The 2003 season changed Cubs' fans lives forever.
We all know about Steve Bartman, Moises Alou, Alex Gonzalez, Mark Prior, and Dusty Baker in Game Six of the 2003 NLCS.
Each of them had a role in the epic collapse, and each has left a sour taste in the mouths of Cubs fans.
The one man who nobody talks about is the GM at the time, Jim Hendry.
Hendry, who is sitting on a hot seat right now, has taken a lot of criticism in the past six months regarding the roster he put together. After back-to-back division championships, Hendry's 2009 Cubs "failed" by only winning 85 games and missing the playoffs.
New owner Tom Ricketts has closed the checkbook as of now, making Hendry's job a lot harder this offseason. Some have speculated that Hendry isn't here for long, but assuming he is released in the next 10 months, the legacy he leaves is quite great.
It's not easy to evaluate a GM from a fan's perspective. Fans don't truly understand the job, and there are a lot of external factors that play into every move. The owners, coaches, and players all have somewhat of a say into personnel moves. But the job of the GM is to evaluate what's right for his team, and if it fails, he is ultimately responsible.
Hendry assembled a 2003 roster that was filled with talent. Kerry Wood, Prior, and Carlos Zambrano made up a great/young part of the rotation. Joe Borowski came out of nowhere to save 33 games, and Kyle Farnsworth was on top of his game. Hendry acquired Aramis Ramirez to hit fifth behind Sammy Sosa and Alou and acquired Kenny Lofton to play center field for the injured Corey Patterson.
Five outs away, the Cubs were suddenly the team of destiny. This was the team that was going to break the curse. This was the team that was going to win the World Series.
Then the world came crashing down on the Cubs, and many Cubs fans.
Cubs fans have been bitter ever since, always remembering 2003. Before 2003, nobody booed. Before 2003, Cubs fans were pretty peaceful and never really expecting much. They were "lovable losers."
Now look at us, a little more than six years later. After three division titles and four seasons of over .500 baseball, we're complaining that moves aren't made before the rules allow, we're complaining that there's nothing going on in November, and we're complaining that we're going to suck in 2010.
We feel as if we deserve something after all the letdowns of prior seasons, when in reality, we aren't deserving of anything.
Baseball is a form of entertainment, and Hendry brought that back to the North Side of Chicago. The excitement of winning paired with the disappointment of losing has been too much to take for some, and that's why the bitterness exists.
Before you just complain about Hendry and show him the door, take a look at what he's done for the Cubs organization. Although this year sucked, it's a blessing to complain about 85 wins. C'mon, Pittsburgh hasn't won 85 games since Barry Bonds left.
His 2008-09 offseason was bad in hindsight, but you can't ever fault the guy for working his tail off to get the best players to Chicago. He signed a guy (Ted Lilly) while he was in the hospital. That's the grittiness all Cubs fans love, and for some reason, everyone forgets it.
He may not be the right man to work with Ricketts, but let's look at the stamp he's left on the team. The bad contracts are awful, but nobody talks about the change in culture.
That's why this Thanksgiving, I'm giving thanks to Jim Hendry.
H/T to ACB—http://www.anothercubsblog.net/
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments