Cubs President Andy MacPhail said Thursday the Cubs are more likely to deploy financial resources this season toward helping the team become a contender than waving the white flag and playing for the 2007 season.
MacPhail also said in an interview with the Tribune that Dusty Baker will remain the club’s manager unless his working relationship with general manager Jim Hendry becomes untenable.
So it looks like you can forget about the Cubs dumping Baker and possibly some players to build for the future. At least for now.
MacPhail also said he believes the Cubs’ frustrations are exacerbated, in part, because the White Sox are defending World Series champions.
The Cubs, who have lost 18 of their last 22 games, open a weekend series Friday against Atlanta at Wrigley Field. MacPhail, the Cubs president and CEO since 1994, weighs in on a number of hot-button topics.
Question: Because general manager Jim Hendry already has signed a contract extension, every Cubs fan would like to know the fate of Baker. Is he in line for a contract extension, or is he still being evaluated?
Answer: The general manager is responsible for selecting and working with a manager. As a president, you are much aware of that relationship. And that is an area of responsibility that is the general manager’s. They have to work together on a daily basis and they have to have a mutual trust and respect for each other.
Q: Has Hendry indicated to you any dissatisfaction in their relationship?
A: Jim’s focus remains 100 percent on trying to improve the team so he can get them to play at the level we were playing in April.
Q: Because of the Cubs’ longtime failure to win a championship, there has not been a lot of continuity among managers and coaches. How important is field-management continuity to you?
A: If you feel like you have the right people to win with, then it is very important. And you should ride with them and try to get them the resources to get to the goal that you think they can get you to.
Q: How often do you and Hendry confer about the ballclub?
A: Our offices are right across from each other, so we talk a lot. … One of our strengths is that we function, not just regarding baseball, but [also on] the business side. We communicate on a fairly regular basis. I have a keen understanding [of being a GM] based on 10 years experience. I know that you can’t be a dilettante GM. You can’t just put your toe in the water. . . . You have to immerse yourself. That is exactly what Jim has done. He lives it and breathes it 24 hours a day. He is just trying to channel his frustration and dissatisfaction by doing something that can tangibly change our fortunes and have us play better.
Q: Could you clarify your role as team president and what responsibilities it encompasses?
A: You are responsible for everything that is Cub. Whether they be the won-loss record or the policies you have or different ballpark renovations or falling concrete. . . . Even though you have a baseball and a business and a legal side that report to you, at the end of the day, since your name is at the top of the list, you are the one who is responsible.
Q: What overall message of encouragement can you give to long-suffering Cubs fans?
A: I certainly sense their frustration. And it is frustration that is evidenced through the action of our players. We need to start to do everything we can to turn the record around the way that Houston did–not only last season but the last two seasons. We need to get 100 percent of our team on the field contributing to their accustomed level and then augment where we can. The record itself is not enough to keep you from bouncing back and having a good year, as Houston has shown us. But we really have to start playing the game and producing in the clutch at a higher level.
Q: For those who are not familiar with the line of demarcation between the Tribune newspaper and the Cubs organization, perhaps you could clarify?
A: Certainly, we have no influence with the Chicago Tribune. I think we showed that to everyone’s satisfaction. I will say Tribune (Co.) has been our owner and they have provided us with resources to do better on the field than we have this year. If you go back and look at our payroll in 2004, we were the third highest in the National League. In 2005 our payroll was the third highest. Right now, in 2006, our payroll is either the second or third highest, depending on how you calculate it. So they have certainly given us the resources to try to build off the success that the team enjoyed in 2003.
Q: Do you have the financial resources to improve the Cubs this season?
A: I have always been a big believer in allowing yourself room to improve the team. I think our own history demonstrates that. We are not opposed to doing that. Whether it is [acquiring] Aramis Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, Nomar Garciaparra . . . we have tried to make big-season moves that were applicable, regardless of the economic consequences when we think the team is in a position to make a run at the postseason.
Q: To what degree do you think the Cubs’ lack of success is exacerbated by the White Sox being the defending World Series champions?
A: I think the frustration that our fans feel . . . that’s probably part of it. [Every] year that passes and you don’t have a championship, that frustration grows. And for the South Siders to be playing as well as they are contributes to our frustration. The quickest way you are going to solve those issues is by winning the games on the field. It’s that simple, and that is what you have to focus on. You can’t focus on what other people are doing in other places.
Q: At what point this year do you think this Cubs have to start looking toward 2007?
A: That is way premature for a variety of reasons. Our [minor-league] system is performing well and has performed well. Every independent study we do of our system, we are producing players on par to almost every franchise. . . . And our teams, by and large, are faring pretty well in all of the levels.
Q: What are some of your overall observations of this Cubs team?
A: I think the element that needs to improve as soon as possible is runners in scoring position. We are 30th among 30 teams in our batting average with runners in scoring position. You are not going to win many games unless you become more productive in those situations. And the stat that is most alarming to me is with two outs and runners in scoring position, as a team we are hitting under .150. There are times when you just need the big hit, the critical hit to ease the pressure on the other aspects.
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fmitchell@tribune.com
