KingKongvs.Godzilla

Wilkerson from the leadoff spot between 2002-2004 (1059) .258 .372 .466 .838 The Cubs haven't had that kind of production in the leadoff spot in...well a long, long, long time. And that pwns Pierre all around (no offense to him, but getting caught stealing 26% of the time pisses me off).

I should just note that in the end those BOTH count as ONE WIN. Its not a very strong argument. At all. Say we go into that game into September two games back instead of one and we could look back at that game against the Pirates (which was lost by one run), if I went "DAMMIT that failed stolen base attempt against the Pirates cost us so much," would I be wrong? In the end a win is a win, and a game in September only has meaning if you were winning before it.

Same here, I think he'd be just as good as 2003 if he left RFK. He still hit a s-load of doubles and triples, the most in his career in either category, but that park was a place where HRs go to die. If we got anything like the THREE YEARS before last year, I'd be very happy. Especially when you consider he plays very good D.

Can you believe that somehow in a FAKE NEWS CONFERENCE in which they will get in 0 trouble for giving a straight answer somehow Phillips still manages to avoid the question? I mean whats the point then?

Wow his plate discipline sucks, I'm gonna keep praying we don't make the CP mistake all over again. 2 more years in the minors. Anyone notice how hitters who come up REALLY young (like 20) don't improve as much as pitchers who come up REALLY young? Look at Eric Chavez, Pujols (bad example, but you can pencil him in for .330/.430/.580 or something), and so many others. Let Pie develop in the minors...

There was a point in this guys career where he was the worst offensive player in baseball period. That was a several year streak, at a time when he played in Coors. As good as his glove may be, I don't think he's worth the risk of having Dusty start him everyday...

Place me firmly on the Wilkerson/Kearns bandwagon.

I got the same impression of Hughes. He really pissed me off with that...

Uh....yea.....

All evidence surrounding Byrnes (who would have replaced Epstein as Bostons GM) and Daniels point to them being sabermetrically inclined GMs. Same thing for Schapiro and Jockety, just because its not shoved in your face by the media doesn't mean its not there. Its pretty well known by now that MGL over at Primer and scout.com has worked for the Cardinals, which is why its so hard to find anything recent with UZR (a defensive stat - shockingly used on a team whose pitching staff is very dependent on its defense). You're acting like the things said in MoneyBall are new....they're not. Branch Rickey was saying this stuff 50 and 60 years ago....

Oh....well then whats the point of labeling guys MoneyBall GMs? Obviously I listed those guys because they use stats more heavily than other GMs. Otherwise there'd be no point in distincting them from the others if all GMs used stats...no? I mean do you think these "MoneyBall GMs" are the guys who fire ever single scout they have and sit at their laptop with their computer nerd slave running through lists of OBPs of every play in the country?

BTW: Riccardi Towers Schapiro Jocketty Byrnes Daniels Are all "MoneyBall" GM's. And there are more coming, and many other guys employed by teams.

I don't think it has anything to do with MoneyBall. Well....the DePo firing does, he's been ridiculed from day one and it hasn't stopped. Anyway what we SHOULD be thinking is...there are a sh*tload of franchise changing GMs out there.... DePo Fuson Epstein Towers potentially Logan White The Twins scouting director David Forst And even more lucky for the Cubs, there is a legit shot all of these guys will be available NEXT year. God, I would be so happy to see the Cubs hire a GM who isn't a [expletive] and isn't completely traditional.

Yes, I'd take Cameron. Above average power and OB skills from a great defensive CFer? Why in the beginning (I haven't actually finished the thread) was it suggested he'd be the RFer? We can't be as stupid as the Mets, alot of this guys value is tied into being the arguably the best defensive CFer in baseball over the past few years.... He'd easily be our best OFer. Hugely underrated player...

This is the best Jenks has ever shown as far as command, but I don't think he's anywhere near Farns. He really seems to have matured, and his all around stuff takes a huge dump on Farns. Anyone seen his curve yet? Its everything Beckett's curveball was supposed to be. He can hit the mid 80's with it and it drops straight down. After seeing a 100 MPH fastball that just tailed in on you, you can't do anything with that pitch.

I was also someone who thought Jimenez would be a nice pickup last year. Many people complained about his supposed attitude, but I think he'd be a damn fine player (and a good STARTER). Personally I say save the money and don't resign Nomar. Pick up Jimenez, and start Ronny at SS.

