Corey Patterson traded to Balt. (per Levine)

[Mizzou]

Please tell me that Hendry's not including any cash in this deal.

[Mark Priors Calves]

Here's more info on Spears from his minor league team's website

AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS SLG OBP

.294 112 445 63 131 30 6 6 41 36 82 8 4 .429 .349 

[Tim]

Player          G   AB   R   H   TB   2B   3B   HR   RBI   BB   IBB   HBP   SAC   SF   SO   SB   CS   GDP   AVG    OBP    SLG    OPS
Spears, Nate  112  445  63 131  191   30    6    6    41   36     1     2    14    1   82    8    4     1  0.294  0.349  0.429  0.778

Player           G   GS  CG  SHO   W   L  SV  SVO   ERA    IP      H     R   ER   HR  HB   BB  IBB   SO    AVG     OBP     SLG     OPS    WP  BK   G/F
Perez, Carlos   27   27   0   0   11   8   0   0   4.28   151.3   168   84   72   10   3   61   0   146   0.281   0.348   0.399   0.747   12   2   0.71

Anyone else find it typical that the pitcher we got gave up more walks than the hitter took?

[Mark Priors Calves]

sorry I'm no good at the Code thing, help me out Fred.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Spears looks like an interesting prospect. Perez doesn't look like much, but I don't know what his stuff is like.

[Kingmanarama]

Please tell me that Hendry's not including any cash in this deal.

 

Tribune shareholder?

[Mizzou]

Please tell me that Hendry's not including any cash in this deal.

 

Tribune shareholder?

Me? No. It'd just be foolish to pay any of his salary when we could've simply declined to offer him arbitration and let him walk.

[abuck1220]

Please tell me that Hendry's not including any cash in this deal.

 

Tribune shareholder?

 

it would have been incredibly stupid of hendry to offer patterson a contract, trade him for scraps, and give the o's money to take him when he just could have non-tendered him.

[goonys evil twin]

Anyone else find it typical that the pitcher we got gave up more walks than the hitter took?

 

I'm certainly not surprised that he's a lefty with what appears to be a live arm and control issues.

 

The SS prospect doesn't look bad from the numbers, kind of comparable to Cedeno actually.

[UK1679666180]

Spears is the scrappy little white guy everyone loves. His ceiling is that of a slightly better version of Eckstein, same type of approach to the game.

 

Perez is a LH'er who had shoulder problems in the past, has a live arm, and has struggled w/control at times.

 

Spears probably projects in the 20-25 range and Perez in the 30-40 range as far as Cubs prospects.

 

I'll miss Corey.

[Tim]

Anyone else find it typical that the pitcher we got gave up more walks than the hitter took?

 

I'm certainly not surprised that he's a lefty with what appears to be a live arm and control issues.

 

The SS prospect doesn't look bad from the numbers, kind of comparable to Cedeno actually.

I'm guessing it's those 14 sac bunts that caught the Cubs eyes. What a gamer, sparkplug, team-player kind of guy.

[TenzilKem]

This is the third trade in two years in which the Cubs have traded deliberately traded a player for minimal return because of personality/chemistry issues. It was Sosa and Farnsworth last near, now we have Patterson and probably soon Walker.

 

Is the benefit of getting rid of such players so great that it's a good move in the long run even if you willingly except lesser talent in return?

 

Maybe a player like Sosa becomes such a huge distraction that it makes sense to trade him to any willing taker, especially if you correctly forecast that his skills are about to decline precipitously. But it's hard to see how a team can be successful if it makes a habit of getting rid of talented ballplayers for low return every year largely due to personality issues.

 

And of course it's strange that you have to make so many of these personality-driven trades when you have a manager whose supposed strength is the ability to get the most out of his players.

[abuck1220]

This is the third trade in two years in which the Cubs have traded deliberately traded a player for minimal return because of personality/chemistry issues. It was Sosa and Farnsworth last near, now we have Patterson and probably soon Walker.

 

Is the benefit of getting rid of such players so great that it's a good move in the long run even if you willingly except lesser talent in return?

 

Maybe a player like Sosa becomes such a huge distraction that it makes sense to trade him to any willing taker, especially if you correctly forecast that his skills are about to decline precipitously. But it's hard to see how a team can be successful if it makes a habit of getting rid of talented ballplayers for low return every year largely due to personality issues.

 

And of course it's strange that you have to make so many of these personality-driven trades when you have a manager whose supposed strength is the ability to get the most out of his players.

 

don't forget sisco.

 

it's the cubs' m.o. to trade low.

[CubFanPhilly]

This is the third trade in two years in which the Cubs have traded deliberately traded a player for minimal return because of personality/chemistry issues.

 

I don't see how Corey is personality driven trade. It seems like a performance driven trade to me.

