Jacque Jones' OBP and SLG

[YearofDaCubs]

Hendry gives Isiah Thomas a run for his money.

[soapy]

I don't know who the Padres have coming up through their system, but I think Jones for Cameron does make sense, on the surface.

 

Cameron can still hit lefties well. Call up Pie and platoon him with Cameron for the rest of this season. Pie (theoretically) takes over CF full time next season. It also gives the Cubs someone with RH pop to come off of the bench, which they currently lack.

 

Having said that, I'm not entirely sure I see the logic for making this move from the Padres perspective, other than some salary relief and someone that can play any OF position this year and next.

[jjgman21]

don't take this wrong. I want Hendry gone as bad as anyone. but let's face it, his harshest critics screamed for two of the players mentioned above (Drew and Abreu), and another who is just barely non-qualified, Brian Giles.

 

so when you go thinking Hendry's job is easy and he's just a massive baboon, look yourself in the mirror and admit many of the terrible transaction suggestions you've suggested over the years and where the Cubs would be had they made the moves often demanded here.

 

I'm pretty sure no one's suggesting that they themselves replace Hendry.

 

people constantly state that "some people on this board would make a better GM than Hendry."

 

you know it's true, and your comment seems more than just a bit disingenuous.

[Backtobanks]

don't take this wrong. I want Hendry gone as bad as anyone. but let's face it, his harshest critics screamed for two of the players mentioned above (Drew and Abreu), and another who is just barely non-qualified, Brian Giles.

 

so when you go thinking Hendry's job is easy and he's just a massive baboon, look yourself in the mirror and admit many of the terrible transaction suggestions you've suggested over the years and where the Cubs would be had they made the moves often demanded here.

 

As I have said over quite a few posts in the past, it's easy to sit back and critcize Hendry, but the GM's job is much harder than we want to admit. As you stated, people wanted Drew and/or Abreu and they're not doing much. The argument over Giles still amazes me that people don't realize that Giles was not going to leave San Diego. When people complain about the team being good on paper, that's all a GM can do because the players have to perform on the field. The power numbers for Lee and Soriano are totally unexpected, but I'm sure some critics would say that Hendry is to blame for not forseeing this. Hendry has made plenty of mistakes, but non-performance by players that are expected to perform can't be blamed on him.

No, I blame him. It's his type of player that he likes so much that is the problem at times. He doesn't look at all the numbers. He just looks at power and speed and then wonders why these guys K every time men are on base. He IS the problem. Any other GM could do MUCH better than Jimbo with this payroll. For his one good move there are 2-3 moves that leave you scratching your head. I'm also sure all GM's were laughing their ass off when they saw him sign Soriano to that RIDICULOUS contract. He's a terrible GM and should have been gone long ago. The fact that he is still here shows you how inept this organization still is.

 

Well, I'm glad you don't exaggerate.

[jjgman21]

don't take this wrong. I want Hendry gone as bad as anyone. but let's face it, his harshest critics screamed for two of the players mentioned above (Drew and Abreu), and another who is just barely non-qualified, Brian Giles.

 

so when you go thinking Hendry's job is easy and he's just a massive baboon, look yourself in the mirror and admit many of the terrible transaction suggestions you've suggested over the years and where the Cubs would be had they made the moves often demanded here.

 

what's so impressive about where the cubs are now?

 

i don't understand why people want to give hendry credit for assembling a giant, expensive failure. do you really, honestly think it takes some special skill to field a $95 mil team that loses 90+ games? seriously, thousands upon thousands of people could have accomplished what hendry has accomplished over the past few seasons...and the cubs certainly wouldn't be any worse off than they are right now.

 

strawman argument alert.

 

as to your first comment, you're conflating the argument, as this discussion is primarily about Jones. with Drew, you may have a point, but most wanted Giles instead of Jones when both were signed and most wanted to make a play for Abreu to replace Jones, so with both of them, you're just simply wrong. both are far more expensive than Jones, which would have lead to considerably fewer resources to deal with.