Ridicuously young. Assistant GM at 26? I wish him luck.

Brian Roberts is this years Mark Loretta. For pitchers, still Ben Sheets to me. Third best pitcher in baseball last year, and no one noticed. His 18 K game was overshadowed a week later by a perfect game. Mike Cameron is heavily underrated. Best defensive OFer behind Andruw Jones, draws walks and hits for good power with good speed. Historically: Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell will probably be underrated as hell.

Not yet, Crain isn't ready. Personally, I think he may have been on steroids. His velocity was down this year to about 90-91, and his slider was nowhere near as sharp or as hard.

Theres also guys no one ever heard of, I've heard the Dodgers AA guy works very well with young pitchers. Off the top of my head I can't think of any...

I've noticed a few people (including myself) think that Hendry has shown some poor leadership skills in letting Dusty keep full control of everything, which arguably has led to injuries to our pitching staff, poor lineup performances, and just a horrible atmosphere. So what if the Cubs were to fire Hendry tommorrow, who would you like to take the helm at GM? Heres a list of GM Prospects: Logan White - Dodgers scouting director - Head of the best farm system iin the game. His drafts have not produced much (mostly due to injury), but there is no denying the fact that every draft is stocked with talent. Has shown he is flexible and not stupid, as he went from VERY heavy with the HS drafting to just heavy, showing he is not a stubborn prick, something the Cubs have too much of. Eddie Bane - Angels scouting director - Drafts for the second best farm system in the game. You'll notice a trend in that most of these guys are scouting directors or used to be scouting directs by the way, because I am a believer in building a team through your farm system. Anyway, Bane has one of the best track records in the game, though I'm not as big a fan of him as I am of most of the other guys here. Mike Radcliffe - Twins scouting director - This one shouldn't even have to be explained. Jake Zdurneick - Brewers scouting director - Solid guy, good head on his shoulders. Again, I'm not his biggest fan, but he's a fine GM prospect. Grady Fuson - Ex-scouting director - This guy finds a sh*tload of talent no matter where he's been. He built up Oaklands farm system, then went to Texas and made theirs a strength again. One of my favorites, as he also had some time in the Oakland front office and maybe picked up on some things. David Forst - A's assistant GM - I'm a big fan of sabermetrics, and for whatever reason Forst has always come across to me as a strong minded, confident, smart man. Someone I'd be willing to give my franchise to and say "put this right." I'd like someone sabermetrically inclined somewhere in our front office....

Maybe not exactly the right time to post this, since he's done for the season with some toe injury, but why have the Marlins never given the C/1B/3B/LF a chance to play? Now that they really did blow it by giving every position he can play a guy with a big contrac to play it (Lo Duca, Delgado, Lowell, and Encarnacion), they might actually waste a bat like his by making him a bench player. The guy has put up .272/.412/.493 batting line during his minor league career, and this year was hitting .324 with a .616 SLG% in AAA. In 219 ABs there he also drew 47 BBs. He's 26, he deserves a shot somewhere. He can hit for decent average, has alot of power, draws alot of walks, and doesn't K much for a guy with that skillset. Make him the Cubs new LFer Jim Hendry. BTW - I do know the reason he plays so many positions is because he is not the master of any. But from what I've seen hes athletic enough that he can handle in LF, and its not like you get a LFer for defense anyway. His power and paitence should more than make up for it...

JP comes off to me as solid, he's made the Jays a pretty solid team and stocked their system with solid talent. But not one guy he's drafted stands out as a possible future star, the system is full of guys like Russ Adams, Aaron Hill, and Adam Lind, solid players who don't K, draw walks, and may or may not hit for power. Even their pitchers are like that I think he'd do OK for us, but people will more than likely get impaitent with just being solid. The Blue Jays scare teams, but I think more because they are good enough to spoil more than because the teams think they can contend. Which is why Grady Fuson entices me so much, has any team taken him? I think the Padres...maybe? He finds a shiteload of good talent...

Um, you realize he broke his wrist getting hit by a pitch? Who the hell saw that coming? That is as freak an injury as there is. Its like getting hit by a car, if that happened to him would you say he was injury prone or would you be saying, "Damn, what a freak thing to happen?" The only move I truly hated from DePo has been the Lowe signing, and that was only because he grossly overpayed, not because I didn't think Lowe couldn't be solid.

One thing I noticed, all of those guys suck. Especially that Dunn and Rodriguez guy. Striking out is a sin, and this list proves it.