Top ten reasons why Jim Hendry sucked (base)balls this offseaon

The top 5 involve Mark DeRosa.
10. Signed Paul Bako to a 1 year deal worth $750,000 as backup catcher, only to realize later that a guy who cut off his hand catches throws and bats better. Meanwhile, the mentor of your now slumping primo catcher signed for the same price to the Padres.
9. Failed to close the door on Jake Peavy while the Padres were in a position of weakness. Now they're winning, and we suck. Good for you for not taking the ridiculous 5 for 1 deal, but you shoulda whittled it down to a 3 for 1 or something similar.
8. Signed the hot headed, but who really gives a crap about that, and more importantly INJURY PRONE Milton Bradley who right now is a 30-million dollar bench player.
7. Failed to resign Kerry Wood for a 1 year deal. Even at 10 million, which I honestly don't beleive it would've taken, he effectively turned a huge strength last year into a huge weakness this year. The loss of a dominant power pitcher at the end of the bullpen cannot be unerestimated.
6. Focused far too much on which side of the plate someone stands on without paying attention to other minor points, like i don't know, the ability to play.

And now...the D-Ro 5....

5. Traded Mark DeRosa, eliminating a clubhouse leader, a versatile player, a clutch hitter, and a fan favorite - not a good days work.
4. Attempted to repalce him with Aaron Miles, who is a switch hitter, but only plays middle infield positions. This would be the same Aaron Miles who the Cardinals did not want. This would be the same Cardinals who are now using a left fielder to play second base - Miles' position. If that's not a warning sign, I don't know what is.
3. Effectively eliminated a reasonable backup for Aramis Ramirez, who by the way, had to leave yesterday's game iwth a calf strain and seems headed for the DL.
2. Only received 3 prospects in the trade. Yes, I said prospects, not one of which is even close to ML ready. This move did not ultimately culminate in a Peavy trade making it a complete and total failure.
1. With two players not playing - Milt and Ramy - the missing D-Ro is magnified because he played both of those positions remarkably well.

So, in summary, while I have been a Hendry fan in the past, this past winter we completely dropped his kibble and obsessed with left-handed hitting, when just hitting would've sufficed.