The Cubs' front office restructuring continues. Last week, longtime scouting director Tim Wilken was promoted, or simply reassigned if you are of a cynical bent. Today, Bruce Miles breaks the news that fellow holdover Oneiri Fleita is out as VP of Player Personnel. Indefatigable Brett has a responsible rundown.
Irresponsible Speculation
Perhaps the front office googled him and realized that he had previously criticized Josh Vitters for not being aggressive enough at the plate. Or perhaps they already knew that and just needed to co-opt his international contacts before letting him go. Regardless, the only surprise to me is that this didn't happen sooner.
*UPDATE*
The Sun-Times passes along the word that the Fleita won't be leaving alone:
Sources said at least four more people who are veteran Cubs staffers in the player development and baseball operations departments will be let go as well.
(h/t: Berselius)
*UPDATE 2*
Randy Bush has survived. Holdover stats guy Chuck Wasserstrom is gone. Ari Kaplan has been retained as a consultant on the condition that he to moves to India and communicates strictly via teleconference and email.
(h/t: Aisley)
Yeah, I’m thinking when they stepped in they were playing it safe. You can hear rumors and read notes by the previous FO, but you might want to see with your own eyes how the members actually function before you haul off and fire someone. Maybe they didn’t want Fleita, but were willing to see if he’d change.
Also, the org has given a couple different people contract extensions then fired them. I think it’s a golden parachute kind of thing.
This. Of all the disappointments of the mixed bag that was the Hendry Era, it was pretty clear that player development was the biggest.
FWIW Fleita was extended before the org hired Theo, according to Brett the Tigers were trying to hire him.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/14504378-419/cubs-fire-oneri-fleita-in-front-office-shakeup.html
I don’t think it’s irresponsible speculation, GW. My guess would be that they kept him around to help smooth the transition. Basically, Fleita did something well that the new front office respected and wanted that kept in place until they had time to rearrange things as they wanted.
It is interesting to me that there were a lot of people thinking that Hendry had a respectable player development program because Theo and Co. kept Wilken and Fleita. In reality they didn’t keep either. They marginalized Wilken and now have him in some role that’s probably meaningless.
@ Mish:
What column is this?
BTW, doesn’t surprise me that we’re hearing about nighttime issues with Castro now that he’s struggling and whatever criticism had come his way has seemed more appropriate due to it.
mb21 wrote:
I’m guessing that they like having Wilken’s unorthodox opinions around, but want to make sure he doesn’t have too much influence.
new aside on F7′s splitter
http://www.obstructedview.net/aside/fangraphs-on-samardzijas-splitter-this-year.html
mb21 wrote:
Sounds to me that since the coaching staff has been unable to help him with his errors or hitting slump, they’re just going to blame it on him and his nightlife. He’s not the only MLB player who enjoys himself at night.
@ TheVan:
Yeah, I agree. It’s not about his nightlife. It’s about him struggling and being someone who hasn’t been particularly easy for any coaching staff to work with.
@ GW:
I thought it was funny the other day when I read some article about how Colvin, Vitters, Cashner and Jackson have all reached the big leagues (1st round picks). He was known for getting 1st rounders to the big leagues in Toronto. Cashner is an injury waiting to happen. Colvin isn’t very good. The jury is out on Vitters and Jackson, but neither are going to be impact players. It’s one thing to get guys to the big leagues and another for them to be very good at what they do. Me, I’d rather have the guy who misses on getting some to the big leagues, but gets more impact talent.
@ mb21:
Not to mention that I have as good a chance of reaching the big leagues as 2010 first rounder Hayden Simpson. I might actually have been worth more of a signing bonus than Simpson. I don’t know why I didn’t enter the draft in 2010.
I wonder how much of that is colored by the years of Bobby Brownlie et al failing to do shit rather than the general rate of first rounders to make the majors.
mb21 wrote:
For Vitters and Jackson it has less to do with being talented enough to get to the big leagues, and more to do with playing for a team that’s playing for last place and in the middle of a fire sale. They’re playing almost out of necessity at this point.
@ mb21:
Keep trying, MB. You Never Know.
@ Berselius:
Sounds like an entry for the 2013 slogan contest to me.
@ Berselius:
If some team ever hires Tim Wilken to be their scouting director I am entering the draft. I’ll send that team some video of me facing little leaguers and I’m good for a $1.8 million signing bonus for sure. Then I’ll just get mono and my reported 138 mph fastball will have dropped to 60. I’ll hang around the low minors for awhile.
@ mikeakaleroy:
Too much hope and optimism, of which there will be none in 2013.
2013: The Hope Monster’s Demise
That’s the first time I’ve been called indefatigable. I like it.
At first, I inverted a few letters in my head. Still liked it.
Brett wrote:
I did the same thing.
Why do Cub fans care so much about Castro’s nightlife when Mark Grace spent more time at The Lodge and The Cubby Bear than he did in Wrigley?
Castro fucking his dick raw and drinking himself silly isn’t making him have poor pitch selection and zone judgment. I have a feeling that the inability of the system to deal effectively with the pronounced and persistent flaws in Castro’s, Jackson’s, and Vitters’ games is why Fleita and his team are out on their asses. Castro isn’t uncoachable, we’ve seen that with his defense he can certainly be coached. But Castro (and Vitters and Jackson) don’t seem to have ever been taught how to be a professional hitter. It’s like the Cubs minor league development consists of “hey, you’re talented, you know what to do, so go do it.” Castro’s problems aren’t about demon rum and getting too much strange ; they’re about coaching and consistency. He has to work on the latter (and Soriano has even called him out on that score), but the Cubs need to work on the former. Whatever they are doing to their minor league hitters, it’s not what they should be doing.
