Praise for Hendry is Long Overdue
Yesterday’s trade of Rich Harden further cemented the legacy of one of Major League Baseball’s premier general managers. Possibly the most important part of any trade is timing, and once again this GM showed impeccable timing.
So congratulations Jim Hendry. What, you thought I was talking about Billy Bean?
With all due respect to Bean, the winner of any trade is the team that gets the best player. And even when considering the very legitimate injury concerns that come with Rich Harden, he’s clearly the best player in this trade.
Hendry is not perfect – far from it in fact. But since becoming the GM of the Chicago Cubs in the middle of the 2002 season he’s managed to lead the perennial losers to two playoff appearances (2003 and 2007) and an 89-win season in 2004. Then of course there’s the current season, in which the Cubs have been the National League’s best team all year long.
The biggest reason for Hendry’s success is the Cubs’ suddenly huge payroll, made famous by the $300 million off-season a little more than one year ago. But in no way does that take away from what Hendry has done.
He overpayed for Alfonso Soriano, who has had problems in his year and a half with the Cubs ranging from injuries to the fear of ivy covered walls, and worse yet the 32-year-old is only in the second year of an 8-year, $136 million contract. He also gave a corner outfielder with a .417 slugging percentage $48 million over four years. Despite all the love Kosuke Fukudome gets from North Side fans, his numbers show he’s nothing more than a Japanese version of Brian Giles (and sorry, that’s not worthy of $48 million).
Yet it also has to be considered that Hendry had to overpay to get those players. And both of them, even though they come at ridiculous prices, have helped the Cubs win games.
There have been other mistakes, too. The trade for Nomar Garciaparra in 2004 never worked out. The signing of former Cub Greg Maddux that same year had less-than-desirable results. Last year’s catcher position was a disaster, and the acquisition of former All-Star Jason Kendall proved to be a bust.
All of those transactions have one thing in common: they were low-risk, high-reward deals. When a general manager consistently makes those kind of transactions, good things tend to happen. Like the 2003 trade for an inconsistent Aramis Ramirez, who quickly became one baseball’s best hitting third baseman. Or the signing of one of the major’s premier utility players, Mark DeRosa. Even though Ted Lilly has reverted back to his career averages, he once again looks poised to top 200 innings this year, making him worthy of his $10 million a year contract.
Oh, and then there was the signing of Lou Piniella, who is already making room for the 2008 Manager of the Year trophy (apologies to Tony LaRussa, but this is Sweet Lou’s year).
So, finally, back to the point. The Rich Harden deal is yet another low-risk, high-reward transaction. For the Cubs purpose – which you would have to guess is ending that World Series drought you may have heard of – Harden is a great fit. As long as they politely decline extending his contract, this should work out fine for them.
“It’s no secret that when he’s [pitching], he’s about as good as it gets,” Hendry said. “You can hear that from any player in the American League. … Obviously, there’s some risk. He never has had a surgery. We did extensive work with their doctors. … There’s certainly some risk, but a very, very high reward.”
Harden solidifies an iffy starting rotation and Chad Gaudin can provide some value as a swingman. And all the Cubs gave up is a platoon outfielder, a second baseman who wasn’t going to play for them, a future number 3 starter and a catcher who is at least two years away from the major leagues.
Most importantly this trade cements a win-now attitude developed during Hendry’s reign. That, more than anything, is what has made Hendry’s time with the Cubs a success and made him one of baseball’s top GM’s.
Tags: Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, baseball, Billy Bean, Chad Gaudin, Chicago Cubs, Eric Patterson, Greg Maddux, Jason Kendall, Jim Hendry, Josh Donaldson, Kosuke Fukudome, Mark DeRosa, Matt Murton, MLB, Nomar Garciaparra, Rich Harden, Sean Gallagher, Ted Lilly