 

I wish the Cubs had given him one more year. Platooning him in LF with Murton would've been fine with me.

 

Good luck Corey.

[Magnetic Curses]

time for a few people to change their screen names.

[CubfaninCA]

This is the third trade in two years in which the Cubs have traded deliberately traded a player for minimal return because of personality/chemistry issues. It was Sosa and Farnsworth last near, now we have Patterson and probably soon Walker.

 

Is the benefit of getting rid of such players so great that it's a good move in the long run even if you willingly except lesser talent in return?

 

Maybe a player like Sosa becomes such a huge distraction that it makes sense to trade him to any willing taker, especially if you correctly forecast that his skills are about to decline precipitously. But it's hard to see how a team can be successful if it makes a habit of getting rid of talented ballplayers for low return every year largely due to personality issues.

 

And of course it's strange that you have to make so many of these personality-driven trades when you have a manager whose supposed strength is the ability to get the most out of his players.

 

Patterson got dealt cause he can't hit or take a pitch, and moving Sosa was a good move.

[mhuber92211]

Bye Corey. I will still root for you to do well!

[YearofDaCubs]

I will say this..trading Corey for a bag of peanuts(which we did) was not the route we should have taken. We could have kept him as a backup OFer instead we will end up with the joke that is Marquis Grissom. Either way I'm not too upset about it.

[E.J.]

Don't know what to say. It's another trade where we gave away a player at his lowest value. But it was so frustrating watching Corey the past 2 years, especially last year. Although we have pretty much the same person in Jones to be frustrated at now.

[cubweiser03]

The SS prospect doesn't look bad from the numbers, kind of comparable to Cedeno actually.

 

Good one. At same age he's got better numbers than ronny, both struck out a lot in A ball. Spears needs to improve his k ratio like ronny did.

[Tim]

The SS prospect doesn't look bad from the numbers, kind of comparable to Cedeno actually.

 

Good one. At same age he's got better numbers than ronny, both struck out a lot in A ball. Spears needs to improve his k ratio like ronny did.

Ronnie was always graded out as having great tools, though. That didn't mean that his exceptional development since 2003 was a given, but the potential was there.

 

Spears has a much more limited ceiling from what BA says about him.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

According to John Sickels' 2005 Prospect Book-

 

Spears was picked in the fifth round in '03 out of high school...He is the prototype scrappy infielder, someone who doesn't have awesome physical tools, but knows how to play baseball and enjoys doing so. He has slightly above average speed, a good glove at 2b, and the willingness to work the count and get on base."

 

Sickels gave him a grade of C in the 2005 handbook.

 

 

In the BA Handbook for 2005, Spears was Baltimore's 10th ranked prospect. They suggest he profiles as a number two hitter and could steal 15-20 bases.

Edited January 9, 2006 by vance_the_cubs_fan

[TheDude]

Don't know what to say. It's another trade where we gave away a player at his lowest value. But it was so frustrating watching Corey the past 2 years, especially last year. Although we have pretty much the same person in Jones to be frustrated at now.

 

It's a no-win situation for management. If they don't give Corey the 2nd, 3rd and 4th chances, they get blamed for not playing the kids and giving them a shot to be successful. If they do give them the chances and they fail, then move on, they sold low.

 

It was a forgone conclusion Corey was going to be traded. There was no reason to believe he would get the 5th chance to increase his value.

[Shawon12]

This is the third trade in two years in which the Cubs have traded deliberately traded a player for minimal return because of personality/chemistry issues. It was Sosa and Farnsworth last near, now we have Patterson and probably soon Walker.

 

Is the benefit of getting rid of such players so great that it's a good move in the long run even if you willingly except lesser talent in return?

 

Maybe a player like Sosa becomes such a huge distraction that it makes sense to trade him to any willing taker, especially if you correctly forecast that his skills are about to decline precipitously. But it's hard to see how a team can be successful if it makes a habit of getting rid of talented ballplayers for low return every year largely due to personality issues.

 

And of course it's strange that you have to make so many of these personality-driven trades when you have a manager whose supposed strength is the ability to get the most out of his players.

 

I don't see how you think this trade was personality driven and not performance driven. Corey's approach and results brought this trade on. While Hendry deserves some overall bashing, this is really a non issue. It's doubtful Corey will be anything special, and it's doubtful Spears will be. Gesh, seems everyone is on the edge of the cliff...

[chicubs]

going to get flamed, but I think the cubs got fleeced...again. Yes, corey has struggled and was one of his greatest haters on this board (well, actually, i never bood him in person), but he had done things at the major league level while these two scrubs are likely to never do anything at the MLB level. Worthless trade. Probably caps off one of the worst offseasons in recent memory.