// Generated using NetSyndic 1.0.1.
// See http://www.thesitewizard.com/netsyndic/ for more information
// on how to create your own JavaScript to syndicate your articles.
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "With\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "“The Heckler” on a Fan Speaks Out
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "October 7, 2007
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "Jim Hendry \n" );
document.write( "Interview - 2007
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "![](\"http://sportznutz.com/columns/fan_speaks_out/images_2/jim%20hendry.jpg\")
With \n" );
document.write( "the Cubs on the brink of the playoffs, Jim Hendry wears the hero crown again. \n" );
document.write( "But the last two years, with the team a big disappointment, he wore the goat \n" );
document.write( "horns, asking why he didn’t do more to improve the club. In this interview, he \n" );
document.write( "addresses the issue if his hands were tied by Andy MacPhail, just what Alfonso \n" );
document.write( "Soriano was promised when the Cubs signed him, his thoughts on Lou Piniella, and \n" );
document.write( "what player surprised him this year.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "(Editor’s note: This \n" );
document.write( "interview was conducted prior to the start of the post-season)
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "The Heckler: How did it \n" );
document.write( "affect your job this year with the Tribune being for sale?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "Jim Hendry: \n" );
document.write( "I know people don’t believe this, but it really didn’t at all. We had a bad year \n" );
document.write( "last year and I knew we had to get back on track. I didn’t occupy my time at all \n" );
document.write( "about who might own the club or what was going to happen to me. I didn’t think \n" );
document.write( "about it one bit. I figured we got a job to do, and its win a lot more games \n" );
document.write( "than we won last year, and if you won enough games, everything else falls in \n" );
document.write( "place. I knew all along that the Tribune people that are running it are not \n" );
document.write( "going to sell it to somebody that’s going to take the organization backwards. So \n" );
document.write( "I felt if we do well, the next people who come in are going to continue and keep \n" );
document.write( "trying to win.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: it seemed like you \n" );
document.write( "had a bigger budget to work with this year. Did Andy MacPhail limit your ability \n" );
document.write( "to make moves the past couple of years?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "No, it was nothing to do with that. Our budget really is probably less than ten \n" );
document.write( "million dollars more this year than it was last year. Everybody keeps on \n" );
document.write( "focusing on the $300 million number, two hundred of that went to Ramirez and \n" );
document.write( "Soriano, which is spread out over five to eight years. I don’t put anything on \n" );
document.write( "the Tribune or Andy ever the last couple of years when we weren’t successful. I \n" );
document.write( "certainly had a fair budget to work with and I had enough resources to do \n" );
document.write( "better, so I blame myself more than anybody else.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: How was John \n" );
document.write( "McDonough different coming in as President of the team?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "John and I have been friends for a long time. I spent a lot of my time in his \n" );
document.write( "office over the years when I wasn’t working here. I think John had a sense of \n" );
document.write( "urgency that he wanted to try to get a lot better real quick. I think he \n" );
document.write( "certainly had an influence on some of the people at the Tribune Tower to let me \n" );
document.write( "do it the way that we did it. He let us make the decisions that I felt we needed \n" );
document.write( "to make going into the season.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: How much influence \n" );
document.write( "did Lou Piniella have on the team you put together this year?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "We kept Lou abreast, and I’m from the school that the General Manager and the \n" );
document.write( "Manager have to have a strong mutual respect, and that relationship is the most \n" );
document.write( "important one in the organization. He has to trust me that I’m going to give him \n" );
document.write( "the best ball club that I can, and I have to trust him that he’s going to do \n" );
document.write( "whatever he can every night to try to win that ball game. We had him involved in \n" );
document.write( "the organizational meetings and I kept him posted on what we’re doing, but our \n" );
document.write( "plan with our scouts, we started last July, working on what we wanted to do, and \n" );
document.write( "a lot of the things that we targeted and were acted upon were well in place \n" );
document.write( "before Lou was hired.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: It seemed like when \n" );
document.write( "Dusty Baker was here, he just wanted to manage, where as Lou seems to want to \n" );
document.write( "get his hands into everything. Was that the case?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "Not really. I treated both managers exactly the same. Myself and our front \n" );
document.write( "office and our scouts, we put the club together. Not the coaches or the manager.\n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: Did Lou Piniella \n" );
