Gould is Gold!

The FIRST article I read today is so perfect for me I could barely stand it. And that's really good since I have a full days worth of filling to do here in the Bronson County Courthouse, lots of DWI arrests this weekend. So let me thank Herb Gould for making today's post easy (and maybe he even left us a little bonus at the end):

Ricketts should find a new Cubs management team

If I'm Tom Ricketts, I'm not saying much. But here's what I'm doing: I'm spending all my time trying to figure out how to right the Cubs' listing ship.
My first order of business is finding a new management team. General manager Jim Hendry and manager Lou Piniella have had their moments, but somebody else needs to be given a turn in 2011.

Exactly! Finally someone who gets it. Running a baseball team is equivalent to being a hall monitor. Jamie gets to be one this week, then Kevin next week. It's only fair everyone gets a chance to fail as a Cubs manager.

There's no point in firing and hiring now. Just let this season play out while making a few player moves that point toward next season.

At this point I'd like to say that pretty much EVERYONE already knows this is Lou's last season at Wrigley. So this is not really news, they were going to need a new manager anyway.

After all, it's the Cubs. Waiting till next year is a way of life.

Ha! Way to break out the new material. The Cubs...waiting till next year...it's comic GOULD!!!! (To be fair this guy is not a comedic professional like I am, just a really poor sports columnist. Also I think that's like the 20th time I've used that joke on this blog.)

If I'm Tom Ricketts, I'm talking quietly with a whole bunch of baseball people to find my next GM.

Good idea. The Wrigley's old plan was to consult a mighty oracle they called "Matthaeus" which consisted of a Apple IIGS that their son spilled Coke on (Those old computers could handle a beating I tells ya!).

I want a man with a plan, someone who understands baseball and has a grasp of the obstacles that have made success on the North Side so elusive.

I can't wait to read what Gould thinks the obstacles are. Maybe a lack or organizational commitment to developing patient young hitters? Overusing young pitchers and burning them out?

Things such as a smallish old ballpark,

Nope. Just dumb. That has nothing to do with it at all. At least use the "too many day games" argument.

a long championship drought

Wow. Not winning in of itself has made success elusive. That's analysis is just Gould! (Yes I will keep using that joke.)

and fans who show up, win or lose, which creates an unusual business model.

Bwaahahaha. I don't even know where to begin. So success is elusive because the Cubs organization is successful at drawing crowds and making money? I bet the A's wish that was their problem. And I guarantee that Gould won't explain what the unusual business model is. Guarantee!

If I'm Tom Ricketts, I know this:

"I should not listen to Herb Gould."

The same principles that led to success in the family e-trade business can be applied in the baseball business. That's why I'm having some long lunches with Rocky Wirtz, who applied his business savvy to the Blackhawks.

That's relatively sensible, though you could also try dining with people who have been successful in baseball...just a thought.

My goal is to win a World Series, but I understand that begins with a good organization. And other than maybe 10 minutes on Dallas Green's watch, the last time the Cubs had a certifiably good organization, FDR was trying to pack the Supreme Court.
Only when I have my GM in place do I look at whether Ryne Sandberg is the right guy to manage. Or whether Joe Girardi or someone with more experience is a better choice to handle all the perils of guiding the Cubs to their first championship in more than a century.
Here are some things my new GM and manager are going to do:
• They're going to understand that thriving in clutch situations and baseball IQ count.

Both of those are codes for, we want to sign David Eckstein and Juan Pierre. Have fun with that. I do agree that "clutch" exists in some way. And baseball IQ is important, but I see no evidence the Cubs have ignored either of those. Gould, of course, doesn't provide any either.

• They're going to hire coaches who teach players about the fundamentals of the game and help them cope with the pressures of the game. No more deer-in-the-headlights performances such as that playoff loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. You can lose, but you can't look like third-graders doing it.

1. Pro ball players really should have learned the fundamentals already. 2. How does a coach teach them to cope with the pressures of the game? Oh yeah, ocean noise tapes in the batting helmets, great idea.

• They aren't going to play games with Milton Bradleys.

Oh no, there's more than one Milton Bradley? God save us all.

• They're going to read and understand players such as Carlos Zambrano and either figure out a way to keep them on the right path or deal them before they're damaged goods.

Everyone understands Zambrano...he's nuts.

• They're going to put players such as Alfonso Soriano in a class called Quality At-Bats 101.

Not a bad idea actually. Coaching your players on how to approach the game. Novel approach.

• They're going to bring out the best in players because that's what good organizations do -- and what the Cubs haven't done for way too long.

Well they did go get Aramis Ramirez and Derek Lee, both who have performed well. They got Bradley when he was a highly sought after free agent. It's not actually as simple as just getting the best players. Even the Yankees don't always do that.

And that starts at the top.
If I'm a Cubs fan, I want an organization I can believe in -- for a change. And I have a hunch Ricketts is going to get it right.

Super!!

And now a bonus from Gould:

A football guy

I was glad to see Derek Jeter mention that George Steinbrenner brought a football mentality to baseball. I've thought of the legendary New York Yankees owner as a football guy for 25 years.

HA! No one reading this could possibly believe that. As if Gould really sat around telling his friends, "Man, that George is a football guy if I ever saw one."
"But he owns a baseball team," Gould's Buddy replies.
"Yup, football guy," Gould sips his Country Time Lemonade.
"But what does that mean?"
Gould just looks away and whispers to himself, "Football...guy..."

