The Jim Hendry BandWGN

Larry Horse · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

As will I NY. Crow would be a dish I would gladly eat for a title.

Sarcastic · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems.

AAApittsburgh · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems.

Cubs pitching in close and late games is the 2nd best in the league. Offense is the problem, especially OBP. Lack of patience is the reason why they get shut down by crappy pitchers and bullpens very often.

imb · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

you wouldnt dare!

CubsWin · August 1, 2005

Nomar & Murton for ummmmm, do any of them play??

Alex Gonzalez - plays 3rd for the Devil Rays, so no he doesn't really play :lol:
Francis Beltran - had elbow surgery so won't pitch this season
Brendan Harris - AAA
Justin Jones - High A

Nomar Garciaparra - has played in 65 games since being acquired
Matt Murton - has a hard time seeing the field despite great numbers

Lee and ARam - great pickups, unfortunately there are 7 other positions, in which I would say RF, 2B, CF, LF and probably SS have no long range answers. Now if our current manager, who was hired by Hendry, had a brain in his head, he would have stuck Cedeno at SS, not started "Holly" so much due to the fact his career is coming to a close, stuck Murton in LF and play the rest of the year out, and the Cubs could have seen if they had 2 future starters. We're not talking about the dismantling of a dynasty here.

CubinNY is correct. Lawton is an upgrade over Gerut, but does it really solve anything?

There is really no trade Hendry could have made that would have put this team in line for a title, so it's just whistling in the wind. (Is that cliche correct?)

Larry Horse, it appears you are only seeing the negative side of things.

If all Nomar is to you is a guy who "has played 65 games since being acquired" (nevermind that the important thing is that he is about to add to that number), then I guess the Cubs offense won't improve much in your mind.

If all Murton is to you is a guy who "has a hard time seeing the field" (nevermind that he has seen action in 16 of the 17 games since being called up and started 10 of those 17), then I guess the Cubs offense won't improve much in your mind.

And, of course the trade for Lawton by itself isn't likely to "solve anything", but as has been said several times now, that isn't the only change that is happening. The Cubs bullpen is likely getting a boost as well.

The Cubs offense should improve in the last two months if you believe in statistics. How much it will improve is going to be determined by the players on the field. Here is hoping that they do well. I choose to believe in them because the numbers I see tell me I should.

CubfaninCA · August 1, 2005

I don't think getting Lawton represents anything special. To me the best that can be said is that Hendry changed one medicore player for another. Lawton hardly puts the Cubs over the top.

Maybe I'm just being a little too pesimistic after this weekend but IMO Lawton changes nothing.

Talk about glass half empty. Would a leadoff man w/ a .450 obp make you happy? gmab

Sarcastic · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems.
Cubs pitching in close and late games is the 2nd best in the league. Offense is the problem, especially OBP. Lack of patience is the reason why they get shut down by crappy pitchers and bullpens very often.

Does lack of patience also explain why they are 5th in the NL in runs? They do score quite often. The are probably streakier than most teams, but I think some people underestimate the offense. Do you not understand that very high batting average and slugging percentage can make up for somewhat below average OBP?

The team is in 8th in the NL in ERA. It's not bad, but should be better for a playoff team.

CubfaninCA · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems.

The Cubs starting pitching is not very good. Kerry Wood has killed this team. If Hendry could have foresaw Wood's continual problems and addressed the need for another starter, perhaps this team could be 10 over. However, I'm not going to gripe about Hendry giving Wood the benefit of the doubt.

Sarcastic · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems.

The Cubs starting pitching is not very good. Kerry Wood has killed this team. If Hendry could have foresaw Wood's continual problems and addressed the need for another starter, perhaps this team could be 10 over. However, I'm not going to gripe about Hendry giving Wood the benefit of the doubt.

That's true too. None of our starting pitchers have lived up to expectations so far this year.

CubfaninCA · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems.

The Cubs starting pitching is not very good. Kerry Wood has killed this team. If Hendry could have foresaw Wood's continual problems and addressed the need for another starter, perhaps this team could be 10 over. However, I'm not going to gripe about Hendry giving Wood the benefit of the doubt.

That's true too. None of our starting pitchers have lived up to expectations so far this year.

Maddux is essentially the #3 and he's not that good anymore. Also, Prior has missed a number of games.

CubfaninCA · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems.
Cubs pitching in close and late games is the 2nd best in the league. Offense is the problem, especially OBP. Lack of patience is the reason why they get shut down by crappy pitchers and bullpens very often.

