Tribune speculation....

[CUBZ99]

I hope the Cubs realize how foolish it would be to have Pie in CF in 2006.

 

Exactly how foolish would it be? The guy has excelled at every level he has played at and his teams are consistently winners.

 

I would much rather the Cubs consider bringing up Pie than getting another stop gap like Burnitz or Hollandsworth, or worse yet letting Patterson come back.

[AAApittsburgh]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-050929cubsbits,1,2180239.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

 

(warning: article written by Paul Sullivan)

 

Felix Pie as the Cubs CF in 2006?

 

Garciaparra is begging (or that is how it sounds to me) to come back, and is willing to do anything to come back.

 

Rick Kranitz (AAA PC) replacing Rothschild. My opinion is....thank gawd. Kranitz can't be worse then Rothschild, and maybe a fresh voice might help the Cubs staff out.

 

Meanwhile:

 

Hendry confirmed he will look into obtaining another starter to join Carlos Zambrano, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux and perhaps Kerry Wood in the rotation. Rusch and Jerome Williams may be in the mix, but Rusch can decline a $2 million option and Williams has lacked consistency. The Cubs can't count on Wood's shoulder being sound by April and figure to be in the hunt for a free-agent pitcher such as Kevin Millwood, A.J. Burnett or Matt Morris.

 

 

This is also written by Sullivan, so who knows. So maybe the Cubs might be in the hunt for Burnett. Not thrilled with Morris, and something tells me he might pull a "Steve Kline", so I would stay away from Crybaby Morris.

 

I'm probably in the minority, but I want nothing to do with AJ Burnett. And it has nothing to do with his critical comments of Marlin management. I look at it simply from performance: from Aug. 24 to Sept. 25, he lost all 6 decisions he had, which included a 4 game stretch where he gave up 18 earned runs in 18 innings. I don't want Hendry shelling out big money to a non-big money pitcher.

 

I'd be all over Millwood. In his last 6 starts, he's given up 8 earned runs in his last 40 innings. That's getting it done.

 

A rotation of Zambrano, Prior, Maddux, Wood and Millwood would be amazing with either Jerome Williams or Rich Hill there in case of injury to Wood.

 

I agree 100% on Burnett. I disagree on Millwood. He was lousy the last two years in Philadelphia and has had arm problems in the past. He's likely to be as overpaid as Burnett. IMO Cubs should look to acquire a starter in a trade who's underperformed in a bad situation and is too expensive for a team. Someone like Jason Jennings.

Even away from Coors, Jennings has never been good. Cubs have a ton of options in their own farm system who can do just as well or better.

 

Not sure I want Millwood either, but I'd take him over any other FA starter. Looking at his stats shows an interesting trend. He seems to have 1 good season, then 2 bad/mediocre seasons, then 1 good season again. I'd say his ERA next year will be well over 4.00.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I hope the Cubs realize how foolish it would be to have Pie in CF in 2006.

 

Exactly how foolish would it be? The guy has excelled at every level he has played at and his teams are consistently winners.

 

I would much rather the Cubs consider bringing up Pie than getting another stop gap like Burnitz or Hollandsworth, or worse yet letting Patterson come back.

 

Pie will get eaten alive at the ML level because of his plate discipline. It's worse than Corey's at that age. He's coming off an injury and hasn't played a full year at AA. Having him skip AAA entirely and expecting a contribution from him would be pretty foolish, and an impediment to his growth as a player.

[CUBZ99]

Even away from Coors, Jennings has never been good. Cubs have a ton of options in their own farm system who can do just as well or better.

 

Not sure I want Millwood either, but I'd take him over any other FA starter. Looking at his stats shows an interesting trend. He seems to have 1 good season, then 2 bad/mediocre seasons, then 1 good season again. I'd say his ERA next year will be well over 4.00.

 

Sounds like Steve Trachsel but worse :o

[AAApittsburgh]

I hope the Cubs realize how foolish it would be to have Pie in CF in 2006.

 

Exactly how foolish would it be? The guy has excelled at every level he has played at and his teams are consistently winners.

