One Month In – Let’s Look At The Cubs

Phil Rogers had a great column up this morning where he took a look at some of Jim Hendry’s moves from the winter and gave them a grade and some follow up comments. I thought it was a perfect topic after watching the Cubs bumble their way to a 10-0 loss to the D’Backs yesterday.

The Milton Bradley Signing (F) – This one gets a big fat F because there really is no lower grade to give. At the time of this signing, I was a little aprehensive but Jim Hendry has made good decisions in the past so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Now…it is seriously blowing up in his face. Bradley has been hurt for what seems like the entire month. For some reason he was never put on the DL, which makes zero sense to me. He has also been suspended by the league and has clashed with the Chicago media.

Sadly, we’re stuck with crazy Uncle Milty since Hendry felt the need to throw a 3-year $30M contract his direction when no other teams were really bidding on him. You may remember from some of my past posts, but I was suffering from a serious man-crush on Adam Dunn and wanted him in Chicago. Sure, his defense is crap but these team needs offense and Dunn would have given that at a far lesser salary and fewer distractions.

Hey, Let’s Trade Mark DeRosa (F) – I remember the day this happened and I thought that a trade of DeRosa and his salary would eventually lead to Jake Peavy. Alas, that did not happen so Hendry essentially traded away the best utility man in baseball for some minor leaguers that won’t sniff the majors this year. Why? Was he looking to get Mike Fontenot in the lineup more? Couldn’t that have been done without trading DeRosa? How do you trade away your best backup at positions like 3B and 1B? And….as you can see now, the Cubs could really use a backup 3B that is fit to play there since Ramirez is banged up. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB!

The New Utility Guy – Aaron Miles (F) – This guy does realize the point of an at-bat is to swing the bat like you really intend to hit the ball, right? Seriously, what the hell was this signing? You mean to tell me someone seriously thought we were better off with Aaron Miles than Mark DeRosa? In what freakish dimension does that even make sense? Miles has been a disaster at the plate. I’ve seen 8-9 at-bats where he’s either stood there and not swung the bat or just flails at the ball. Seriously, if that’s what they are paying him for, I’ll do that for half of what they are paying him. Sign me up.

We Don’t Need Another Lefty, We Have Neal Cotts! (F) – I really want to root for Neal since he went to college (Illinois State) in the town where I now live, but this Neal Cotts is not anything like the Cotts who was nails for the White Sox in 2005. He has been a trainwreck in almost every appearance. He is having trouble finding the plate and you can’t be a big league pitcher with a 2.80 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .381. Yeah, that’s right…..381! The only reason he has a job is that he’s left-handed. There were plenty of lefty relievers on the market this year but Hendry sat on what he had in Cotts and now we’re paying for it.

Wait….What About Koyie Hill? (A) – Finally!! A decision that actually has paid off! I admit it, I’m becoming a Koyie Hill fan. Hill beat out Paul Bako during Spring Training to snag the backup catcher gig and it has worked perfectly for the Cubs. Geo Soto has struggled this season with his bat and a nagging shoulder injury so Hill has had plenty of chances to show what he can do. The guys handles the pitching staff well and he happens to be hitting .370. So, good job Mr. Hendry…you got one right.

It’s only been one month so there is a chance all of these things right themselves but I’m not going to hold my breath. I think Bradley will remain a distraction the entire year and since Hendry gave him a stupid contract, the Cubs are stuck with him no matter what. The DeRosa thing is the one I think that is going to be the hardest to overcome. Guys like that are valuable for a reason…because they are hard to find. When you have one, you don’t give him away and you certainly don’t replace him with Aaron Miles.