been a fan of former star players becoming coaches and managers -- mostly because it rarely works out.  But Ryno seems to be different.  He holds several intangibles that make me think he might be the perfect successor once Lou Piniella hangs up his managerial thinking cap.

And here's why.

Someone Should Tell Jim Hendry That Lou Piniella Has Plans For Him

I agree Lou, this team stinks

You know there is a fork in your favorite team's playoff chances when stories like this story come out.

Manager Lou Piniella wants to add a top-of-the-order speed guy and ideally take another shot at adding that middle-of-the-order run-producer role that Kosuke Fukudome and Milton Bradley couldn't fill.

Well, that makes sense.  Fukudome and Bradley have combined to hit 23 home runs this season.  Adam Dunn has hit 37.

Now, let's move down to the fifth bullet point of the section appropriately titled "This is what they know they're working with at this point."

''We haven't even had discussions about next year as an organization, or even myself and the staff and Jim and his staff upstairs,'' Piniella said. ''Right now we're still trying to win as many games and finish as strong as we can.''

I don't blame Piniella for not wanting to talk about next year as the Cubs ascend the NL Wild Card standings and are only 5 1/2 games out as of this post.  So, what is on Lou Piniella's off-season shopping list?  Oh, nothing that I haven't already suggested.

Piniella, Hendry To Be Indicted If Cubs Fall Flat

In baseball purgatory, they'll be the ones getting popped instead of the bubbly.

The verdict is in.

We, the people (a.k.a. Me) find manager Lou Piniella and GM Jim Hendry to be responsible for all shortcomings for the two-time defending National League Central Division champion Chicago Cubs.

If this was Law & Order, the show would end with Hendry and Piniella holding their heads in their hands and Jerry Orbach (R.I.P.) saying that the Cubs are in a better place right now.

And fade to black.

The Case Against Hendry

With a payroll hovering around the $130 million mark, Hendry has fielded a team with little depth, a shaky bullpen and without an everyday second baseman. And yet, the man is still employed by the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs downgraded at several positions this offseason, which is part of the reason the team struggled early before fighting its way back into the race. And while most of the venom spewed by Cubs fans is directed toward Milton Bradley in lieu of the Mark DeRosa trade, it should have been steered toward Aaron Miles (.195/.236/.263 ), Mike Fontenot (.231/.300/.390 ) and Hendry -- who engineered the trade.

Again, I have no problem with the trade. I do have a problem with Hendry not properly replacing the production (.825 OPS as a second baseman in 2008) left behind.

Despite DeRosa's 21 home runs and 63 runs batted in, his batting average, on-base percentage and OPS have taken a major hit since leaving the ivy covered walls of Wrigley Field. Joining St. Louis hasn't helped DeRo's cause as he is hitting .229 with a .291 OBP and a .786 OPS. Not exactly setting the world on fire since putting on Cardinal red.

Hendry also allowed the team to open camp without a proven lefty reliever. If not for the emergence of Sean Marshall and the recent acquisition of John Grabow, the Cubs would have a grand total of zero lefty specialists. And other than Randy Wells, the Cubs' inability to develop home grown talent is evident once again.

Things such as throwing money hoping to cure problem areas and calling up players from the team's AAAA Pittsburgh club is what Hendry has excelled at. But this franchise's struggle at the minor league level is beyond puzzling.

The Case Against Lou Piniella

It seems to me that Sweet Uncle Lou is toeing the same line that Dusty Baker walked in his tenure in Chicago. Just like Dusty, he "changed the culture" that had surrounded the ballclub. Under Piniella's watch, the Cubs have done everything from manning up to the shortcomings to drawing walks -- all in the name of winning a pair of division titles.

However, things have changed this year. And while it is easy (and relevant) to point out that Hendry handed Piniella a craptastic bullpen, it didn't mean Piniella had to abuse and misuse it. Not having Grabow ready, then bringing him in when it was too little, too late, was the tip of the iceberg.