Does lack of patience also explain why they are 5th in the NL in runs? They do score quite often. The are probably streakier than most teams, but I think some people underestimate the offense. Do you not understand that very high batting average and slugging percentage can make up for somewhat below average OBP?

The team is in 8th in the NL in ERA. It's not bad, but should be better for a playoff team.

Thanks for disspelling the myth that the Cubs offense is the main culprit. If people want to point figures, point it at the Trib for not giving Hendry enough money to get another superstar pitcher.

BigbadB · August 1, 2005

I wanted Dunn or Huff, but I also wanted Lawton if the price of the other guys wasn't worth the sacrifice. Let those teams lose these players via free agency so we can laugh at them some more.

Lawton provides a very good OBP, something this team has struggled all year with. And not just this year. For several years. Hopefully, the philosophy that a walk can be a good thing will soon be recognized and actually encouraged.

I don't want everyone going up there with the mentality that they are going to draw a walk. But, I want them swinging at hitter's pitches, not pitcher's pitches. And if the pitcher isn't going to give them a hitter's pitch, then take a base and let the next guy drive him in.

The thing that frustrated me most with Corey is that he was at the plate anticipating a hitter's pitch on every pitch. His biggest project in AAA must be pitch recognition. His whole battle is an overexcitement to swing at whatever is thrown. There doesn't appear to be any relaxation at all up there. I hope he figures it out, as he has the potential to be very good.

Hendry has done a great job bringing in talent. Dusty isn't so good at utilizing that talent correctly, which might make Hendry's worst signing Dusty himself.

I do see this team as a team that does want to win. They have proven over the last 3 years that they will spend money, they will make trades, they will sign free agents and they will do what is necessary to create a winning atmosphere year in and year out. For that, I'm proud of this team and it's ownership. But, when Nomar, Williamson and Wood (and Patterson?) get back next week, it will be time for results.

Dusty needs to turn this .500 team into a .600 winning team in these next two months, and possibly even better. If he doesn't, he's got to go. If he doesn't, he will have proven that his ability to create a happy clubhouse isn't enough to overcome his shortcomings as an ingame strategist.

I hope Hendry and MacPhail also see this final two months of this 2005 season is a time to really evaluate what Dusty has to offer. Because rumblings about wanting to coach in LA is not my idea of being focused on the job at hand.

Thanks for trading for Lawton, Jim. I hope another good OBP guy proves all of us amateur sabermatrician's right that getting on base is the best way to score runs.

katway · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems.
Cubs pitching in close and late games is the 2nd best in the league. Offense is the problem, especially OBP. Lack of patience is the reason why they get shut down by crappy pitchers and bullpens very often.

Does lack of patience also explain why they are 5th in the NL in runs? They do score quite often. The are probably streakier than most teams, but I think some people underestimate the offense. Do you not understand that very high batting average and slugging percentage can make up for somewhat below average OBP?

The team is in 8th in the NL in ERA. It's not bad, but should be better for a playoff team.

Thanks for disspelling the myth that the Cubs offense is the main culprit. If people want to point figures, point it at the Trib for not giving Hendry enough money to get another superstar pitcher.

Offense has been a problem because we get streaky and score in bunches. Sure that helps your stats when you get 10 mruns in one game, but it does't help if you only score two or three runs for the next three games and get shut out 5 times during the year. The offense needs to be more consistent. The year long stats don't tell the whol story and being 5th in a category may not be good enough if you want to lead your division or win the wildcard. One thing for sure, the 5th best team in the NL wont make the playoffs.

CubfaninCA · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems.
Cubs pitching in close and late games is the 2nd best in the league. Offense is the problem, especially OBP. Lack of patience is the reason why they get shut down by crappy pitchers and bullpens very often.

Does lack of patience also explain why they are 5th in the NL in runs? They do score quite often. The are probably streakier than most teams, but I think some people underestimate the offense. Do you not understand that very high batting average and slugging percentage can make up for somewhat below average OBP?

The team is in 8th in the NL in ERA. It's not bad, but should be better for a playoff team.

Thanks for disspelling the myth that the Cubs offense is the main culprit. If people want to point figures, point it at the Trib for not giving Hendry enough money to get another superstar pitcher.

