It is the last Sunday in November and Milton Bradley is still on the Cubs' roster. Several of the 'experts' and most of the talking heads figured Jim Hendry would have traded Bradley away by now ... but the process of dealing Bradley is not an easy one.
Expect the rumors to heat up across the league and especially surrounding the Chicago Cubs. There are only eight days remaining until the Winter Meetings and many think the Cubs will do more wheelin' and dealin' than opening up the checkbook this winter.
Here's the latest from the mill ...
Bruce Levine and Jonathan Hood discussed the latest rumors and news surrounding the Cubs and White Sox during their weekly show Saturday morning. As always, Bruce Levine had a plethora of information during Talkin' Baseball (ESPN 1000) ...
Milton Bradley
According to Bruce Levine during Talkin' Baseball on Saturday morning, the new story is the old story surrounding the Chicago Cubs. They must deal Milton Bradley before they can make any significant changes. Levine said the most likely destination for Bradley remains the Tampa Bay Rays (the same as one-hundred previous reports).
Right now it is a slow market for all of the Major League teams and it will continue to take time to trade Bradley ... they are hoping other situations may develop.
Trading Bradley to the Rays will be a very difficult process for Jim Hendry according to Bruce Levine. First, the Cubs must decide on how much of his contract they are willing to eat. Second, Hendry pretty much has to have two deals in place ... the one with the Rays and then a deal with another team for Pat Burrell.
Pat Burrell cannot play in the outfield for the Cubs, much less right field. Alfonso Soriano and his contract are not movable and the Cubs cannot have two left fielders on the team ... as well as Pat Burrell's more than $9 million sitting on the bench on a daily basis.
According to Bruce Levine, the Rangers are no longer a possibility for Milton Bradley. Due to the ownership situation, the Rangers must receive approval from Major League Baseball to spend money ... Texas is in receivership. They cannot even hire a coach without receiving permission.
The Cubs do not have a match with the Toronto Blue Jays for Milton according to Bruce Levine.
Levine mentioned a match with the New York Mets for Luis Castillo ... but the Mets have no money. According to Levine, Castillo is still owed $12 million over the next two seasons ($6 million in 2010 and 2011) and Bradley is owed more than $21 million over the next two years ... and the Mets cannot add the difference in payroll.
The Cubs are not going to focus their entire off-season on trading Milton Bradley according to Bruce Levine ... but they are not going to give him away either. The Cubs have to move Bradley, save a little money on the projected payroll for 2010, pickup a player and move that player ... all while cutting money already on the books for the upcoming season.
Bruce Levine said Luis Castillo is the better match (over Pat Burrell) and it would give the Cubs something they need ... a top of the order bat that can play second base.
Stay Tuned ... this has only just begun.
Coco Crisp
Coco Crisp was bought out of the option year of his contract by the Kansas City Royals (three year extension signed in April of 2006 with the Red Sox for $15.5 million that included a club option in 2010 for $8 million with a $500,000 buyout) and became a free agent. The Cubs have shown interest in Crisp in the past ... and Jim Hendry is interested again this winter according to Bruce Levine.
Crisp would give the Cubs a leadoff hitter that can play centerfield but he would not be their first choice ... and may be one of the many backup options for the Cubs this winter.
The Cubs would prefer Chone Figgins according to Levine but there is not money for the free agent. According to Bruce Levine, "The Cubs are maxed out. They have no payroll flexibility."
Crisp is coming of an injury-shortened season in which he played in just 49 games ... and hit .228 with a .336 OBP. Crisp's best seasons came in 2004 and 2005 with the Indians and he's shown a decline in every year since.
While Coco Crisp would help the Cubs defensively, it is questionable what he could add to the offense. The Cubs have better options in the system that are unproven ... but will not cost them several millions of dollars.
Adding Coco Crisp to the Chicago Cubs would be a similar move to the one Jim Hendry made a year ago when he chose Joey Gathright over Felix Pie.
Rick Ankiel
According to Bruce Levine, if the Cubs can free up the money Rick Ankiel could be an option for centerfield that would fit. Ankiel has the tools to be a middle of the lineup run producer, if he can remain healthy. Ankiel could also be a part of the Cubs future ... and not another temporary fix that most veterans provide for the Cubs.
Jeff Samardzija
Jeff Samardzija joined Levine and Hood during one of the final segments of Talkin' Baseball Saturday morning. Before the conversation turned to Charlie Weis and Notre Dame football, the Shark talked a little baseball .. and about his time in winter ball.
