SB Nation Chicago

Hughes has been in the game for 45 years, and most recently worked alongside Jim Hendry for nine years with the Cubs. Hendry was recently hired by the Yankees, pitting these two against each other in the AL East.

I would love to see the Cubs get a high-profile GM like Epstein or Cashman. Not sure if Freidman is a good fit. I think he'd lose his mind not working on a strict budget. Haha!

As many of us suspected, the "Wilken will leave if we fire Hendry" meme was a lot of hot air and baseless speculation. Does Wilken still want to see it through and watch his draft picks grow up and form the core of a contender? "Hell yeah," Wilken said. "Without a doubt. That was my goal when I came here. Jim hired me, but I work for the Chicago Cubs." That settles that. It will, of course, be up to the new GM. But (edit) Ricketts will recommend that they keep Wilken on, and he's hoping to stay.

This feels a bit more like a pattern and less like bad luck. So Al's not backing Hendry anymore; does just leave the Ricketts in his corner?