 

I would much rather the Cubs consider bringing up Pie than getting another stop gap like Burnitz or Hollandsworth, or worse yet letting Patterson come back.

His plate discipline in AA is worse than Patterson's was in AA.

[CUBZ99]

I hope the Cubs realize how foolish it would be to have Pie in CF in 2006.

 

Exactly how foolish would it be? The guy has excelled at every level he has played at and his teams are consistently winners.

 

I would much rather the Cubs consider bringing up Pie than getting another stop gap like Burnitz or Hollandsworth, or worse yet letting Patterson come back.

His plate discipline in AA is worse than Patterson's was in AA.

 

Please explain with numbers :D

 

I was looking up Pie's stat line this year and it pretty impressive .349 OBP, .554 Slg, .304 Avg and he only struck out at a rate of around 1 time every five ABs. His Steal ratio looks really bad, but there is nothing in those numbers that says he cannot be successful in the future.

 

BTW I think it is unfair to compare everyone to Corey Patterson, Patterson's problems appear to be mostly mental. From everything I've read about Pie they have two entirely different outlooks on the game.

[Fanzones trumpet]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-050929cubsbits,1,2180239.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

 

(warning: article written by Paul Sullivan)

 

Felix Pie as the Cubs CF in 2006?

 

Garciaparra is begging (or that is how it sounds to me) to come back, and is willing to do anything to come back.

 

Rick Kranitz (AAA PC) replacing Rothschild. My opinion is....thank gawd. Kranitz can't be worse then Rothschild, and maybe a fresh voice might help the Cubs staff out.

 

Meanwhile:

 

Hendry confirmed he will look into obtaining another starter to join Carlos Zambrano, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux and perhaps Kerry Wood in the rotation. Rusch and Jerome Williams may be in the mix, but Rusch can decline a $2 million option and Williams has lacked consistency. The Cubs can't count on Wood's shoulder being sound by April and figure to be in the hunt for a free-agent pitcher such as Kevin Millwood, A.J. Burnett or Matt Morris.

 

 

This is also written by Sullivan, so who knows. So maybe the Cubs might be in the hunt for Burnett. Not thrilled with Morris, and something tells me he might pull a "Steve Kline", so I would stay away from Crybaby Morris.

 

I'm probably in the minority, but I want nothing to do with AJ Burnett. And it has nothing to do with his critical comments of Marlin management. I look at it simply from performance: from Aug. 24 to Sept. 25, he lost all 6 decisions he had, which included a 4 game stretch where he gave up 18 earned runs in 18 innings. I don't want Hendry shelling out big money to a non-big money pitcher.

 

I'd be all over Millwood. In his last 6 starts, he's given up 8 earned runs in his last 40 innings. That's getting it done.

 

A rotation of Zambrano, Prior, Maddux, Wood and Millwood would be amazing with either Jerome Williams or Rich Hill there in case of injury to Wood.

 

I agree 100% on Burnett. I disagree on Millwood. He was lousy the last two years in Philadelphia and has had arm problems in the past. He's likely to be as overpaid as Burnett. IMO Cubs should look to acquire a starter in a trade who's underperformed in a bad situation and is too expensive for a team. Someone like Jason Jennings.

Even away from Coors, Jennings has never been good. Cubs have a ton of options in their own farm system who can do just as well or better.

 

Not sure I want Millwood either, but I'd take him over any other FA starter. Looking at his stats shows an interesting trend. He seems to have 1 good season, then 2 bad/mediocre seasons, then 1 good season again. I'd say his ERA next year will be well over 4.00.

 

 

Jennings would be a classic example of low risk high reward. He has an excellent sinker perfect for Wrigley. He was ROY in 2002, is only 27 years old and is an excellent athelete (despite his weight). The record of guys who leave Coors and succeed elsewhere (Kile, Hampton, Chacon) is notable. He suffered a finger injury this year, but has been durable in the past. He could well put up 200 innings and 15 wins next year for far less than Burnett or Millwood.

[AAApittsburgh]

I hope the Cubs realize how foolish it would be to have Pie in CF in 2006.

