With today's victory the 2006 season is in the books, and it couldn't have come quicker. The Cubs finished with the third worst record in baseball at 66-96. That would be the Cubs second worst record in the last 25 years. Yeah, this season was bad even for Cubs' standards. What made it so bad is that the Cubs expected to win around 80-85 games which would have been enough to make the playoffs. When you're going bad, you're going bad. The good news is that the last two times the Cubs lost as many as they did this season, they won the division within four years.
Oh well, the general consensus is that Dusty Baker's tenure of field manager is coming to an end tomorrow morning when he meets with Jim Hendry. Baker's in game managing rivals the worst in baseball, but as a coach I think he's probably very good. Maybe one day Cubs' management will realize that the managers job isn't to teach. The Boston Herald is reporting that the Cubs have Terry Francona on their list of potential succesors to Baker. To me the Cubs would be replacing Dusty Baker with Dusty Baker. I'm sure it is an upgrade, but more of a lateral move than I would like the Cubs to make at this point. As of right now, I guess the four most likely managers for the Cubs are: Terry Francona, Bob Brenly, Fredi Gonzalez and Joe Girardi.
In other Cubs management news, it's the end of an era in Chicago. Andy MacPhail has resigned as president and CEO. MacPhail has been near the top of the Cubs management chain since 1994, and is rumored to be taking over for Bud Selig. Again, who knows how much of an effect this move will have on the Cubs. The last few seasons from the outside it looks like the Cubs have had several clashes between MacPhail and Hendry on who to bring in. If anything this should lead to more of a focused plan. I think Jim Hendry - Andy MacPhail - Dusty Baker = The GM we all thought Hendry was a couple years ago.
In actual potential on the field news, the Cubs are apparently interested in entering the Daisuke Matsuzaka sweepstakes. Whether or not this is a "Token Offer" just to keep the media off the Cubs' back similar to the offers to Carlos Beltran remains to be seen. One thing to keep in mind is that Matsuzaka's agent is Scott Boras, who the Cubs are one of the few teams to have good relations with. I still don't see the Cubs outbidding the Yankees and Mariners. Mariners' de facto owner Hiroshi Yamauchi and Nintendo figure to bid a blank check on Matsuzaka similar to what they did for Ichiro Suzuki in 2000.
Oh well, the general consensus is that Dusty Baker's tenure of field manager is coming to an end tomorrow morning when he meets with Jim Hendry. Baker's in game managing rivals the worst in baseball, but as a coach I think he's probably very good. Maybe one day Cubs' management will realize that the managers job isn't to teach. The Boston Herald is reporting that the Cubs have Terry Francona on their list of potential succesors to Baker. To me the Cubs would be replacing Dusty Baker with Dusty Baker. I'm sure it is an upgrade, but more of a lateral move than I would like the Cubs to make at this point. As of right now, I guess the four most likely managers for the Cubs are: Terry Francona, Bob Brenly, Fredi Gonzalez and Joe Girardi.
In other Cubs management news, it's the end of an era in Chicago. Andy MacPhail has resigned as president and CEO. MacPhail has been near the top of the Cubs management chain since 1994, and is rumored to be taking over for Bud Selig. Again, who knows how much of an effect this move will have on the Cubs. The last few seasons from the outside it looks like the Cubs have had several clashes between MacPhail and Hendry on who to bring in. If anything this should lead to more of a focused plan. I think Jim Hendry - Andy MacPhail - Dusty Baker = The GM we all thought Hendry was a couple years ago.
In actual potential on the field news, the Cubs are apparently interested in entering the Daisuke Matsuzaka sweepstakes. Whether or not this is a "Token Offer" just to keep the media off the Cubs' back similar to the offers to Carlos Beltran remains to be seen. One thing to keep in mind is that Matsuzaka's agent is Scott Boras, who the Cubs are one of the few teams to have good relations with. I still don't see the Cubs outbidding the Yankees and Mariners. Mariners' de facto owner Hiroshi Yamauchi and Nintendo figure to bid a blank check on Matsuzaka similar to what they did for Ichiro Suzuki in 2000.
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