TrueBlueCubFan

Take out Garland's 05' season & he is close to a 5.00 ERA career pitcher. No way should he be in the top 5. Zambrano Buerhle Prior Wood Garcia

A huge upset in the making in Mens' hockey: Switzerland 2 Canada 0 start of the 3rd period FYI, The Swiss have already upset the Czech's DirectTV channel 355 CNBC

I like Dempster more every time he talks. :lol: Scott Eyre & Ryan Dempster are definately the clowns of the group.

Cubs GM Jim Hendry said he anticipates that Kerry Wood will make at least 30 starts this season. Wood had shoulder surgery on Aug. 31. He's currently long tossing from 100 feet as he works his way back. "Dr. (Timothy) Kremchek was very happy with the shoulder in his two or three checkups with Woody throughout the winter," Hendry said. A decision on when Wood will first throw off a mound could come next week. Feb. 15 - 2:14 pm et Source: Chicago Sun-Times

:lol: Williams is going to beat Rusch out for a spot in the rotation. I hope your right. Although Rusch is better as a starter, I'd rather see him as a long reliever than give him a rotation spot over Williams. Jerome has the potential to be a solid #4 opr #5 starter this year.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060214&content_id=1311368&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

We know the Rawlings Co,(based out of Stl) shows bias toward Cardinal players for the GG awards. (see J.Edmonds & M.Matheny in 04') Do they also make MLB's schedules?

I definately see Wellemeyer being moved, unless a injury happens, which is why I think the Cubs will wait until after the WBC to move him. As far as them picking up another bench player, I don't think there is room on the 25 man for another bench player. Maybe a minor league deal.

We play like crap against the poor teams anyways and fairly well against the better teams. This could be a blessing in disguise. That was the case in 05', 06' is a different year.

84 games v.s. the 5 other Central teams: CIN (19) 9hm/10rd, STL (19) 10hm/9rd, MIL (16) 9hm/7rd, HOU (15) 6hm/9rd, PIT (15) 9hm/6rd 32 games v.s. the NL EAST: FL (6), WAS (6), NYM (6) ATL (7) 3hm/4rd, PHI (7) 4hm/3rd 31 games v.s. the NL WEST: LAD (6), ARI (6), SF(6), COL(6) SD (7) 3hm/4rd 15 games v.s. AL: (3)CLE(rd),(3)MIN(rd),(3)DET(hm) (6) CHW APRIL- 5 off days 11 RD- 2CIN,3PIT,3LAD,3STL 12 HM- 3STL,3CIN,3FL,3MIL MAY- 2 off days 15 RD- 2ARI,4SD,3SF,3CWS,3FL 14 HM- 2PIT,3SD,3WAS,3ATL,3CIN JUNE- 3 off days 16 RD- 3STL,3HOU,4CIN,3CLE,3MIN 11 HM- 3HOU,3DET,4MIL,1CWS JULY- 5 off days 13 RD- 3HOU,4MIL,3WAS,3NYM 13 HM- 2CWS,3NYM,3HOU,4STL,1ARI AUGUST- 3 off days 15 RD- 3MIL,3COL,3HOU,3STL,3PIT 13 HM- 3ARI,3PIT,3STL,4PHI SEPTEMBER- 2 off days 11 RD- 4ATL,3PHI,4CIN 17 HM- 3SF,3PIT,3LAD,3CIN,2MIL,2COL OCTOBER- 1COL LONGEST RT- 10 gms- June 2nd-June 11th 3STL,3HOU,4CIN LONGEST HST- 11 gms- July 27th-Aug 6th 4STL,4ARI,3PIT

Will Wellemeyer be traded? He is out of options Novoa starts @ Iowa as the closer? Who goes down when Miller is ready? Williams, Wuertz?

I think that would be a good spot for Pujols. Actually, the best spot for Pujols is either on the DL or traded to an AL team.

