Cubs Will Be Able To Spend, Hendry Says

Despite recent reports suggesting the Cubs' free agency plans will be hampered by their violation of MLB's debt service rules, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry says his club's spending won't be affected, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.

"We knew the path we went on in '07, '08, when the club was going up for sale, it was high level spending and obviously turned into divisional championship success," Hendry said.  "When you don't finish that off, and the length of the time that the sale took, there was… an area there where (spending was) a little stagnant, and moving forward. Nobody's fault. That's the price of doing business.

"There's never been any talk of not pursuing any free agents….There are no financial difficulties here with the Ricketts family. And i think it will be a great franchise, and better than it's ever been, down the road."

The Cubs have a lot of money coming off the books this winter, which has naturally set off speculation that Chicago will pursue a top-flight free agent like Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder.  Of course, if the Cubs are indeed able to continue business as usual, the question remains as to whether Hendry will be the one conducting it.  Hendry said that given the team's poor performance, he isn't surprised to hear whispers about possibly being fired, saying "that comes with the territory."

"I expected us to win at a higher level than three division championships," Hendry said.  "I don't mind that. This is professional baseball in a big market and a great fan base. We should've done better the last year and a half. So that comes with the territory, and that is my responsibility."