Samardzija thought his four weeks in Mexico went great. It was a lot of fun and he thinks he made progress in his development.
Samardzija worked on his fastball. He stressed he wanted to dominate a "junk-ball league" with his fastball. Samardzija said he spent time David Rosario (Samardzija referred to him as 'Rosie') working on his curveball. Samardzija wants his curveball to look like his fastball and he feels the pitch really came around toward the end of his time in Mexico.
The Shark sees himself as a starter in the big leagues. He appreciated the experience at the Major League level in 2008 and 2009. Samardzija feels he really learned a lot but he has always been a starter and envisions the same in the future.
From the Hot Stove
- Bruce Levine is hearing Chone Figgins will either sign for three years and $33 million or four years and $44 million ... he sounds confident that Figgins will make at least $11 million per season.
- Neal Cotts could be non-tendered according to Bruce Levine ... many reports have suggested the same in recent weeks.
- Jeff Samardzija will compete for the fifth spot in the Cubs' rotation in 2010
CCO News
The CCO Radio will return on Wednesday, December 2 to preview the Winter Meetings and discuss all of the hot stove rumors. Mark December 2nd down on your calendar ... as well as Tuesday, December 15. The CCO will take your calls and discuss the latest on the Chicago Cubs for an hour beginning at 7:00pm C.S.T.
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Well, that's the latest ... and I'm sticking to it!
Hendry should be fired for no other reason than for structuring the 75 game 3rd year accelerating option for Bradley. That one stroke of brilliance has prohibited moving the piece of cancer, and has handcuffed any potential key off-season moves.
Play Snyder, play Fuld, play Fox...whomever. But I instead sense we'll see more "Miles" moves by JH at the GM meetings.
3rd largest payroll, and this is the state of sad affairs.
Agreed, word from around the league stated that nobody was willing to go more than 2 yrs with Bradley, and not even for $10 million/yr. I heard the most outside the Cubs was I believe the Nationals or Rays, coming in at $8 million/yr for 2. Now, I used to throw in the Soriano deal, because he went something like 3 years and $30 million more than anyone else would offer....but, in recent months, it's been brought to my attention on here, and through what I've read elsewhere online that it was actually McDonough's call on that one, and it was specifically a "marketing" move to improve the franchises' worth after fans started leaving in droves the last month of the 2006 season and they were concerned that it'd have an effect on the sale of the team.
But still, nobody put a gun to his head and said he had to sign the likes of Miles, Gathright, trade for Gregg and Heilman, or in the past, signing Floyd, Jones, Burnitz, Neifi, extending Rusch after one good season, etc.
Outside of ARAM, Lofton, Lee, and DeRosa, I can't really think of any trades where Hendry didn't get hosed, or signed a free agent to an above market deal relative to his production or the fact he was coming off a career year....even with Lee, his body of work prior to signing his extension did NOT warrant $13 million/season.
I'm certain that Hendry will sign/trade for average to below average talent this offseason. How do I know that? Well, first of all, he resigned an average lefty (Grabow) to an above average contract, THEN, he traded Heilman for 2 average players (Maine and White) when he originally sent 2 above average players to the Mariners for Heilman in the first place (Cedeno and Olson). White's stats are a joke for a first baseman. No power, no speed, , low average. Maine is getting lit up in winter ball right now after posting a combined 2.90 ERA in AA and AAA last year (2.66-AA and ugly 1.500 WHIP, 3.68 ERA-AAA and 1.364 WHIP). While Cedeno and Maine didn't exactly tear up the league last season, they were still known as above average talent at the time they were traded. I never liked the Heilman trade to begin with on our end, and he wasn't that good for us, but he still wasn't as bad as Gregg....and unfortunately, this deal brought back bad memories of what we received for Mark DeRosa. To understand just how bad Hendry really is, all you have to do is look at what the Indians received from the Cardinals for DeRosa...and that was even for essentially a 3 month rental. We received 3 "prospects" not even on ANY Indians prospect listings for their top 30 (Stevens, Gaub, Archer). The Indians received 2 top prospects for DeRosa (Todd and Perez). How anyone could possibly want Hendry as GM of the Cubs is beyond comprehension.
I have to say that I understand maybe some reasoning for the Ricketts keeping Hendry around, especially given the contract extension he gave himself and wanting him to fix the mess he put us into to see what he's made of...I get that, COMPLETELY.