Offense has been a problem because we get streaky and score in bunches. Sure that helps your stats when you get 10 mruns in one game, but it does't help if you only score two or three runs for the next three games and get shut out 5 times during the year. The offense needs to be more consistent. The year long stats don't tell the whol story and being 5th in a category may not be good enough if you want to lead your division or win the wildcard. One thing for sure, the 5th best team in the NL wont make the playoffs.

Baseball's situational?? Take it back!! :D The bottom line is that the Cubs score runs and are 5th in the NL.

Flames24Rulz · August 1, 2005

i think everyone would've wanted Dunn or Huff, but Lawton is a good player to have as well. I'd be more then happy if he could duplicate what Lofton did for us in the stretch drive in 03.

CubfaninCA · August 1, 2005

If the Cubs offense "magically" turns around and become good and they make it to the playoffs I will gladly proclaim my stupidity to anyone who reads my posts

-I'll put that in my signature

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems.
Cubs pitching in close and late games is the 2nd best in the league. Offense is the problem, especially OBP. Lack of patience is the reason why they get shut down by crappy pitchers and bullpens very often.

Does lack of patience also explain why they are 5th in the NL in runs? They do score quite often. The are probably streakier than most teams, but I think some people underestimate the offense. Do you not understand that very high batting average and slugging percentage can make up for somewhat below average OBP?

The team is in 8th in the NL in ERA. It's not bad, but should be better for a playoff team.

Thanks for disspelling the myth that the Cubs offense is the main culprit. If people want to point figures, point it at the Trib for not giving Hendry enough money to get another superstar pitcher.

Offense has been a problem because we get streaky and score in bunches. Sure that helps your stats when you get 10 mruns in one game, but it does't help if you only score two or three runs for the next three games and get shut out 5 times during the year. The offense needs to be more consistent. The year long stats don't tell the whol story and being 5th in a category may not be good enough if you want to lead your division or win the wildcard. One thing for sure, the 5th best team in the NL wont make the playoffs.

This is just utter propaganda. The 11th best team in runs, Houston, is up in the wildcard. The White Sox are 5th in the AL in runs and blowing everyone away in the AL. Sure the Cubs need to score more runs, but having a strong 3rd starter would be nice.

Larry Horse · August 1, 2005

Nomar & Murton for ummmmm, do any of them play??

Alex Gonzalez - plays 3rd for the Devil Rays, so no he doesn't really play :lol:
Francis Beltran - had elbow surgery so won't pitch this season
Brendan Harris - AAA
Justin Jones - High A

Nomar Garciaparra - has played in 65 games since being acquired
Matt Murton - has a hard time seeing the field despite great numbers

Lee and ARam - great pickups, unfortunately there are 7 other positions, in which I would say RF, 2B, CF, LF and probably SS have no long range answers. Now if our current manager, who was hired by Hendry, had a brain in his head, he would have stuck Cedeno at SS, not started "Holly" so much due to the fact his career is coming to a close, stuck Murton in LF and play the rest of the year out, and the Cubs could have seen if they had 2 future starters. We're not talking about the dismantling of a dynasty here.

CubinNY is correct. Lawton is an upgrade over Gerut, but does it really solve anything?

There is really no trade Hendry could have made that would have put this team in line for a title, so it's just whistling in the wind. (Is that cliche correct?)
Larry Horse, it appears you are only seeing the negative side of things.

If all Nomar is to you is a guy who "has played 65 games since being acquired" (nevermind that the important thing is that he is about to add to that number), then I guess the Cubs offense won't improve much in your mind.

If all Murton is to you is a guy who "has a hard time seeing the field" (nevermind that he has seen action in 16 of the 17 games since being called up and started 10 of those 17), then I guess the Cubs offense won't improve much in your mind.

And, of course the trade for Lawton by itself isn't likely to "solve anything", but as has been said several times now, that isn't the only change that is happening. The Cubs bullpen is likely getting a boost as well.

The Cubs offense should improve in the last two months if you believe in statistics. How much it will improve is going to be determined by the players on the field. Here is hoping that they do well. I choose to believe in them because the numbers I see tell me I should.

Cubs Win, it appears you may be more of an optimist than I am.

Am I making a fact up that Nomar has only played in 65 games? The Cubs have not improved all that greatly since acquiring him. Should I now count on him to somehow provide a miracle " boost " to this club? I guess Nomar can now be penciled in as the starting SS for the rest of the year? I would love to think so, except for the fact he has only played in 65 games in the last year. That is a stat I can't ignore.

