Neifi-gate
When word came down that Todd Walker would be out for 4-6 weeks with a knee injury, almost every Cubs fan thought "well, at least it'll mean more AB's for Jerry Hairston, which will get Patterson out of the lead off spot". Well, that just goes to show that we haven't been paying much attention during Johnnie B. Baker's managerial tenure. Most of us were surprised to see that Neifi Perez was batting 2nd and playing 2nd base today. Baker's stated reason for this, that Perez has seen more of starting pitcher Adam Eaton, was utterly ridiculous. If that's the justification, then Hairston will never play, because he's spent his career in the American League. But Hairston evidentially took the news hard, expressing his disappointment to reporters and saying "the best news I've heard the last two years is that I'm an unrestricted free agent at the end of this year". Only a week into the season, and already the Cubs have a potential clubhouse problem on their hands, caused in part by the guy that they got when they traded their other clubhouse cancer, Sammy Sosa. And while it may seem minor, this situation has the potential to spin out of control, quickly. There are 3 parties to blame here. Let's take a look at each one.
1. Dusty Baker - Baker's fault is the most obvious. I'm not as high on Hairston as some others are, but he's much better than Neifi Perez, and light years ahead of Jose Macias. Yet Baker started Perez, and used Macias as a pinch hitter in today's 1-0 loss, while Hairston rotted on the bench. The latter is probably due to Hairston's comments to the press, brought about when he found out Neifi was starting. But what about that decision? Baker's strength is supposed to be his communication with his players. Baker knew that the press had anointed Hairston the starter, and should at very least told him immediately that Perez would be the second baseman today. Instead, Hairston was sucker punched by the decision, and gave a candid reaction to the beat reporters, which will not sit well with Dusty.
2. Jerry Hairston - While Hairston may have been right to be angry at his snub today, he was wrong in the way he handled it. A terse "no comment" to the reporters would have been enough to get his point across, with out publicly airing his grievances in a way that he had to know would bring repercussions from Baker. Dusty has talked all spring about eliminating "snitches" in the clubhouse, and this was what he meant. Hairston should at least gone into Dusty's office and aired him out there in private. In addition, while I think Perez and Macias stink, I don't see where Hairston seems to believe that he's owed something. He alluded to his previous record in the majors, but his career stats are just north of mediocre. Jerry seems to think that something was promised to him, somewhere down the line, and while the newspapers speculated on his role, I don't recall anyone from the Cubs stating it.
3. Jim Hendry - Let me say that I am not a Hendry hater. I think he's done a good job overall putting the team together that last few years. But he failed to do his homework on Hairston. While I'm surprised at how quickly Jerry became disenchanted with his role, I'm not surprised that it happened. Hairston lost his job to a much better player in Baltimore, and he let it be known he wasn't happy at all. Hendry brought him into pretty much the same situation in Chicago: an established 2nd baseman, who Hairston would spell, and an uncertain outfield situation, that would probably garner Hairston the bulk of his AB's. Hendry also probably saw him as injury insurance for Hollandsworth, Walker, and Ramirez if necessary. But Hendry also knows all too well Baker's penchant for rewarding "his" veterans with playing time they often don't deserve. Shouldn't Hendry have squared just such a situation away with Baker beforehand?
So, as you can see, the Hairston situation may be the symptom of a deeper problem. If this is a matter of miscommunication between Hairston and Baker, this incident could end up being anything from a minor annoyance to the start of a rift between the manager and the players. But if this is the result of Hendry and Baker not seeing eye to eye, then the entire situation could be disastrous.
1. Dusty Baker - Baker's fault is the most obvious. I'm not as high on Hairston as some others are, but he's much better than Neifi Perez, and light years ahead of Jose Macias. Yet Baker started Perez, and used Macias as a pinch hitter in today's 1-0 loss, while Hairston rotted on the bench. The latter is probably due to Hairston's comments to the press, brought about when he found out Neifi was starting. But what about that decision? Baker's strength is supposed to be his communication with his players. Baker knew that the press had anointed Hairston the starter, and should at very least told him immediately that Perez would be the second baseman today. Instead, Hairston was sucker punched by the decision, and gave a candid reaction to the beat reporters, which will not sit well with Dusty.
2. Jerry Hairston - While Hairston may have been right to be angry at his snub today, he was wrong in the way he handled it. A terse "no comment" to the reporters would have been enough to get his point across, with out publicly airing his grievances in a way that he had to know would bring repercussions from Baker. Dusty has talked all spring about eliminating "snitches" in the clubhouse, and this was what he meant. Hairston should at least gone into Dusty's office and aired him out there in private. In addition, while I think Perez and Macias stink, I don't see where Hairston seems to believe that he's owed something. He alluded to his previous record in the majors, but his career stats are just north of mediocre. Jerry seems to think that something was promised to him, somewhere down the line, and while the newspapers speculated on his role, I don't recall anyone from the Cubs stating it.
3. Jim Hendry - Let me say that I am not a Hendry hater. I think he's done a good job overall putting the team together that last few years. But he failed to do his homework on Hairston. While I'm surprised at how quickly Jerry became disenchanted with his role, I'm not surprised that it happened. Hairston lost his job to a much better player in Baltimore, and he let it be known he wasn't happy at all. Hendry brought him into pretty much the same situation in Chicago: an established 2nd baseman, who Hairston would spell, and an uncertain outfield situation, that would probably garner Hairston the bulk of his AB's. Hendry also probably saw him as injury insurance for Hollandsworth, Walker, and Ramirez if necessary. But Hendry also knows all too well Baker's penchant for rewarding "his" veterans with playing time they often don't deserve. Shouldn't Hendry have squared just such a situation away with Baker beforehand?
So, as you can see, the Hairston situation may be the symptom of a deeper problem. If this is a matter of miscommunication between Hairston and Baker, this incident could end up being anything from a minor annoyance to the start of a rift between the manager and the players. But if this is the result of Hendry and Baker not seeing eye to eye, then the entire situation could be disastrous.
posted by CT at 8:49 PM
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