snoodmonger

\\and it won 't be the Cubs. Too bad. He'd make a nice platoon partner w/ Jacque. Then again, so would Murton. Oh well. We've always got Bynum.

He also had 260 more plate appearances. If there's been no marked improvement in his patience, then why did his walks improve from 14 in his first full (age 22) season to 45 in his last full (age 24) season? Because of the bolded part. In 50% more ABs, his BBs improved almost 400%. So it's not just the same rate of patience extended through more PAs, it's increased patience. Thus his OBP went up. Hate Izturis all you want. I'm not sayig he's good. But you can't deny he got progressively more patient until injured.

Interesting stuff. He walked 14 times as a 22-year-old and 43 two-years-later. That's marked improvement and a sign that a young player might have been figuring it out, at least to some degree. His SLG went up each year, too. (From .303 to .381 in that same two year period.) If we hire a competent coaching staff, and if he can fully recover from injury, maybe this guy can more than Neifi 2.0.

Hopefully there are moves to made in the offseason. Theoretically the Cubs could: 1. Package Izturiz or Cedeno + prospects (Hill/Gooz) for a middle of the rotation guy. I have no one specific in mind. 2. Sign Loretta. 3. Sign Soriano or Lee Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Pierre is coming back, so that leaves us with: Pierre Loretta Lee Ramirez Lee/Soriano Barrett Jones Izturiz (I see Cedeno as more likely to be traded) P Rotation: Z Prior PITCHER Marmol Marshall The season would pretty much hinge on Pierre not sucking, Prior being old Prior, and the continued improvement of the two young guys at the back end of the rotation. Big gambles, I know. The team is also older than I'd like, and fashioned in the traditional Cub way: vets over youth. My biggest fears are that, if Rammy opts out and JH signs Pierre, that leaves us with not a lot of scratch for a big thumper...and almost surely not enough for two big FAs (thumper AND Loretta,)

I don't think there's anyway he's an "A". He may even be a borderline "B". IIRC, he was a Class "C" FA after the 2004 season. I wonder if that's due to playing time. His rate numbers certainly rank well with 2b-men. And Elias doesn't consider defense when doing the rankings. This is the scenario. Walker is bats well enough to be an "A", but the Neifi love diminished his playing time enough so that he became a borderline "B"/"C". ESPN.com's player rankings seem to think Todd Walker no longer exists for some reason, but I'd imagine that's the case. I think he's listed as a 1b on espn

ARGHHHH WALKER DOES NOT HAVE A BAD GLOVE. I DONT KNOW WHERE THIS IDEA CAME FROM BUT IT NEEDS TO STOP. *Head explodes* It's true, he's not a good defensive 2B. He's really not that bad. He's definitely below average, and no one said he was the worst in the league or anything like that(at least in this thread), just that he wasn't good. He has limited range and is slow at turning the DP. He's adequate, especially when he hits at his career averages, but simply from a a defensive standpoint, he's below average.

Actually, the Cubs' offense needs to help Z, not Prior. Webb's ERA is significantly lower than Z's, so he needs to get roughed up, not just lose.

"cornrolls," lol.

Well that should do loads for his trade value. That's straight from the Sammy Sosa/Corey patterson school of trading.

Because middle relievers are a crapshoot, and it doesn't make sense to give them long-term deals. I'd definitely look to deal Howry. This will be his second straight year with a HEAVY workload, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he struggled next year. Besides, with Wuertz, we have an effective replacement.

I see he's got a .377 OBP this year (although mostly due to high avg.) But that's 60 points above his career. I know he's young, but I don't see him as the type of guy who whill consistently put up those kind of numbers.

What if it meant turning it into a baseball venue for one, maybe two years while Wrigley was thoroughly renovated? Okay, if we're playing what if, what if they do that, and while the Cubs are in the temp stadium, they win their first WS in 100+ years. Bet a lot of people wouldn't want them to tear down such a historic place.

Is Abreu even a better hitter than Barrett anymore? He's older, his OPS is way lower, and he's got 8 HR. and he plays a position where it's easier to find an impact bat. Personally, I don't see the benefit of pursuing a declining Abreu at the expense of one of our best players. Abreu has an OBP of .434, with 90 walks! Barrett's OBP is .391 (which is still great), but only 27 walks. Better patience than Barrett, or most anyone else on the team. Of course, Barrett and Abreu together on the Cubs would be preferable. I understand he's got a great OBP. And while I'm a huge OBP fan, I'm pf the opinion you want a decent SLG from your corner OF. I happen to think Abreu's lack of pop is the sign of a downward trend. Don't get me wrong; I'd take him. Just not at the expense of a player who's posting a better OPS than him from a non-offensive position.