 

Exactly how foolish would it be? The guy has excelled at every level he has played at and his teams are consistently winners.

 

I would much rather the Cubs consider bringing up Pie than getting another stop gap like Burnitz or Hollandsworth, or worse yet letting Patterson come back.

His plate discipline in AA is worse than Patterson's was in AA.

 

Please explain with numbers :D

 

I was looking up Pie's stat line this year and it pretty impressive .349 OBP, .554 Slg, .304 Avg and he only struck out at a rate of around 1 time every five ABs. His Steal ratio looks really bad, but there is nothing in those numbers that says he cannot be successful in the future.

 

BTW I think it is unfair to compare everyone to Corey Patterson, Patterson's problems appear to be mostly mental. From everything I've read about Pie they have two entirely different outlooks on the game.

Pattersons IsoD in AA was .073. Pie: .045

 

If it wasn't for his high BA, his OBP would be pretty low. The numbers are decent, but I don't see anything there that screams major league ready. He needs a season in AAA.

[CUBZ99]

I hope the Cubs realize how foolish it would be to have Pie in CF in 2006.

 

Exactly how foolish would it be? The guy has excelled at every level he has played at and his teams are consistently winners.

 

I would much rather the Cubs consider bringing up Pie than getting another stop gap like Burnitz or Hollandsworth, or worse yet letting Patterson come back.

His plate discipline in AA is worse than Patterson's was in AA.

 

Please explain with numbers :D

 

I was looking up Pie's stat line this year and it pretty impressive .349 OBP, .554 Slg, .304 Avg and he only struck out at a rate of around 1 time every five ABs. His Steal ratio looks really bad, but there is nothing in those numbers that says he cannot be successful in the future.

 

BTW I think it is unfair to compare everyone to Corey Patterson, Patterson's problems appear to be mostly mental. From everything I've read about Pie they have two entirely different outlooks on the game.

Pattersons IsoD in AA was .073. Pie: .045

 

If it wasn't for his high BA, his OBP would be pretty low. The numbers are decent, but I don't see anything there that screams major league ready. He needs a season in AAA.

 

Is there a website to look at previous minor league season stats? I would be interested to see what Patterson's stats were, beside IsoD.

[Wheelimus]

What I do.

 

1) resign Nomar, no way do I pass him up unless he wants the same contract he had this year. 4 to 5 million plus incentives. If he gets hurt, your insurance will cover it (well, I assume). More on what I do with him in a second.

 

2) sign Brian Giles to play center field. He's got 116 innings in there this year, no errors. He may not be a defensive god, but he'll do just fine.

 

3) Matt Murton has an outfield job which is his to lose. Put him in the corner you don't put Nomar Garciaparra (yes, I'm going there, move Nomar to the outfield). I'd love to see Matt play winter ball, and play right field, working on arm strength. The best place to put Nomar, and keep him healthy, is left field, in my opinion.

 

4) Pickup Todd Walker's contract, and trade him to the Minnesota Twins for Joe Nathan. Pick up all of Todd's salary if need be.

 

5) convert Ronny Cedeno to second base.

 

6) sign Rafeal Furcal to play shortstop.

 

We certainly have the money available this off season to sign Giles, Furcal, and Nomar. Probably looking at under $25 million there for all 3.

 

How is THIS for a lineup?

 

Furcal

Giles

Lee

Ramirez

Garciaparra

Barrett

Murton

Cedeno

 

Anyone doubt that if DLee hits 40+ homers again, he'll have a lot more than 105 RBI'S?

[CubfaninCA]

Good to see they'll look into adding Millwood. Hopefully, one of the AL East teams doesn't offer him something ridiculous. Am assuming Burnett will get an outrageous offer from either NY, Boston or Baltimore...

 

If they get Millwood, they should package Jerome Williams w/ Patterson and try to get a bat. Try to bring back Rusch as a long relief/6th starter. Need to have someone ready for when Wood gets hurt.

 

If Nomar wants to come back so bad, he can sign a Walker like deal, and play RF. I'd much rather have Murton in LF than Nomar.

