Cubs President Don Grenesko said before Saturday`s victory over St. Louis that General Manager Jim Frey is secure in his job through next year.
”Jim Frey will be back in 1992,” Grenesko said. ”We`ve told him that we wanted him back. We wanted to reassure him.”
The proverbial vote of confidence was unexpected, as Grenesko decided to bring up the issue during an impromptu pregame meeting with reporters in order to halt any speculation on Frey`s future before it begins.
Frey signed a contract extension last year that carries him through the 1992 season. After managing the Cubs from 1984-`86, helping bring the organization its first title in 39 years in `84, Frey returned as GM on Nov. 11, 1987.
Grenesko became president of the team less than one month later, after starting out with Tribune Co. as a treasurer.
With manager Don Zimmer and pitching coach Dick Pole having already been fired in the last six weeks, the only ones left to take the heat for the Cubs` underachieving first half, besides the players themselves, are Frey and Grenesko.
After Saturday`s victory, the Cubs have a regular-season winning percentage of exactly .500 (280-280) since both assumed their current positions, including the 93-69 season in 1989, when the Cubs took the NL East crown.
The orginization`s two top management officials teamed up during last year`s off-season to acquire premier free agents Danny Jackson, George Bell and Dave Smith.
Injuries to Jackson and Smith have dimmed their seasons, while Bell`s first-half numbers have him on a 33-homer, 99-RBI pace.
Grenesko said that he was ”very, very comfortable with the job Jim Frey is doing” and lauded Frey`s efforts at building the team`s minor-league coaching staff and scouting department.
”I`m very comfortable with his overall philosophy,” Grenesko said.
”All the building blocks are in place.”
With all the crushing late-inning defeats the Cubs have incurred recently, does Grenesko ever get that feeling of ”What can possibly happen next?”
”Yes, a little bit,” he said. ”Obviously, we haven`t played well, and we`re not executing, but we have not had many breaks either.”
Grenesko pointed to pitching injuries such as Jackson`s, calling them
”our Achilles` heel.” He said that the recent skid has been felt up and down the Cub organization, and not just in the dugout.
”The entire organization is down, not just the baseball side,” he said. ”It`s amazing how it has a ripple effect on the whole organization.
”We have a talented group here. We thought we would be a contender.”
