The Chicago Cubs rewarded the success of General Manager Jim Hendry this week by signing him to a 4-year extension. That will keep him guiding Cubby blue through 2012.

I’ve always felt that Hendry is, at best, a mediocre GM. The albatross of a contract he gave Alfonso Soriano is already being regretted. His results are impressive, though: 3 post-season appearances in 6 years on the job. That’s good for any baseball team. For the Cubs, it’s unbelievable.

Still, extending Hendry immediately following the Cubs 9th straight loss in the playoffs is a move that brings its fair share of chuckles in the RHM household. Maybe Hendry will improve his post-season record before 2012. It wouldn’t take much.

A Tampa Bay/Philly Series may be the WS with the lowest TV ratings of all time. I mean, how many of the fans at tonight’s game are there for Boston, having made the trek all the way from Bean Town or, more likely, from Winter Haven, Sarasota, or Ft. Myers?

Nevertheless, I’d be watching. Not only do I know personally two bona fide Tampa Bay fanatics, plus the Cowbell Kid, but I also have a soft spot for the curmudgeons of the City of Brotherly Love.

Unfortunately, I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out whether I’m going to get to be so pleasantly torn, as I don’t think I can stay up for the last two innings. I’m, indeed, a dedicated baseball fan.

Over on the Fangraphs blog, I saw a post today about the inefficacy of small ball in the post-season.

Apparently, the Devil Rays aren’t winning in the playoffs by using small ball techniques. Instead, they’re doing it by hitting home runs.

They’re not doing it by hitting behind the runner. They’re not doing it with bunts. They’re not taking the extra base, making productive outs, or playing for one run. They’re hitting the ever loving crap out of the baseball, and proving that Big Ball will get you to the Big Dance. Toss the cliches out the window – when your team has a .535 slugging percentage in the playoffs, you’re going to win.

With that in mind, it’s an even better decision the Reds made when deciding to hold onto their best slugger for this millennium.

Oh, that’s right. They didn’t do that. Sigh. I wonder how far small ball will get Cincinnati.

Remember when Bob Castellini sent the letter to fans at the end of the regular season apologizing for all the sucking? Well, apparently, the Brewers CEO wanted to get in on the act, too. Only, for him, it’s a much more positive letter (and one that makes much more sense to write).

Someday, Reds fans, you too will receive a letter from the owner of your team. Well, another one. And that’s something to look forward to.

Slim pickins looking for former NLC players on the Tampa Bay team. They’re apparently too cheap to buy anyone else’s cast-off.

There are a few, though:

Cliff Floyd

Did this guy think he was moving up? Last year he was with the Cubs, the team that ended this season with the best record in the league. This year he was on the team that was giving away opening day tickets for free at one spring training game I went to a couple years ago. Yet, the Ray managed to throw off their curse by ditching the “Devil.” The Cubs could learn a thing or two.

Gabe Gross

Another guy who left a fairly strong team behind, the Brewers. His cross-country move improved not only the weather in his baseball town, but also his chances of getting a ring.

Grant Balfour

You may not think that Balfour was ever a member of the Reds, but you’d be forgetting when he was signed by Dan O’Brien in January of 2006. It was one of O’Brien’s last moves as GM, along with signing catcher Ryan Hannigan. One of these moves worked out better than the other, as Balfour somehow found himself on the Brewers before he ever tossed a pitch for the Reds. He pitched a whole 2.2 innings for the Brew Crew before being DFA’d and traded to Tampa Bay.