However, it's just delaying the correct decision. Why not start the rebuilding process now, bringing in an advisor like Gillick or Schuerholz, etc.? Wouldn't it be sooooooooooooooo Jim Hendry to sign the recently fired Kevin Towers as a scout or special advisor? I just don't understand it. And yet, we all know that it's quite conceivable. After all, he was the one that hired Littlefield after he was fired from the lowly Pirates. After all the horrible FA signings, contract extensions, trades, and front office moves, how can a guy like that possibly keep his job?!? I don't care if you want to stick it to him by making him fix the mess with only the cash that he already has...he has to know that he's done after this season anyway, so what possible motivation does he have to right the ship, other than perhaps auditioning for another team? Even so, there's no possible way another owner gives him a job, seeing what he did with this franchise, and their astounding $140 million payroll...same can be said for Omar Minaya. Both Hendry and Minaya created impossible situations for their teams to overcome, especially the fact that both teams are essentially walking billboards for AARP.
Just like the Bears roster, you can see what age will do to your team. The Bears defense looks so overmatched, it's not even funny. Their offensive line is equally as bad. They look old, overpaid, and underperforming. The same is true of the Cubs. Lee, Soriano, ARAM, Fukudome, Bradley (who even said so himself..."I feel like $30 million bucks"), Z, Dempster, Lilly, etc. don't have anything to play for. They already got their benjamins. Why do think most of the recent teams playing for the World Series have young rosters? It's because all the young guys are trying to prove their worth to make the big bucks. We have a roster full of guys that have done absolutely nothing. Lee is the only player on our roster with a World Series ring. That should speak for itself...we just don't have winners on the team.
When I was a college pitching coach, going out recruiting, I didn't go to schools that hadn't won anything or at least consistently been to the playoffs. Why? There were actually multiple reasons...here's a few:
1)kids recruited from losing programs were typically the best on their team. They'd been used to being the best on their team. What happens when they're now the least talented kid on your team...or mediocre? How will they react. It was our head coach's experience that they never meshed well with increased competition.
2)If you end up signing a player like that, there is no history of excellence, so if your team starts losing, he's used to seeing that, and doesn't motivate his teammates to do better. (actually this isn't 100% accurate, because we did sign a kid from a losing program, and when we hit a losing skid, he spoke up in a team meeting, telling everyone not to get complacent, because they had no idea what losing was truly like....this was RARE mind you)
3)Winning is an attitude. If your guy comes from a winning program, chances are, he knows how to prepare for games, how to prepare in the offseason, and how to motivate his teammates to victory. Winning can also be shown in cockiness. If you play teams that are coached by Bob Stoops, Pete Carroll, Bill Belicheck, Tony LaRussa, and Phil Jackson, you just have this sense as a fan that they're going to beat your team, and your team has to have a virtually flawless game to beat them. In 2007 and 2008, Lou Piniella showed this fire and emotion we'd never seen before. He said stuff like, "sometimes you just have to bear down, show some pride, and kick some ass." For whatever reason, in 2009, this attitude completely vanished from the Cubs and we saw the hideous results. Somebody needs to bring it back. Unfortunately, it seems Joe Girardi would've been the best choice long-term to bring that type of attitude, but we missed the chance of a lifetime, and guess who made the call on that? That's right folks...all Jim Hendry right there.
I don't know whether to look forward to the future, or look forward to next year, etc. I just don't know. If Hendry's at the helm, you can't look forward to the future given his propensity to buy high and sell low. Normally, you'd like your chances with our future, given the likes of Vitters, Castro, Jay and Brett Jackson, Hak Ju Lee, Flaherty, Cashner, Carpenter, LeMahieu, Burke, etc., but can you really trust Hendry to bring them up right, etc.? I know I can't.
Aaron:
I heard the same thing about the Soriano
signing, that it was a McDonough move. McDonough has done the same thing with the Blackhawks. He signed Marian Hossa to a deal that will pay him when he is 41 years old. The only time that Hendry actually held fiscal accountability was when he was out bid on the short term my L.A. when they signed Rafael Furcal.