document.write( "have any role in the team trading Michael Barrett, because it seemed like he \n" );
document.write( "lost confidence in him?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "No. Michael didn’t catch well this year. Michael played well for a couple of \n" );
document.write( "years and we thought he was on the rise. His defense, unfortunately took a step \n" );
document.write( "backwards, and I think we all collectively felt like for everyone’s good, we had \n" );
document.write( "to make the change.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: Is Lou Piniella what \n" );
document.write( "you thought you were getting when you hired him?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "Absolutely. I’ve had a great first year with him. We have a close relationship \n" );
document.write( "now. He’s all about winning. He’s got the knack, some people just have it. He’s \n" );
document.write( "got the knack where the club has continued to get better. He doesn’t panic when \n" );
document.write( "things don’t go well. I find him to be cognizant of the whole organization, not \n" );
document.write( "just let me win tomorrow and the hell with everybody else. We hired a couple of \n" );
document.write( "minor league coaches. He’s obviously played our minor league system guy’s way \n" );
document.write( "more than we ever have in the history of the organization probably since Dallas \n" );
document.write( "Green was here. He has a good relationship with our farm director Oneri Fleita \n" );
document.write( "and Tim Wilken, our scouting director. He cares about how the system is and who \n" );
document.write( "we’re drafting; things that the average person on the street wouldn’t think he’s \n" );
document.write( "like that.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: Comparing his style \n" );
document.write( "with Dusty Baker, one of the things he’s done is play a lot of the young \n" );
document.write( "players, and there was always a question about Dusty not liking to play young \n" );
document.write( "ballplayers.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "It’s hard to say. The first couple of years here with Dusty were very good. Then \n" );
document.write( "we had the injuries and it got away, but I’m not really here to compare one \n" );
document.write( "against the other. The first year in ’03, we were five outs away from going to \n" );
document.write( "the Promised Land, and Dusty could have been the mayor. There’s no sense looking \n" );
document.write( "back. I had to make a change and I think we hired the right guy.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: Everyone expected \n" );
document.write( "this team to hit for power this year, and until this month, they really didn’t \n" );
document.write( "perform up to expectations. In your opinion, was it the wind patterns or was it \n" );
document.write( "more than that?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "Obviously it was a factor early, but it was for both clubs. Who knows why, it’s \n" );
document.write( "hard to describe. What we’ve been doing this last month is what I thought we \n" );
document.write( "would do. I thought we’d have a good balance of guys hitting for average and \n" );
document.write( "three or four guys hitting thirty home runs. Hopefully we’ll keep just going for \n" );
document.write( "two to six more weeks and hit for power, but a lot of the other things we were \n" );
document.write( "worried about we handled fine. Our bullpens been good, our defense has been much \n" );
document.write( "better than people thought. The thing we worried about the least ended up \n" );
document.write( "hurting us the most for awhile.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: The team has had a \n" );
document.write( "difficult time hitting in the clutch this year. Any reason you can think of for \n" );
document.write( "the difficulty hitting with runners in scoring position?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "We’ve got guys that have been hitting all their lives knocking in runs. Baseball \n" );
document.write( "is a funny game. It’s a very cyclical game. We certainly haven’t knocked in the \n" );
document.write( "runs all of the time. It’s a tough game as you know, and the average fan \n" );
document.write( "wouldn’t understand, “Gee, I wonder why they couldn’t get that guy in today from \n" );
document.write( "third.” That guy out there is paid to pitch against you too. But we haven’t done \n" );
document.write( "as well as we could have; we haven’t been able to blow some games open. But I \n" );
document.write( "think we’re getting hot at the right time, and from where we were in May, I \n" );
document.write( "think we would take where we are today. We were probably one or two weeks away \n" );
document.write( "from being in a disastrous situation, and Lou really helped right the ship. I’m \n" );
document.write( "a big believer in it’s not how you start, its how you finish. So if we swing the \n" );
document.write( "bats well in the next few weeks here, all of those days when we didn’t get the \n" );
document.write( "runs in will be forgotten.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: When you signed \n" );
document.write( "Alfonso Soriano, was he promised he would get to bat lead-off? \n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "He asked us where we wanted to hit him and Lou and I both told him one. And I \n" );
document.write( "think that’s where he should hit. His numbers in his career have been better \n" );