And what about the "boost" to the bullpen? Williamson and Wood? Williamson hasn't pitched since last year (another stat I can't ignore) and is coming off elbow surgery (repeat above parantheses) , and Wood has been so dependable as a starter that he is now in the bullpen after another trip to the DL (repeat above parantheses) and should probably be shut down and have his shoulder scoped, so they can finally find out what is wrong with his arm. (Not a fact, JMHO). And the last reliever coming off of elbow surgery? Chad Fox, who if I'm not mistaken blew his elbow out again.

In my post I said that Murton should have been starting this entire time, which from "the numbers I see" say he should have been, and maybe wouldn't have neccesitated a trade for Lawton. Now the one guy who has put up decent numbers will probably be riding the bench or sent down. I think the point you missed was that the Cubs offense would have been better, if the buffoon manager hadn't insisted on keeping Holly fresh.

So I will continue "seeing the negative side of things" until proven otherwise.

UMFan83 · August 1, 2005

An OBP of .380 for a leadoff hitter is excellent. Most hitters with OBP's over .400 are middle of the order guys whose OBP's benefit from being pitched around. We did add an impact player today, trust me. I think the offense will be more consistant if we force the pitcher to get in and out of jams every day.

This may be just opinion but it seems to me that the ability to draw a walk is a more consistant trait then the ability to get hits. Maybe not on a game to game basis, because it is still the days pitcher that throws the balls, but in the overall short run and long run someone that can take a pitch is a valueable cog, espeically at the top of the order

Sarcastic · August 1, 2005

An OBP of .380 for a leadoff hitter is excellent. Most hitters with OBP's over .400 are middle of the order guys whose OBP's benefit from being pitched around. We did add an impact player today, trust me. I think the offense will be more consistant if we force the pitcher to get in and out of jams every day.

This may be just opinion but it seems to me that the ability to draw a walk is a more consistant trait then the ability to get hits. Maybe not on a game to game basis, because it is still the days pitcher that throws the balls, but in the overall short run and long run someone that can take a pitch is a valueable cog, espeically at the top of the order

I think one of the big problems the Cubs have had with consistency is that they have some games where they maximize every opportunity, and some where the score one or two runs on eight or nine hits. They seem to have a bit of bad luck.

Well, that's probably an understatement. But there isn't really any way to fix bad luck.

Also, an offense based on hitting and walking would probably be more consistent than the primarily power based offense that the Cubs have, since power hitters are affected more by weather. That said, the Cubs offense is still not the biggest problem the team has.

Adding OBP is a good idea, but I don't think it will make the offense much more consistent. I wonder if anyone has ever done a study on what consistent offenses generally rely on, besides luck.

JGalt73 · August 1, 2005

BP (Sheehan) weighs in and gives kudos to Hendry with nice Atlanta company...

"The kudos for the day go to Jim Hendry and John Schuerholz. Hendry got the best OBP guy on the market by trading Jody Gerut to the Pirates for Lawton. Lawton's lefty .380 OBP is exactly what the Cubs' offense, loaded with power and outs, needed. How the Cubs align their outfield, which currently lacks a true center fielder, will be interesting, but keep in mind that they have a strikeout/groundball staff, and Wrigley is one of the smaller outfields in the game. If any team can give away some outfield defense, it's the Cubs."

Cubfanintheknow · August 1, 2005

It's probably been said by another poster, but I'll mention it again. Jim Hendry traded a bench player for a regular and even squeezed a little cash out of the cash-strapped Pirates. Not bad.

Satch80 · August 1, 2005

Under the circumstances, I think this is an excellent trade. We are not exactly looking like world beaters so giving up any players of consequence is not a good idea. On the other, the trade addressed a real problem. We haven't had much of anything at leadoff ( except Hairston for a few weeks but now fading) and we gain an experienced outfielder.

I think this stabalizes the lineup and provides a spark at the top. It gives us another bullet to make a run if the team can get it together.

Unless we wanted to trade for Farnsworth ( ha ha) there wasn't anything out there that is better than the potential of Wood and Williamson. If they don't work out, they don't but what's the point of taking on more garbage?

maybe through the waiver wire we can pick up something in relief later as teams drop out, but for now, standing pat here was wise.

Hendry did good. Again.

badger1679666666 · August 1, 2005

Here's my testament to Hendry:

CubsWin · August 1, 2005

Cubs Win, it appears you may be more of an optimist than I am.

