It's a much broader problem than just what happens in the game, though. The Cubs haven't made the playoffs since 2008, and while they've had much longer stretches without playoff appearences, they don't look to be improving. Now, you may say I'm overreacting, but this is much different from the playoff-less stretch between 1945-1984. It's been 102 years since 1908, going on 103, and the franchise hasn't won a playoff series since 2003.
But today I want to address an issue that is on many Cub fans minds. This issue is the job status of GM Jim Hendry. Hendry has been here since 2002 and has made 3 playoff appearences with the team. Pretty good, right? Not so much. Sure, in 2003 they went far, but he had just taken over the position, and not too much of the team was his credit. The other two playoff years turned into disasters. In both 2007 and 2008, the Cubs were swept.
But enough reliving the Cubs torturous history. Let's focus more on Hendry's specifics. I am of the opinion that his flaws far outweigh anything he has done well. Look at Alfonso Soriano. Soriano is a decent player, but why are we paying him $20 million a year? I understand that Hendry thought that he was going to be a good player (who didn't?), but I never believed that he was good enough to pay that much.
Another problem I have is his willingness to pay veterans huge sums of money. Sure, it was nice to have Greg Maddux back, and it's nice to have Kerry Wood back, but is it really worth paying these players a lot of money when they come back and don't even help the team that much? Sometimes you've just got to tell players that we don't have room in the budget, and that maybe they could get a job in the organization after retirement.
I could go on and on with his horrible moves. Dusty Baker, Milton Bradley, LaTroy Hawkins, Lou Pinella, Koskuke Fukudome, Rich Harden, Michael Barret, and on and on. I'm not going to, though, because you fans know all of this. You all know how frusterating his reign at the Friendly Confines has been.
Now, don't get me wrong, Hendry isn't the worst GM in sports, and I am all for giving people enough time to show what they can do, but don't you think that he's had enough time? It's been 9 years, and so far he has cost the club a lot of money and the team hasn't completed the one goal he should have: winning the World Series. The Cubs not having won the series in 102 years does not excuse failing to win.
So, it's time for the Cubs to take a serious look at their future. Are we going to keep this guy around who has had his chance and failed for 9 years, or are we going to bring in somebody new to mix it up? The fans are losing faith in the organization, and it's time for them to get their act together.
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