I haven't posted anything since the "Santo statue game" on August 10th. I've been busy, distracted, bored, uninspired. Not even the surreal (or possibly just not real) departure of Carlos Zambrano wasn't enough. When it seemed long past the time to post something, I always found something else to do and couldn't figure out why.
But then on Friday came the news that, at long last, Jim Hendry would be leaving his job at Cubs GM. Finally, I had an excuse for more than a week of haiku silence. Obviously, the continued presence of Jim Hendry made it impossible for me to compose anything in haiku about the Cubs.
I suspect Hendry's going to be a scapegoat for the Ricketts moving into the offseason - Tim McGinnis of Obstructed View predicted it on his old Aisle 424 blog near the end of the 2010 season, and others agree - so why shouldn't he be my scapegoat, too?
He was reportedly fired almost a month ago, but Ricketts had Hendry stick around until the trade deadline passed and minor league draft picks were signed. And Hendry says he didn't pursue any trades because he thought that was a job for the next guy. The strange way in which this dismissal was handles could indicate, as Mike Imrem suggests in the Daily Herald, that the Cubs owner is in over his head.
I know lots of Cubs fans who, like me, believed that Ricketts's faith in Hendry was a mistake and are happy to see him go. But Ricketts shouldn't try to convince us - like he tried to convince us that the team's only problem earlier this year was a rash of injuries - that a new GM alone is going to fix the team.
Trading Fukudome while we could still get something in return was a good start. Holding the line and letting Zambrano loose would be a good second step. And, as Phil Rogers writes in the Tribune, it would be great to if Ricketts would show Crane Kenney the door.
Hopefully, the next GM will continue with more change we can believe in.
Haikus should be restricted to teams with one or more Japanese players.