Post#623 » by HankTheTank » Fri Apr 8, 2016 5:42 am
I'm just amazed by how many people in the media, and on this board, miss the mark. The Hinkie haters point to his W/L record ad nauseum. The Hinkie process is not so different from the method Theo Epstein employed in Chicago.
When Epstein took over the Cubs, he said the team was going to be awful for at least 2 years at his first press conference. But, he would turn over every rock to acquire young talent and build a bright future, and bring sustainable success. He jettisoned veterens in trades and acquired prospects like Russel. Their high draft position enabled them to draft future stars like Kris Bryant. He spent wisely on international talent like Soler, and when the foundation was laid he brought in free agents like Lester and this year Heyward.
Today they're the best positioned franchise in MlB for sustained success. If you polled MLB execs on who the best GM in baseball is, I'd bet he'd get 75% of the vote. Imagine if the Cubs ownership pulled the plug after 2 years because they were so tired of being awful, right before the team was about to turn the corner. And, what if they hired, say, Ed Wade to replace him, a dinosuar with no foresight, who'd executed horrible trades like the Schilling deal, had mediocre drafts, who was run out on a rail from his last job, and would inevitably bring back the same tired old way of running a baseball team?
*GENIUS*
Hinkie graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA from the Univ of Oklahoma and was named one of the top-60 undergrad students in the nation by USA TODAY. He holds an MBA from Stanford, graduating with highest honors as an Arjay Miller Scholar.