Chicago's Two Baseball GMs: One Gets It, One's an Idiot

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Could there be a more contrasting series of hours between two baseball teams in one city?

Late last week, the Chicago Cubs had two pitchers in the final years of their respective contracts, Rich Harden and Aaron Heilman, claimed on waivers. Reports were that the Minnesota Twins claimed Harden, while the San Francisco Giants claimed Heilman.

Harden has been very good lately for the Cubs, but he's one of a very small number of players on the Cubs' roster about whom that can be said. The North Side Ship is sinking fast, and Harden could have brought back a few prospects from Minnesota in exchange for the Twins renting him for five weeks.

Meanwhile, Heilman has been miserably bad for the Cubs this season, and just the fact that someone claimed him off waivers should have started a celebration parade through the halls of Wrigley Field's offices.

And yet, after 72 hours, Cubs GM Jim Hendry was standing in front of reporters telling the Chicago media how the Cubs were going to make a valiant run after the National League Wild Card in September, so he didn't want to disrupt the potential.

On Monday night, Harden took the hill against the mediocre Houston Astros and lost. The loss drops the Cubs six games out of the wild card lead, with four teams above them in the standings.

Meanwhile, on Chicago's South Side, the White Sox have experienced a similarly disappointing past couple weeks. Once on the heels of the Tigers after an impressive home stand against the Angels and Yankees, the wheels have fallen off for the Sox, and they are now in third place in their division.

So, on the final day players could be dealt and still qualify for postseason rosters, Sox GM Kenny Williams allegedly e-mailed his fellow GMs and let them know that most of the Sox players in walk years had cleared waivers and were available.

Veterans available; make an offer.

So the Dodgers and Rockies did just that. The Dodgers are sending a mid-level infield prospect to the Sox for fan favorite and Peoria, Ill., native Jim Thome, while the Rockies are sending a pitching prospect to the Sox for Jose Contreras.

One general manager saw the reality of his situation and decided to make a couple moves to bolster his team's future.

The other, meanwhile, was consistent with his personal history of sticking his head in the sand when things weren't going well and decided to leave his organization in shambles and not acquire prospects for two players that are mere weeks from free agency.

There's a really good reason why Williams is the one with the championship jewelry and Hendry isn't.

Ladies and gentlemen, Kenny Williams gets it, while Jim Hendry is an idiot.

It appears the plan for the Sox is to begin looking to 2010. The whispers in Chicago are that uber-prospect Ty Flowers will be promoted on Tuesday and will begin splitting time as both a DH and the future catcher for the team.

Williams understands the value of bringing up prospects and getting them valuable experience when a season appears to be lost. If the Sox like what they see from Flowers, they'll have another building block to put next to Gordon Beckham for the next decade.

Also, by unloading Contreras, the Sox will open a spot for either a young starter or another bullpen arm to be promoted.

In contrast to this philosophy, the Cubs will promote pitchers like David Patton and Jeff Stevens on Tuesday, and they'll have to fight Heilman for innings. Rather than seeing what these young arms might be worth and planning for the future, the Cubs will have a crowded bench full of underachievers.

Similarly, rather than opening up a rotation spot for a prospect like Jay Jackson, Jeff Samardzija, or—heaven forbid—adding depth to a thin farm system, the Cubs will continue to pitch Harden down the stretch in hopes of overpaying him this winter.

The future looks like more of the past for these two franchises. The White Sox have a plan moving forward, while the Cubs keep chasing ghosts.

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