Piniella has leaned too much on Carlos Marmol, who despite 64 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings, has found a way to lead the league in hit batsmen. He has also had to lean a lot on Kevin Gregg, who has allowed 11 home runs, the most by any NL reliever. The combo that was supposed to be the rock at the back end of the bullpen, has gone soft.

It only took the Cubs until July to figure out that putting guys with high OBPs in front of the middle of the line-up thumpers would lead to a more efficient offense. It's like Piniella went to baseball-reference.com, lined up the players from highest OBP down and then wrote a line up card.

And despite all this crap, the Cubs are still only three games out of first place with about a month and a half of baseball remaining, which features 37 (!) games against teams under .500.

Would Lou Piniella Be A Better GM Than Jim Hendry?

When Sweet Uncle Lou is done, could he go to the GM's suite?

Cubs GM Jim Hendry spent the offseason obsessing over a power-hitting left-handed bat like I spent the offseason obsessing over finding a Valentine's Day date. And apparently, both of us came up empty.

In fact, Hendry's "left-handed bat" is batting better as a righty than from the side of the plate he was paid quite handsomely to perform from. Milton Bradley is hitting .333 with a .400 on-base percentage and a .370 baBIP from the right side, but five of his six homers have come from the left side. However, Bradley is only hitting .201 with a .245 baBIP and a .689 OPS from the left side. If it is any consolation to Cubs fans, Bradley is hitting .303 with a .429 OBP, .486 slugging percentage and .915 OPS. Away from the Friendly Confines, the batting average dips to .177 and the OPS to .573.

Maybe his problem isn't as righty-lefty it is home-road. OK, maybe it is. But maybe Bradley wouldn't be a problem if manager Lou Piniella had his way.

When Piniella was first hired as Cubs manager, stories flooded the Web about he and Hendry basically walking hand-in-hand at the Winter Meetings acting like a head coach and his top assistant recruiting the best stars in the land. Piniella is credited for targeting Alfonso Soriano and Ted Lilly that offseason.

During the regular season, he orchestrated the mass exodus of Cub failures such as Cesar Izturis and Michael Barrett while inserting Ryan Theriot into the everyday line-up, Carlos Marmol to the back of the bullpen and basically forcing Hendry's hand into trading Barrett and eventually landing Jason Kendall.

One year after that, Piniella is credited for helping reeling in Kosuke Fukudome to fill the right field hole that was previously filled by the platoon trio of Matt Murton, Cliff Floyd and Jacque Jones.

And all that happened in the last two years were back-to-back division titles, something that had not been seen in forever-and-a-day. Since I only pay my cable bill from April through September, I'm not sure what happened once October rolled around.

In any case, Piniella got his man and the Cubs got their wins. This season Hendry got his man and Piniella still wants his.

"The only thing I talked about last season was a need for a left-hand bat in a predominantly right-handed lineup who could hit the ball for power and drive in some runs. Look at our production last year, and it was mainly from the right side. We didn't bring [Jim] Edmonds back and he hit quite a few home runs.

"We needed a left-hand bat, that's it. That was what I mentioned, that we could use a nice productive left-hand bat in the middle of our right-hand hitting."

Hendry spent a lot of this offseason trying to swing a deal for Jake Peavy, and failed. Meanwhile, Piniella held a firm stance saying his rotation was fine. It was evident the two most important management figures were no longer on the same page. It isn't out of the realm of possibility that Hendry got so sidetracked with his pursuit of Peavy, that Bradley seemed like a great acquisition despite his tempermantal and injury-riddled past.

I guess this wouldn't be an issue if Bradley lived up to last year's totals. Heck, I'm sure Cubs fans would be pleased if he was meeting his career averages. But it really wouldn't be an issue if Raul Ibanez wasn't taking advantage of the Philly band-box and smacking homers en route to becoming a Cheese Steak swallowers' diety. Or if Bobby Abreu wasn't getting on base at a .402 clip for L.A.'s "other" team. Or if the guy with a career 1.088 OPS at Wrigley Field wasn't wasting 24 homers at Nationals Park.

