You can say a lot of things about the Cubs (they suck, they stink and they suck) but one thing they have down pat.  They know how to spend money on managers.  The last three times they’ve entered an offseason needing a manager, they’ve gotten the supposed “top” candidate available, and spent big money. Don Baylor didn’t work, Dusty Baker worked for almost a whole season, and now it’s Lou Piniella’s turn.

The shocking thing isn’t that the Cubs hired Piniella, it’s how much he wanted the job.  By most accounts, some of his best friends like former Cubs manager Lee Elia and White Sox bloviator Hawk Harrelson tried to talk him out of it, but Lou would not be deterred.  He envisions himself being the manager, when the Cubs win the World Series.

Apparently, Lou has a drinking problem that we’re not aware of.

Here’s the interesting thing about the timing of this.  Right now, is probably the best time, ever, to be a Cubs’ manager.  For the first time ever, the team has–accidentally, or otherwise–announced their intention to win a World Series.  They are willing to spend money to try to accomplish this feat. 

Tragically, had they taken this same approach four years ago, they probably would have won something.  They would have signed Vlad Guerrero or Miguel Tejada or Billy Wagner or Carlos Beltran or traded for A-Rod.  At that point they would have added one or more of those players to a good team.  Now, four short years later, the team to which they hope to add expensive players isn’t all that good.

The problem, as we all know, is that you can buy offense, but you can’t buy starting pitching.  In 2003, the Cubs had starting pitching depth.  Now, they can spend money on hitters, but they’re adding them to a team almost totally devoid of starting pitching.  There’s one guy.  Guh.  This is so Cub.

Here’s the rub.  While it’s the best time ever–well, at least since the nineteen-oughts to be the Cubs’ manager–that’s still no guarantee that anything will get done.  Being in on trade conversations or free agent negotiations with big-name players is one thing, finalizing a trade or actually signing a guy is something else.  If the biggest available names are going to be Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt, the Cubs would need to get their hands on three of those guys to put fear into opponents.  What are the odds they can even get one of them? 

Worse.  What are the odds they’d be happy if they got one of them?  Lou might not, but Jim and John McBeaniebaby would be.  Take last year’s team and add Carlos Lee to it and you’re still bad.  Not as bad, but you’re not going to win anything.  Add Carlos Lee and Jason Schmidt and you’re getting warmer, but you’ve still got holes you can drive a truck through.

The Cubs will also need to be smart with the way they fill out their roster, above and beyond the eight position players and the rotation.  You can’t afford to waste money on stiffs like John Mabry, Neifi Perez or Glendon Rusch again.  (I know, I know, they’re still on the hook for Glendon–you get what I mean.) 

There is still a clamor that the Cubs hired the wrong manager.  Fan sentiment seemed to be pretty keenly focused on Joe Girardi.  But he wasn’t the right guy for this job.  Jim Hendry got this right.  If the Tribune is really committed to spend, you hire the best manager available.  This isn’t a five or six year rebuilding cycle where you try to identify an up and coming manager to grow with the team.  If the Cubs don’t win in 2007 or 2008, Jim and Lou and the Tribune are all going to be gone.  Hell, if they do win in 2007 or 2008 the same might be true. 

Piniella will draw a lot of comparisons to Dusty Baker, especially among those who like to act like they know more about baseball than the rest of us.  But here’s what you need to know about Lou.  While Dusty’s good teams always had a steroid induced slugger in their midst, Lou’s best team came after the departures of Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson.  What would Dusty have done that season?  Sat around and told us how he can’t win without his horses.

Chris DeLuca had a pretty telling quote in his article yesterday from Digger Phelps’ son-in-law, who played for Lou in Seattle.

”For him, it’s all about winning,” Jamie Moyer said. ”I’ve seen guys come along under his tutelage, but at the same time, he expects you to know how to play the game. And that’s the way it should be. If you’re a veteran, you should know how to play the game. There’s accountability that goes with your job.

”I felt he was always a fair guy and didn’t ask more of his players than what they should be expected to do. He fights for his players. He’ll get on them when they’re not performing the way they should, but at the same time, he’ll put his arm around a guy who needs it.”

Just like Dusty.  Dusty would get on guys when they needed it.  He apparently just never thought they ever needed it.  The 2006 Cubs had a culture of, “Oh, boy, bad things have happened, we’re not supposed to win now,” about them.

The Cubs’ TV ratings went in the toilet.  Fans stayed away in droves in September.  Dusty just kept alibi-ing for his boys.

Early rumors have the Cubs targeting Alfonso Soriano (to lead off and play center), Carlos Lee to play…left?…and Jason Schmidt (to play the fireballer on the DL role), and to be on anybody with a Japanese surname.  I expect them to announce they’ve signed Gedde Wantanabe to a three year deal any day now.

All of this should be interesting, if not all that satisfying when it plays out.  But hey, that’s improvement.  The 2006 Cubs were hardly even interesting.

Now, if we could just get Jock to leave…