document.write( "when he hits one. It’s easy to say why don’t you hit him three, four, or five, \n" );
document.write( "he knocks in more runs. When he’s hit in those positions in the past, he hasn’t \n" );
document.write( "knocked in the runs. Has he had a super - superstar year – no. He’s had a solid \n" );
document.write( "year. He’s been hurt a couple of times. He’s got twenty-seven home runs now; I \n" );
document.write( "think he’ll get into the thirties. (The interview was conducted September 18th.) \n" );
document.write( "And I think you’ll see a guy next year who gets back well into the forties. I \n" );
document.write( "have no problem with him hitting one.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: Ryan Theriot has \n" );
document.write( "been a key player for the team this year? Coming into the season, it seemed he \n" );
document.write( "was thought of as more of a utility player. Is he better than the organization \n" );
document.write( "evaluated he was going to be?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "No, he’s exactly what we thought we had. He earned the job. We thought Izturis \n" );
document.write( "was going to be better than he was. This guy won a gold glove a few years ago. \n" );
document.write( "We loved Ryan, we just wanted to get a deeper ball club, and we’re certainly \n" );
document.write( "glad we did. A lot of people thought, “Oh why did you sign DeRosa?” “You’ve got \n" );
document.write( "Theriot.” I don’t think we have to answer that question anymore. DeRosa had \n" );
document.write( "played right field well, he’s played third base great, he’s played second base \n" );
document.write( "well. It wasn’t a question of anything about Ryan; it was a question of getting \n" );
document.write( "better. You can’t have too many good players. And the people that deserve to \n" );
document.write( "play, they end up playing, and that’s what Ryan did. He kept his mouth shut, \n" );
document.write( "didn’t b**** about who we signed, went to spring training, earned Lou’s respect, \n" );
document.write( "beat out Izturis and won the job. That’s the way it should be.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: He (Theriot) seems \n" );
document.write( "to be the first position player drafted by the organization that has come up and \n" );
document.write( "done well right from the start. Is there any reason why the organization has \n" );
document.write( "such a tough time developing position players?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "We’ve probably drafted more pitchers. I think we’re fifth in the game in major \n" );
document.write( "league players produced since 1995. You said Ryan’s had success early; Ryan was \n" );
document.write( "almost released in Double A. It’s been a long grind for Ryan Theriot. He was \n" );
document.write( "drafted in 2001. I think the farm system speaks for itself now. Who has three \n" );
document.write( "starting pitchers (Zambrano, Hill, and Marshall) in their rotation that are home \n" );
document.write( "grown out of five? At one point this year, we had fourteen players in the dugout \n" );
document.write( "that were home grown players. Our farm system doesn’t have to apologize to \n" );
document.write( "anyone. We’ve contributed from our system probably as much as almost anyone in \n" );
document.write( "the National League this year besides Arizona.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: You mentioned that \n" );
document.write( "the organization concentrated on drafting pitching more than position players \n" );
document.write( "for several years. It seems like a lot of the pitchers that were drafted in the \n" );
document.write( "first or second rounds have either been released or traded, or in the case of \n" );
document.write( "Donnie Veal and Grant Johnson, not performing up to expectations. How come there \n" );
document.write( "hasn’t been more impact at the major league level from the pitchers you drafted?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "It’s baseball. You don’t draft ten guys in the first ten rounds and they all \n" );
document.write( "become superstars. So you can take that sheet that you’re asking the questions \n" );
document.write( "from and just about attack twenty-five other clubs. It’s a tough business. It \n" );
document.write( "isn’t like football or basketball where you get picked in the second round and \n" );
document.write( "you go right to the NFL and you start. You’ve got to work your way up the ladder \n" );
document.write( "and a lot of things can go wrong.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: Carlos Zambrano is \n" );
document.write( "obviously a very good pitcher, but it seems like he should be even better than \n" );
document.write( "he is right now. How much does Larry Rothschild have to do with the success of \n" );
document.write( "the pitching staff, and how much responsibility does the pitching coach have for \n" );
document.write( "the success or failure of the pitching staff?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "The guys still have to go out there and pitch. Larry’s one of the top five guys \n" );
document.write( "in the game. We get calls every year people want to hire Larry away from us. \n" );
document.write( "Carlos is twenty-five, twenty-six years old. He’s shown signs of greatness, he’s \n" );
document.write( "had some hiccups along the way, he’s had some immature days. I think he’ll get \n" );
document.write( "better and better. I know our pitching staff is in good hands. You can’t fool \n" );
document.write( "the players. If you go down there and take a survey of the twelve pitchers in \n" );
