The posse got what it wanted. But will Bruce Kimm be what the Cubs needed?
It’s baseball, so who the heck really knows? Remember the New York headlines that screamed “Say it ain’t Joe” when the Yankees hired Joe Torre?
Torre’s hiring turned out to be the best thing that happened to George Steinbrenner since he got out of the shipping business. Don Baylor is right when he says that a manager’s success hinges on being “in the right place at the right time.”
You never really know what you’ll get with a major-league manager until he’s on the job. On the surface, though, only a member of the Kimm family could be really excited by the shuffle Andy MacPhail announced Friday.
By promoting Kimm from Triple-A Iowa for the rest of the season, all MacPhail really does is pass the tough decision over to Jim Hendry, to whom he simultaneously handed the general manager’s title MacPhail had carried for two years.
MacPhail did not resolve the question of who will try to win with this corps of players in 2003, which is the real question. The managerial speculation that hung over Baylor and his team since the 8-17 start won’t go away. It’s here to stay until Hendry gives someone a long-term contract.
“It has to be Jim’s guy,” MacPhail said about the manager for ’03 and beyond.
MacPhail indicated that Hendry selected Kimm as the interim guy. But it wasn’t done with much conviction. Hendry reserved himself a mulligan, to be taken in the fall, if desired.
At least MacPhail didn’t let Baylor twist in the wind any longer. If management wasn’t going to take a stand behind Baylor–which would have put the onus for this season where it belongs, on the veteran players and failed moves by the front office–it needed to act quickly.
But Kimm? Without even a telephone call to Paul Molitor or Jim Fregosi?
Some people think 34-year-old Pat Listach, the hitting coach who takes over for Kimm at Iowa, would have been a better choice. If Hendry wanted to go outside the Cubs’ clubhouse for his guy, Kimm was simply the easiest way out.
This move smacks of the way Tribune Co. operated in the seven years between Dallas Green’s departure and MacPhail’s arrival. This is not a good thing.
With World Series appearances as the measuring stick, no current major-league ownership groups have been as unsuccessful for as long as the two in Chicago.
While a lack of financial strength has limited the White Sox under Jerry Reinsdorf, the Cubs have done a horrible job of producing players and establishing stability.
The players are coming, as Kimm has seen for himself in his year and a half at Iowa. It’s stability that is proving more elusive.
And if the Cubs play better under Kimm than they did for Baylor, will that be a good thing?
Two words: Terry Bevington.
After the White Sox got off to an 11-20 start under Gene Lamont following the strike-shortened spring of 1995, then-GM Ron Schueler promoted Bevington on an interim basis. He removed the interim from his title after the Sox went 57-56 under Bevington, and the next two seasons were lost despite a strong nucleus of starting pitching.
That’s the scenario the Cubs cannot afford. They’ve got a great opportunity to begin winning consistently, as Jon Lieber is the only starter not under their control through 2004. They can’t let the Sammy Sosa era end after only one playoff appearance.
Kimm, who served as Mark Fidrych’s personal catcher with the 1976 Tigers, just turned 51. His claim to fame is having worked for Pete Rose and Jim Leyland, but nothing about his coaching resume–he was mainly a bullpen coach in the big leagues–suggests he will be anything except another Jim Essian, Frank Lucchesi or Charlie Fox.
What happens if Moises Alou, Alex Gonzalez and Todd Hundley start hitting in July? Then what if Bobby Hill and Hee Seop Choi arrive from Iowa to provide a late lift?
It’s just about impossible to foresee a dramatic enough improvement to produce a second consecutive winning season. But what does Hendry do in October if the Cubs go 44-34 under Kimm? Does he look past Bobby Valentine if he becomes available? Does he continue to be indifferent about the Molitors and Fregosis who are out there?
What about Listach, for that matter? If Hendry wants to build from within, Listach might be a viable choice after three months in the Iowa Cubs’ dugout.
This marks the 90th midseason managerial change in the majors over the last 20 seasons. Teams have performed better under the replacement 68 of the previous 89 times, including all five switches this year.
But here’s an odd thing about that rule: Like many other laws of nature, it doesn’t apply to the Cubs, who historically haven’t played better after midseason changes.
They were worse under Essian than Don Zimmer in 1991. They were worse under Lucchesi than Gene Michael in ’87. They were worse under Fox than Lee Elia in ’83.
Since abandoning Phil Wrigley’s College of Coaches, they’ve changed managers in midseason eight times and had a significant, immediate improvement only once, when Whitey Lockman replaced Leo Durocher in 1972. Maybe Kimm can beat the trend. You never know.
Nothing will surprise MacPhail as much as his decision to fire Baylor only half a season after he oversaw a jump from 65 wins in 2000 to 88 in ’01.
“But here we are,” MacPhail said. “Which is the nature of baseball.”
