Rosenthal: Cubs may still have some moves to make

[CubsWin]

I understand the fine thing but the lineup is solid 1-7 which is something I haven't seen in a while and Izturis has the potential to hit 300 to hide his lack of isod.

 

I'm not sure what Hendry can do at this point to make them great gooney unless he pulls of a major trade or finds a way to get +1 value for Jones and/or Eyre.

 

They might be solid. It's hardly a given.

That seems a bit harsh, don't you think? They might be solid? We're just talking about being solid, not all-star caliber at every slot.

 

Of Soriano, DeRosa, Lee, Ramirez, Barrett, Jones and Murton, which one of those is likely to have a below average year for their position? Any of them? DeRosa is probably the shakiest of them, but is he likely to put up a below average OPS for a 2B next year? If none are likely to have below average offensive production for their position, then doesn't it logically follow that they are very likely to be a solid 1-7?

 

 

I'm not sure what he can do either, but he's the one that brought them to this point. I'm not about to accept what he's done as the best option given circumstances when he's the one that brought about the circumstances.

Just curious. You mention circumstances that Hendry has brought about. Which circumstances are you referring to? Thanks.

 

Harsh? Saying they might be solid is harsh? My lord, the level of angst people have when others don't praise this team is absurd. DeRosa could easily have a very bad year. Lee could easily have a year more similar to his non-2005 than his 2005. Ramirez has some injury issues, and there is always the post contract syndrome to worry about. Same with Soriano, who, by the way, could very easily just be okay. Barrett broke a nut. Plus he's got a lot of mileage as a catcher with general health concerns, and is backed up by Hendry Blanco, who will play a lot. Jones isn't even guaranteed to be on the team, and if he is, then he and Murton aren't a lock to be in the lineup at the same time. Speaking of Murton, he could have a setback, as a young guy whose hardly an established impact hitter, there's no guarantee. Furthermore, we aren't assured that Izturis will be batting 8th.

 

What are the odds of any one of those things happening? It probably varies. But the odds are something will go wrong with one of those guys. The point is they aren't a lock to be solid, not in my book. The furthest I'd go is saying they are a lock to be better than last year, but even that could be wrong, especially if they end up with an unproductive CF and Lee somehow can't recover fully or gets hurt. Then, you're basically the same team as last year, with Soriano replacing Jones. Now, that'd be a disaster, and I'm not predicting it. But nobody can say it would be unthinkable. We are talking about a team that has had an average to terrible lineup for multiple years now. I'm going to make them prove it on the field before I hand them anything.

Goon, let's try to keep the personal attacks to a minimum, shall we? I dare to question your opinion and you have to baselessly accuse me of having angst and needing you to only praise the Cubs. That's completely ridiculous and unnecessary. Try responding to the content of the post instead of injecting your personal comments please.

 

As to the content of your post. I talked about what was likely. All you basically did was mention everything that could possibly go wrong, but never really talked about their likelihood. You said that the odds of each one varied. Can't argue with that, but how likely is it that Aramis Ramirez will suffer from post contract syndrome to the point that he wouldn't be "solid"? How likely is it that Soriano will revert so much to the point that he wouldn't be considered a "solid" outfielder? You mentioned a lot of stuff that would result in "disaster" but then said that you aren't predicting that will actually happen. Is that because all of these worst case scenarios aren't "likely" in your mind? If so, that's my point exactly.

 

And you know you don't need an answer to that last question. This is Hendry's team. He built it. He is responsible for the fact that they are below .500 under his watch. Some people are saying you can't expect Hendry to do anything more than he has, as if he's the new guy who came in to fix a bad situation. That's just not the case. Hendry broke this team, it was his job to fix it, no matter how difficult a task that was.

Hendry broke this team? Really...

 

Did Hendry break Derrek Lee's wrist? Did he cause Prior's loose shoulder? When Hendry took over, what was the record of the team the previous 3 seasons? Wouldn't you have to know the answer to that question in order to know whether or not he broke this team?

 

Good, fair questions, don't you think?

[Wes Mantooth]

I hate to speak for someone else, but I think the point of goonies post is the lack of backup at first. Maybe even a lack of major league starting pitching on the club. Hendry counted on Wood and Prior to pitch and the backup plan for them was Miller. Many people posted trade ideas on this site that were possible. Some weren't likely, but they were possible. As was the case for first base. Many ideas, no action.

I'm not one to say I can do the job better. Everyone knows it isn't a simple thing to put a trade together. However with the resources available in money and scouting a GM should be able to find a decent replacement somewhere in the league for any position. I look at Walt Jockety when I make that statement.

While I don't agree with all out Hendry bashing, I do think he should be accountable for the poor team of the last few years, just as he should be credited for success in 03