[Soriano12]

don't take this wrong. I want Hendry gone as bad as anyone. but let's face it, his harshest critics screamed for two of the players mentioned above (Drew and Abreu), and another who is just barely non-qualified, Brian Giles.

 

so when you go thinking Hendry's job is easy and he's just a massive baboon, look yourself in the mirror and admit many of the terrible transaction suggestions you've suggested over the years and where the Cubs would be had they made the moves often demanded here.

 

As I have said over quite a few posts in the past, it's easy to sit back and critcize Hendry, but the GM's job is much harder than we want to admit. As you stated, people wanted Drew and/or Abreu and they're not doing much. The argument over Giles still amazes me that people don't realize that Giles was not going to leave San Diego. When people complain about the team being good on paper, that's all a GM can do because the players have to perform on the field. The power numbers for Lee and Soriano are totally unexpected, but I'm sure some critics would say that Hendry is to blame for not forseeing this. Hendry has made plenty of mistakes, but non-performance by players that are expected to perform can't be blamed on him.

No, I blame him. It's his type of player that he likes so much that is the problem at times. He doesn't look at all the numbers. He just looks at power and speed and then wonders why these guys K every time men are on base. He IS the problem. Any other GM could do MUCH better than Jimbo with this payroll. For his one good move there are 2-3 moves that leave you scratching your head. I'm also sure all GM's were laughing their ass off when they saw him sign Soriano to that RIDICULOUS contract. He's a terrible GM and should have been gone long ago. The fact that he is still here shows you how inept this organization still is.

 

Well, I'm glad you don't exaggerate.

 

It isn't an exaggeration at all.

[jjgman21]

don't take this wrong. I want Hendry gone as bad as anyone. but let's face it, his harshest critics screamed for two of the players mentioned above (Drew and Abreu), and another who is just barely non-qualified, Brian Giles.

 

so when you go thinking Hendry's job is easy and he's just a massive baboon, look yourself in the mirror and admit many of the terrible transaction suggestions you've suggested over the years and where the Cubs would be had they made the moves often demanded here.

There's a difference though. Most of those flops you mentioned had done very well before they got their current contract. Jones was horrible. It's a surprise that Drew and Abreu are doing as bad as they are. It's not a surprise that our $15mil Jones is doing bad. I'd rather have a GM who went after players where there was a basis of reason for expecting them to do good, not a basis to think they're going to suck. You're going to score more often going after Drew and Abreu types than with Jones types.

 

I'm still wishing we would have decided to open the pocket books a couple of years earlier and locked in Vlad or Beltran instead of Soriano.

 

our 15M in three years of Jones purchases about 1.25 years of the other players mentioned. Jones was not as good as the others, and that is reflected in his salary.

[jjgman21]

don't take this wrong. I want Hendry gone as bad as anyone. but let's face it, his harshest critics screamed for two of the players mentioned above (Drew and Abreu), and another who is just barely non-qualified, Brian Giles.

 

so when you go thinking Hendry's job is easy and he's just a massive baboon, look yourself in the mirror and admit many of the terrible transaction suggestions you've suggested over the years and where the Cubs would be had they made the moves often demanded here.

 

I was never a big fan of Abreu, but I wanted Drew pretty bad. And Drew's power is nowhere to be found, but his OBP is still 100 points higher than his AVG (and that .350 OBP would be an improvement for our OF); Abreu's OBP is not good, but it's also 80 or so points higher than his AVG - these guys haven't lost their plate discipline, which is something our team sorely lacks.

 

But Abreu and Drew also went from the NL to the ALE, which is a huge difference in terms of talent. Abreu got the short end of the stick b/c some of the worst pitchers in the ALE are on his team. But they're facing much better talent than Jones is. So to think Drew or Abreu wouldn't be much better facing the Cards, Pirates, Reds, etc than pitchers in the AL isn't really fair. They might be just as bad on the Cubs as they are in the ALE, but the difference in talent in the leagues is fairly widely accepted, so I think that's a variable you're overlooking.

