Cubzfan64

I know nobody will believe me, but I heard them announce the pitching lineups on the radio on the way home from work tonight, and honestly I found myself thinking "wouldn't it be just typical if Maddux went out there and tossed a no-hitter." Good for Greg - I'd like to see a guy like him eventually leave the game of baseball on a relatively high note and I just don't think he would have had that as a Cub.

I'm heartened by the fact that Kerry seems quite open to the idea of being a reliver - I think part of the make-up for a set up guy or closer is the mindset that it's what they want to do, so he's hopefully got that going for him. From a physical standpoint I just don't know if he can do it, but I'll echo other people's comments that for the right amount of $ I'd give it a try. The things I'm worried about are: 1) Can his arm hold up to warming up quickly and/or possibly days where he has to warm up but doesn't get into the game? 2) Can he have enough command when he comes in on short notice - as a starter, it seemed to me that he often had a bit of trouble in the first inning. Those issues said, I have no problem giving him a shot next year. I agree that it's kinda sad to see a talent like we saw in Kerry when he first come up fall to this level, but there's certainly a chance here for him to ressurect his career in the pen and even a shot that he could become a dominant closer if all goes well. I say give it a shot

I expect Boston to pick up Javey Lopez or Mike Lieberthal.

For what it's worth, Boston sports radio was talking about him the other day and a couple of the guys who follow the minor league system for Boston said that Choi's work ethic and attitude in general has really been a disappointment to the Red Sox. They say he acts like he doesn't even want to be playing baseball. I liked him too, but I wouldn't waste a spot for him.

THAT is the only way the team will compete next season, and I honestly don't see it happening. The only 2 guys out there on the free agent list that fit would be Zito and Schmidt (Schmidt is a FA next year right?) and I don't think Zito is a good fit for pitching half his games in Wrigley. The only other way we get a stud pitcher is via a trade that gives up even more of our offense. Somehow I get the feeling we're going to be praying for the comebacks of Wood and Prior once again and putting all our eggs in one basket. Not a good way to win championships - that's for darn sure.

As long as it's pronounced correctly (As in Pahhhpee) I think it's very appropriate - it's when morons like Chris Burman call him Big "Pap-eee" (rhyme with crappy) that I can't stand it!!!

I simply cannot believe it! I watched the game tonight and I saw who was going to be coming up in the 9th and knew that if just one guy got on base Ortiz would get a chance to tie it up - I can hardly believe he won another one. Say what you will, and argue the numbers if you want, but if you've watched the guy as much as I have the last 2 years, it really IS UNCANNY the number of times he comes through to win games!! It's a real tossup this year to decide who is the Red Sox MVP - Ortiz or Papelbon. One ends games with his bat and the other with his arm.

I thought all 3 were pretty good. I didn't say it wasn't good - just that it was sarcastic :)

well, 2 out of 3 non-sarcastic remarks are about the best % I could have expected :) I appreciate the well thought out answers and I think both of you have given a good insight into what can only be a best guess as to what the "plan" is. If what you are saying is correct (and I have no reason to think it isn't based on what's on the field), then Hendry's main goals this offseason absolutely HAVE to revolve around starting pitching. Relying on Wood and Prior has proven (as was mentioned that) to clearly be a mistake, and I see no other real choice if speed, contact hitting and defense are to be relied on offensively than to put together a starting rotation of guys who just don't give up many runs. I guess we have to hope that Prior can stay healthy and at least be an above average pitcher, Marshall and Marmol can continue progressing, Hill or Guzman can progress AND Hendry can find a way to get a #2 starter to go behind Zambrano. I don't think we can rely on anything from Wood in 2007 and just see it as a plus if he can do something. Do you agree then, that given your synopsis of the organization philosophy, the only hope we have is if we can find AT LEAST 1 if not 2 solid groundball starting pitchers?

