Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry Part 2: The Bad

(Photo by Chris Chambers/Getty Images)

Vizcaino was only given three innings to pitch with the bullpen poor Cubs before he was let go. He hasn’t pitched great, but he hasn’t been that bad either with the Indians.

Meanwhile the Cubs have nothing to show for the trade, and Marquis is one of the league leaders in wins with Colorado.

Jim Hendry was widely commended for picking up center fielders Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds during the 2008 season as free agents. But why did Hendry have to pick up either one of them? Because he had almost no outfield depth, and his prize rookie Felix Pie failed to develop into a major league ballplayer as so many future phenoms fail in the Cubs farm system. I’ll get to that in the next chapter.

I don’t give credit when you fail at your job and have to desperately search the scrap heap to correct your mistakes. They both played very well and helped the team make the playoffs.

Johnson is still there, though he doesn’t play much because he doesn’t bat left handed, so he sits while the Japanese corkscrew continues trying to dig himself into the ground.

And finally, I’m going to blame Hendry for what he didn’t do. Before the 2008 season, all you heard was the name Brian Roberts and that he’s coming to the Cubs. You heard that practically all winter and until the trade deadline last year.

Hendry couldn’t manage to put together a deal to get that long sought after lead-off hitter with his former boss Andy MacPhail, who now toils for the Orioles.

Whether it was a lack of talent in the Cubs farm system, or Hendry’s reluctance to include certain players in the trade, it never happened.

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