I wholeheartedly agree with you, however, I think you could say that about almost everyone on this board, so you're not saying much there.

I don't think you grasped the point of my post, Larry Horse. The point wasn't that there aren't valid reasons to doubt the Cubs will get a "boost" from Nomar, Lawton, Wood and Williamson joining the squad. The point was that there are several good reasons to think that they will and you seem to be failing to see any of them.

Am I making a fact up that Nomar has only played in 65 games? The Cubs have not improved all that greatly since acquiring him. Should I now count on him to somehow provide a miracle " boost " to this club? I guess Nomar can now be penciled in as the starting SS for the rest of the year? I would love to think so, except for the fact he has only played in 65 games in the last year. That is a stat I can't ignore.

How many games Nomar has played since joining the Cubs isn't the point. How could it be when he is about to play some more of them? If what we were talking about was why the Cubs are a .500 team after the first 4 months of the season, then it would be a perfectly valid thing to bring up, but since we're talking about what the next two months are likely to bring and since the fact remains that Nomar is about to return to the line-up, the "stat that you can't ignore" has very little bearing on our discussion.

If what you are saying is that he will simply re-injure himself and not play very much at all the rest of this year then and only then does your "stat that you can't ignore" come into play. But there are still so many other stats that you are ignoring that are in favor of the notion that he will play games this season that my point is already made.

And what about the "boost" to the bullpen? Williamson and Wood? Williamson hasn't pitched since last year (another stat I can't ignore) and is coming off elbow surgery (repeat above parantheses) , and Wood has been so dependable as a starter that he is now in the bullpen after another trip to the DL (repeat above parantheses) and should probably be shut down and have his shoulder scoped, so they can finally find out what is wrong with his arm. (Not a fact, JMHO). And the last reliever coming off of elbow surgery? Chad Fox, who if I'm not mistaken blew his elbow out again.

You have proven my point yet again. You see Fox and don't balance it out with Dempster. I see both. You see Wood being terrible and getting injured again and don't balance it out with that he can also be dominant. I see both. I'm not asking you to ignore anything. I think you are already ignoring enough. I'm just pointing out that you seem to ignore the positive possibilities that exist for how the next two months could go for the Cubs. I know that the "boost" may not materialize. But I also know that it may. Thats why they play the games.

In my post I said that Murton should have been starting this entire time, which from "the numbers I see" say he should have been, and maybe wouldn't have neccesitated a trade for Lawton. Now the one guy who has put up decent numbers will probably be riding the bench or sent down. I think the point you missed was that the Cubs offense would have been better, if the buffoon manager hadn't insisted on keeping Holly fresh.

Yes, yes, we all know Dusty is an idiot, a fool, a buffoon and every other name you can come up with because he doesn't run the team as you would. And we also know that you knew way ahead of time that Murton would perform the way he has. This is how brilliant you are, even though after playing in his 6th game he was batting .250/.333/.333, you somehow knew he would get 4 singles in his next game to raise his numbers. And to anyone who says that this is 20/20 hindsight, I say phooey.

But seriously, I agree with you. I want Murton to play and start more often than he has, too. What I don't do is assume that because I want it to be so means that it should be so.

So I will continue "seeing the negative side of things" until proven otherwise.

You forgot the word "only" in between the word "continue" and the word "seeing".

And how can someone prove to you what has yet to happen? We are talking about the possible future of the Chicago Cubs over the next two months. How does proving anything come into play in a discussion about what the future might hold?

CubsWin · August 1, 2005

BP (Sheehan) weighs in and gives kudos to Hendry with nice Atlanta company...

"The kudos for the day go to Jim Hendry and John Schuerholz. Hendry got the best OBP guy on the market by trading Jody Gerut to the Pirates for Lawton. Lawton's lefty .380 OBP is exactly what the Cubs' offense, loaded with power and outs, needed. How the Cubs align their outfield, which currently lacks a true center fielder, will be interesting, but keep in mind that they have a strikeout/groundball staff, and Wrigley is one of the smaller outfields in the game. If any team can give away some outfield defense, it's the Cubs."

Yet another great analysis by Joe Sheehan. There are reasons to think that Lawton will help the Cubs over the last two months of the season after all...

Good job, Jim Hendry. In this seller's market, you got a legit lead-off hitter (not very easy to find) for a back-up outfielder with some promise and managed to get the Pittsburgh Pirates to throw in some cash. Not bad.

Not incredibly great, but not bad...

The Jim Hendry BandWGN

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