Is Abreu even a better hitter than Barrett anymore? He's older, his OPS is way lower, and he's got 8 HR. and he plays a position where it's easier to find an impact bat. Personally, I don't see the benefit of pursuing a declining Abreu at the expense of one of our best players. Given their positions, Abreu is likely to sustain his production longer than Barrett. Catchers are always the first to decline. And going into this year, Abreu was a consistent 120 or higher OPS+ hitter, and usually much higher. Barret was 105 and 113 going into this season. I'd bet Abreu outproduces Barret the next two years. Plus, Bobby plays everyday, Barrett doesn't, and MB may or may not have a negative defensive contribution. MB has 30% fewer plate appearances a year. Even if his rate stats are a little better, the overall contribution from Abreu would be significantly higher. I don't think there could be a straight up deal. I think Philly would want an arm, but the Cubs could get more than Abreu for Barrett and an arm. I wouldn't have a prob w/ trading Barrett...for the right price. I guess I'm not as high on Abreu anymore as a lot of people. His power has dropped considerably this year, and he might end up with his 3rd year out of four w/ a sub 900 ops. While I expect Barrett's OPS to drop next year, I think he'll match Bobby for the next year or two. So if we're going to deal him for a player at a traditional hitting position (OF), then I'd like to see us net an outfielder who outproduces him significantly.

It's omnipresence? Wouldn't it be easier to ignore than to goad then? I agree. The guy hates the sox. a lot of us do. He started a thread for it. He's clearly not going to change. Let him have his thread. If it bothers people so much, ignore it. he's not breaking any rules.

I think the core of the rivalry has nothing to do with sports.. I think it has more to do with the fact there are two large cities in MO on opposite sides of the state, and neither is markedly better than the other, so a rivalry was born. Couple that with the fact StL people are very proud of their city and like to condescend to others about it, and KC folks become naturally defensive. Since it's smaller, they also do have an inferiority complex. There's also a lot of inter-state politicking between the cities, where both cities have lobbied for stuff at the expense of the other. (KC's new stadium deal was the most recent. I believe Enterprise, a StL company, did some heavy lobbying to stop KC from getting their new arena.) The sports are just a natural progression. The fact the world series was lost on a super controversial call exacerabted the situation. Then StL got another football team, and they quickly got better than the Cheifs (KC's major source of pride) and things got worse. To me, the KU/Mizzou thing is pretty low on the list for reasons for the rivalry for a few reasons. •Stl is more of a pro sports town than college sports. •StL's college sports loyalties are severely divided. Mizzou has the most alums, but UI and KU have large contingents. •KC is also split. It's dominated by KU, but there are tons of Mizzou fans, too. They even get regular home coverage in the paper. There are also 7 or 8 K-State fans. Whatever the source, though, there is a huge city rivalry between the two, and KC does have an inferiority complex.

Is Abreu even a better hitter than Barrett anymore? He's older, his OPS is way lower, and he's got 8 HR. and he plays a position where it's easier to find an impact bat. Personally, I don't see the benefit of pursuing a declining Abreu at the expense of one of our best players.

I am. I'd love to see the Cards give up a ton and end up paying Willis post arbitration money based on win totals and hype. Exactamundo. If any team is going to gut their farm to get Willis, let's hope it's the Cards. Willis has several comps that peaked before age 25 -- Steve Avery, Ismael Valdez, Jim Abbott, Mark Mulder (it seems like he's peaked). Is Buehrle poised to join the list? The Cards need young arms on their staff, it wouldn't hurt to give up Duncan who has overachieved, Reyes who projects to be middle of the rotation, and an A level prospect. I've always been under the impression Reyes projected as a #1 or 2

I was about to write the same thing.

What, you've given up on the division?

Time for a more original name for the Sox. Boston or Chicago? When the Tribune started calling the White Stockings the White "Sox", the Red Sox were still called the Pilgrims. I meant Chicago. Ooh-ooh! I've got it! How about the Blight Pox. Get it? Blight/White Pox/Sox? Blight Pox? ... ... ... Is this thing on?

My brother saw or heard a quote that they examined Lee's arm, and it's not any worse from playing, but it's not getting any better. It seems (I could be wrong) like he still winces sometimes, especially on outside pitches. If it does hurt, then playing partially injured could have many effects. It could hurt his confidence. Pain could cause him to alter his mechanics. And of course, worse case, it prevents full recovery. So does it make any sense to keep running him out there? How about showcasing Nevin for a week or two, then sitting Lee for another 1-2 weeks if necessary. Last thing we need is this injury carrying over to 07.

let the race for the playoffs begin.

I'm assuming they can multi-task. This hardly means they're ignoring all other club issues.

Anson's reputation is a big-time racist who played a huge role in baseball segregation might be part of what kept him off the list.