[CubfaninCA]

What I do.

 

1) resign Nomar, no way do I pass him up unless he wants the same contract he had this year. 4 to 5 million plus incentives. If he gets hurt, your insurance will cover it (well, I assume). More on what I do with him in a second.

 

2) sign Brian Giles to play center field. He's got 116 innings in there this year, no errors. He may not be a defensive god, but he'll do just fine.

 

3) Matt Murton has an outfield job which is his to lose. Put him in the corner you don't put Nomar Garciaparra (yes, I'm going there, move Nomar to the outfield). I'd love to see Matt play winter ball, and play right field, working on arm strength. The best place to put Nomar, and keep him healthy, is left field, in my opinion.

 

4) Pickup Todd Walker's contract, and trade him to the Minnesota Twins for Joe Nathan. Pick up all of Todd's salary if need be.

 

5) convert Ronny Cedeno to second base.

 

6) sign Rafeal Furcal to play shortstop.

 

We certainly have the money available this off season to sign Giles, Furcal, and Nomar. Probably looking at under $25 million there for all 3.

 

How is THIS for a lineup?

 

Furcal

Giles

Lee

Ramirez

Garciaparra

Barrett

Murton

Cedeno

 

Anyone doubt that if DLee hits 40+ homers again, he'll have a lot more than 105 RBI'S?

 

Too bad you don't own the Tribune Company.

 

Why would Giles sign on to play CF?

Edited September 30, 2005 by CubfaninCA

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I hope the Cubs realize how foolish it would be to have Pie in CF in 2006.

 

Exactly how foolish would it be? The guy has excelled at every level he has played at and his teams are consistently winners.

 

I would much rather the Cubs consider bringing up Pie than getting another stop gap like Burnitz or Hollandsworth, or worse yet letting Patterson come back.

His plate discipline in AA is worse than Patterson's was in AA.

 

Please explain with numbers :D

 

I was looking up Pie's stat line this year and it pretty impressive .349 OBP, .554 Slg, .304 Avg and he only struck out at a rate of around 1 time every five ABs. His Steal ratio looks really bad, but there is nothing in those numbers that says he cannot be successful in the future.

 

BTW I think it is unfair to compare everyone to Corey Patterson, Patterson's problems appear to be mostly mental. From everything I've read about Pie they have two entirely different outlooks on the game.

Pattersons IsoD in AA was .073. Pie: .045

 

If it wasn't for his high BA, his OBP would be pretty low. The numbers are decent, but I don't see anything there that screams major league ready. He needs a season in AAA.

 

Is there a website to look at previous minor league season stats? I would be interested to see what Patterson's stats were, beside IsoD.

 

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/P/corey-patterson.shtml

[don_kessinger_was_good]

4) Pickup Todd Walker's contract, and trade him to the Minnesota Twins for Joe Nathan. Pick up all of Todd's salary if need be.

 

Dream on--Nathan is one of the three best closers in the AL, you don't trade that for an injury-prone 2B with no defense who's already had a stint in Minny. However, something like Walker for Jesse Crain, Juan Rincon or JC Romero, that could happen, and we do need some 7th-8th inning help. I'd do Walker for any one of those three guys no problem.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

4) Pickup Todd Walker's contract, and trade him to the Minnesota Twins for Joe Nathan. Pick up all of Todd's salary if need be.

 

Dream on--Nathan is one of the three best closers in the AL, you don't trade that for an injury-prone 2B with no defense who's already had a stint in Minny. However, something like Walker for Jesse Crain, Juan Rincon or JC Romero, that could happen, and we do need some 7th-8th inning help. I'd do Walker for any one of those three guys no problem.

 

Walker: 30.1 VORP

 

Nathan: 21.7

Crain: 26.2

Rincon: 22.7

Romero: 9.7

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

 

Is there a website to look at previous minor league season stats? I would be interested to see what Patterson's stats were, beside IsoD.

 

Patterson at age 20 for AA West Tenn played in 118 games and logged 444 AB's. He had 116 hits, 45 BB, and 115 K's for a 261/334/491 line.