 

I'd love to trade for Drew (Abreu's a year and a half older, so I'm less interested in him). If he could play CF at all, that .391 career OBP would be a thing of beauty on this team.

 

another conflation of the argument. if you are going to compare the pitching talent one faces, you must remain consistent. neither player was in the NL central, yet those are the teams you use to excuse these players poor performances. Abreu got a break, then what explains Drew? Abreu got a break, but the pitching in the NL East last year was a helluva lot better than the AL East pitching this year.

 

and btw, 13-15M a year for a slightly better than league average OBP (if that) and little more is a terrible idea, which gets back to my original point, we'd be more screwed had the Cubs acquired some of the love children that were pined for on this board.

[Backtobanks]

The bottom line is if Hendry had gotten Drew or Abreu, everyone would be saying that he needs to be fired. As I keep saying, Hendry's job looks real easy to all of us sitting in front of our computers and not having to deal with other GMs and crazy agents with outrageous salary demands. Whether we blame Hendry or not, he will be critized by a certain faction of people whether he makes a move or he doesn't. My biggest complaint involves the money spent on long-term contracts, but many of them are the current going rate of free agents and free agents to be.

[jersey cubs fan]

The bottom line is if Hendry had gotten Drew or Abreu, everyone would be saying that he needs to be fired. As I keep saying, Hendry's job looks real easy to all of us sitting in front of our computers and not having to deal with other GMs and crazy agents with outrageous salary demands. Whether we blame Hendry or not, he will be critized by a certain faction of people whether he makes a move or he doesn't. My biggest complaint involves the money spent on long-term contracts, but many of them are the current going rate of free agents and free agents to be.

 

So you don't have a problem with the team being under .500 during his tenure?

 

 

The bottom line is Hendry has done a terrible job putting together a ballclub.

[sethuel1]

don't take this wrong. I want Hendry gone as bad as anyone. but let's face it, his harshest critics screamed for two of the players mentioned above (Drew and Abreu), and another who is just barely non-qualified, Brian Giles.

 

so when you go thinking Hendry's job is easy and he's just a massive baboon, look yourself in the mirror and admit many of the terrible transaction suggestions you've suggested over the years and where the Cubs would be had they made the moves often demanded here.

 

I was never a big fan of Abreu, but I wanted Drew pretty bad. And Drew's power is nowhere to be found, but his OBP is still 100 points higher than his AVG (and that .350 OBP would be an improvement for our OF); Abreu's OBP is not good, but it's also 80 or so points higher than his AVG - these guys haven't lost their plate discipline, which is something our team sorely lacks.

 

But Abreu and Drew also went from the NL to the ALE, which is a huge difference in terms of talent. Abreu got the short end of the stick b/c some of the worst pitchers in the ALE are on his team. But they're facing much better talent than Jones is. So to think Drew or Abreu wouldn't be much better facing the Cards, Pirates, Reds, etc than pitchers in the AL isn't really fair. They might be just as bad on the Cubs as they are in the ALE, but the difference in talent in the leagues is fairly widely accepted, so I think that's a variable you're overlooking.

 

I'd love to trade for Drew (Abreu's a year and a half older, so I'm less interested in him). If he could play CF at all, that .391 career OBP would be a thing of beauty on this team.

 

another conflation of the argument. if you are going to compare the pitching talent one faces, you must remain consistent. neither player was in the NL central, yet those are the teams you use to excuse these players poor performances. Abreu got a break, then what explains Drew? Abreu got a break, but the pitching in the NL East last year was a helluva lot better than the AL East pitching this year.

 

and btw, 13-15M a year for a slightly better than league average OBP (if that) and little more is a terrible idea, which gets back to my original point, we'd be more screwed had the Cubs acquired some of the love children that were pined for on this board.

