Cubs’ 2011 defining moments will impact next season

The Cubs entered the first day of the rest of their lives without a permanent general manager, without much starting pitching and with a whole host of questions.

A second straight losing season ended Wednesday with No. 1 starting pitcher Ryan Dempster getting shelled by the light-hitting San Diego Padres. The Cubs finished the season with a record of 71-91, giving them a two-year mark of 146-178.

The year was full of defining moments — and each will have an impact on 2012 and beyond.

Team chairman Tom Ricketts noted that “turnarounds can happen pretty quickly,” so let’s quickly get to the defining moments of 2011 and how they will affect the future.

Hendry’s delayed-action firing:Ricketts announced the firing of general manager Jim Hendry (actually Ricketts said Hendry was #147;stepping down#148;) on Aug. 19, after he told Hendry he was #147;stepping down#148; on July 22. Ricketts now is on a supersecret mission to hire a new GM, one whom he says will be more #147;analytical#148; than Hendry. We#146;re assuming that Ricketts means the new man or woman will be more open to statistical analysis or sabermetrics than the old-school Hendry, who indeed was #147;analytical,#148; but in different ways. There are several of those analytical types out there, including Theo Epstein, whose Boston Red Sox just completed an epic collapse that would do even the Cubs proud. Andrew Friedman of Tampa Bay would be a nice catch, especially if he could bring field manager Joe Maddon with him. And White Sox assistant Rick Hahn is one of many assistant GMs out there apparently ready to sit in the big chair. A change in philosophy toward having an offense that stresses patience at the plate and values walks as a way to create runs and make opposing pitchers work more is long overdue on the North Side. Ricketts seems to know that turning a ship this big and costly will take time. #147;We look at everything from a long-term perspective,#148; he said in San Diego this week. #147;We#146;ll make the right long-term decisions.#148;Down goes the pitching:When Hendry assembled reporters at Wrigley Field on April 6, it was assumed he was going to provide an update on pitcher Andrew Cashner, who left the previous day#146;s game with a shoulder injury. Hendry not only did that, but he also announced that starter Randy Wells was injured, too. Wells missed two months with a forearm strain, and Cashner missed five months with a rotator-cuff strain. The injuries exposed an alarming lack of pitching depth in the Cubs#146; farm system, which once seemed to have arms aplenty. Instead, Hendry had to pick through the reject heap to sign the likes of Doug Davis, Ramon Ortiz, Rodrigo Lopez and Dave Bush (who went home after pitching briefly for the Cubs#146; Class AAA Iowa team). The results were predicable, as Cubs starting pitchers finished the season with an ERA of 4.79. Matt Garza appears to be next year#146;s No. 1 starter after a year in which he went 10-10 with a solid ERA of 3.32Opening-day starter Dempster has seen his ERA go from 2.96 in 2008 to 3.65 to 3.85 to 4.80 over the next three seasons. After that, there#146;s not much. Homegrown starter Casey Coleman (3-9, 6.40) couldn#146;t step up, and Lopez showed he was a 5-inning pitcher.Of course, it wouldn#146;t be a Cubs season without some antics from Carlos Zambrano. He stormed out of Atlanta on Aug. 12, apparently retiring from baseball. Hendry, although a lame-duck GM at the time, sent Zambrano packing. The $18 million on his contract is a mess for the next regime to sort out after an arbitrator hear#146;s Zambrano#146;s grievance. As a procedural move, the Cubs reinstated Zambrano to the 40-man roster Thursday. The new GM will have to go out and find two quality starters if the Cubs are going to experience that #147;turnaround.#148; Problem is, a lot of other teams will be looking for the same thing.Declaration of independence:Third baseman Aramis Ramirez stated this month that he would declare free agency and that his days as a Cub likely are over. Like him or not, Ramirez has been the Cubs#146; most important offensive force since they traded for him in 2003. This year, he had a hitting line of .306/.361/.510 with 26 homers and 93 RBI. Third-base prospect Josh Vitters made progress at Class AA Tennessee, but he needs a full year in Triple-A. DJ LeMahieu had a couple cups of coffee with the Cubs this year, but he#146;s untested. The Cubs will have to find a stopgap. And those who criticized Ramirez for bad body language and other alleged offenses soon will be singing about not knowing what they had until it#146;s gone. He#146;s an all-starIf there#146;s one ray of hope for the Cub, it#146;s shortstop Starlin Castro, who on July 3 was named an all-star at age 21 and who went on to lead the National League in hits, finishing the season with an 11-game hitting streak and a 40-game on-base streak. Castro still needs some polish to his game, but he#146;s the best and most exciting prospect the Cubs have had in years. Whether he ends up at third base or batting third in the order remains to be seen, but the Cubs will build around this kid.