The Way Forward?

Hey, I don't know about other fans, but I'm a little confused about the "plan."  In the sense of, geez, what is the plan?  So far we have had the firing of Dale Sveum, completely justified, but something that was initially presented to the world as not just a rejection of Sveum's style and methods, but a step toward bringing in a genuinely successful manager who might turn things around, namely, Joe Girardi.

Now maybe that was never in the cards, but no one among the Cubs brass made much of an effort to deny the rumors and it does appear some behind the scenes dealing was going on and the Cubs lost out.  A critical view here is they were played.

So now, in the managerial search, we hear, several hours before he takes the Detroit job, that Brad Ausmus is a serious candidate.  So much for that.  Next we hear that Torey Lovullo of the Red Sox is in the mix, but, unfortunately the Red Sox are invoking some sort of agreement that the Cubs made not to hire any of their people.  Not ever.

That's a little weird because most of the non-competition agreements I know of pertain to the hiring of individuals who are on the payroll at the time of the agreement, not several years after.  Lovullo came over to Boston from the Toronto organization along with John Farrell a year after Theo Epstein left.  In any case, the whole thing is a bit of a shambles.

Other rumors and pronouncement from on high.  The Cubs will not seriously compete in the free agent market this year, primarily because their farm system is so well stocked with prospects who are at least two years away from the majors.  Oh, um, whatever.  The truth is that there are several players who would be an instant upgrade for the Cubs.  The best ones would be expensive, but fact is that teams cannot compete without making an investment in good players, players who make a difference.  The Pirates and Royal, for example, after years of building up their farm systems, only became respectable when they invested resources in players who would make a difference right now at the major league level.

Another random thought.  Jeff Sarmardzija and the Cubs have not been able reach agreement on a contract extension.  So all the experts naturally make him the next Matt Garza.  Got to trade this puppy while we can still land the pick of someone's A ball prospects who are three years off.  I've been critical of Samardzija in the past, but he is a pretty good pitcher and guys of his ability and age get  five year contracts in the range of $13MM-$15MM per year.