In December 1985, when Notre Dame football was about as low as it could be, I listened to Steinbrenner give a moving speech at the Irish's football banquet. They were coming off a 5-6 season that ended Gerry Faust's five-year run at the school and had been whipped 58-7 in their final game that season at Miami.
Paraphrasing 17th-century poet and playwright John Dryden, Steinbrenner said: ''You're a little wounded, but you are not slain. You will lay down to bleed awhile. Then you'll rise and fight again.''
He kept coming back to those words in an understated but effective way that Knute Rockne would have admired. You couldn't help but feel the swell of emotion in the room.
Steinbrenner, who had proved he knew comedy on ''Saturday Night Live,'' showed he knew drama on that night in South Bend, Ind.
Three years later, the Irish won a national championship.

I can't believe he doesn't realize how absurd this is. I mean 3/4ths of the players wouldn't even be on the team anymore. I'm guessing it had more to do with their coach Lou Holtz and his "brilliant coaching strategy" (from wikipedia):

University of Minnesota: Years later, the NCAA placed Minnesota on two years probation for 17 rule violations, two of which were committed by Holtz during his tenure.
Notre Dame: Following an investigation in 1999, the NCAA placed Notre Dame on two-years probation for extra benefits provided by a representative of the university to football players and one instance of academic fraud. The NCAA found that Holtz and members of his staff learned of the violations but failed to make appropriate inquiry or to take prompt action, finding Holtz's efforts "inadequate".

Come to think of it, considering Holtz's reputation, those players probably still were on the team 3 years later...Go Irish!

Case Closed.

EDIT:
Per "A Man Named Scott":

"One note-Cubs fans have stopped showing up to the games, and ticket sales are down. Revenues are down, and their bullshit resale ticket company certainly isn't pulling in much money these days. The Cubs fans are letting management know our distaste for this team."

Too many coaching articles Part II

Everyone is still obsessed with pro football coaches. When do pitchers and catchers report?

Too many coaching articles...

Every single NFL article recently seems to be about coaching changes. Important info, but they do not make for fun articles to rip apart.

Rick Snider makes a classic bad move...

...by writing an article that I can tear into. It's good, cause today I had a few to choose from after a weekend of very little. I was getting worried, but today I came across about 3 articles I can, shall we say, dissect for your pleasure. Let's start with my boy Rickey, or Ricky, (I'm not sure if he prefers '-ey' or just 'y'). He's a columnist for the Washington Examiner and has some strong opinions on the hiring of Mike Shanahan. As usual his words in italics, mine in regular typeface. Here we go:

Snyder makes another classic bad move by hiring Shanahan

Make no bones about it people, Dan Snyder gets beat on by the Washington media pretty regularly. In fact, it's become such a habit I think they've pretty much forgotten all about the Nationals. Not really a surprise I guess.

Mike Shanahan is a classic move by Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder. And, a typically bad one.

I guess Rick is not going to bother to list his other bad moves. Maybe he assumes people in Washington already know the list like:
- trading draft picks for older players
- Joe Gibbs (in retrospect)
- Steve Spurrier
- charging fans for tailgating
- baning signs made by fans

A headline-grabbing hire is great for selling season tickets, corporate sponsorships and jerseys. A $35 million contract validates the owner's reputation of overpaying for past performance. Someone with titles won elsewhere whose resume overshadows Snyder's poor stewardship once more lends hope to the Burgundy Revolution.

K this whole myth about selling season tickets with a coaching hire is unfounded. I mean, almost every NFL team sells out every home game, there's only 8 a year barring the playoffs. The only team who didn't is arguably the worst team in the league and located in the most economically depressed city in the country, the Lions. So he didn't get Shanahan just to sell tickets. Jersey's? Seriously? A lot of people running around with Bill Walsh jersey's in San Fran? Or Lovie Smith jersey's in Chicago?
Shanahan has won 3 Super Bowls (one as an offensive coordinator). He doesn't seem like a terrible choice. Maybe he's overpaid, I don't really know what an NFL coach is worth money-wise, but Rick is yet to give a solid reason why it's a bad deal.

But is Shanahan the right choice?

Did you not read your last paragraph. That's the point of the whole article.

The former Denver Broncos coach himself is 11 years from winning two straight titles. It has been a long time since both sides tasted success.

Well he brings up that it has been a while since Shanahan won a title, a valid point, maybe the game has passed him by and he doesn't know how to win in today's NFL...

So long they may have forgotten the feel of that silver trophy in their hands.

...or that. Though I'm sure the Broncos would let him hold one of the trophy's he won in the 90's if he's really forgotten.

But Snyder should have waited for a full field of candidates rather than impatiently bidding on the leader. Bill Cowher finally came sniffing around only to receive a cold reception from Snyder, who was tired of courting the former Pittsburgh coach. Between Cowher and Shanahan, I take Cowher.
If Jon Gruden could have been swayed, he's the choice. If Tennessee had been stupid enough to part with Jeff Fisher, I'd knock down anyone in the way to get him.

Apparently Rick would have hired some sort of Cerberus with the heads of Cowher/Gruden/Fisher. I can't imagine what that would have cost, but the corporate sponsorship opportunities would have been endless.

It's hard to dismiss the pick. But predecessors Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier and Joe Gibbs seemed superb choices at the time. All left mission unaccomplished. Why will Shanahan be any different?

Why would ANYONE be any different? I have no idea what Shanahan's plans are for the future of the Redskins are, but I'm scared of them thanks to Rick Snider. I'm talking Glen Beck scared...
Case Closed!