 

I like how you trash everyone's arguments by throwing around words like "conflation", then use absolutely terrible logic to support your on arguments (pitching in the NL East is worse this year than last year...please), and then wrap it all up with a completely unsupportable statement that we'd be "more screwed", whatever the hell that is. All while calling a mod "disingenuous" for no particular reason.

 

You win the 1st Annual Dingleberry Award for Alienating Everyone and Pissing Them Off.

[Backtobanks]

The bottom line is if Hendry had gotten Drew or Abreu, everyone would be saying that he needs to be fired. As I keep saying, Hendry's job looks real easy to all of us sitting in front of our computers and not having to deal with other GMs and crazy agents with outrageous salary demands. Whether we blame Hendry or not, he will be critized by a certain faction of people whether he makes a move or he doesn't. My biggest complaint involves the money spent on long-term contracts, but many of them are the current going rate of free agents and free agents to be.

 

So you don't have a problem with the team being under .500 during his tenure?

 

 

The bottom line is Hendry has done a terrible job putting together a ballclub.

 

Yes I have a problem with the team being under .500 during Hendry's tenure. I also have a problem with all of the "experts" who post critcizing every move he makes (or doesn't) make.

[YearofDaCubs]

The bottom line is if Hendry had gotten Drew or Abreu, everyone would be saying that he needs to be fired. As I keep saying, Hendry's job looks real easy to all of us sitting in front of our computers and not having to deal with other GMs and crazy agents with outrageous salary demands. Whether we blame Hendry or not, he will be critized by a certain faction of people whether he makes a move or he doesn't. My biggest complaint involves the money spent on long-term contracts, but many of them are the current going rate of free agents and free agents to be.

 

So you don't have a problem with the team being under .500 during his tenure?

 

 

The bottom line is Hendry has done a terrible job putting together a ballclub.

 

Yes I have a problem with the team being under .500 during Hendry's tenure. I also have a problem with all of the "experts" who post critcizing every move he makes (or doesn't) make.

Not all of his moves were criticized but most of them are/were. It doesn't take an expert to realize how bad some of Hendry's moves have been. I'm actually pretty convinced that there are MLB GM's that laugh at some of his moves.

[jjgman21]

don't take this wrong. I want Hendry gone as bad as anyone. but let's face it, his harshest critics screamed for two of the players mentioned above (Drew and Abreu), and another who is just barely non-qualified, Brian Giles.

 

so when you go thinking Hendry's job is easy and he's just a massive baboon, look yourself in the mirror and admit many of the terrible transaction suggestions you've suggested over the years and where the Cubs would be had they made the moves often demanded here.

 

I was never a big fan of Abreu, but I wanted Drew pretty bad. And Drew's power is nowhere to be found, but his OBP is still 100 points higher than his AVG (and that .350 OBP would be an improvement for our OF); Abreu's OBP is not good, but it's also 80 or so points higher than his AVG - these guys haven't lost their plate discipline, which is something our team sorely lacks.

 

But Abreu and Drew also went from the NL to the ALE, which is a huge difference in terms of talent. Abreu got the short end of the stick b/c some of the worst pitchers in the ALE are on his team. But they're facing much better talent than Jones is. So to think Drew or Abreu wouldn't be much better facing the Cards, Pirates, Reds, etc than pitchers in the AL isn't really fair. They might be just as bad on the Cubs as they are in the ALE, but the difference in talent in the leagues is fairly widely accepted, so I think that's a variable you're overlooking.

 

I'd love to trade for Drew (Abreu's a year and a half older, so I'm less interested in him). If he could play CF at all, that .391 career OBP would be a thing of beauty on this team.

 

another conflation of the argument. if you are going to compare the pitching talent one faces, you must remain consistent. neither player was in the NL central, yet those are the teams you use to excuse these players poor performances. Abreu got a break, then what explains Drew? Abreu got a break, but the pitching in the NL East last year was a helluva lot better than the AL East pitching this year.

 

and btw, 13-15M a year for a slightly better than league average OBP (if that) and little more is a terrible idea, which gets back to my original point, we'd be more screwed had the Cubs acquired some of the love children that were pined for on this board.