Heres a few other trades/signings Hendry has made that were solid:
Ted Lilly
Jeff Baker
Jason Marquis
John Grabow (the trade)
Eric Karros
Randall Simon
Mark Grudzielanek
Todd Hollandsworth
Ryan Dempster (original signing)
Rich Harden
Nomar Garciaparra(for what we gave up)
Greg Maddux
Matt Clement
Jim Edmonds
Reed Johnson
Not to mention sticking with Kerry Wood and getting an allstar season out of him and resigning good players like ARam
ALL Besides:
Mark DeRosa
Derrek Lee
Aramis Ramirez
Kenny Lofton
Dont just kick a guy when hes down... Im not sayin hes the best GM out there but he has made plenty of great big moves and solid under-the-radar moves like Edmonds, Baker, Johnson, etc.
Joel, a few holes in your "solid" moves.
Clement was a throw in on the Pierre trade with Florida...We gave up Mitre/Nolasco/and I think Willis in that deal for 1 year of Pierre and a few of Clement.(I did like Clement).
Edmunds and Johnson fell in JH's lap when their respective teams did not want them...they were an afterthougt tp plug holes JH didn't foresee in the offseason.
Baker was the result over overvalueing Fontenot and Miles...and came after the
Freel mistake.
ARAM,Lee. Simon were all 2003/04. A GM
cannot live off of moves he made 5 years ago.
Since Ricketts has stated that the majority of improvement of the Cubs will come from the minor league system...and
Hendry has proven that is not his forte.
Ricketts will have to get a new GM.
I just hope he makes the right choice.
(Stay away from Larry Hines, please.)
btw...Yes, McDonough screwed us over re Soriano.
Aaron...do you see any possibilities of a trade with the Yankees to get Jesus Montero?
Suzy, I am not Aaron (obviously) but no way the Yankees trade Jesus Montero. He is their second best prospect ...
Welington Castillo is a very good prospect. I know everyone looks at the offensive numbers but I have seen him play (and not just on TV). He is a very good catcher with a big upside. Better arm that Soto ... by far and I agree with the comparisions to Yadier Molina.
I know you want them to get younger, I do as well, but they do have a couple of better than average prospects.
Neil, I realize Montero is not an aveage prospect. (I saw his name being bandied about re a possible Halladay deal...
and just got to thinking.)
Somewhere along the way...the Cubs will actually need to shed payroll. Since Soriano and Fuko are almost as untradeable as Milton...that leaves Lee/ARAM/ "Z" as possibilities if they waive their non-trade contracts to go to a contender.
I see "Z" as a possible consolation prize
to whomever does not win the Halladay/
Lackey sweepsteaks between the Angels/
Bosox/Yankees.
Given "Z"'s outburst last season about
trade winds...and JH at the helm...it probably will not happen....
BUT, It is THE single most logical move
that might actually bring a return.
AND...Hence...the question on Montero.
The Yankee names being bandied about
re Halladay are Montero/Austin Jackson/
and/or Joba/Chamberlain.
The actual deal should be cheaper...but still, it gives one pause.
Suzy, I agree on Z possibly being the biggest return and I agree Hendry will not even ask him about waiving his no-trade clause.
As we have all discussed before, I hope Zambrano is ready to turn the corner. As one talking head put it, he has the ability to be one of the top five pitchers in the game ... he just hasn't shown it yet for a full season.
Z is one of our most valuable players. The problem has been above the shoulders. His ability is quite evident. I always wanted a rotation of Zambrano, Guzman, Cruz, Wood, and Prior...but Guzman, Wood, and Prior all had injuries, and Hendry never gave Cruz the opportunity to prove himself with us.
Even now, I'd much rather have a rotation of Z, Jay Jackson, Cashner, Wells, and I really like this kid Jeffrey Antigua, a hard throwing lefty that made it to Peoria last season.
For my roster, I'd love to see something like this:
C-Welington Castillo
1B-Chris Davis
2B-Flaherty
SS-Castro
3B-ARAM
LF-Soriano (b/c we simply can't trade him)
CF-BJ Upton
RF-Burke
While I know Castillo, Flaherty, and Burke are probably not ready, you'd still have Davis, ARAM, Soriano, and Upton that are great players. I still believe that with Gorzelanny, Marshall, Gaub, Theriot, Fox, Soto, Lee (if he'll waive the no-trade), and Lilly (when he comes back), we'll be able to make the necessary moves to net Upton and Davis.
