Can the Cubs get it right?

The Chicago Cubs have long been mired in futility. Yeah, they have had a few good seasons here and there, but the team has been so poorly run that change must come soon. Cubs fans deserve to have a competitive team...a team that can compete every year for the National League Central.

A team that plays in a historic stadium with over 100 years of history. a die hard fan base, and a huge budget should be more of a challenge in the NL. So why are the Cubs so bad every year?

I can point to ownership which currently falls to Joe Ricketts, the founder/owner of TD Ameritrade and the day to day operations of the club are handled by long time General Manager Jim Hendry. Therein lies the problem. Hendry has long been an advocate for "filling" holes with expensive, underachieving free agents and we can get an immediate sense of that with the recent signing of first baseman Carlos Pena. Pena signed a 10 million dollar contract to play first for the Cubbies and this comes after his sub .200 season with Tampa Bay. These are the types of moves that Hendry has relied on since his tenure began in 2002. He continues to overspend on players that most teams would not touch, at least at the salary they seem to get with Chicago. The Cubs current roster features several of these players, like Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and to a lesser degree, Aramis Ramirez. Hendry continues to speculate on the wrong players like Fukudome's ridiculous 4 year 48 million dollar contract.

The biggest glaring problem with the Cubs is their lack of commitment to home grown people. Not just players, but people who have touched the organization. The perfect model should have been local hero and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg taking over as manager. As usual with the Hendry led Cubbies, Sandberg was passed over and Mike Quade was given the role of defacto skipper. A skipper who inherited a team riddled with "me" type players, a burgeoning payroll and no managerial experience. One could argue that Sandberg was no better of a choice, but one could also argue that he paid his dues in the minors and given his local status in the Windy City, Sandberg might get more out of his team.

In the majors today the biggest problem for the Cubs is that they are expected to spend money on players. As one of the largest markets with a huge revenue stream, the Cubs are one of those "destination" teams in free agency. It's been that way for a long time and the results are apparent. The Cubs need to purge this roster and become one of the biggest investors in player development and scouting. There is something to be said about homegrown, "Rah-Rah" players. Players who grow up in your system and bleed your teams colors. The Cubs have done nothing right over the last 20 years and one could argue it's been a lot longer than that. In the current climate of Major League Baseball, the Cubs are important to the future of baseball and the time has come for the Cubs to accept defeat and trade the veterans. Restock the cupboard Hendry, or you may find yourself out of work at the end of the season.

Current top salaries:

Alfonso Soriano, $19,000,000
Carlos Zambrano, $18,875,000
Aramis Ramirez, $14,600,000
Kosuke Fukudome, $14,500,000
Ryan Dempster, $14,500,000
Carlos Silva, $12,750,000
Marlon Byrd, $5,500,000
Jeff Samardzija, $3,500,000
John Grabow, $4,800,000