Please don't post too many sarcastic or silly remarks (although after today I know we mostly feel like that). I'm seriously curious what the organization's 2-4 year plan is? Every successful company/organization has a gameplan for the future - has MacPhail or Hendry ever acknowledged what that is? I'm very disheartened that it still seems apparent that the organization does not value OBP highly. The past two seasons I feel like Hendry and Baker have spent all their time throwing a multitude of things out there and hoping something sticks and that certainly is no way to build a team that's capable of competing for a division title every year. I may not be an owner of the team, but I am a consumer and I'd sure like to know what the "big plan" is for this team. I think I know one of the answers and it's a very sad one for the fans - I think one of them is "we try to maximize profit by minimizing expenses." That in itself can't be the whole answer however because we have a high enough payroll to be able to content - so who out there has ever heard a discussion of what steps the organization plans to take to get us a WS title?

Nice photo!! I look forward to visiting Cooperstown when Maddux gets inducted even if it will be as a Brave.

In all seriousness, how does a competitive ballplayer on this team come to work everyday and give 100% effort. The only thing they can be playing for is personal pride, and I'm not even sure very many of them have THAT anymore!!!!

Yah Vance - that is pretty depressing to hear. There's an awful lot of companies out there that would fire people in a heartbeat over the amount of $$ wasted by this organization the last few years.

WEEI in Boston reported the Cubs trade of Maddux and a couple of the guys said they have no clue why the Cubs would make that move considering: 1) They now have a bunch of almost identical middle infielders 2) With this awful season they should be rebuilding by getting prospects instead. Funny how even other teams sports guys know more than Hendry does. I'm really disgusted with this organization - for years I've defended the Cubs when other fans made fun of them and laughed at their dismal records and called them patsies of the NL. I don't even have a comeback for that anymore, cause quite frankly, I agree!!!! I don't even know what to look forward to anymore baseballwise.

"Gooey sentimentality" is what makes sports fun. My job has no gooey sentimentality, and that's why people don't pay $50 for a seat watching people file reports in cubicles. I don't necessarily want a GM with too much of it, but if it didn't exist, what would be the point of watching sports? Isn't this supposed to be about fun? What's wrong with a little sentimentality? It's the amount of sentimentality in this sport that bugs me. If Mad Dog had said he's absopositively retiring after this season then even I would be more-or-less okay with retaining him so he could he pitch the final game of his career at Wrigley Field. Unfortunately he's stated he's going to keep playing as long there's an MLB team willing to hand him a baseball. Therefore, I say trade him. Besides, If I were that sentimental about Maddux (who I personally think is a class guy), I'd trade him to a contender so he can try to end his career on a high note rather than make him suffer in this organization these days.

I think Papelbon and Lester are "hands off" from the Red Sox point of view. I wonder who else they might consider adding to the deal from the minors to get Jones though? Jones would provide a huge bonus to the Sox from an offensive and defensive standpoint though - that's for certain!!

Trot Nixon getting hurt isn't that huge of a problem since they have Willy Mo Pena to play RF. They have bigger problems in their starting pitching imho. Schilling generally will win you 2 of every 3 games, Beckett although a bit less consistent this year should be able to do the same. After that it's really a toss up - Lester has decent numbers, but if you watch his games, he's constantly letting alot of runners get on base - he seems to bear down and get out of innings, but they have to keep a pitch count reasonable for him which means he usually only goes 4-5 innings. Wells is their big hope right now, but that's pinning alot on a guy his age with this year's injury problems. I personally think they've written off Clement and don't expect much if anything from him. They really need to get a solid starter and although they don't want to trade any of their young arms, I hear rumblings that if they have to give up Hanson to get Jason Schmidt, they may do it. I heard as well that Lowell, Crisp and possibly Loretta are available as well. If they get a 1B out of a deal, Youkalis will move to 3B - Lugo is still in the picture and I know some of you have said they won't trade Crisp, I wouldn't count on it. They're too close to winning the division to give in - they have no choice but to go for it.