The Rangers won't be able to take on any contracts, and will be operating much like the Expos/Nationals did when MLB owned them, in that pretty much all of their arbitration eligible players were traded, and most of their high priced free agents were traded as well. The only way they were able to sign arbitration guys to long-term deals is if they unloaded a high priced contract. So, look for the Rangers to explore dealing the likes of Michael Young, Kevin Millwood, McCarthy, Feldman, Hamilton, Francisco, Wilson, Nippert, and next year Davis will be eligible for arbitration, so it's quite possible they will look to move him as well....but even if that's not the reason they look to move him, they might move him because Justin Smoak and Mitchell Moreland are coming on strong, and he has no future with the team.
I don't know what it'd take to get Upton, but I'd imagine it'd cost at least Soto, a pitcher, and a prospect. I'd trade Soto, Marshall/Gorzelanny, and Jay Jackson in a heartbeat for Upton. For Davis, it'd probably cost you 2 cheap pitchers or top prospects. The Rangers don't appear to need help at 2B (Kinsler), SS (Andrus), OF (Hamilton, Borbon, Cruz), 1B (Smoak), or catcher (Salty, Teagarden, Ramirez). It appears that 3B might be the only one they could use help with, and Davis ain't worth Vitters.
Anyway, that's just my take. I know it'll never happen with Hendry involved, but we HAVE to give our young guys a chance. It's time to put up or shut up with this team.
thanks Suzy...I was going to comment on that...VERY BIG holes in that argument. I'd like to add...
Marquis was horrible, Garciapparra was injury prone, and also was run out of Boston, so that wasn't a stroke of genius to get him. Here are some other holes in the argument:
Karros was a Cub for 1 season
Grudz was a Cub for 2 seasons (1 1/2 if you count injury)
Simon was a Cub for 1/2 a season
Hollandsworth was a Cub for what amounted to 1 full season
Harden was a Cub for 1 1/2 seasons
Marquis was a Cub for 2 seasons, and a HORRIBLE signing
Maddux was a Cub for 2 1/2 seasons, and was signed at the end of his career
Edmonds was a Cub for 1 season
Johnson was signed off the scrap heap
I'll give you Dempster, Lilly, and Clement, along with ARAM, DeRosa, and Lee. All the ones I mentioned were not very good trades/signings, and had little to no impact on the team in a positive way
Aaron, I disagree with you re Marquis.
At the time, I didn't like the signing...but the guy surprised me.
He saved our butt oon numerous occasions in the first halves...and always faded after the break.
He was a great fifth starter...
But even Hendry should know the fifth spot should be reserved for cheap young pitchers coming up...not aging vets.
December 1, Ricketts returns to Florida for "private discussions" about possible spring training in Florida.
I dont think its fair to say not give credit for moves like Edmonds and Reed... Hendry saw the opportunity and jumped on it and it worked out just as much as he saw created the opportunity for Nomar and it didnt work out.
Marquis was not a horrible signing, he was arguably the best 5th starter in baseball and really helped solidify a rotation where most teams just hope they can get lucky once in a while every fifth day...
If you want to find faults, you will find faults but the fact is whether it was Clement being a 'throw in' or Lee/Aram being salary dumps or Edmonds being right place, right time, they were still very intuitive moves by Hendry and he deserves credit for them as much as you want to blame him for other things (im sure some of you out there somehow blame him for Bartman and 7 walks and 4 errors, etc...)
Really?!? Marquis?!? You must be kidding. Fact is, 99% of Cubs nation couldn't wait for him to be traded. His 3 yr $21 million contract after coming off a 6+ERA season, and being inactive for the playoffs with the Cardinals was seen as an absurd contract by league experts at the time, so don't try to say $7 million/yr for a 5th starter isn't absurd, considering we had Sean Marshall ready to go in the spot to begin with, and for just $400k. Almost every team, including the Yankees, will use their 5th spot to develop one of their own instead of signing a veteran starter for millions. It doesn't make sense to do what Hendry did when you already have a better in-house option. Just as it made absolutely no sense whatsoever to go after Aaron Miles when we already signed Bobby Scales to a minor league deal, and had guys like Tony Thomas already in our system for a fraction of the cost. When he wasn't really signed to be an everyday player in the first place, did it really make sense to give an inconsistent veteran 2 yrs and over $5 million?!? Did it really make sense to sign Joey Gathright to a contract that was double what Felix Pie was making, especially considering Gathright also wasn't signed to be a starter?!?
