Mortal Kombat: Cubs Edition

By: Dustin

This may be a bit dorky, and it definitely exposes my affinity for the occasional shitty movies, but yesterday's announcement of Jim Hendry's firing reminds me of the ending of Mortal Kombat.

In case you haven't seen this cinematic masterpiece -- and I fully admit to having seen it dozens of times -- the whole gang is excited at the conclusion of the film. Why not? Liu Kang has just finished defeating the evil Shang Tsung, apparently saving the world as we know it and definitely saving the soul of his deceased brother and thousands of other unfortunate folks who died at the hands of the Outworld sorcerer.

Just as Liu Kang returns home with new friends Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade and Rayden, the sky darkens and an enormous Shao Kahn towers over them . . . making them aware that they very well might still be fucked.

So, in case you aren't too good with analogies, Liu Kang and his buddies represent the Cubs, while Shao Kahn represents . . . reality.

And the reality is this: the Cubs organization is a damn mess. It's not all Hendry's fault, either. A lot of it is -- and that's why he's officially out on his ass -- but if the Ricketts ownership is smart, it isn't close to done with this organizational retooling.

I'm not going to get into the horrible contracts Hendry has handed out in much the same fashion that older folks hand out that shitty orange- and black-wrapped peanut butter candy at Halloween; you can read that stuff everywhere. If you follow the team at all, you don't need to be reminded of the money spent on the likes of Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley.

The Cubs' problems run a lot deeper than just the decision making at the big-league level. This is an organization that seems to be coming up really short in the whole scouting and development process. If you look at who the Cubs have drafted during Hendry's tenure, which has been long enough for more than a few top draft picks to make it to the show, you'll likely come to the conclusion that Chicago's drafts have been wildly unsuccessful.

With injuries, a regular being dealt at what I consider to be a terribly mismanaged trade deadline, and a certain bat-shit crazy pitcher losing his marbles (again), you are now seeing just how little talent the Cubs had down on the farm at the beginning of the season. I know you may like the way kids like Darwin Barney and Tony Campana play . . . but if these are the best guys you have to call up, you've got some issues. Plus, most of the young pitchers to make their way to the majors have been less than impressive.

So talent evaluation at draft time and the lower-level development process seem to be lacking. Sure, Hendry oversees all of this stuff and he is ultimately responsible for hiring these people who, like him, don't seem to be all that great at their jobs, but they get paid and should be accountable like anybody else.

This team is going to spend some money this offseason. I'm sure some fans will insist the team's problems can be fixed in one winter, as long as a capable general manager is in place. It could happen, but don't hold your breath. It's not like Hendry wasn't allowed to throw money at the club's problems. He made plenty of good acquisitions, too, and it never really got this franchise over the hump. You have to be able to bring along some home-grown talent to succeed, unless you have the astronomical payroll that only a few clubs are afforded.

Because of that, I firmly believe this: until the new GM and the relatively new ownership weeds through the losers throughout the organization, a lot of the Cubs' problems will persist. Shao Kahn is still standing over you guys, laughing his ass off. You'd better hope Liu Kang and his buddies are up for a much larger fight.