Jim Hendry Is A Genius, And We Are Wrong

As expected, general manager Jim Hendry did address the media to discuss the lack of moves by the Chicago Cubs today as the non-waiver trade deadline passed. If you were holding out hope that Hendry would make sense of the Cubs inactivity, then you might want to cover your eyes as you read to further avoid more frustration with the inept general manager of the Chicago Cubs.

Despite the fact that the Cubs have been made the laughing stocks of baseball by some of the mainstream reporters because of their inactivity today, Hendry has no problem with how the trade deadline turned out for the Cubs.

"To make a trade today to say we made one and get somebody who we don’t think is the caliber that I’d expect in return, I have no problem not moving the people we didn’t move,” GM Jim Hendry said Sunday. Muskat Ramblings"

For one, what else do you expect Hendry to say? The Cubs general manager is not going to admit that his lame-duck status was the reason why the Cubs stood pat at the deadline, and took no steps towards building the team for the future. The one case where Hendry may be lying is with center fielder Marlon Byrd. The Atlanta Braves were desperate to acquire another outfield bat and preferred Byrd over Michael Bourn, and the Braves would have given up a “haul” of prospects to acquire Byrd. But the Cubs simply said “no”. Now, you can not tell me that the Braves potential trade for Byrd is a deal that would not have included players/prospects that would have had an impact on the Cubs for the future. Instead, Hendry never had any intention of trading Byrd, despite the fact that top prospect Brett Jackson will soon be ready for the major leagues.

As for the reason the Cubs did not make any trades today, Hendry as the case before, alluded to the fact that the Cubs could be back in contention next season.

"“Everybody says ‘Oh, you didn’t do something by 3 o’clock today — this is a disaster, that’s a disaster’ — I don’t put much stock into that,” Hendry said. “The guys we kept are for the most part guys who still have a chance to be involved next year. Muskat Ramblings"

I’m sorry Jim, excuse me for not thinking that a team that is currently 23 games under the .500 mark can quickly bounce back and become contenders at the start of next season. Hendry has pointed to the quick turnaround of the Pittsburgh Pirates as the reason the Cubs can be relevant again in 2012, but Hendry must have forgot the 18 years prior to this season where the Pirates had losing season after losing season. So no, the Pirates are not a good example to follow. Geovany Soto, Jeff Baker, Ryan Dempster, Aramis Ramirez, and Carlos Marmol have been given plenty of chances to win as a collective unit, there is no need that they should be given another year to try and contend for a World Series title.

But don’t be disappointed, the Cubs can still make trades in August, and Hendry hinted there could be one or two deals to make in the coming month.

"“If we do make a trade or two in August,” he said, “it’s no more or less significant than if we made one today.” Muskat Ramblings"

I wouldn’t necessarily get your hopes up for an August trade. Unless of course, you are hoping that John Grabow and Reed Johnson are players traded, then you might be in line for some excitement. But there is no piece of evidence that suggests the Cubs will be active in August deals. For one, they chose not to shop either Marlon Byrd or Carlos Pena in the month of July, so, they likely have no intention of trading either one in August. Then there is Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Zambrano, the two players the Cubs were believed to be shopping for the past month. The only problem is no team was interested in either of their contracts, so unless the impossible becomes possible and Soriano or Zambrano are claimed off waivers in August, it is safe to say that neither will be moved in August.

I didn’t think it was possible, but the Cubs are on the verge of failing as a losing team. Usually a losing team is able to make some type of trades during the season to prepare themselves for the future, but, it does not look like the Cubs will be able to do so.