CubinNY

How so? Pitcher abuse, then the entire "soft" thing by members in the media that the Cubs did nothing to disuade.

I think it's basic economics. He has to atleast make 80% of what he made this year. That is likely to be more than the Cubs are willing to pay him. Another team can sign him to a much more "team friendly" deal. Anyway, I don't think the Cubs care much for Prior and I'm not sure how much Prior cares for the Cubs. Maybe the divorce will be amicable. If he comes back for another team and has success I can see him becoming a most hated former Cubs. I won't hate him though. I think he's been treated rather poorly.

Detroit is speculating that it's Rapada. "Leyland stopped short of disclosing the traded player, but speculation is centered on Clay Rapada, who is 6-2 with a 3.74 ERA at Triple-A Iowa." link Rapada is on the 40-man, which means he'd have to clear waivers to be traded. Pretty doubtful that a cheap lefty reliever with decent numbers makes it through waivers. Which is why they made it a PTBNL deal so that they could trade them Rapada after the year. Personally, if it's a Cubs left-hander currently on the 40 man roster like Leyland said, then I don't really care if it is Eyre, Ohman, Cotts, or Rapada. They each have a small bit of value, but none of them have particularly great value now or in the future. And Monroe has more value? I don't really see it. I'm not against this trade I just don't really see much value in Monroe. I know he's hit LHP well this year but he's a career .277 hitter against LHP. I guess he gives the Cubs some "versitility"*. They seem to really covit versital players. * Versitility- ability to play more than one position. His career OPS against left-handers is .821. Jones's career OPS against left-handers is .632. That will be most of Monroe's value right there with that 190 point difference. The rest of his value will be in a right-handed pinch-hitting option. Since the Cubs have so many OF's that do not hit left-handers well (Jones, Floyd, Pie, Ward), it is really nice to have two options off of the bench that can pinch-hit for one of those OF's in a key situation, which allows one of them to pinch-hit for Jones for example when the team goes to a left-hander late and the other one can pinch-hit for the pitcher during the game. So does Monroe provide a ton of value? Maybe not, but the addition of him in the lineup instead of Jones against LHP will help the team in its struggles against that side of the plate. I think looking at his carrer OPS is a little decieving. In addition, I don't see him replacing Jones at all. He had two seasons where his OPS against LHP was above .900, but for the most part he's been in the .700 range, still better than JJ, but really not that good at all. In fact, I'd would say the difference in improvement is so small that over the course of the next 6 weeks we're likely to see no difference at all. However, his SLG is certianly better than Jones. At the same time, I have to ask, who will he be replacing? You seem to think it's Jones. I suspect it's Murton. After all it doesn't really make much sense b/c Jones is a lefty and Monroe is a righty. I think when Soriano comes back we'll see an OF of Soriano, Jones, Monroe/Floyd. If you compare him to Murton v LHP His numbers just don't stack up. Murton has an AVE, OBP, and OPS atvantage. So, I don't really see what value Monroe brings to the Cubs. I suppose if he replaces Jones @ lefties that would be great, but I doubt that will happen.

Detroit is speculating that it's Rapada. "Leyland stopped short of disclosing the traded player, but speculation is centered on Clay Rapada, who is 6-2 with a 3.74 ERA at Triple-A Iowa." link Rapada is on the 40-man, which means he'd have to clear waivers to be traded. Pretty doubtful that a cheap lefty reliever with decent numbers makes it through waivers. Which is why they made it a PTBNL deal so that they could trade them Rapada after the year. Personally, if it's a Cubs left-hander currently on the 40 man roster like Leyland said, then I don't really care if it is Eyre, Ohman, Cotts, or Rapada. They each have a small bit of value, but none of them have particularly great value now or in the future. And Monroe has more value? I don't really see it. I'm not against this trade I just don't really see much value in Monroe. I know he's hit LHP well this year but he's a career .277 hitter against LHP. I guess he gives the Cubs some "versitility"*. They seem to really covit versital players. * Versitility- ability to play more than one position.

You have been around long enough to know that people who treat Hendry like he shot their dog will not let facts get in the way of their arguments. Why do you see fit to make yourself the commentary critic of NSBB? What makes you superior to us mere mortals? Tell me please, I'd really like to know. Was it your upbringing or your education? Enlighten us all with your wisdom. Please get over it. I was hardly commenting on all of NSBB. My comment was directed at a vocal minority who seem to allow their hate of Jim Hendry to color their opinions. The irony of your post is that you often respond to hyperbole with sarcasm. So when you take that tact it's "ok", but when others do it it's not? Here's a thought: If you don't like what I post, put me on ignore or pm a mod. Otherwise, quit trolling everything I write. I was hoping for some enlightenment and I get a scolding. Oh well, I'll just have to have hope.

Maybe they like them too much, if you know what I mean. The Cubs are 29 and 44 Against the D-Backs

You have been around long enough to know that people who treat Hendry like he shot their dog will not let facts get in the way of their arguments. Why do you see fit to make yourself the commentary critic of NSBB? What makes you superior to us mere mortals? Tell me please, I'd really like to know. Was it your upbringing or your education? Enlighten us all with your wisdom.

Pythagorean method is not an exact science, nor is it a way to determine "luck". According to Rob Neyer it is a way of looking at whether teams under preformed or over preformed based on its runs scored and runs allowed. At the end of the season most teams are about +/- 4 wins from their pythagorean record. All three teams are within measurement error. Therefore, there is no need to lament bad luck or curses.

I really hope they don't start him, ever.

Does anyone know if XM has an alternate broadcast so I don't have to listen to the Giants announcers.

