The first three words I've got for the firing of Gerald Perry as the Chicago Cubs' hitting coach are these: It's about time.
*
Obviously, general manager Jim Hendry and manager Lou Piniella are using Perry [pictured with Piniella at the left] as the fall guy for their own piss-poor work. Hendry didn't get the Cubs any batting help in the off-season, and Piniella couldn't motivate John Wayne [pictured at the right] in a buffalo stampede.
*
I'd like to remind Piniella that when the firing of his hitting coach doesn't work, the manager is the next to get canned. That usually happens during the All-Star game break.
*
And another thing: They can't fire an entire overpaid lineup, so they fired the batting coach.
*
Now let's see if Von Joshua can accomplish something as Perry's replacement. If Geovany Soto and Milton Bradley can get their averages up to .250 and Kosuke Fukudome can get one hit the rest of this month, I'll consider Joshua a success.
*
All I can say is, it's sure a good thing the Cubs play in the National League Central. To play as badly as they've as they have so far this season and still be in contention for the title illustrates how bad the division is.
*
Before the Cubs saved their season and fired Gerald Perry [that's a joke], Scott Pierce sent me this e-mail:
"Ron:
"I read your piece on Bradley and it got me to researching a bit. Below is stuff it took me 30 minutes to find. It's stuff Jim Hendry should have known immediately.
"Last year, Bradley set a career high in home runs, RBIs, total bases, & batting average. He played in 126 games, the most since 2004. In his previous 3 seasons, he averaged just over 13 home runs, just over 42 RBIs, and hit .288. So, his only year in Texas, his option year, he hits 22 home runs, drives in 77, and hits .321.
"Here are some other numbers to digest:
"*He's played in 100+ games twice. One of those was last year with 122. The other was 141 with the Dodgers in 2004.
"*He's driven in 50+ runs four times since 2001. He averages just over 40 RBIs a year.
"*Last year, he played in 122 games, but only 20 of those in the field. He DHed the other 102. He played 138 games in the field for the 2004 Dodgers. That's the only time he's played more than 100 games in the field.
"I've said it to you before. The signing of Bradley was one of Hendry's dumbest moves---and he's had a bunch of them. I said before the season this division was the
Cubs to lose. They have the most talent. But it's the middle of June. Usually, teams
are awake by now. By the way, the first team in the NL Central to make a big move will
win the division."
Scott Pierce
[RON MALY'S COMMENT: I suppose you're going to say the trade of Mark DeRosa to Cleveland for some stumblebum prospects was a dumb move by Hendry, Scott!]
