Cubzfan64

Everybody here seems to be 100% sure that Bradley will get injured at some point during the season. Call me naive, but I have a feeling he'll stay healthy. Not naive at all - just astronomically optimistic :grin:

Color me underwhelmed with the offseason so far. God help us when the inevitable injuries that hit every team hits us, because we're lacking in the 2nd stringers.

January 28, 2009 But Boras said that the market for Ramirez has started to take shape in the last week and that he has started to negotiate with other teams on behalf of his client. “The train has left the station,” Boras said. Januray 29, 2009 "I speak with Manny every three days and he tells me, `Man, no one wants to sign me,' Pujols said Thursday during a news conference. _______________ Seems to me that Boras may want to tell Manny to keep his mouth shut if he wants a contract. I wonder what last season would have been like if the Cubs had landed Manny for the 2nd half of the year when he was happy - cause we all know that a happy Manny is a productive Manny - and vice versa, an unhappy Manny is a team cancer.

I like the gamble to sign Bradley - I would have liked it much more if it had only been for 2 years, but you can't have everything.

This isn't meant as a sarcastic answer to the question, but there's no way to know until we see his performance over the next few years. What I do believe is that it's a pretty big gamble considering how above average last year was for him - has he stepped up his game, or was last year just an aberration? I know what my opinion is, and I hope I'm wrong.

Geez - I'm reminded of the reason I quit coming here so often. When I first joined, this was a great forum where you could bring up an idea and expect a little respectful discussion - even when people didn't agree. For those of you who simply said no, or gave a couple reasons for why you would say no - thank you. For those of you who can't come up with anything other than "lol's" or "why stop there?" or "that was my favorite part of the post," thanks for offering up some really well thought out reasoning. Oh - and by the way, for the record I never said it would be a good idea - all I did was toss the idea out there because I hadn't heard his name come up and I knew Hendry seemed to want a LH OF'r. Personally, the only option I like is Bradley but I know the odds of him being healthy enough to play a full season are slim at best. Some people really need to lighten up.

I haven't heard anything about where Anderson may end up in 2009. Granted he's certainly on the downside of his career, but he's a good defensive outfielder who can still put the bat on the ball. Is there a place for him on this team? I really haven't looked into all his stats but is it safe to say he could hit 20-25 HR's and drive in 70-100 runs depending on where he bats in the lineup - + he's a LH hitter. I wouldn't want to sign him to a long term contract, but could he fill a void for a year or two? Just tossing an idea out there.

I wish Kerry all the very best! I still get a little melancholy thinking about his 20 strikeout game and what everyone hoped would be a Nolan Ryanesque career for him in Chicago. What could have been, what should have been, etc... His leaving Chicago closed the door on another Cubs "era" that has passed for me. I hope he takes Cleveland to the WS - hope we beat them there, but that goes without saying. Good luck Kerry.

I really hope Dempster proves me wrong over the next few years, but when I see a pitcher at age 31 with many stats significantly better than his career averages as a starter, I can't help but worry that the law of averages says he'll revert back towards the mean. I would have rather let him sign with someone else personally. I've seen too many guys have aberation years, get big contracts and then turn around and go right back to the average (at best) player they were before. As I said, I hope Dempster relieves the bad feeling I have about this deal.

Yes it does, of course this is the Cubs we're talking about - odds are good they'll make the wrong choice here and go with Teahen and give up too much in prospects for him. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but I have very little confidence in the organizations ability to evaluate talent well. We'll see what happens I guess - maybe I'll be surprised.

How bout the Cubs pick up Baldelli and then fund a bunch of research on curing Mitochondrial Disease! It was nice to see him come back and play late this year - I was a fan of his when he came up - darn shame he may never be healthy enough to be a full time player again :(

