CubinNY

I'll see you bid and raise two bad contracts

The problem is they would want Prior or Zambrano. And that is for starters Tejada is the real deal and has a decent contract. The ironc thing is that LA has the prospects and with Lowe perhaps the starting pitching to maybe swing the deal. But now they have the 13 million dollar man at SS.

That's another free agent signing I got wrong. Me good at free agent game.

It doesn't bother me one bit. I fail to see how making a ridiculous contract even more ridiculus is a good thing.

If they are smart they will take some of it and invest it in more and better scouting and minor league player development. They could upgrade their DR acadamy. They could hire a Pacific rim scout (Leon Lee for example). They don't have to spend all of on overprice castoffs. Hendry could also save some for the trading deadline or for next year. It is time to do some forward thinking. As of today I don't see 2006 becoming the year of the Cub. But you never know.

I do too. And I think he can be had for on the cheap. The guy is done in Tampa just as Patterson is done in Chicago. I'm not suggesting a patterson for Huff swap at all. I think he is a pretty decent baseball player and this would be a case of Hendry buying low...as would Bradley. We shall see if Hendry is into bargin hunting.

87 players had an ISOD over .100 (with at least 200 PAs) in 05. That's a pretty decent sized group. 167 players were at (or above) Walker's career average of .081. 207 people with over 200 PAs had a higher BB/PA than Walker. I like Walker as much as anyone and want him on this team badly next year, but he's not the great leadoff hitter we all think he is. Especially, when he's as like to post a .330's OBP as he is one in the .350's. Was Juan Pierre among them?

You have my proxy in this matter as I am done with the discussion.

I agree.

I'm just going to cut and paste this form the emergency board from last night Not to get political here but this problem kind of reminds me of a union. When I was professing for a living we had a union. About 15% of the professors belonged to the union. The union negotiated contracts with the University on behalf of all the faculty. But becuase only a small minority of people payed dues the University allways "won" when negotiating. Then people would complain about the union "not working". I would tell them then join the union and reap the benefits. People like you and me (and others) pay so other can ride for free. It is the American way. If people would pay 5 dollars a month (less then the cost of a McDonald's lunch) then Tim could upgrade.

Is there some point to continuing to call him "Slappy" over and over in each post you make? Try the cubs.com message board, the 12 year olds that post over there will probably think it is hilarious. I call him slappy b/c I can't remember if is last name has two r's or one and I think it describes his game well. It is not a slight in any way. It is like calling a HR hitter a bomber. You are a premium member, if you don't like to read my posts put me on ignore. It is just that easy. I like it here.

wow I completely agree.

The Cubs have a solid leadoff man His name is Todd Walker Hendry is trying to trade him as we speak The Cubs need an upgrade in CF, Slappy is an upgarde I am happy they have upgraded but I believe they could have done better. The Cubs need a bunch of solid baseball players not a leadoff hitter, a 2 hole hitter, etc.. Because people confuse speed with being a good leadoff hitter people will like Slappy. I don't.

eleventybillion Seriously, Piazza is off the books, they have a new cable network, and had a great season at the box office last year. In additon, the Wilpons' are worth more than Poland.

Pie is having a miserable season in Winter Ball. I don't think he will be ready anytime soon.

Is this anything more recent than his comments from yesterday (and I think he had others the day before yesterday)? Idealistically? If there is one thing Dusty is good for it is humors quotes.

Man San Diego must be one helluva town.

One reason for Wilk> Slappy is that Wilk was injured Wilk moved to a bigger park Slappy had no excuse However, I expect Slappy to move toward his career norms in Wrigley. I would bet though that his slugging is going to decrease, but then again slg. is not that important from the Juan hole. Slappy isn't a terrible player but IMO not who the Cubs need. But he was available and Hendry got him (overpayed too). So I think one has to give Hendry that. He got his man. The story is not done yet. If Hendry can get some top notch LF and RFers all is well.

I am not sure if I understand you question. But if you are asking is Proplayer a harder park to play defense in? I would say no. CF is deeper but a ball not gotten to is a ball not gotten to. It doesn't matter what park one plays in. Both parks are big but Coors is more symetical and perhaps easier. But I do not think that much easier. What makes you say that? To me they indicate he is an almost an exactly average CFer.

Ceiling is scoutspeak for "my best guess" it means absolutely squat. Slappy is not worth that much. But b/c Hendry overvalues a "leadoff batter" over a "baseball player" he is our Slappy. Good luck next year Slappy. I'll be rooting for you.

Perfect example of my previous post, thanks. "Baseball" men who know "the game" likely wrote that. Let's look at some objective data shall we? Of qualified CFer in the NL: Convential Stats: He ranked next to last in fielding % (just ahead of Patterson) He ranked second to first in errors (Just behind Patterson) He was tied for 3rd in assists (7) but really in the middle of the pack (Jones lead the league with 11) He ranked 3rd in put outs (but he did play a lot of innings too) Non-convential stats: He ranked dead last in range factor (put outs + assists)/innings (this time all the innings might have hurt him) He ranked in the middle of the pack in zone rating (Zone rating. The percentage of balls fielded by a player in his typical defensive "zone," as measured by STATS, Inc.) Now none of these stats are all that good becuase they are reliant on other aspects, but overall, I would say my opinon is congruent with more objective data. He is neither bad nor good as a defensive player. He is mediocre. Who to beleive; objective data, opinon of some guy on a message board, or a scouting report from a "basball" man who knows "the game"? ------------- Not that I need to but I can tell you I lived in Doral Fl (just a short 10 min drive up the turnpike to ProPlayer) for two and a half years (01-04). In that time I probably went to 20 games and maybe watched another 60 on the tube. So I saw him play more often then most here.

Ironic and pathetic at the same time. Nothing ironic or pathetic about it. The list of impact bats that satisfy this crowd is usually 5 players long at most, so it's pretty darn close to a no-win situation people put him in. Floyd for one year is a nice addition. If Floyd is the impact player you are looking for the Cubs to get. Then you have some pretty low expectations. Floyd will do nothing but push Murton to the bench, which by itself isn't a disaster, but the pick up does nothing to solve the problem in RF. As I wrote earlier though, he is not a bad player. But he is a risk at a time when the Cubs already have too many risks. However, I would be content with an outfield of (LF) Floyd (CF) Slappy (RF) MONOPOLY! (Bradley). Not sure Hendry would like it though.

Ironic and pathetic at the same time.

Floyd is also a left fielder. I think he has only played something like 60 games in right. I hope this rumor isn't true, but again the Cubs could do worse. Cliff is a very streaky hitter though, very streaky.

I asked this in another thread and it never really got answered. Is it just common knowledge that Pierre is not a good centerfielder? I've never heard anyone speak bad of his defense before all the Pierre to the cubs talk started. Is he considered worse than Patterson in center? I'm asking because i honestly thought he was considered a good CF. I've always known about the weak arm but have never heard all of this talk about bad routes and late jumps. Wher is the information coming from? And who does he compare to defensively in CF? "Baseball" men who know "the game" think Slappy is a good defender because after all, a Center Fielder has to have good speed. Peirre has great speed and that saves him from tottaly screwing up. He will take a bad angle but make up for it somewhat with his speed. He will break late but make it up with his speed. But he will also not get to some balls because his speed cannot always overcome his judgement. He has a very weak arm, even for a centerfielder. All and all he is a medicore defensive centerfielder in my estimation. He is neither bad nor good. But if he is hobbled in any way he will immediately become a bad defensive centerfielder. Slappy is a one trick pony. All speed. His entire worth is tied up in his foot speed.