NL: CHC LAD NYM (WC)- STL AL: NYY CHW OAK (WC)-BOS

The 2004 team was clearly the best team he put together. 04' & 05' the Cubs were decimated with injuries & teams like the Astros & Cards, had very healthy pitching staffs. Health/depth will be the main determining factor on how good the Cubs will be in 06'. Right now, there is no depth in the outfield. Maybe he still plans on addressing that before they head into Spring Training. If not, the outfield is going to be a major concern for the 2nd year in a row. Might be a little late now, BBB. Not much left to pick from I fear. TBCF: Everything comes back on the GM in one way or another. Even injuries. Especially when you string multiple seasons of injury-plagued baseball together. At some point, a good GM would look at health as a factor in his decisions and bring in ballplayers and staff to ensure more players are healthy. Hey----look at a ballclub like the Bears. Injured for years. Then they finally address the issue and wind up with a healthy playoff team. You can't control every injury that takes place, but you can control the overall picture in order to minimize the potential for injury. So, while I agree injuries are unpredictable in the short term, over the longterm a GM must have a successful plan in place to minimize their impact. And Hendry hasn't done that. I'm still not sure the Hendry I'd want is the Hendry of 2003.... That team was just lucky to be in a really bad division. Moves like Dusty Baker, Randall Simon, Doug Glanville, etc...not exactly the moves I'd be calling for. Sure, they worked out well at times THAT YEAR (i.e. it just so happened that Simon came through with some big playoff hits.. or that Glanville hit that triple)...but those still aren't acquisitions you could be happy with at the time. The ARam/Lofton trade worked out pretty well, but ARam wasn't all that great in 03, and the offense, contrary to popular belief, didn't do much better after that trade. Now the Hendry of 04... that was the best Hendry (and best Cubs team of recent memory) IMHO. The Nomar trade was a thing of pure beauty. The Lee deal was a solid move. Walker was a very nice pickup, etc. Hawkins, had he been used as a setup man, was also a very good addition to the pen. It's just a shame that team had to tank at the end of the year. :x Sometimes it's the players not executing. 04' & 05' were huge examples of this.

The 2004 team was clearly the best team he put together. 04' & 05' the Cubs were decimated with injuries & teams like the Astros & Cards, had very healthy pitching staffs. Health/depth will be the main determining factor on how good the Cubs will be in 06'. Right now, there is no depth in the outfield. Maybe he still plans on addressing that before they head into Spring Training. If not, the outfield is going to be a major concern for the 2nd year in a row. Might be a little late now, BBB. Not much left to pick from I fear. TBCF: Everything comes back on the GM in one way or another. Even injuries. Especially when you string multiple seasons of injury-plagued baseball together. At some point, a good GM would look at health as a factor in his decisions and bring in ballplayers and staff to ensure more players are healthy. Hey----look at a ballclub like the Bears. Injured for years. Then they finally address the issue and wind up with a healthy playoff team. You can't control every injury that takes place, but you can control the overall picture in order to minimize the potential for injury. So, while I agree injuries are unpredictable in the short term, over the longterm a GM must have a successful plan in place to minimize their impact. And Hendry hasn't done that. Can you site examples where JH has ignored or hasn't had a long term plan on minimizing injuries? BTW, JH has readily admitted that LY was not successful & he didn't get the job done & wouldn't use injuries as an excuse for that. In my opinion, he has taken more ownership of the failure of the 05' Cubs than Dusty.

The 2004 team was clearly the best team he put together. 04' & 05' the Cubs were decimated with injuries & teams like the Astros & Cards, had very healthy pitching staffs. Health/depth will be the main determining factor on how good the Cubs will be in 06'. Right now, there is no depth in the outfield. Maybe he still plans on addressing that before they head into Spring Training. If not, the outfield is going to be a major concern for the 2nd year in a row. Mabry,Hairston & Grissom do provide some depth. Not the most ideal,however, it's still possible they can be effective. In my opinion, the health/depth of the pitching staff is more crucial to a successful 06' season than is the corner OF spots.

The 2004 team was clearly the best team he put together. 04' & 05' the Cubs were decimated with injuries & teams like the Astros & Cards, had very healthy pitching staffs. Health/depth will be the main determining factor on how good the Cubs will be in 06'.

Ready for what? Soft tossing? According to reports, he is soft tossing already & will be ready to throw off the mound in February. Supposedly, what will take the most time is to get his velocity & stamina back.

I'll take it. I still want a multi-year deal that postpones MP's FA one year. IIRC, the Cubs control him for 3 more years.

I'd rather keep Prior & Zambrano b/c one of them is what the Reds would have asked for. The Cubs would had to overpay for Kearns, since the Cubs & Reds are in the same division. A combination of Williams & other prospects wouldn't have done it for the Reds. IIRC, there were reports during the GM meetings that JH had talks with the Reds about Kearns & that the cost was too much. They didn't ask for Prior or Z. :wink: It might have cost us as much as Rich Hill. Did Jim tell you this? :roll:

I'd rather keep Prior & Zambrano b/c one of them is what the Reds would have asked for. The Cubs would had to overpay for Kearns, since the Cubs & Reds are in the same division. A combination of Williams & other prospects wouldn't have done it for the Reds. IIRC, there were reports during the GM meetings that JH had talks with the Reds about Kearns & that the cost was too much.

off-season- transactions season- game threads

I severly doubt that. Bringin in some OF prospect from the Mets isn't going to sideline Pie. Pie is this organization's #1 prospect. They'll do everything they can for him. What's your guess on where those 2 will start the season?

Does this signing= Pagan to AAA, Pie to AA?

FYI, Mel Kiper has Davis projected going #11 to STL. The Bears would have to move up @ least 15 spots to have a chance @ him, if these projections held true. He also has Pope going to the Bears @ #26. I doubt the Bears would move that far up in the draft. It would cost them too much. TE is supposedly one of the deeper positions in this draft.