Fact is, Hendry is the most idiotic GM in baseball. If you have better in-house options within your system for a fraction of the cost that a marginal veteran would provide you, then why the hell would you go the veteran route? On one hand, it makes absolutely no sense, but on the other hand, given the futility of the organization, it makes all the sense in the world, doesn't it?
Joel,
We're all entitled to our opinions and I respect your right to yours, Joel.
Both you and Aaron are right re Marquis.
It was both a bad signing...and Marquis performed much better then expected.
The final analysis on Marquis...was his return...Vizcaino.
It showed both Hendry's inepitude and the valuation GM's around mlb put on
Marquis.
Joel, you have a different viewpoint than I do re Hendry...and that's OK.
But we do have the 3rd highest payroll in baseball...and we are a million miles away from the world series...since Hendry
has been at the helm of all of this...
how do you explain it?
Please don't use injuries...ALL teams have them. It's the contingency plans that are the difference.
Suzy,
We have been a million miles away from the world series since far before Hendry, but under Hendry we have been closer than ever before and he is the same guy that orchestrated the team that shoulda won it all in 03, the team that was amazing on paper that blew it in 04, the team that went from worst in the NL to division champs in 07, and the team that had home field advantage throughout the playoffs and almost 100 wins in 08...
One thing that I have noticed about Marquis as a side note, and I would love to hear thoughts on this, is the fact that he has made the playoffs with every team he was on, every season. He won it every year he was with the Braves (and they havent been back since he left) He won it every year with the Cards and then he left for the Cubs and they surpassed the Cards and he made it every year with the Cubs, then he left the Cubs, they missed the playoffs and he went to Colorado where, surprise, they win their division.
Obviously it is not because he is an ace or a stud but I believe it is because he is the best 5th starter in the MLB and will consistently win double digit wins with a winning record and a lot of innings not to mention he was more than capable of pinch running and even pinch hitting. Many other teams mix and match for the 5th starter and chalk up that fifth day as a loss 9 outta 10 times.
For instance, Aaron, you bring up Sean Marshall who shoulda been our 5th starter, well his numbers as a starter are 16-26 with a 4.86 era...
As far as 99% of CubNation hating Marquis, that I agree with but he did his job well and CubNation also hated the DeRosa signing and many of you who are crucifyin Hendry for the Soriano deal right now were lovin it a year or two ago.
I realize there is work to be done and that Hendry has had a rough year at the helm but I think his credentials are more than enough to at least warrant giving him a legitimate shot to fix it, and I think it is fixable with expected bounceback seasons from Soriano and Soto and a healthy Aramis...
Theres a lot of IFs but this is the same team that was riddled with injuries and was still in 1st place as late as August and the Cards are losing Holliday and DeRo if not more (and i know injuries are no excuse but no other team had their 1-4 starters all hit the DL at least one time and there best player out for 2.5 mths, on top of the typical role player injuries and DL stints)
Keep drinking that Cubs Kool-aid. Are you truly satisfied with the state of the franchise under the current leadership regime of Hendry, Pinella, and Rothschild, especially when considering these "geniuses" have been operating with the third highest payroll in all of baseball?
For $7m a year Marquis should have been one of the best 5th starters in baseball. The reality though is that no other GM would pay that amount for that rotation slot, regardless of mediocre outcome.
Soriano isn't going to bounce back, and that contract will continue to be an albatross for 5, yes 5 more years. Now that's something to look forward to.
I won't even go into the Bradley contract again...Hendry has been ridiculed throughout baseball for that brilliance, and now has placed himself into a no-win scenario.
Last season it was Hendry who "had to get that left-handed bat". A year later, after the Bradley fiasco, a left-handed bat is no longer a priority.
The team has no discipline (Soto, Zambrano, etc), and no hunger.
The franchise is now in deep, and likely sustained muck unless you replace the current leadership team and bring in new thought leaders.
Joel,
I'm not going to sway tou and you're not going to sway me re our opinion on Hendry...so I agree to disagree.
I'll agree with 2003...and give Hendry credit for that...but he has constantly tried to emulate that with the same formula...and the formula has changed
since then...Just like the economy has.
I'm not going to discuss individual moves here...we've been there and done that ad nauseum.
Hendry's time has passed...it's simple as that...he should be with McPhail and Lynch. To have the payroll we have and the mess we are in is inexcusable.
Re Marquis it is a curious stat isn't it?
I don't really see a cause and result here...I also thought he did a good job for us...but was overpaid.