Cubs Positional Breakdown: Coaching

Manager: Lou Piniella
'Sweet Lou' has led the Cubs to three consecutive winning seasons.  The personality of a guy like Lou with his confidence, old-school style is a good fit for the Cubs after Dusty Baker completely messed up the talents that he did have.  Piniella becomes fiery at times, but the Cubs needed that to help them rebound in the drastic 2007 turnaround.  He is a numbers guy who knows who to trust and is very substitution savvy, playing guys at the right time.  A record of 265-219 as manager has gotten Cub fans behind him.  Two postseason appearance no shows can't be blamed on Piniella, as his top hitters (Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez) decided to hit in one of the worst three game stretches all season for each.  Piniella enters 2010 with a newfound depth from the minor league system and the same talent as when the 2008 Cubs were the best team in the National League (97-64).


General Manager: Jim Hendry
Hendry knows how to get a deal done.  Even after an NL-worst 96-loss season in 2006, Hendry refused to fall into rebuilding mode and instead continued to add to the winning nucleus that still remained.  Such players as Carlos Zambrano, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirez could have been traded away for prospects for the future, but Hendry came right back with big signings and get the Cubs a worst to first finish in 2007.  He is also a player at the deadline, acquiring Ramirez and Kenny Lofton in 2003 in his most famed deadline deal.  While he may not be the best GM in baseball, he does know how to assemble a winning team and is not afraid to spend the money to do so.


Hitting Coach: Rudy Jaramillo
A hitting deity in the baseball world, Jaramillo has been known to take players one-on-one and analyse each swing, doctoring an individual prescription to best achieve success for each player.  Although Gerald Perry and Von Joshua were good coaches, Jaramillo is the best.  That one-on-one strategy will be key in getting Geovany Soto, Mike Fontenot, Alfonso Soriano, and others get back on track while just improving and getting the most out of everyone else.  Jaramillo's former teams in Texas were always among the league leaders in runs and any player from down there can tell you how good this guy is, notably Ian Kinsler, whose All-Star career was saved by his work with Rudy.  The 2008 Cubs were 2nd in MLB in runs, and guess who was 1st?  Watch for an offensive rebound in a big way in 2010.


Pitching Coach: Larry Rothschild
Until 2009, Cubs pitching staffs had led the league in strikeouts for eight consecutive years.  Eight!  That tied a National League record.  It took more than Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Carlos Marmol, Rich Harden, and Carlos Zambrano to set that.  Rothschild has been very good coming out to the mound and calming a pitcher down, especially his relievers.  I think Rothschild and the Cubs were a were quicker than they should have been on hooking their starters in the later innings, I would hope that the wave has gone through them.  Kevin Gregg let a lot of games get away from the Cubs, part of the problems that plagued them early in 2009.  With a great staff of Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, Randy Wells, and the undecided 5th starter, Rothschild will once again lead a strikeout-plenty, wins-plenty group.


Owner: Tom Ricketts (and family trust)
Although I can't really grade the Ricketts versus the rest of the owners in baseball, I can tell you what an owner can do.  An owner can send a franchise in the right direction, hire the right personnel in the office, get more revenue from their venue, made additions and subtractions from the venue, just to name a few.  Ricketts has done all this and more already even before the beginning of his first season.  A new marketing campaign, extensive Wrigley Field renovations, lucrative Wrigley Field expansion projects, and a new hope in a historic franchise highlights the ownership so far.  The planned 'Triangle Building' and surrounding plaza, which will have player and fan benefits, will turn Wrigley into a state of the art facility while still keeping the old tradition that has made it famous.  I couldn't have drawn up a better time for all of this to happen, because with all of the talent already on the roster, the Cubs are ready to do big things, and right now.

Silva Lining Despite Bradley Fail

As we approach the end of a wild 2009, most Cub fans are excited to turn the page onto a fresh, new season. Jim Hendry has already done some shopping and now he looks to add to a team that is just a piece or two away from getting back to 2008-style Cubs Baseball. To the relief of many, Milton Bradley was finally traded when it looked like all possibilities had frozen, to Seattle for on-field troubled right-hander Carlos Silva and cash. The deal is actually amazing in my opinion, because of the salary offset solution. Bradley and Silva are two players with very overpaid contracts and neither have lived up to their lofty expectations. Bradley, coming off an All-Star season in 2008 in Texas, was signed to a $30 million contract over 3 years. Silva, after moderate success in Minnesota, was signed to a 4-year, $48 million contract with Seattle. Silva went 4-15 in 2008, frustrating fans in Seattle even further while they suffered through an 100-loss season. In 2009, he was injured for the majority of the season, returning briefly to pitch poorly with an ERA over 6.

The salary offset I was talking about is that the Mariners will send $3 million to the Cubs for each of the next three years to help offset the differences between the two contracts, so its as if the players we traded have the exact same salary. I'm sure Silva will be working with Larry Rothschild this spring very much to become the pitcher that won 47 games over 4 years with the Twins. Silva is a sinker-baller who doesn't strike out many. In fact, hardly anyone at all. Although sinker-ballers are well-suited for Wrigley Field, Silva has struck out just 474 batters in 1128.2 innings in his career. Larry Rothschild and the rest of the Cubs staff will be hard on Silva to be a relevant pitcher again. There is a chance he could make the Cubs' starting rotation out of Spring Training, but it is a long shot. I don't think this is the right move. This guy, like he has been for most of his career, is an overweight, overvalued hurler who is not ready to step onto the big stage of Chicago and perform, especially after his last two seasons. If he makes the team, and again IF, then he needs to be put in the bullpen in and used in situations with no danger. This means being used in the role Rule 5 pick David Patton was used in last season where you use the person only with a big lead or when you are well behind. If he performs well, then we can put him in the mix with the middle relievers.

As for Milton Bradley, I see him having a bounceback in Seattle. Although the off-field issues will always be there, a calming leader presence like Ken Griffey, Jr. will continue to mentor Bradley on how to handle himself on and off the field. You might hear that line a lot for young rookies being mentored by veterans, but for a guy like Bradley, mentoring should never get old. With Bradley and Griffey, Jr. the Seattle Mariners are really on their way. The AL West will be one of the most exciting divisions in 2010, and the most surprising players in the free agent market could make a run for the wild card or (gasp) upend the invicible LA Angels for the division crown. But that's next year.