You can only be judged by the outcome of the decisions you have made; what was good or bad depends on the results.
By far, the Cubs decision makers have not been doing well.
1. The Ian Stewart trade with the Rockies was a total bust. The Cubs traded two major league ready prospects for a veteran who had lingering injuries.
2. The trade for Arodys Vizcaino for Paul Maholm & Reed Johnson appears to be headed toward total bust. Vizcaino is now deep into the second year after arm surgery with no time table, if ever, of returning to the majors.
3. The signing of injured pitcher Scott Baker, who is having a slow rehab and no clear return date, is heading toward the Vizcaino trash bin.
4. The long term extension of Starlin Castro has some people concerned that the Cubs rewarded a young player under team control who has not improved since his rookie season.
5. The decision to sign Edwin Jackson, a career .500 pitcher, to a long term $52 million deal looks bad. Jackson is currently 1-8, the worst pitcher in the Cubs rotation.
There may be a few plus moves like Anthony Rizzo, but he is just in his first full season and the league will adjust to his swing. But again, the Cubs made the decision to sign Rizzo long term when they could have waited to see if Rizzo becomes the next D. Lee or Hoffpauir.
The Cubs also have a growing public relations problem. Ricketts and his business minions are trying to bully their vision of Lakeview redevelopment to meet their own goals and the expense of the adjoining businesses and residents. Further, the same mistakes and frustrating on field play continues to gnaw at fans who are showing their displeasure by not attending games. The conga line of marginal replacement players donning the Cub uniform for the last two seasons needs to stop.
