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With one of the highest payrolls but the second-worst record in the National League, the Chicago Cubs fired general manager and vice president Jim Hendry, the team announced Friday.
The actual firing was done July 22, but Hendry wanted to help the team by staying on through the July 31 trading deadline.
"[Team chairman] Tom Ricketts told me July 22," Hendry said during a news conference Friday. "He's a very honest guy and a very classy guy. At that time, we decided it was best for me to stay on. We had a deadline coming up and a lot of draft choices that needed to be signed. I think we both felt that possibly me staying through that gave us the best chance to sign the rest of the players.
"I apologize for not telling anybody sooner, but it may be one of the best-kept secrets in Cubs history. It was a little tough at the end. I was glad we got through and signed all the picks we wanted to. That was good. Those scouts deserved that."
Assistant general manager Randy Bush was named interim general manager, the team announced, but Ricketts said the search will be focused on candidates outside of the organization.
"We didn't win enough games," Ricketts said Friday, before praising Hendry as a baseball man and person. "In a culture of accountability, we need to look at these kinds of results. Secondly, our goal is to win the World Series, and to do that, we have to get better. I just believe that by bringing in new leadership for the baseball organization, we'll get some different perspectives and maybe some different ideas on where to go in the future.
"Nothing that happens today should diminish Jim's great legacy as general manager of the Chicago Cubs. Three division titles during his tenure, and a winning record. We would like to thank him for his great service to the organization during his many, many years."
Cubs reliever Kerry Wood, who signed his first major league contract with Hendry and came back to the Cubs before this season, was one of many players who enjoyed a personal relationship with Hendry.
"He's not your prototypical GM," Wood said. "Players respect him and enjoy talking to him, and we feel like we could have gone and talked to him about anything at any time.
"He was that kind of a person. He's a great person, he did a lot of great things for this organization and helped turn this organization around. I owe a lot to him."
Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen tweeted that he'll miss Hendry.
"I will miss you," Guillen tweeted. "Go spend time with ur family enjoy them and I hope you come back sir.
"A great baseball man leave today. Always classy Jim. One of the good guys."
Hendry was hired in 1994 as director of player development. He was promoted to scouting director the next season. The 56-year-old Florida native was promoted to general manager in 2002 after serving as assistant to then-president Andy MacPhail.
Under Hendry, the Cubs hired two high-profile managers in Dusty Baker in fall 2002 and Lou Piniella in fall 2006.
The Cubs won division titles in 2003, '07 and '08. The 2003 team came within five outs of going to the team's first World Series since 1945.
The back-to-back playoff berths were the first for the franchise since 1907-08.
Rumors surfaced earlier in the season that Ricketts had conversations with former Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes.
"The search for a new general manager effectively begins today," Ricketts said. "I will be reaching out over the next few days to industry veterans and people who have been through this situation before to get their thoughts and opinions on what I should be doing and what I should be looking for.
"Those conversations in combination with our own evaluations and analysis will help us narrow down our list of prospective candidates shortly and we'll work diligently to get the right person into the baseball organization as soon as it's practical. I don't have a timeline for that. There's no date set. We'll just play the cards we're dealt in terms of timing and get someone in as fast as we can."
Ricketts said he'll be looking for a candidate with strong player development skills and a winning track record.
"When I look at the candidates, I kind of see a couple of criteria," Ricketts said. "I see No. 1 they'll have to share a commitment to player development, which obviously is the key to consistent success. I think we can look for guys that have a little stronger analytical background than maybe some of the guys we have here. Someone who has worked with some of the new tools, that would be a plus.
"And then someone who's been in a winning culture and who can bring the lessons of that over and has a track record of success. The sabermetric stuff is important, but it's just a piece. We're not running the baseball organization by a computer model. "
Ricketts said the new GM will report directly to him, meaning the team will likely not bring in someone else at the level of team president.
Former Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays general manager Pat Gillick has said he'd be open to a president-level job.
Rumors of discussions with Gillick were shot down by people close to Ricketts a month ago.
Hendry and most of his front-office staff have one year remaining on their contracts.