Too bad there aren't more Cub fans from the 70's posting here. I'd like to congratulate Sutter for turning his career around by bringing to the big leagues a pitch that just hadn't been seen much if at all. I agree with you Stu - I can very vividly remember Sutter coming in and watching hitters swing wildly trying to hit that pitch as it darn near dropped into the dirt. Sutter imho was a key person in baseball history - every time you hear of a pitcher throwing a split finger fastball, a picture of Bruce wearing his Cubs hat and his ugly beard should pop into your head. Grats Bruce!!! Wish you could have gone in as a Cub, but it's certainly understandable considering the highlights of your career were with the Cards. Oh, the other part of Bruce's memorable history also revolves around the Cubs, but it happened one day when a young kid by the name of Ryne Sandberg captivated a national audience by homering off him (twice wasn't it?) to win a game in extra innings during the game of the week.

Quote from Ortiz after the game: "The guy was throwing a hard sinker. If I try to pull it, it's a ground ball to first," said Ortiz, wearing dark sunglasses. "I go the other way. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. In a situation like that you want to try it." I love it when a slugger has a brain too!!!!!!! The guy may only be a DH, but one of these years he's gonna get an MVP trophy.

No doubt. If he traded Ortiz, it'd make the media reaction to the Penny/LoDuca trade look minor. As for Ortiz, if he had consistantly been much better in "clutch" situations throughout his entire career, I might be inclined to believe he's some magical clutch hitter. But he hasn't. Heck, this year, his RISP numbers are below his total #s. Back in '03 he was significantly worse with RISP than he was without. Same thing happened in '02. I think whats happened is simple. He's become one of the best pure hitters in the game today, and thanks to a couple big postseason hits and a somewhat fluky year last year, he's thought of as the greatest clutch hitter ever. He's probably not, he's just a fantastic hitter who gets his hits any time, no matter the situation. I hear what you're saying, I honestly do and I've looked at the numbers myself - but all I can tell you is that watching the games, the guy has a mighty uncanny knack for driving in the winning run.

I can't blame a single player on the Cubs if they don't want to be here. I'm sure most of you have been on sports teams before - it's no fun at all playing on a team that's underachieved all year long and that basically has sucked for most of the season. Anyone who is a "winner" and competitor would absolutely hate coming to "work" everyday for this organization all things considered. I wouldn't want to hear the boos from the fans, I wouldn't be happy with the lack of ability to put talent together etc... I hope Aramis comes back, but I'm certainly not going to be surprised if he doesn't

I think Crisp has more of an upside than Pierre, but as it stands now they're fairly similar players and whoever said it, they are correct - Crisp has a very weak arm. I don't think Maddux would go to Boston and I don't think Boston would necessarily want him, but if the following deal was on the table, I would do it if I were the Cubs: Maddux and Pierre for Crisp and possibly a mid level prospect

He did it once again today in the bottom of the 10th, runners on 1 & 2 with 2 outs this monster guy comes up to bat and what does he do??? Very obviously swings at a pitch to hit it to the opposite field and sends a ground ball right where the SS would be if they weren't severely shifted and the winning run scores!! Man that guy has been the bargain of the century for the Red Sox!! Gotta love a hitter who takes what the opposition gives him when the game is on the line!!

Serena - funny you should mention that cause I almost put that in my original post about the Reds having significantly more HR's overall. It just amazes me that every statistic in the book as well as fan's observations point towards the Cubs problem being a lack of guys who know how to get on base, and yet we've spent 2-3 seasons now with a GM and manager who appear to so stubborn that they refuse to admit that low OBP is a problem and seem dead set on trying to prove the theory wrong. All I can say is that of the 30-35 years I've been a Cub fan, this season so far ranks as the worst and most disappointing of all of them (even worse than some of the God awful teams of the 70's). The fact that the Red Sox and White Sox are the last 2 teams to win WS just adds to the heartache!

It seems like we've really had a rash of solo home runs lately. I guess that's why I would have bet a ton that the Cubs were well above everyone else in our division as far as % of HR's that are solo. Here are the results - I guess it goes to show that recent history tends to skew one's thinking. Reds - 61.0% Cubs - 59.1% Cards - 58.8% Pirates - 56.6% Astros - 54.6% Brewers - 54.0%