 

I like how you trash everyone's arguments by throwing around words like "conflation", then use absolutely terrible logic to support your on arguments (pitching in the NL East is worse this year than last year...please), and then wrap it all up with a completely unsupportable statement that we'd be "more screwed", whatever the hell that is. All while calling a mod "disingenuous" for no particular reason.

 

You win the 1st Annual Dingleberry Award for Alienating Everyone and Pissing Them Off.

 

the other poster posited that the 2007 AL East is harder to hit in than the 2006 NL East. I argued it's not. it was an accurate statement.

 

I believe having a $13-15M/year player would be a larger strain on the Cubs organization than a $5M, slightly less productive player . how that is unsupportable...no wait, completely unsupportable...is beyond me.

 

what award do you win for your failure to read, failure to comprehend, ignorance of what logic is, and blatant attack topped off with sucking up to a mod?

[jjgman21]

don't take this wrong. I want Hendry gone as bad as anyone. but let's face it, his harshest critics screamed for two of the players mentioned above (Drew and Abreu), and another who is just barely non-qualified, Brian Giles.

 

so when you go thinking Hendry's job is easy and he's just a massive baboon, look yourself in the mirror and admit many of the terrible transaction suggestions you've suggested over the years and where the Cubs would be had they made the moves often demanded here.

 

I was never a big fan of Abreu, but I wanted Drew pretty bad. And Drew's power is nowhere to be found, but his OBP is still 100 points higher than his AVG (and that .350 OBP would be an improvement for our OF); Abreu's OBP is not good, but it's also 80 or so points higher than his AVG - these guys haven't lost their plate discipline, which is something our team sorely lacks.

 

But Abreu and Drew also went from the NL to the ALE, which is a huge difference in terms of talent. Abreu got the short end of the stick b/c some of the worst pitchers in the ALE are on his team. But they're facing much better talent than Jones is. So to think Drew or Abreu wouldn't be much better facing the Cards, Pirates, Reds, etc than pitchers in the AL isn't really fair. They might be just as bad on the Cubs as they are in the ALE, but the difference in talent in the leagues is fairly widely accepted, so I think that's a variable you're overlooking.

 

I'd love to trade for Drew (Abreu's a year and a half older, so I'm less interested in him). If he could play CF at all, that .391 career OBP would be a thing of beauty on this team.

 

incidentally, I challenge the notion that Abreu has had to face tougher pitching than Jacque this year. the Cubs have had bad luck avoiding teams best starting pitching, the Yankees have had tremendous luck. admittedly, Boston has had bad luck.

[sethuel1]

don't take this wrong. I want Hendry gone as bad as anyone. but let's face it, his harshest critics screamed for two of the players mentioned above (Drew and Abreu), and another who is just barely non-qualified, Brian Giles.

 

so when you go thinking Hendry's job is easy and he's just a massive baboon, look yourself in the mirror and admit many of the terrible transaction suggestions you've suggested over the years and where the Cubs would be had they made the moves often demanded here.

 

I was never a big fan of Abreu, but I wanted Drew pretty bad. And Drew's power is nowhere to be found, but his OBP is still 100 points higher than his AVG (and that .350 OBP would be an improvement for our OF); Abreu's OBP is not good, but it's also 80 or so points higher than his AVG - these guys haven't lost their plate discipline, which is something our team sorely lacks.

 

But Abreu and Drew also went from the NL to the ALE, which is a huge difference in terms of talent. Abreu got the short end of the stick b/c some of the worst pitchers in the ALE are on his team. But they're facing much better talent than Jones is. So to think Drew or Abreu wouldn't be much better facing the Cards, Pirates, Reds, etc than pitchers in the AL isn't really fair. They might be just as bad on the Cubs as they are in the ALE, but the difference in talent in the leagues is fairly widely accepted, so I think that's a variable you're overlooking.

 

I'd love to trade for Drew (Abreu's a year and a half older, so I'm less interested in him). If he could play CF at all, that .391 career OBP would be a thing of beauty on this team.

