Missing the Point

Cubs Chronicle responds to a article from Rick Morissey about the Cubs not pushing hard enough for Beltran. While Cubs Chronicle says he is glad the Cubs did not go as far as the Mets, the whole point Morissey tries to make is that the Cubs were delusional into thinking a top flight free agent would actually want to come to Chicago.

They kept waiting for him to demonstrate interest in them. They wanted him to say he yearned to play in Wrigley Field, to play day baseball, to be part of something special. They wanted him to show emotional commitment. They wanted him to say he longed to be part of the 2005 team that won a World Series and washed away all that unpleasant history. They hoped he wanted to be a Cub so much he would be willing to work relatively cheaply.

The problem in this whole thing is the Cubs never went out and showed Carlos Beltran the love. Jim Hendry never bothered to get off his fat ass and meet Carlos Beltran and sell him on the Chicago Cubs. That is part of Jim Hendry's job isn't? Sell the franchise to other players to get them on board? Or did that part of the job elude Hendry?

Meanwhile the Mets were doing this...

When general manager Omar Minaya decided the Mets had a shot at Beltran, the team went after him aggressively.

"Starting at Thanksgiving, they called me 31 straight days," agent Scott Boras said. "They checked in every day, asking where Carlos was at [in his thinking], saying they wanted Carlos. I would tell Carlos every day, 'The Mets called again.' And again. And again."

Beltran was impressed. Then came the visit.

Beltran was wowed by the visit, especially the sincerity of Mets owner Fred Wilpon.

"He told me, 'If you're happy in Houston, stay in Houston,' " Beltran said. " 'If you want the big stage, come to New York. Sign with the Yankees or sign with us.' He gave me options. He showed me the kind of person he is."

Where was Jim Hendry? Where were the Cubs calls? I am not an idiot but when a franchise is checking in with you everyday their owner wants to meet you, their General Manager wants to you, hmmmm the Mets start looking good.

Then you see a 5 year $75 million dollar offer from the Cubs and no phone calls, no one in the Cubs organization setting up meetings. On top of that you see how the Cubs organization treats its players and the way the team acted. Oh and the Mets have actually won and been to a World Series in recent history.

I am not saying Beltran would of taken that deal, but I bet he would of seriously considered it if Jim Hendry and the Cubs actually made an effort to make him feel wanted.

And what Rick Morissey says is the straight up truth about the way the Cubs are run and the way they think. The Cubs think everyone wants to play for them, play in Wrigley. They expect everyone to take below market offers and then expect that player to be honored to don a Cubs uniform.

Another alternative, a very unpleasant alternative, is that the Cubs never really wanted Beltran but were concerned they would take a huge public-relations hit for not trying.

Plan B, if there is a Plan B, would have the Cubs signing Magglio Ordonez. Expect the Cubs to look for the Chicago discount with Ordonez, the former White Sox star. Expect it not to work. The agent of darkness also represents Ordonez.

Like I said before the Cubs never wanted Beltran. If you want a player you atleast meet with him. The Cubs never even bothered to schedule a meeting. And I have said this for years, the Cubs love to low ball players. That is why this franchise over the last 20 years, probably the last 90 years, has a pathetic record in getting the top players in the league.

If you think winning 88 and 89 games in back to back years suddenly erases the Cubs image as losers you might want to re-think that. For most of the last 96 years the Cubs have been the place to go with no hope of ever winning a World Series. And if Beltran wants to win a World Series then he made the correct choice of going to the New York Mets.

It may be a bitter pill to swallow but if I had equal offers on the table from the Brewers or the Cubs I would probably choose the Brewers. Some how, some way, the Cubs always seem to punk out or screw it up. They have only been doing it for the last 96 years. I am sure in most professional baseball players minds going to the Cubs is just like going to Detroit or Tampa. All have the same amount of odds of winning a World Series as the Cubs do.

Make no mistake this franchise is still a joke in most peoples minds. Last year didn't help that image much. The image needs to change through out the organization. They need to convince not only their fans but all of baseball that the Cubs are serious about winning. And the Carlos Beltran offer shows the Cubs are still jokes. Still a franchise you can't put your faith into. Still a franchise not serious about winning.

I am just looking for any sign the Cubs are serious about getting to a World Series. But all I see are the same moves they made when they were in last place. Sign tons of crappy middle infielders like Cody Ransom, get questionable bullpen arms and take on all the rehab and reclamation projects in hopes of finding something useful from the garbage pile. Unless that has changed recently it looks like the same SOP from the last 20 years. Take no risk as GM, then no one can say I made a bad deal. And if one of my crappy players has 1 good season I look like the greatest GM! Never mind the fact they rarely have a good 2nd, 3rd or 4th years.

Call me bitter, but this off-season is coming out almost exactly how I predicted. Another failure by the organization to fix the offense. I am not surprised, just wishing the Cubs would prove me wrong about their free agent philosophy.