Chuck Wasserstrom ——–> Gone
Ari Kaplan ———-> Gone but re-hired as a consultant for some reason
Those are per the Hobbiton Gazette.
@ Aisle424:
Shire Times
@ WaLi:
If you think Cubs fans won’t get their hopes up about about something next year, you have sorely underestimated the Hope Monster’s powers.
@ Aisle424:
I really wish I could have been a fly on the wall while Kaplan was telling Theo about his “system.”
I forgot about Ari Kaplan. (dying laughing)
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Agreed. Castro’s struggles have little to nothing to do with what he’s doing off the field, but it’s a great excuse when someone is struggling. We never heard a word about this with Wells in 2009, but when he struggled we sure did. We didn’t hear anything about with Pie as he was coming up through the system, but when he got to the big leagues and struggled we did. It’s their go to excuse.
@ mb21:
If they didn’t care when Grace was being dragged out The Lodge, they don’t get to care now. At least that’s how I feel.
This is the Bernstein article mb: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/08/15/bernstein-whats-wrong-with-starlin-castro/
Thanks, Mish
The only thing that’s really different with Castro is that fewer hits are falling in and because of that it makes his ugly on-base skills stand out. When he’s batting .310 or so his OBP was OK only because he was hitting .310. I caught a lot of shit for pointing it out, but the fact is that Castro has terrible on-base skills. He’s still a good ballplayer and he’ll get through this, but the idea that he’s a superstar is far fetched in my opinion. He has too many holes in his game. It’s also why I won’t be surprised to see him traded this offseason. He’s going to be getting expensive soon and the team is still going to suck.
@ mb21:
One can’t necessarily say that his actions off the field are not directly effecting his on the field problems. We both know if you’re out partying late on a consistent basis it eventually will hamper your performance on the job. Is that what is happening to Castro? Who knows at this point but it could become a problem down the road. Better to “Nip it in the bud” before it becomes that.
Correlation does not equal causation. Castro was out just as much when he was hitting .330 as he is now. It’s a bullshit line of reasoning, period.
@ pinetar:
I agree that the Cubs should handle it. I just don’t think it should be used as an excuse or in a way that it’s being used. I think the Cubs have actually handled Castro pretty well all things considered. My complaint at this moment is really with the media.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
More than likely it’s true, but it’s also true that when you’re playing well and doing something you’re getting away with it. When you stop playing well you don’t. We saw it with Sammy Sosa and other stars. I think the Cubs should address it, if it’s true. I just don’t care what the media has to say about it.
@ mb21:
I agree and here lately Sveum has issued some causes to his recent problems. The main one being to much movement and mentioned that he’d be working with him on it.
Not sure if anyone is watching the game online or not but here is a link for it if anyone is interested.
http://www.vipbox.tv/watch/67343/1/chicago-cubs-vs-houston-astros-live-stream-online.html
@ pinetar:
For the record, I don’t care about using pirated TV, because fuck Comcast.
@ Mish:
Not sure if serious.
Via Miles, Theo on shitcanning Fleita:
http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/7099
Castro got a hit, so I guess he stayed in last night.
@ Mish:
Cue Adolfo to Giants speculation
Brett Jackson is really, really, really fast.
It might have been worth challenging the ‘Stros on that one, since they don’t have Hunter Pence anymore. I don’t know, maybe the guys they have are good outfielders. I doubt it, though.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Effortless speed.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Should have sent him. He was pulling into third when the OF fielded it.
@ pinetar:
Yeah, he barely slowed making the turn and still made a nice tight turn. He can fly.
@ josh:
Might have done that if there weren’t two outs.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
With The Cleve and Germano behind him…. fuck it.
@ josh:
I know, it was the right call, but still.
@ josh:
(dying laughing), good point.
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Today in the Cubs offices:
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Skip to 2:51
Love that double play (dying laughing)
@ Aisle424:
The end of a really mediocre movie?
DeJesus!
David DeJesus obviously went to bed early last night and refrained from coitus and drink.
Vitters has really nice swing, but it doesn’t seem to generate much power.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I see you’re still following him around at night. You’re not worried about the restraining order at all?
If nighttime habits negatively affect one’s game, then how do you explain Babe Ruth?
@ josh:
I’m just doing my part for the team, man.
Nice production work by WGN here. We’re watching a ball bounce in slow motion while pitches are being thrown. Well done.
Starlin!
Castro must’ve being reading his catechism when he stayed in last night.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I thought it was just me. It became comical at some point.
Fight at the bat rack for the Cubs now.
Jackson is really susceptible to good sliders
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
(dying laughing)
DeJesus is having a day.
Vitters probably did the Astros a favor knocking Norris out of the game
I thought Randy Bush was working for the Red Sox now
I like the Astros. They make Justin Germano look like an ace. That’s nice.
New comic: http://www.obstructedview.net/comics/housecleaning.html
@ GW:
Theo has a great backhand.
Berselius wrote:
I think you mean gary hughes