 

another conflation of the argument. if you are going to compare the pitching talent one faces, you must remain consistent. neither player was in the NL central, yet those are the teams you use to excuse these players poor performances. Abreu got a break, then what explains Drew? Abreu got a break, but the pitching in the NL East last year was a helluva lot better than the AL East pitching this year.

 

and btw, 13-15M a year for a slightly better than league average OBP (if that) and little more is a terrible idea, which gets back to my original point, we'd be more screwed had the Cubs acquired some of the love children that were pined for on this board.

 

I like how you trash everyone's arguments by throwing around words like "conflation", then use absolutely terrible logic to support your on arguments (pitching in the NL East is worse this year than last year...please), and then wrap it all up with a completely unsupportable statement that we'd be "more screwed", whatever the hell that is. All while calling a mod "disingenuous" for no particular reason.

 

You win the 1st Annual Dingleberry Award for Alienating Everyone and Pissing Them Off.

 

the other poster posited that the 2007 AL East is harder to hit in than the 2006 NL East. I argued it's not. it was an accurate statement.

 

I believe having a $13-15M/year player would be a larger strain on the Cubs organization than a $5M, slightly less productive player . how that is unsupportable...no wait, completely unsupportable...is beyond me.

 

what award do you win for your failure to read, failure to comprehend, ignorance of what logic is, and blatant attack topped off with sucking up to a mod?

dunno. I'd have to wait a whole year to win a Dingleberry Award.

[biittner77]

As I have said over quite a few posts in the past, it's easy to sit back and critcize Hendry, but the GM's job is much harder than we want to admit. As you stated, people wanted Drew and/or Abreu and they're not doing much. The argument over Giles still amazes me that people don't realize that Giles was not going to leave San Diego. When people complain about the team being good on paper, that's all a GM can do because the players have to perform on the field. The power numbers for Lee and Soriano are totally unexpected, but I'm sure some critics would say that Hendry is to blame for not forseeing this. Hendry has made plenty of mistakes, but non-performance by players that are expected to perform can't be blamed on him.

 

If I go in for surgery to have my appendix removed and the doctor amputates my leg, I will be critical of the doctor. That doesn't mean I think that I am a better surgeon or that surgery is easy. It just means that the person performed very badly at a difficult job and need to be held accountable.

[BigbadB]

what award do you win for your failure to read, failure to comprehend, ignorance of what logic is, and blatant attack topped off with sucking up to a mod?

 

Wow. I don't even know where to begin with what is wrong with this post.

[BigbadB]

You win the 1st Annual Dingleberry Award for Alienating Everyone and Pissing Them Off.

 

This probably wasn't necessary to support your argument.

 

Let's try to be more respectful of one another, please.

[jersey cubs fan]

The bottom line is if Hendry had gotten Drew or Abreu, everyone would be saying that he needs to be fired. As I keep saying, Hendry's job looks real easy to all of us sitting in front of our computers and not having to deal with other GMs and crazy agents with outrageous salary demands. Whether we blame Hendry or not, he will be critized by a certain faction of people whether he makes a move or he doesn't. My biggest complaint involves the money spent on long-term contracts, but many of them are the current going rate of free agents and free agents to be.

 

So you don't have a problem with the team being under .500 during his tenure?

 

 

The bottom line is Hendry has done a terrible job putting together a ballclub.

 

Yes I have a problem with the team being under .500 during Hendry's tenure. I also have a problem with all of the "experts" who post critcizing every move he makes (or doesn't) make.

 

All of the "experts" don't criticize every move he makes. Although when you have one of the highest paid teams in baseball, and have a sub .500 record, obviously more often than not your moves are going to deserve criticism. If he made moves that couldn't be criticized, this team would win 95 games every year.

[UBlink]

All of the "experts" don't criticize every move he makes. Although when you have one of the highest paid teams in baseball, and have a sub .500 record, obviously more often than not your moves are going to deserve criticism. If he made moves that couldn't be criticized, this team would win 95 games every year.

