Jim Hendry out as Chicago Cubs GM

So much for that dreaded vote of confidence. This is yet more proof that not much has changed with the Chicago Cubs. They may have a new owner, but things remain business as usual. Days after giving General Manger Jim Hendry a vote of confidence, and allowing him to work with the team through the trade deadline and the signing of this year’s draft picks we come to find out that he was actually fired form the organization almost a month ago. Why the Cubs went through all of the work to say he was staying on with the team is beyond me.

While I wrote a piece few days ago highlighting Hendry’s wins as Cubs GM, there have certainly been a lot of missteps along the way. He has handed out a lot of bad contracts, and his Cubs teams have underachieved in regards to how much payroll has been spent on them. This is a very similar situation to what has gone on in Detroit with the Detroit Tigers in roughly the same time period.

In 2011 the Cubbies have the seventh largest payroll, and they are in fifth place in their division, that is not good. In 2010 they had the third largest payroll, and they finished 75-87 and in fifth place in their division. Unlike Dave Dombrowski and the Tigers, Hendry’s Cubs teams have won three national titles in the last ten years. So we cannot say his reign as GM was a complete failure.

For now, Randy Bush will be the interim GM. Whoever ends up taking over has a decent shot at turning things around quickly since around 30 million dollars is coming off the books after 2011.