 

Pie at age 20, also of AA West Tenn played in 59 games and logged 240 AB. He had 73 hits, 16 BB, and 53 K's for a 304/352/554 line.

 

It's a little better than Patterson's overall line, but shows less patience at the plate. Also, his K rate is nearly identical to Corey's K-rate at the same age.

 

I'm not saying Pie couldn't perform adequately at the major league level, but he is a rare talent that should be allowed to develop fully. With his current plate discipline, my guess is that Pie would strike out as much as we've seen Patterson and put up a line of 250/310/430 right now. While that may not be horrible, I'm sure there are a number of stop gap players that could do better and allow Pie to work on his plate discipline so that when he arrives in Chicago he'll put up a line closer to his minor league numbers than to Patterson's major league numbers.

[CubfaninCA]

Would Pie be better off platooning w/ Hairston??

 

If Walker's @ 2b, Nomar's in LF and Pie's in CF, they better bring back Hairston.

[Magnetic Curses]

nomar can play SS, just put him back there. foget spending anything on furcal.

[CubinNY]

Would Pie be better off platooning w/ Hairston??

 

If Walker's @ 2b, Nomar's in LF and Pie's in CF, they better bring back Hairston.

 

Pie would be better off playing a full year of baseball (everyday) in AA/AAA. He only played 2/3 of a season this year.

[NorthsideAvenger]

Would Pie be better off platooning w/ Hairston??

 

If Walker's @ 2b, Nomar's in LF and Pie's in CF, they better bring back Hairston.

 

Pie would be better off playing a full year of baseball (everyday) in AA/AAA. He only played 2/3 of a season this year.

 

I love pie (insert your favorite Homer Simpson joke here), but considering he IS coming off injury, I rather him spend atleast half the season in AAA, if NOT all at AAA. He is ONLY 20 yrs old, and one full season at AAA wouldn't hurt him. I wouldn't mind if Adam Greenberg is given another shot at CF/leadoff provided his head is on straight. I think at least short-term, Greenberg's grit could help the Cubs.

[CubinNY]

Would Pie be better off platooning w/ Hairston??

 

If Walker's @ 2b, Nomar's in LF and Pie's in CF, they better bring back Hairston.

 

Pie would be better off playing a full year of baseball (everyday) in AA/AAA. He only played 2/3 of a season this year.

 

I love pie (insert your favorite Homer Simpson joke here), but considering he IS coming off injury, I rather him spend atleast half the season in AAA, if NOT all at AAA. He is ONLY 20 yrs old, and one full season at AAA wouldn't hurt him. I wouldn't mind if Adam Greenberg is given another shot at CF/leadoff provided his head is on straight. I think at least short-term, Greenberg's grit could help the Cubs.

 

I agree.

 

As for Greenburg, at least see what he can do coming out of ST. I would flip if Dusty's opening day line up looked like this (not necessarily saying it would be a good one)

 

Greenburg CF

Walker 2nd

Lee

Aramais

Giles RF

Murton LF

Barrett

Cedeno SS

[rawaction]

Would Pie be better off platooning w/ Hairston??

 

If Walker's @ 2b, Nomar's in LF and Pie's in CF, they better bring back Hairston.

 

Pie would be better off playing a full year of baseball (everyday) in AA/AAA. He only played 2/3 of a season this year.

 

I love pie (insert your favorite Homer Simpson joke here), but considering he IS coming off injury, I rather him spend atleast half the season in AAA, if NOT all at AAA. He is ONLY 20 yrs old, and one full season at AAA wouldn't hurt him. I wouldn't mind if Adam Greenberg is given another shot at CF/leadoff provided his head is on straight. I think at least short-term, Greenberg's grit could help the Cubs.

 

I agree.

 

As for Greenburg, at least see what he can do coming out of ST. I would flip if Dusty's opening day line up looked like this (not necessarily saying it would be a good one)

 

Greenburg CF

Walker 2nd

Lee

Aramais

Giles RF

Murton LF

Barrett

Cedeno SS

 

I'd hate to see all that OBP that low. Giles needs at least 1 of the big bats to knock him in since he is likely to have the highest OBP. Murton is likely to get on base more than Greenberg, so I'd rather hit him 1st if those are the options.