Maybe one Piniella's term as manager is up, he will put on the GM hat. No one should know how to better put together a team than a two-time Manager of the Year who has done it in each league. Then, the Cubs could "re-assign" Hendry into a consultants role. Or to a beer vendor.

What Should Lou Do? A Second Half Shuffle Suggestion

Like many men his age, Lou Piniella needs assistance from younger, more active folks.

It would just not be fair to let Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella off scot-free after the scathing I have given general manager Jim Hendry this season. Unlike his first two years as the skipper, Piniella has failed at putting his players in the best place to be successful. Part of it is because of the garbage Hendry gave him to work with, but part of it is Piniella's unwillingness to move Alfonso Soriano down in the order, ride the hot hand and manage the bullpen, among other things.

Sweet Uncle Lou is no dummy, at least, that is what I am supposed to think. He did win the NL Manager of the Year award last year and all that means to me is that he did something right.

Right?

And since everyone needs help sometimes, here is my suggested rotation going into the second half.

1. Ted Lilly
2. Carlos Zambrano
3. Randy Wells
4. Rich Harden
5. Kevin Hart

Kevin Hart as the fifth starter? That would be funny if it was true. I'd like Sean Marshall here, but Lou and Hendry have a permanent place for him in their dog houses.

Don't you wish the Cubs had signed Pedro Martinez? Oh wait, he's hurt?

Still, once Harden's shoulder flies out of its socket, the Chicago will have only two-and-a-half Major League quality starters, because I'm still not completely sold on Randy Wells. For $1 million, it's a risk Hendry should have taken.

Out of the bullpen, things would get a lot easier if they landed B.J. Ryan, but let's work with what's on the table. Kevin Gregg isn't going anywhere (sad) so he's still the closer. Angel Guzman and Carlos Marmol are your ace set-up men with rookie Jeff Stevens working for either of them if they tire. Aaron Heilman and Sean Marshall are long relievers. David Patton is on the DL, permanantly, I hope.

As for the daily line-up, here's what I'd do.

Against Righties: Fukudome CF Bradley RF Lee 1B Ramirez 3B Soriano LF Fox C Theriot SS Fontenot 2B

On-base guys at the top, sluggers in the middle, speed at the bottom. Sounds like a line-up that could be productive for five runs per game at the least.

Against Lefties: Theriot SS Bradley RF Lee 1B Ramirez 3B Soriano LF Fox C Johnson CF Blanco 2B

Sorry, I saw Reed Johnson's pathetic attempt of leading off a ballgame against the Cardinals first hand. Yes, he was going up against Chris Carpenter, but that didn't stop Rich Harden from collecting two hits against the former Cy Young winner.

This is the time the Cubs need to start taking advantage of these on-base percentage guys. What's the point of batting Bradley lower in the order when you have to depend on Mike Fontenot, Andres Blanco, Koyie Hill and Aaron Miles to drive him in?

I can't be the only one who wants to use his .379 OBP in front of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. And while it seems every Cubs fan has a hard-on for Sam Fuld, Kosuke Fukudome has a .367 OBP against Major League pitching and Fuld is sitting at .359 against Triple-A hurlers. And last time I checked, big league pitchers were better than minor leaguers.

Unless you're talking about the Washington Nationals, of course.

This all will change when Geovany Soto and Ryan Dempster return to the fold, but by then, it might be too late. Lou Piniella needs to take this advice to the bank and cash in now. Or risk being one of the biggest disappointments in Chicago Cubs history.

Cubs-Cards Round III Game III: At Least I'm Not The Only One That's Pissed Off Edition

The weather isn't the only thing heating up in the Midwest. Someone check Cubs manager Lou Piniella's temperature, because I'm pretty sure Mount Piniella is about to erupt.

