8/21 Business as usual

Randy Bush, promoted from assistant GM to interim GM following the dismissal of Jim Hendry on Friday, met with the baseball operations staff in Chicago this weekend. He also conducted a conference call with chairman Tom Ricketts, the scouts and the player development staff as well. Bush’s message was that he will do everything possible to make the transition smooth to the next GM. He also wanted to try and address any concerns they may have about their future with the Cubs.

“Tom has spoken about how happy he is and impressed he is with our scouting departments and player development,” Bush said Sunday. “He’s happy with [player development director Oneri Fleita's] leadership and [scouting director] Tim Wilken, and I expressed to them that [Ricketts] has those feelings about the job they’re doing and that we could see a path where a lot of things in place would stay in place.”

What would Bush tell the next Cubs GM?

“I’d tell him I believe we’ve done a great job recently of acquiring talent,” Bush said, “and that Mr. Ricketts has made a commitment both domestically and internationally to pursue the top talent available, and that our player development people are doing a great job of moving those players along at the right pace to get them here so they’ll be here for a long time.”

* If there are any waiver wire trades to be made, Bush will handle that. One thing he made clear to Ricketts was that things happen quickly in baseball. Some teams in the race may need help because of injuries or performance.

“I don’t anticipate anything,” Bush said. “I think it’s the nature of the business that opportunities come up at different times and we have to be prepared.”

 

The games haven’t stopped because of the change at the top.

 

“The day to day activity here is probably a good thing,” Mike Quade said. “It doesn’t allow you the time to sit back. You’re just consumed with what goes on here every day. I wind up saying, it’s baseball, and then go about my business. There will be plenty of time for reflection down the road.”