[CubfaninCA]

If Baker pencils in Murton as a 1 or 2 hitter next year, it should be considered a miracle.

[CUBZ99]

 

Is there a website to look at previous minor league season stats? I would be interested to see what Patterson's stats were, beside IsoD.

 

Patterson at age 20 for AA West Tenn played in 118 games and logged 444 AB's. He had 116 hits, 45 BB, and 115 K's for a 261/334/491 line.

 

Pie at age 20, also of AA West Tenn played in 59 games and logged 240 AB. He had 73 hits, 16 BB, and 53 K's for a 304/352/554 line.

 

It's a little better than Patterson's overall line, but shows less patience at the plate. Also, his K rate is nearly identical to Corey's K-rate at the same age.

 

I'm not saying Pie couldn't perform adequately at the major league level, but he is a rare talent that should be allowed to develop fully. With his current plate discipline, my guess is that Pie would strike out as much as we've seen Patterson and put up a line of 250/310/430 right now. While that may not be horrible, I'm sure there are a number of stop gap players that could do better and allow Pie to work on his plate discipline so that when he arrives in Chicago he'll put up a line closer to his minor league numbers than to Patterson's major league numbers.

 

Thanks :D You make some good points. Pie's work ethic and attitude may allow him to make a jump to the majors and he would be able to make the proper adjustments needed.

 

Considering that the Cubs are going to wait and see how he does in Winter Ball and in Spring Training, IMO there is nothing wrong with giving Pie an opportunity to earn the job. If he excels in Spring Training and gets off to a good start next year, I would much rather see him in the lineup getting experience than a sub par stopgap.

 

Given Dusty and Hendry's views toward playing young players it is more likely that Pie starts the season in AAA.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

 

Is there a website to look at previous minor league season stats? I would be interested to see what Patterson's stats were, beside IsoD.

 

Patterson at age 20 for AA West Tenn played in 118 games and logged 444 AB's. He had 116 hits, 45 BB, and 115 K's for a 261/334/491 line.

 

Pie at age 20, also of AA West Tenn played in 59 games and logged 240 AB. He had 73 hits, 16 BB, and 53 K's for a 304/352/554 line.

 

It's a little better than Patterson's overall line, but shows less patience at the plate. Also, his K rate is nearly identical to Corey's K-rate at the same age.

 

I'm not saying Pie couldn't perform adequately at the major league level, but he is a rare talent that should be allowed to develop fully. With his current plate discipline, my guess is that Pie would strike out as much as we've seen Patterson and put up a line of 250/310/430 right now. While that may not be horrible, I'm sure there are a number of stop gap players that could do better and allow Pie to work on his plate discipline so that when he arrives in Chicago he'll put up a line closer to his minor league numbers than to Patterson's major league numbers.

 

Thanks :D You make some good points. Pie's work ethic and attitude may allow him to make a jump to the majors and he would be able to make the proper adjustments needed.

 

Considering that the Cubs are going to wait and see how he does in Winter Ball and in Spring Training, IMO there is nothing wrong with giving Pie an opportunity to earn the job. If he excels in Spring Training and gets off to a good start next year, I would much rather see him in the lineup getting experience than a sub par stopgap.

 

Given Dusty and Hendry's views toward playing young players it is more likely that Pie starts the season in AAA.

 

What I see wrong with letting Pie earn the job is what do you do if he doesn't perform? We could be left at that point scrambling to find someone who can handle the position.

 

My guess is that Patterson will be gone, which would leave Hairston and Greenberg as the likely CFers in the system that could step in if Pie struggles. Those two might make a decent platoon, but I'd prefer Hairston in a utility role and Greenberg as a 4th or 5th OF.

 

I've been openly advocating Kenny Lofton. If he could be had for 2 million on a one year deal he provides the opportunity for Pie to be sent to AAA to start the season. If Pie develops quickly there, you only have a 2 million dollar player to send to the bench.