Apparently, prior to being "razzled" by some St. Louisans on his lonely walk back to the Hilton at the Ballpark which is a stone's throw from the new Busch Stadium, Piniella had an unpleasant conversation with the team's traveling secratary. (For the record, you can find stones at the landfill that is supposed to be Ballpark Village if you'd like. I digress.)

Sweet Uncle Lou does this from time-to-time to deflect some eyes, ears and thoughts away from the team when they're playing bad. But a rift with the traveling secretary should be the least of the team's concerns.

And I know it's three hours til game time, so here are a list of things that should be concerning Piniella:

1. Milton Bradley's .193 batting average
2. The Mini-Me Midget Committee at third base
3. The fact that Aaron Miles and Kevin Gregg are still on the roster
4. Rich Harden's (lack of) velocity
5. The after-effects of eating a large Imo's pizza

No. 6 on that list would be Adam "Jesus" Wainwright, who is due for a breakout game ... unfortunately for Cubs fans, his next start is against the boys in blue.

Prediction: Wainwright's good for seven shutout innings as the Cards complete the sweep.

Now That! Is What I call Pessimism, Vol. 100.

Piniella puts Phillips in his place

"What do you mean you think Steve Phillips is a good f&*^%#$ GM?" -Piniella

You know what I've always hated about ESPN?

Its ability to hire analysts that weren't good at the job/sport they were good at. Take baseball analyst Steve Phillips, for example.

Phillips guest hosts Baseball Tonight and sucks at breaking down in-game updates. So ESPN moves him to in-game coverage, where he sucks at that. The one thing he possibly could have been good at, mock press conferences to address team needs and offseason moves, he sucks at.

Mostly because he sucked at it when he was the New York Mets general manager.

To his credit, he did acquire the following players: Roberto Alomar, Pedro Astacio, Jeromy Burnitz, Ricky Henderson, Pedro Martinez, Kenny Rogers and Mo Vaughn.

And he traded Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano. Not Carlos, Victor.

I can't emphasize that move enough. Chuck LaMar deserved Executive of the Year for pulling that off.

Unfortunately, for Phillips, all of those players were monumental past-their-prime failures.

Fortunately, for me, I can mock his failures in the blogosphere.

So that brings us to today's news of Phillips having the audacity to call out Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella for his handling of Kosuke Fukudome.

"My view is Lou doesn't have a great deal of patience for assimilation into culture, assimilation into the team," Phillips said. "He is just not the most patient guy around, and he tends to verbalize his frustrations in an angry way. I think that may have affected Fukudome a little bit."

In more news according to the world of Phillips: Piniella doesn't care about black people, kicks puppies and has a 22-year-old strippe hog tied in his basement.

And Sweet Uncle Lou does not think kindly of Phillips' criticism.

"I don't have much respect for Steve Phillips," Piniella said after hearing the comment Monday. "Let him be around a little more and see what transpires before he makes assumptions. I've lost total respect for this guy. If he had something to say, let him say it to me."

The last person who should be calling anyone out on talent evaluations is Phillips. And the fact that Piniella had respect for this guy in the first place is disheartening. I've put together more competitive teams in Triple Play Baseball for PlayStation than Phillips could ever dream about.

And yet he's a million-dollar analyst and I'm living paycheck-to-paycheck at a college newspaper.

I guess now would be a good time to ask you fine folks to click the ads and help us get paid.

Lou Piniella outraged by ESPN analyst's comments [Chicago Tribune]

Are Alfonso's Days as Top Dog Over?

The talk of moving Alfonso Soriano out of the lead-off spot has already begun.

And I didn't expect anything less from the first few days of Spring Training.

Chicago's North Side fans and certain segments of the media have been clamoring to drop the former 40-40-40 man down in the order to take advantage of the power that comes from Soriano's big bat.

And since his stolen base numbers have drastically dropped since his banner year with the Washington Nationals, these folks actually have a valid case.

