Jim Hendry Firing Reactions

The Cubs dismissed GM Jim Hendry earlier today, cutting ties with the third longest tenured GM in the National League even though he's under contract through 2012. The team was one game better than .500 during his tenure, going 749-748. Let's round up the latest reactions, news, and notes surrounding the move…

• A reminder of the criteria for the next GM as laid out by owner Tom Ricketts, who will conduct the search: a commitment to player development, a stronger analytical background, and someone who's been in a winning culture and has a track record of success.
• "[Ricketts] told me he felt we needed a fresh start and he was going to look outside the organization," said interim GM Randy Bush to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. "I really appreciated his honesty, to be honest."
• Yankees GM Brian Cashman shot down speculation about his candidacy for the job, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network (Twitter links). Cashman said that New York "has been home for quite some time," and he'd like that relationship to continue when his contract is up after the season.
• White Sox GM Kenny Williams said he would give assistant GM Rick Hahn the highest level of recommendation if asked about him by Ricketts, reports Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). Hahn was one of MLBTR's top 20 GM candidates.
• ESPN's Jim Bowden put together a list of potential GM replacements, including several names that appear on our list.
• Hendry admitted to reporters, including David Kaplan, that he was actually fired on July 22nd. He stayed on to help the team get all of their draft picks signed before the August 15th deadline because owner Tom Ricketts asked him to (Twitter links). Ricketts told Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune that "[Hendry's] been terrific, [it's] a credit to his character."
• In a video for FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal says that Hendry was done in by the bad contracts given to players like Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, and Milton Bradley even though he had to spend the money at behest of the team's previous owner, the Tribune Company.
• The Chicago Sun-Times listed Hendry's highs and lows, a collection of the best and worst moments during his tenure as GM.