Dale Sveum is on the hot seat. The fans are on his case for the Cubs poor record.
But GM Jed Hoyer is defending his manager. “He’s kept the guys really upbeat. He continues to relate really well to
the players,” Hoyer said to CSN Chicago. “I’ll say the same thing I said at
the end of last year: The talent on the team – we’re not up to par right
now with the Cardinals and the Reds. Those are really strong, mature
organizations and that’s what we’re trying to get to.
“In the meantime, he’s doing his best with the product that we have and that’s on Theo and on me – the talent,” Hoyer admitted.
It is indefensible to think that having a career platoon player in Nate Schierholtz batting third, or a player who was not on the opening day roster, Ryan Sweeney, to bat fifth against the first place Cardinals. Or having newly acquired relief pitcher Henry Rodriguez show up as the bad Marmol on acid. No wonder Sveum got ejected; he may have been unable to take watching his team anymore.
It is Sveum's team to manage, but it is Theo Epstein and Hoyer's team. The front office built this ship from scrap parts and it shows. The constant tear-down of good parts for more salvage parts has led to great inconsistency and solidified the culture of losing.
The front office continues to say that it has "a plan." But it may not be a "good" plan.
It seems that the Boston boys are trying to build a new Red Sox lineup for Wrigley Field. That means a line up heavy on left handed hitters. But I recall Billy Williams saying a long time ago that the only reason he has success at Wrigley was that his power was to left center field. If not, he said he would have struggled mightily.
It seems that the front office is also fixated on pitching. However, they are also in the mode to trade any quality pitcher for more prospects. In all their pitching moves, only one panned out (Travis Wood.)
But Sveum is not blameless. He has done nothing tangible to manufacturer runs or shake up the offense. The Cubs are still collectively hacking away at the plate. It is rare to steal a base. It is rarer to employ a hit-and-run. And it almost fossilized to call for a bunt single. As a result, the Cubs do not put any added pressure on a defense.
But the most indefensible comment Hoyer made was his tone about the Cubs in general. He called it a "product" and not a team. A product is a consumable commodity, like soap or paper towels. A product is a stationary item that is something sold while a team is an athletic machine that is admired by its fans. The default tag of "product" to describe the Cubs means management is more concerned with marketing the franchise (like Disney brands everything it does) than putting a viable team on the field. The entire Ricketts redevelopment plan for Lakeview is all about the same concept: expanding the Cub "brand" to hotels, restaurants, office buildings and street fares.
