During the off-season, as the deals and trades were coming down, I asked once in December and then again in January….If You Were the Cubs GM….”what would you do?” With the recent sweep of the Cubs by the hands of the Florida Marlins and the fact the Cubs are 5-20 since April 28th, 10 games under .500 and 12 1/2 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals….I thought I would ask the question again.
This team has not played anywhere near its potential or the way they started the season. Does anyone remember the way the team played when they swept the Cardinals during the first weekend of the season? So while the trade rumors are flying….who will stay and who will go? And more importantly, who should the Cubs trade for? There were two reports out of Chicago on Wednesday, one from Cubs.com and the other from the Chicago Tribune that all but said Tony Womack will be in a Cubs uniform very soon. What would you do if you were the Cubs GM….but before you answer, like before, there are some rules. If you are going to think like a General Manager of a professional baseball team, you must act like one and follow the rules of the game, in other words you cannot say trade Neifi Perez or Jacque Jones to where ever for whomever, because they cannot be traded until June 15th without their permission, they were signed as free agents during the off-season. You must also consider trading for equal value, it would be easy to say trade Rich Hill and Angel Guzman for Albert Pujols….but we all know that will never happen. Also, keep in mind Minor League options….Freddie Bynum is out of options. How would you improve the Cubs?
In the off-season, Dusty Baker was not on the hot seat….he was the Cubs manager, but like everyone associated with Cubbie blue right now, his future with the Cubs is definitely in question. Would you change managers or keep Dusty Baker? If you think the Cubs would benefit from a new manager, then who and why.
The Cubs Faithful are not happy right now….I have even received an email about an online petition to try to force the Cubs to hire Steve Stone as the GM to replace Jim Hendry. The Mets made a trade on Wednesday….they needed pitching and traded for El Duque. What can the Cubs do to try to salvage the season, or is it a lost cause?
So put your GM cap on and let the CCO know what you are thinking. You never know who is reading….