He signed a four-year, $5 million extension before the 2008 season.
Source: AP
The actual firing was done July 22, but Hendry wanted to help the team by staying on through the July 31 trading deadline.
"[Team chairman] Tom Ricketts told me July 22," Hendry said during a news conference Friday. "He's a very honest guy and a very classy guy. At that time, we decided it was best for me to stay on. We had a deadline coming up and a lot of draft choices that needed to be signed. I think we both felt that possibly me staying through that gave us the best chance to sign the rest of the players.
"I apologize for not telling anybody sooner, but it may be one of the best-kept secrets in Cubs history. It was a little tough at the end. I was glad we got through and signed all the picks we wanted to. That was good. Those scouts deserved that."
Assistant general manager Randy Bush was named interim general manager, the team announced, but Ricketts said the search will be focused on candidates outside of the organization.
"We didn't win enough games," Ricketts said Friday, before praising Hendry as a baseball man and person. "In a culture of accountability, we need to look at these kinds of results. Secondly, our goal is to win the World Series, and to do that, we have to get better. I just believe that by bringing in new leadership for the baseball organization, we'll get some different perspectives and maybe some different ideas on where to go in the future.
"Nothing that happens today should diminish Jim's great legacy as general manager of the Chicago Cubs. Three division titles during his tenure, and a winning record. We would like to thank him for his great service to the organization during his many, many years."
Cubs reliever Kerry Wood, who signed his first major league contract with Hendry and came back to the Cubs before this season, was one of many players who enjoyed a personal relationship with Hendry.
"He's not your prototypical GM," Wood said. "Players respect him and enjoy talking to him, and we feel like we could have gone and talked to him about anything at any time.
"He was that kind of a person. He's a great person, he did a lot of great things for this organization and helped turn this organization around. I owe a lot to him."
Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen tweeted that he'll miss Hendry.
"I will miss you," Guillen tweeted. "Go spend time with ur family enjoy them and I hope you come back sir.
"A great baseball man leave today. Always classy Jim. One of the good guys."
Hendry was hired in 1994 as director of player development. He was promoted to scouting director the next season. The 56-year-old Florida native was promoted to general manager in 2002 after serving as assistant to then-president Andy MacPhail.
Under Hendry, the Cubs hired two high-profile managers in Dusty Baker in fall 2002 and Lou Piniella in fall 2006.
The Cubs won division titles in 2003, '07 and '08. The 2003 team came within five outs of going to the team's first World Series since 1945.
The back-to-back playoff berths were the first for the franchise since 1907-08.
Rumors surfaced earlier in the season that Ricketts had conversations with former Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes.
"The search for a new general manager effectively begins today," Ricketts said. "I will be reaching out over the next few days to industry veterans and people who have been through this situation before to get their thoughts and opinions on what I should be doing and what I should be looking for.
"Those conversations in combination with our own evaluations and analysis will help us narrow down our list of prospective candidates shortly and we'll work diligently to get the right person into the baseball organization as soon as it's practical. I don't have a timeline for that. There's no date set. We'll just play the cards we're dealt in terms of timing and get someone in as fast as we can."
Ricketts said he'll be looking for a candidate with strong player development skills and a winning track record.
"When I look at the candidates, I kind of see a couple of criteria," Ricketts said. "I see No. 1 they'll have to share a commitment to player development, which obviously is the key to consistent success. I think we can look for guys that have a little stronger analytical background than maybe some of the guys we have here. Someone who has worked with some of the new tools, that would be a plus.
"And then someone who's been in a winning culture and who can bring the lessons of that over and has a track record of success. The sabermetric stuff is important, but it's just a piece. We're not running the baseball organization by a computer model. "
Ricketts said the new GM will report directly to him, meaning the team will likely not bring in someone else at the level of team president.
Former Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays general manager Pat Gillick has said he'd be open to a president-level job.
Rumors of discussions with Gillick were shot down by people close to Ricketts a month ago.
Hendry and most of his front-office staff have one year remaining on their contracts.
He signed a four-year, $5 million extension before the 2008 season.
Source: AP