Yesterday was the 9th anniversary of the day that Jim Hendry was named General Manager of the Cubs and I think this is a good time to do some evaluation of the job he is doing. First I would like to say that I have been a staunch defender of the guy. He has had some success, indeed he is only the 2rd GM in the history of the franchise to oversee multiple post season appearances and is the only one to oversee 3 post season appearances. In terms of a success rate, Hendry is probaly the best ever. William Veeck won 2 pennants in 14 years(though the team he built stayed would win 3 more pennants), Boots Weber would win 2 pennants in 7 years, Jimmy Gallagher one in 9,  Dallas Green won a divisional title in 6 years, Frey once in 5 years, MacPhail a wild card in 8 years. Hendry has made some excellent moves to bring the Cubs those 3 postseasons, the best probaly being the trade that brought the Cubs Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton. Other good moves include acquiring Derrek Lee, Moises Alou, Ted Lilly, Mark DeRosa, Jason Marquis and Ryan Dempster. And the farm system, which has taken a lot of heat, has been a lot stronger since Hendry first took it over under MacPhail than it was under Jim Frey and Larry Himes. True, Corey Patterson and Felix Pie did not become the superstars they were supposed to, but I think that is more due to the personalities of the players than the organization itself. Perhaps they overestimated both players intangibles, which is not the worst thing in the world. I do think there was a period between 2003 and  late in the decade that the quality fell off,  perhaps because of the selling of the team, but I think things are improving now. 
Still, this business is about "what have you done for me lately" and in recent years Hendry has made a number of questionable moves, none more so than the signing of Alfonso Soriano for 8 years. While I never had a problem with the money, it was the length I never understood. Now they are stuck with him for 3 more years which makes it hard to move him.  
 I  do believe that Hendry has reached a crucial crossroads in his tenure. Its time to face some realities. One reality is this team is NOT going to win the division, NOT going to be a serious contender, NOT going to be the competitive team I thought they would be. I dont blame Hendry or Quade for that. The injuries have done that. But what I want to see happen is for Jim Hendry to come out and publicly acknowledge that this team is done for the year and that planning for 2012 must begin. I dont want to hear Hendry continue to be in denial and I dont want to hear him say that signing a Prince Fielder or an Albert Pujols will be the answer. For once, I want to hear him say that the Cubs must rebuild with the kids. Thats really all I want from him. Or from someone in power with this team. I wish Tom Ricketts would say something, but that probaly wont happen until the end of season. 
This season is pretty much over, I accept that. I just want to hear someone on the Cubs say it..........