Ben Schwartz writes,
In his Tuesday column, Paul Sullivan scoops the sporting press by getting the inside line at his own company to reveal Cub GM Jim Hendry (above) is getting his extension. In his press release — er, COLUMN, Sullivan praises Hendry as an “unapologetic throwback” (read: expect more of the same) and that Hendry takes full responsibility for the 2005 season (read: the ink is already dry on his contract). Sullivan argues that Hendry’s “shrewd moves outweigh his mistakes.” Well, when the 2005 Cubs are a near .488 (80-82) team and 4th of 6th in their division, I’d say his scale is off by .013.
If Sullivan is going to blame the 2003 collapse on Latroy Hawkins, how does that rank as merely the 5th worse mistake of Hendry’s tenure?
Writes Sullivan in yesterday’s Tribune,
Jim Hendry is an unapologetic throwback, the kind of front-office executive who still values his scouts’ opinions over a computerized printout of every statistic imaginable.
He’s one of the rare general managers for whom agents have nothing but praise, who’s as comfortable at a batting cage as he is in a board room and who doesn’t mind listening to fans ranting at him in a hotel bar on the road.