The Closer

With all the Maddux talk, my mind has been on the 80s Cubs.  I was too young at the time to fully comprehend personnel moves, but now it is pretty clear.  Jim Frey was a horrible general manager.  How bad?  Keep in mind that he took over the job from the highly regard Dallas Green.  Green made quick fixes to the team through trades-Sandberg, Dernier, Moreland, Sutcliffe, Matthews, and Eckersley were all acquired, while giving up Carter and Buckner.  Green rejuvenated the Cubs' minor league system by drafting Maddux, Moyer, Palmeiro, Grace, Dunston, Girardi, Smith, and Walton. 

So Frey had big shoes to fill, and he proved to be not up to the task.  One of the first things he did was trade Lee Smith to Boston for Calvin Shiraldi and Al Nipper.  This looks like it might have been a salary dump.  Whatever the reason, it was a disaster in 1988.  To replace Smith Frey traded Moreland to San Diego for an over the hill Goose Gossage.  Gossage still had good enough stuff to be a setup man, but his days as a competent closer were over. 

The next offseason Frey, desperate for a closer, traded Palmeiro and Moyer for Mitch Williams.  The trade made little sense, as Palmeiro and Moyer were still very young, were coming off good seasons, and Mitch Williams had been little better than mediocre for Texas.  The trade looked a lot better when the Cubs won the division that year with Williams saving 37 games, but Williams reverted to bad after that.  It should be noted that it took Moyer several years before he fine tuned his control enough to be a consistent winner, and Palmeiro needed some extra "help" on his way to 500 home runs.  So even if Frey had not made the trade, it is not clear whether Palmeiro and Moyer would have benefited the Cubs.

When Williams bombed out, Frey turned to free agency and signed Dave Smith.  Smith was awful.  Paul Sullivan has the details about Smith, Gossage, and other horrible Cub closers.

Frey also signed George Bell and Danny Jackson.  Bell had one ok year for the Cubs before Himes, the Cubs replacement for Frey, traded him for Sammy Sosa.  Danny Jackson was one in a long line of erratic left handed pitchers for the Cubs (Shawn Estes and Rich Hill being two other examples).

Himes must be grateful that Jim Frey was so bad.  Otherwise Himes might have the title of "worst Cubs G.M."  Letting one of the greatest pitchers of all time (Maddux) leave over two million dollars ranks as the worst Cubs move ever.

One last tidbit from my 80s Cubs memory archives-when I was in high school one of my teachers, a big Cubs fan, hung up a poster or a magazine page that was titled "Future Stars."  It was a grid divided into four square pictures of "future stars."  Who were these future stars?  I don't remember exactly, but looking at the date (the class was the fall of '87 and spring of '88) I think those four players would have been Maddux, Palmeiro, Moyer, and the one who did not pan out, Drew Hall.  If that is true, then this would be quite the poster.  Anyone else remember a poster like that?