document.write( "the dugout, they’ll tell you they think the world of Larry Rothschild, and \n" );
document.write( "that’s good enough for me.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: Does a pitching \n" );
document.write( "coach have a lot of effect on how good a pitcher can become?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "He can make a difference. Preparation, and knowing the hitters around the \n" );
document.write( "league, making people better, making people learn how to handle adversity. Look \n" );
document.write( "at the improvement Marmol’s made, look at the improvement Rich Hill’s made, \n" );
document.write( "Marshall’s made a big jump up, Ted Lilly’s better than he’s ever been, Marquis’ \n" );
document.write( "on the comeback trail from a disastrous year. Bobby Howry’s never pitched this \n" );
document.write( "well, Dempster got converted to a closer and has done a good job. Larry’s done a \n" );
document.write( "lot of good things.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: You mentioned Cesar \n" );
document.write( "Izturis earlier who you got in the trade for Greg Maddux last year from the \n" );
document.write( "Dodgers. He’s no longer with the team and right now you have nothing to show \n" );
document.write( "from that trade. (The Cubs are owed a player in November.) Was there any thought \n" );
document.write( "when you made the trade to ask for some top minor league players from the \n" );
document.write( "Dodgers, because they have one of baseballs’ deeper systems?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "No, we talked about it. There’s a few guys you weren’t going to get. Greg was \n" );
document.write( "going to be there for a couple of months, which he was. Greg and I worked the \n" );
document.write( "deal together. Greg had a few teams he would go to. I helped Greg. Greg helped \n" );
document.write( "us. Ask twenty-nine people in Major League baseball, nobody ever thought a year \n" );
document.write( "later Cesar Izturis would be sitting on somebody’s bench. He was a good player \n" );
document.write( "that had a regression year and he’s now playing in Pittsburgh. At the time, it \n" );
document.write( "was a good deal for us.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: Has any player on \n" );
document.write( "the team really surprised you this year with how well they’ve done?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "We always loved him and we thought he was going to be good but I think Marmol’s \n" );
document.write( "progress has been phenomenal. I think he changed the whole ball club, the way \n" );
document.write( "the pen sets up. Theriot winning the job at short. We thought Theriot would get \n" );
document.write( "a lot of playing time but not necessarily every day at short. Fontenot came out \n" );
document.write( "of nowhere. We didn’t even have him at big league camp. He helped us for a \n" );
document.write( "couple of months, but I think Marmol would be the most important. I think that \n" );
document.write( "the whole bullpen changed once he came up here and got established.
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "TH: I know you have to \n" );
document.write( "be happy with the team with where they’re at right now in the playoff race. Have \n" );
document.write( "you had any thoughts for yourself in the future beyond this year with the team \n" );
document.write( "up for sale?
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "JH: \n" );
document.write( "No, I’m not worried about it. We’ve got to win here, that’s all. I come from the \n" );
document.write( "school that I’m going to come to work everyday and do the best I can, and \n" );
document.write( "hopefully some day, we’re having a parade at the end of the year. I can’t \n" );
document.write( "control who’s going to own the club, or who they might want to be the GM. So \n" );
document.write( "there’s no sense worrying about it.
\n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "| \n" );
document.write( " \n" );
document.write( "Archives:\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "A Fan Speaks Out and The Heckler &" );
document.write( "nbsp; | \n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "| \n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( " | \n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "Add\n" );
document.write( "This Column To Your Site for free
\n" );
document.write( "Visit SportzNutz.com\n" );
document.write( "for more great columns and opinion
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "| \n" );
document.write( " \n" );
document.write( "Network\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "Sponsors | \n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "SportzNutz Columnist Darrell Horwitz isn’t shy when it comes to “A Fan Speaking \n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "Out”… he holds nothing back and tells it like it is, from a fan’s perspective. \n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "A Chicago native, Darrell is a lifelong Cubs and Bulls fan. Along with his\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "“A Fan Speaks Out” column, Darrell is the fan \n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "writer for the\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "Chicago Cubs, \n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "here on SportzNutz. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to \n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "email Darrell at\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "darrell.horwitz@nutzworld.net
\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "" );