Yet, I'll stand by my guns and suggest that Soriano stays atop the lineup.

The Cubs have been one of the league's most potent offenses with free-swinging left fielder leading off. He takes advantage of early-inning mistakes and pummels them over the left-center field wall. He has the potential of stealing second and third base if said ball does not reach the seats or Waveland Avenue.

But like most sluggers, Soriano has been prone to the punchout. And since you can't steal first, it makes it very difficult to take advantage of his speed.

With that said, maybe Soriano should drop to the middle of the order.

But then who replaces him in the No. 1 spot?

Ryan Theriot is a scrappy little player, but scrappy is truly "crappy" with an "s" in front of it. And Cubs fans have chosen to ignore the way he has just fallen apart in the stretch run each of the last two seasons.

Aaron Miles? He of the .329 career on-base percentage and .305 career OBP at the leadoff spot.

For all his faults, and a career OBP of .329 of his own, Soriano has posted a .293/.342/.550/.893 line out of the leadoff spot.

Mike Fontenot is the left-handed version of Theriot, despite his status in Ron Santo's eyes as "Lil' Babe Ruth."

So where are your other options? Fuku? D. Lee? Crazy Uncle Milton?

Yeah, on second thought, unless Brian Roberts finds his former steroid-using self in Cubbie Blue pinstripes, Lou Piniella should just pencil in the most polarizing lead-off man in the history of the game atop his everyday line-up.

Piniella, Maddon named Managers of the Year

The Chicago Cubs saved all their wins for the month of November.

Or so it seems.

Two days after catcher Geovany Soto took home the National League's Rookie of the Year award, his skipper, Lou Piniella, was named the senior circuit's Manager of the Year.

Piniella led the Cubs to 97 wins and their first back-to-back playoff appearances since 1906-1908, but was unable to coax a playoff win for the second straight postseason.

Contrary to popular belief, the 97-win campaign wasn't just the result of recent off-season spending that made "making it rain" look like a light donation. Instead, Piniella's mind was in overdrive as he put together a strong lineup, managed a sometimes shaky bullpen and motivated a team that won the ultra-competitive NL Central Division.

Platooning Jim Edmonds and Reed Johnson, rebuilding Carlos Marmol's confidence after his midseason struggles, handling the fragile Kerry Wood and handling the more-fragile psyche of Alfonso Soriano were only some of the tasks Piniella excelled at this season.

As for Maddon, who earned all but one first-place vote, his task was much more difficult.

He turned around a franchise synonymous with losing into the beasts of the American League East, knocking the Boston Red Sox into the Wild Card and New York Yankees out of the playoffs.

Maddon molded the Tampa Bay Rays' young talent into his image of what a real baseball team should look like and each player bought in.

It wasn't just AL Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria, budding superstar center fielder B.J. Upton and aces Scott Kazmir and James Shields. It was more than just them.

It was veteran closer Troy Percival and outfielder Cliff Floyd. It was guys like Jason Bartlett, Wily Aybar and Dioner Navarro. It was a team effort, from top to bottom.

And Maddon led the charge as the Rays marched to the World Series to the beat of one drum.

It looks like the Baseball's Writers Association got it right, this time.

Photo Credit: MLB.com/Getty Images

Kosuke's Fuk'd

Lou Piniella just pissed all over Kosuke Fukudome.

The rookie All-Star right fielder has struggled since the All-Star break and those struggles have continued into K-Fuk's first post season appearance.

And Piniella doesn't want to hear about it any more.

"From now on I don't want to hear about Fukudome anymore as far as whether he's going to play or not. I'm gonna play (Mike) Fontenot or Reed Johnson or somebody else and that's the end of that story. The kid's struggling and there's no sense sending him out there anymore."

Will there be a Little Babe Ruth sighting? Maybe some Reed Johnson action in right?

Decisions, decisions.

I guess that's why Piniella looks pissed in this pic.

