badgercub

I am losing more faith in Hendry, if that is possible. He may not be sitting on his butt, but he is letting some of the top talent get away and is running out of options. Furcal - gone, Giles - never seriously pursued and also gone, Luis Castillo - gone, the list continues to grow and Hendry has nothing to show but overpaying for two bullpen arms which he has become his MO the last couple of years with less than stellar results. He is unwilling to part with prospects to reel in the big fish and by making statements that such and such a player is unavailable in a trade he is limiting his options.

I would assume Williamson is somewhere in the pen since they are paying him 2 million this year

I agree. He seems to have rubbed the wrong people the wrong way since they signed him. Which is why I don't undersdand why the resigned him. Some team is going to get a steady if not spectacular 2nd. I bet auggiedoggy is happy somewhere out there in Cubland :D They resigned him because he was a valuable trading piece to be used later on. I think it is pretty disingenious to say that it is stupid to trade him when you don't even know what he will bring in return. I don't think any player should be untouchable. While I love Walkers offense his defense is not that good and he is horrible in turning the double play and when you give up as many walks as the Cubs pitching staff tends to do it is important to have someone who can spin it at second.

also mention either Fregosi, or Grady Little as front runners for manager of the Dodgers.

Rumor: Patterson for Bradley (with Walker and Lowe possibly being included) Guy really hasn't heard that but it might make sense for both teams.

they haven't interviewed the guy yet, should be in a few minutes after "Tool of the week"

Interview with Dodger beat writer to see if there is any truth to the rumors about Patterson to the Dodgers. You were right

I thought he just said they were going to have a beat writer for the Dodgers on and Corey Patterson's name was somewhere in the same sentence. I will listen to what transpires and update as I hear it. I don't have the quote, but he said something about going to Dallas in a bit to see if there's any smoke around the Patterson to the Dodgers rumor. Nothing on the 1:30 update

I thought he just said they were going to have a beat writer for the Dodgers on and Corey Patterson's name was somewhere in the same sentence. I will listen to what transpires and update as I hear it. Murph is always speculating about things

good buddy working for the cards? consorting with the enemy are we? :evil: just kidding. hard to give it much credence with that being his first post do you give much creedence to "a feeling that something is going down today?" anyway? He's not really trying to hook us into anything so why be suspicious? Wasn't trying to be derogatory, that is why I probed with another question as to the source. Trust but verify. I love to read all the rumors and speculation, but I also like to know where they are coming from.

I also heard on the radio that Baltimore offered 5 yrs, somewhere between 60 and 65.

good buddy working for the cards? consorting with the enemy are we? :evil: just kidding. hard to give it much credence with that being his first post

In what capacity?

Even with his crappy offensive number he still had around a .340 OBP which is about 60 points higher than Neifi, and JH just gave him 2.5 mil/yr. I would have much rather had Hairston as the main backup to second base than Perez.

I get that feeling as well. I think he'd be a good utility man. But Dusty hated him, and it's possible they would let him walk. Any chance he gets traded rather than non-tendered? I think there is a remote possibility he could be the opening day CF for the Cubs next year

i've accepted that the cubs' bench will suck. Not too impressed with this signing. Pinch hitting specialist ala Lenny Harris part II.

The Cubs are a very small cog in the Tribune Empire and are not a main revenue source and are not even remotely related to the business of selling newspapers. The Trib is not going to go bankrupt, but could definitely use the cash from the sale of the Cubs to prop up their stock price while they find new ways to adapt their core business to the digital age.

With a 1 million dollar base salary, I think any incentives in the contract would be insignificant in the larger picture of the budget. I would think even if there are incentives, the total package would probably only top out at 1.5 million.

Is that really the type of reputation you want your organization to have. IT would have an impact on future FA signings. Right now, If I'm not mistaken, Hendry really appears to be a man of his word, for better or worse. Mistreating players, misleading players would get around through the fraternity. Hence why I don't want him to F over Walker (besides the fact his production for 2.5 million is an absolute steal. But everything is fluid and I think the players realize that. If a situation arises where you are able to acquire a premier closer, I dont' think it would ruin your reputation by moving Dempster (who hasn't even spent a whole year closing, not to mention his peripherals really aren't spectacular) to a setup role. The GM has a job to do as well, and that is to put the best team on the field. The only way I can see it being a real negative would be if you totally misled the player from the beginning and really had no intention of letting him close in the first place, which I don't think would be the case in this particular hypothetical. It can be a fine line I guess.

Oh, good, the thread is back. I just wanted to make an observation on the topic of filing a grievance. I am 99.9% sure Goony was correct. I don't think there would be anything in Dempster's contract promising him he will be the closer. Look at all the injuries from last year, what would happen in a bunch of starters went down and Dempster got pressed into service to start because he has prior experience doing that, would he file a grievance then? what if he starts to suck, can the Cubs take that job away from him? Sure they can, people get transferred in their jobs all the time. If Dempster didn't like it, he could quit and tell the Cubs to keep their money.

If he has another disaster like last year and he and Dusty both recieve extentions as is rumored, then nobody here has a leg to stand on when trying to claim that the Trib wants to win. The Trib put all its trust in Andy, and they've given management alll the resources they could use to build a winner. It's the management that has let down Cubs fans, not the ownership. But don't you think the Trib should be responsible for cleaning house if the management team they put in isn't getting the job done? The fact they've let it go on this long shows me they don't care as much as they should. To be somewhat fair they were within a few outs of the World Series two years ago. I doubt the Trib will eat both Hendry and Baker's contracts when they were so close, not so long ago. Not saying I agree but they did bring them to the brink not too long ago. Yes, but look at the personnel and management moves that have been made since then. The Lee and Nomar trades were the big ones, but you can't keep Hendry here just because of those moves. You have to look deeper at the Alfonseca fiasco, the Neifi and Macias situations, etc. I agree, I am in no way defending Hendry, just trying to look at it from the Tribunes point of view. I think Hendry's biggest problems are his offseason signings. As far as the trade front goes I think he has done a good job beginning with Ramirez, Lee, Lofton, Simon, Karros and Grudz, I even was thrilled he got Williams and Aardsma for Hawkins. He has brought in some quality players but has been unable to put the Cubs over the top because of some of these moronic FA signings. I think he has totally sabotaged the team and his own legacy. Also, I think if he would have gotten rid of Dusty before last season and brought in someone who could actually manage things might not have been so bad.

If he has another disaster like last year and he and Dusty both recieve extentions as is rumored, then nobody here has a leg to stand on when trying to claim that the Trib wants to win. The Trib put all its trust in Andy, and they've given management alll the resources they could use to build a winner. It's the management that has let down Cubs fans, not the ownership. But don't you think the Trib should be responsible for cleaning house if the management team they put in isn't getting the job done? The fact they've let it go on this long shows me they don't care as much as they should. To be somewhat fair they were within a few outs of the World Series two years ago. I doubt the Trib will eat both Hendry and Baker's contracts when they were so close, not so long ago. Not saying I agree but they did bring them to the brink not too long ago.

Don't forget Novoa. You have to believe Hendry is going to package some of these guys in a trade. He really needs to make some room on the 40 man or stand to lose guys in the Rule V.

he may have a lot of appearances but he usually only comes in to face 1 or 2 batters per outing.

Seeing as Hendry and Baker, but especially Hendry, are in the last year of their contracts you would think Hendry is going to do everything he can to bring in some proven talent, because if he doesn't and the Cubs stink, his stay in Chicago is all but over. It is do or die for Hendry.