Neither Lugo, nor Renteria were trades. Also, I'm not sure if you've heard of a guy named Kevin Youkilis. You're right and I misspoke about Lugo and Renteria being trades - I had meant to include free agents in there as well (with Clement, Gagne and a couple other folks tossed in). My main point is that Theo tends to go overboard when he's "in love" with a certain player - I see no reason to not give him a call this offseason and let him know that Lee is available and see where it goes. You mentioned Youkilis - he's one of the guys I was hoping we'd try to steal away from the Sox 2-3 years ago. I didn't forget about him at all - in fact, my thought was whether or not Theo would covet Lee enough to part with Youkilis in a trade if we threw in an arm or another piece? As much of a breakout year as it was for Youkilis this year, there have been some rumblings that Manny was not the only player in the clubhouse to get tired of Youk's penchant for throwing a hissy fit when he makes an out. Personally, I think Youkilis is one of those guys who can get angry about a lousy at bat and use that frustration to bear down even harder in his next AB. Just for grins, which corner IF's would you rather have playing for the Cubs next year?? Aram 3B DLee 1B or Youk 3B Tex 1B I'm not saying there's much chance for something like that to happen (although I think it could be done), but I'd be curious what combo you all would rather see out there?

Unless I'm mistaken, this was the last year of Dempster's contract correct? Do you resign him or not? Put me in the NOT category please. I just have this gut feeling that because of his regular season record, he's going to command too much on the open market and I truly think 2008 was an aberation (sp?). Imho, resigning Dempster to an overpriced contract for too many years is EXACTLY the kind of thing the Cubs have done in the past that has come back to bite them when the player reverts back to their average form. Let him go and make a push for CC or Burnett. While on the subject of overvalued players - was 2008 Theriot also an aberation (sp?) or do we see him as our SS at least for the next few years? If not, I seriously look to trade him while his value is at it's peak. I'm so sick of this organization buying high and selling low - I'd really like to see them try a different approach.

Theo Epstein has ALWAYS had man love for D Lee - I'd certainly give him a call and see if he'd be willing to overpay with one of his young arms. Epstein has done a great job with drafts, but his trades haven't always been the best - he tends to fall in love with players and overpay for them (see Renteria, Lugo...). Without a doubt I'd offer up D Lee and see if someone gives you an offer you can't refuse.

Well, at least we can say they gave it their best effort in the playoffs....... oh wait a second.... *sigh*

Dang - just checked Dumpster's stats for the year - that was his second shortest outing of 2008 and the most walks he's given up in any game in 2008. Way to bring your A game to the playoffs!! Hopefully the offense will let him off the hook - he better hope so.

I can hear it now.... "I just didn't have my best stuff tonight...." - That's the difference between winners and losers - the winners find a way to win even when they don't have their best stuff. Absolutely pathetic - can't wait to listen to all my coworkers wise cracks and jokes tomorrow.

Kaboom - the bomb explodes right on schedule. What an absolutely EXCELLENT way to begin the postseason - SH&T picthing and SH&T managing - way to go guys!

tick tock....

Fricking walks like this are like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off!!!

Great start for Rich Harden (despite not getting the win). Would like to see him get through 6 or 7 innings, but I'll take it. Marmol's gotta find his stuff again - dunno whether it's dead arm syndrome, being overworked or what, but he's become way too inconsistent to be a dominant setup guy. A win is a win I guess.

Personally, I like the idea that the Cubs organization must have decided that this is the year and the team to GO FOR IT. I know everyone's saying the same thing, but I'll echo it again - if Harden can stay healthy for the rest of this season and we end up winning it all, I couldn't care less if Murton, Gallagher, Patterson and Donaldson all end up playing at the big league level - it would be worth it. Sometimes you really just have to take a gamble. Harden has filthy stuff and it can only help moving to the NL where he gets to generally face a softer 7-9 spot in the lineup. I also really like the fact that we still have some other chips left if we want to go out and find a hitter. Can't help but be optimistic about this deal - I give Hendry a tip of the cap for making the move - for better or for worse, the deal right now today looks to be in the Cubs favor.

I apologize if this was said earlier in the thread - I just didn't have time to sort through it all. This trade brings to mind another trade Cleveland made 24 years ago that I still believe should have resulted in a Cubs WS Championship. I'm hoping Sabathia doesn't have the same success that Sutcliffe had in coming over to the NL for the second half of 1984.

Even if we don't win this game, I'd sure like to see our hitters come out now and give an effort to get on base and at least try. I'll be pissed if we pull a Laker's and just give up.

Which one, the guy who couldn't come close to the plate or the guy that is giving up the cycle to the 1st 4 hitters he's facing? Overall - not sure I remember a worse overall relief performance ever