Lou Piniella Benches Kosuke Fukudome, So Please Stop Asking About Him [Fanhouse]

BREAKING: Ryan Dempster selected as Game 1 starter

When you go 17-6 with a 2.99 ERA for the Chicago Cubs, you get to date girls like Marisa Miller.

Somebody dial up Big Z, just to make sure he's OK.

Did somebody do that yet? OK, we can move on.

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella named Ryan Dempster to start Game 1 of the NLDS.

No, Dempster didn't get the nod because he has some incriminating pictures of Sweet Uncle Lou, he got the nod because he's 14-3 at Wrigley Field with a 2.86 ERA in 20 starts.

He's only 3-3 with a respectable 3.22 ERA in 12 road starts.

By the way, that brings the former closer's 2008 season to 17-6 with a 2.99 ERA. Not bad for a guy everyone wanted run out of town before the season started.

Piniella obviously understands the importance of home field advantage, especially since the Cubs have a league best 55 home wins. He also understands that Carlos Zambrano has been f*cking up since his no-no against the Houston Astros.

I'll be honest, I wasn't surprised by the move. In fact, I support it. Dempsters dominance at home combined with El Toro's recent struggles makes it a perfect choice.

I expect the move to light a fire under Big Z. Last time someone questioned his health, he didn't allow a hit.

According to the linked Chicago Sun-Times story, Zambrano said he wouldn't mind starting Game 3 on the road.

That means Rich Harden in Game 2, right?

Only time will tell.

Good call, Lou.

Piniella selects Dempster as Game 1 starter. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Lou Piniella is raising hell

This is why the Chicago Cubs fans embraced Lou Piniella as their manager.

"We're playing like we're waiting to get beat," said Piniella, who had declined to do a postgame interview after Sunday's loss in Cincinnati. "You don't have a big enough lead in September to play ball like that. Teams play ball like that invariably get caught. … You have to stay aggressive, play like you've played all year."

Piniella's pissed, and I don't blame them. The Cubs are playing like crap. It's like 1969 all over again - minus that black cat business. The North Side Nine ran wild on the National League for most of the season and spent most of the year with at least the league's best record. It now looks like the Cubs' carriage is about to turn into a pumpkin.

More from Piniella? You know he's got more!

"You can talk about having fun, talk about relaxing," he said. "You have to get your damn shirt [sleeves] rolled up and kick somebody's [butt]. Period. Period."

And by "butt" he means ass! He wants someone to go kick some ass! What self-loathing Cubs fan doesn't want the Cubs to kick some ass?

I hope the team won't take it completely to heart because it'd be a shame for the Cubs to drop out of the NL Central race because they picked a fight against the Cardinals tonight, but the rest of the baseball world might.

Hell, if the Cubs complete the biggest collapse in the history of baseball, every sportswriters job just gets easier.

Here's something from my handy, dandy Sports Writing 102 notebook.

Sports Writing 102: Covering the Cubs

Chapter I: Billy Goats
Chapter Summary: Did you know the Cubs were cursed by a dude because the people at Wrigley Field kicked his goat out? It's why they've never made a World Series since. Exploit this at all times.

Chapter II: Black cats
Chapter Summary: Did you know in 1969, a black cat circled Ron Santo in New York and the Mets won the division and then the World Series? Don't mention that the Mets had a pitching staff that featured Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver, that disproves your argument.

Chapter III: Bartman
Chapter Summary: Did you know that a Cubs fan Steve Bartman interfered with Moises Alou catching a ball in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS and that cost the Cubs the pennant? Do not mention Dusty Baker being outmanaged by Jack McKeon who opened the season sitting on a park bench, not a managerial bench. Do not mention Alex Gonzalez's rare error or the fact that the Cubs held a lead in Game 7 only to blow that. Remember, it was all Bartman's fault.

For all you youngsters at home, remember: you're not reporting on the Cubs if none of these is mentioned.

Chapter IV coming soon: Avoiding Lou Piniella's Rath.