With September here, it’s only a month away from the Cubs starting the only season that matters to them this year—hunting season for a new general manager. And according to all reports, Cub owner Tom Ricketts is hunting big game.
You keep hearing Andrew Friedman, Brian Cashman, Theo Epstein and Billy Beane’s names thrown out there.
Cashman and Friedman will be available once the season is over, while Epstein has a year left on his contract, and Beane owns a piece of the A’s and is signed through 2014.
Epstein is an intriguing figure. Having broken the Bambino’s curse, would he be brave enough to take on the billy goat?
Others came close before him in Boston, but in Chicago, we’re not playing with hand grenades – because the Cubs haven’t been close enough to cause collateral damage.
He is exactly what Tom Ricketts described when talking about what he was looking for in a new GM. The problem is he would probably want a title that has president in it.
Normally a team will let you out of your contract if you are bettering yourself, but moving laterally doesn’t fit that criterion. Would he really want to leave his favorite team growing up, along with deep pockets for the challenge that is the Chicago Cubs?
While I would love him, I don’t see that happening.
Speaking of deep pockets, there is talk Cashman is ready to leave the Yankees because he is tired of working for the Steinbrenner boys. He’s had a lot of success in New York, but he inherited a stacked team, and has unlimited funds that nobody else can match.
You have to ask if he is as good a GM as his record indicates. It’s easy to build a team when you can pay for your mistakes to go away. He’s not going to have that in Chicago.
The question is if he really is that good a general manager. I don’t think he’s good enough to break the curse in Chicago, and I would take a pass.
That brings up to my choice—Andrew Friedman. The word is that he is very comfortable in Tampa.
THIS IS NOT MY COMPLETED ARTICLE. I PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED THAT EVERYTHING AFTER THIS DISAPPEARED TO THE EDITOR, AND THEY DELETED THE MESSAGE AND LEFT MY ARTICLE AS-IS ON THIS SITE. IT HAPPENED NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE. I DELVED INTO MY THOUGHTS ON FRIEDMAN AND BEANE. I WAS GOING TO REDO THE ARTICLE FOR A THIRD TIME TONIGHT, BUT AFTER THE EXTENSION FOR ONERI FLEITA TODAY, I DON’T THINK IT MAKES SENSE ANY LONGER, BECAUSE I THINK BIG-NAME GM’S ARE NOW OUT OF THE MIX. IF I CHANGE MY MIND AND HAVE SOME TIME, I’LL FINISH IT, OTHERWISE, SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE, BUT IT WASN’T MY FAULT, IT WAS BLEACHER REPORTS.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com