Short term yes, long term maybe a little. The statistic is meant to be analyzed for the big picture (Big N). I don't know how valid it is to use as a short term meter of success

Is that right? Outstanding. As soon as he's "healthy" and pitching well, trade him before the duct tape and bailing wire break. Or the Cubs could decide if they want him as a RP or a SP and not jerk him around. The Cubs do plenty of things wrong, but you are really stretching to blame them for Guzman's fragility. I'm not blaiming them at all. But let me run this by you and see what you think. A GM of a team has a talented but frequently injured young pitcher. He has been injury free for a while. The GM decides break camp with him as a reliever for the MLB club, then after approximately three weeks of inconsistent and infrequent use he decides he wants him to start so he send him back down to AAA to "stretch" his arm. He gets three starts in AAA then he gets sent back to the MLB club. Then from May 6 to May 17 he gets 3 starts in the majors. He doesn't do bad but cannot get out of the 5th inning. Then the GM and manager decide they want him in the bullpen where he is used approximately every two days until he comes up with an injury about a month later. Would you say this is a good plan for a "fragile" young pitcher?

Is that right? Outstanding. As soon as he's "healthy" and pitching well, trade him before the duct tape and bailing wire break. Or the Cubs could decide if they want him as a RP or a SP and not jerk him around.

Rich has Kerry Wood disease. The Cubs don't score any runs when he pitches.

Give it up to God, becuase without him they'd be screwed.

C - Soto deserves a legitimate shot. SS - Theriot's line of .290/.352/.376/.728 would be seventh out of twelve SS in the NL which is fine if you have other hitters in the order. CF - Pie, like Soto, deserves a legitimate shot. LF/RF - Ditto for Murton. There's no reason to believe he can't repeat his .809 OPS from 06 if given consistent playing time. 2B - DeRosa. Obviously, if these guys underperform then the Cubs will be in need of another bat. But if Murton and Soto can produce the lineup will be fine. EDIT: Just playing a devil's advocate here. Yes, guys deserve shots. But the fact is, they need something close to guaranteed production in at least one of those spots. Ideally they would have played Murton all year and would know a heck of a lot more about what he might bring next year. I agree. CubinNY made it sound like the Cubs had complete scrubs at those positions who had no business starting. It would be good to see an upgrade at one of those, though. I don't know where you get the idea that I think the Cubs have scrubs at every position I mentioned, but to each his own. 7th out of 12 is not good production no matter what position we are talking about, but we are talking about SS. Nobody knows what the Cubs will get out of Soto. I am one of Murton's biggest supporters and was lambasted for suggesting he wouldn't get playing time during the preseason. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing that the Cubs have done with Murton to date suggest that they plan on giving him regular playing time. Nothing. DeRosa is fine I suppose. I guess it's all good if one is planning on creating a medicore team and spending a lot of money to do so.

It looks like Pawelek should be about done too.

I wonder how they are going to get around the collective bargining agreement? I'm pretty sure they are not supposed to play for more than 21 days in a row without a break. Anyway, this is good news for the Brewers.

wouldn't be enough. You could make it work. Colvin, Pie, Murton, Gallagher, Veal, Marshall, Hill, Wuertz, Marmol, Patterson are all names that could be intriguing to a team in need of cheap talent. Some lower level guys, like Burke, may have made enough of a name for themselves this year to also add value to a trade. Cabrera is going to make over $10 million next year. He should be signed to a longterm contract, and I can't see Florida wanting to do either thing. Yes, other teams have more to offer than the Cubs. But, that doesn't mean those others teams will be willing. People don't generally trade their top prospects, especially when they are elite. I'll be willing to bet that Cabrerra and Willis will be traded this offseason. Florida is averaging 17k fans/game. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/attendance As a side note, I see Boston is averaging 101 % (36k/game). The Cubs are second @ 97. 101% that is amazing.

So, yes. That's one person that used the term "dynasty" towards the Cubs. He was immediately reprimanded. The second quote above -- while perhaps still too sunny -- disagreed with the term "dynasty." You picked out one overly optimistic fan and then portrayed the entire thread as being so. This team should be in contention in the NL Central for the next couple/few seasons -- and even the resident Brewer fan, the one team that could distance itself, agreed. I agree too but, being in contention in the division and being in World Series contention are two completely different things. To me the general tone of the thread is overly optimistic. The Cubs are a medicore team and I see nothing on the horizon that suggests otherwise.

So, yes.

This thread is completely out of control. Completely. The Cubs are coming off of back to back losing seasons and are mediocre this year. They very well could finish below .500. That's the makings of a dynasty? Lee, Aramis, and Soriano are good players and are capeable of putting up all-star calibur numbers. But all are on the wrong side of 30. They need a catcher, SS, CF, LF/RF, and probably a 2nd baseman. Not all of them have to be all-stars. But at least they should be able to get on base at a decent clip. They have Zambrano as a starting pitcher. I like Hill a lot and think he is a very good pitcher, but that is about it. Bullpens are a crapshoot. Now, their minor leagues look to be improved but they aren't Tampa or Arizona. Depending on who the next owner turns out to be, the Cubs certianly should be in contention in this division with the likes of Pittsburgh, Cincinatti, and Houston. But I don't see them as a perenial World Series contender unless some of the minor league talent really steps up and/or they fall into a few Aramis/Lee type trade scenarios.

Everything in life is relative. Rich Hill is incosistent compared to who? Speaking of HRs Lilly has been giving them up a pretty good clip.

I have a theory that I haven't fully explored yet. It goes like this. Hypothesis: Efficent teams are going to win more often then they lose. Efficiency = runs/hit - errors (from the other teams during games played against said team)/games played I have no idea if my hypothisis is correct.

I think its division champion or bust for the Cubs.