 

Maybe we're talking semantics here, but I would say with the budget and the results, the majority of his moves should be criticized.

 

And it's somewhat like my job - when I make the right decision, it is somewhat taken for granted because I'm just doing my job. When I make the wrong decision it seems to garner a lot more attention. Only if you have no expectation of competence would you devote as much attention to successes as failures.

[Backtobanks]

The bottom line is if Hendry had gotten Drew or Abreu, everyone would be saying that he needs to be fired. As I keep saying, Hendry's job looks real easy to all of us sitting in front of our computers and not having to deal with other GMs and crazy agents with outrageous salary demands. Whether we blame Hendry or not, he will be critized by a certain faction of people whether he makes a move or he doesn't. My biggest complaint involves the money spent on long-term contracts, but many of them are the current going rate of free agents and free agents to be.

 

So you don't have a problem with the team being under .500 during his tenure?

 

 

The bottom line is Hendry has done a terrible job putting together a ballclub.

 

Yes I have a problem with the team being under .500 during Hendry's tenure. I also have a problem with all of the "experts" who post critcizing every move he makes (or doesn't) make.

 

All of the "experts" don't criticize every move he makes. Although when you have one of the highest paid teams in baseball, and have a sub .500 record, obviously more often than not your moves are going to deserve criticism. If he made moves that couldn't be criticized, this team would win 95 games every year.

 

Name the last move Hendry made that wasn't followed by dozens of pages of posts (most of them critical) by all of us "experts." Actually, there are dozens of pages of posts (mostly critical) of the moves that Hendry didn't make. He does deserve criticism for the poor record of this team, but I do get upset by the "damned if he does and damned if he doesn't" attitude on a daily basis. Again, all of us have hindsight and the right to change our minds in our favor.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

The bottom line is if Hendry had gotten Drew or Abreu, everyone would be saying that he needs to be fired. As I keep saying, Hendry's job looks real easy to all of us sitting in front of our computers and not having to deal with other GMs and crazy agents with outrageous salary demands. Whether we blame Hendry or not, he will be critized by a certain faction of people whether he makes a move or he doesn't. My biggest complaint involves the money spent on long-term contracts, but many of them are the current going rate of free agents and free agents to be.

 

So you don't have a problem with the team being under .500 during his tenure?

 

 

The bottom line is Hendry has done a terrible job putting together a ballclub.

 

Yes I have a problem with the team being under .500 during Hendry's tenure. I also have a problem with all of the "experts" who post critcizing every move he makes (or doesn't) make.

 

All of the "experts" don't criticize every move he makes. Although when you have one of the highest paid teams in baseball, and have a sub .500 record, obviously more often than not your moves are going to deserve criticism. If he made moves that couldn't be criticized, this team would win 95 games every year.

 

Name the last move Hendry made that wasn't followed by dozens of pages of posts (most of them critical) by all of us "experts." Actually, there are dozens of pages of posts (mostly critical) of the moves that Hendry didn't make. He does deserve criticism for the poor record of this team, but I do get upset by the "damned if he does and damned if he doesn't" attitude on a daily basis. Again, all of us have hindsight and the right to change our minds in our favor.

 

This isn't a difficult concept. Not everyone has the same opinion. Some people may have liked the Soriano and Lilly deals, and hated the Howry, Eyre, and Marquis deals. Others may have liked Howry, Eyre, and Soriano; others still may have liked them all, or hated them all. Don't confuse a quantity of critical posts(on a site that has hundreds of regular posters) with a unified front to tear down every move Hendry makes.

[jersey cubs fan]

The bottom line is if Hendry had gotten Drew or Abreu, everyone would be saying that he needs to be fired. As I keep saying, Hendry's job looks real easy to all of us sitting in front of our computers and not having to deal with other GMs and crazy agents with outrageous salary demands. Whether we blame Hendry or not, he will be critized by a certain faction of people whether he makes a move or he doesn't. My biggest complaint involves the money spent on long-term contracts, but many of them are the current going rate of free agents and free agents to be.

 

So you don't have a problem with the team being under .500 during his tenure?

 

 

The bottom line is Hendry has done a terrible job putting together a ballclub.

 

Yes I have a problem with the team being under .500 during Hendry's tenure. I also have a problem with all of the "experts" who post critcizing every move he makes (or doesn't) make.

 

All of the "experts" don't criticize every move he makes. Although when you have one of the highest paid teams in baseball, and have a sub .500 record, obviously more often than not your moves are going to deserve criticism. If he made moves that couldn't be criticized, this team would win 95 games every year.

 

Name the last move Hendry made that wasn't followed by dozens of pages of posts (most of them critical) by all of us "experts." Actually, there are dozens of pages of posts (mostly critical) of the moves that Hendry didn't make. He does deserve criticism for the poor record of this team, but I do get upset by the "damned if he does and damned if he doesn't" attitude on a daily basis. Again, all of us have hindsight and the right to change our minds in our favor.

 

Why do you put mostly critical in parenthesis? Isn't your whole point about the "mostly critical" aspect? You comletely misconstrue reality. There are dozens of pages, but that is usually only because there are multiple tangents in any of those threads. A thread usually only ends up with many pages when people take opposing views, then arguments ensue. Obviously with 100s of members, somebody is going to disagree with something in nearly every thread. Somebody is going to hate a move, or like a move.

 

The most obvious example, however, of a transaction that didn't get blasted was Nomar. Coincidentally, it occurred around the last time this team was any good. Ever since then it's been a series of mistakes, blunders and letdowns, culminating in an atrocious record.

 

But I'd argue the Soriano signing response was mostly positive. There were a few that were 100% against, but a heck of a lot more that were 100% for it, and even more who were more or less excited about the acquisition, if only fearful of the financial impact.

 

And of course, most everybody responded happily when Dusty was let go and Neifi was traded. The Greg Maddux signing was widely accepted as very good for the team, even if people like myself pointed out it was an awful lot of money for a more or less average pitcher. And the Todd Walker signing was, I believe, roundly praised as a smart, affordable price to pay for a nice piece to add to the team.

 

Regardless, you act as if there is a large amount of people criticizing moves that don't deserve criticism. That's simply not the case. We're not talking about Yankees fans criticizing a 97 win roster here. We're talking about a team that has gone in the tank due primarily to a GM who simply has done a terrible job putting together a team. Furthermore, his belief structure clashes almost perfectly with the wants and wishes of multiple posters, so obviously, many of the things he does are going to be in the opposite direction of stuff some people would like to see.

[Backtobanks]

"But I'd argue the Soriano signing response was mostly positive. There were a few that were 100% against, but a heck of a lot more that were 100% for it, and even more who were more or less excited about the acquisition, if only fearful of the financial impact.

 

And of course, most everybody responded happily when Dusty was let go and Neifi was traded. The Greg Maddux signing was widely accepted as very good for the team, even if people like myself pointed out it was an awful lot of money for a more or less average pitcher. And the Todd Walker signing was, I believe, roundly praised as a smart, affordable price to pay for a nice piece to add to the team. "

 

Using these few examples proves my point. So many posters have an opinion, but include a disclaimer. We all loved Soriano, but we didn't like the contract. If Soriano succeeds, we were right. If Soriano fails, we were right because Hendry spent too much. People liked getting rid of Dusty, but Piniella wasn't the fan's choice. If the team succeeds, we were right about Dusty. If they fail, we were right because we wanted Girardi. My point is that Hendry can't play both sides of the fence. If he makes a move, it was for the wrong player, it cost too much in trade, or the contract was too expensive. Would this team be better with some of the trade proposals and free agent signings mentioned at NSBB? I'm sure many posters would answer affirmatively, but I'm not so sure. Right now there's posters suggesting trading a ton of promising young players for Abreu, who looks like he has aged poorly.