TrueBlueCubFan

I usually hate to single any one poster out, but I don't see your 2006 team being anything more than slightly better than this season's team. We've been basically a .500 ballclub give or take a little all season long - that's just not gonna cut it to make a run at a championship. For the amount of money this organization has spent on this team it should be producing much better than it does and I don't want to see us go into 2006 with the same cast of characters. I want this team to change their offensive strategy and get some guys in here who know how to make a pitcher work for outs, how to take walks when they're given to you and how to get on base and run the bases. I just don't see how we improve much if we follow your plan. I don't think anyone on this team should be considered untouchable if they can be moved to make the club better. About the only person I might even remotely consider untouchable is Mark Prior but even he could be had for the right price imho. I forgot the most importent ingredient, find a new managerial staff(Manager, Hitting Coach, Pitching Coach, Bench Manager etc.). But seriously, do you all see a major overhaul coming? There really are not very many viable options this offseason. I really do not like our chances of signing a top tier free agent like Giles Wagner or Burnett. Hendry is not wild enough to even consider moving Lee, ARam, Barrett, Prior, or Z. And Maddux and Wood arent going anywhere. Nomar, Dempster, Lawton, and Walker all have to be resigned so they wont get traded. That leaves a lot of marginal players and prospects. Since Hendry overvalues our prospects, I doubt teams will like packages he puts together. We may open the pocket books enough to add one major FA, but I am guessing that will be all we will get out of that market. I dont think we will add anything through trade, but maybe a marginal upgrade to what we already have. The single biggest/best move that can be made this offseason will probably be to find a new managerial staff. I really dont think a whole new team will be added this offseason. Unfortunatly we are pretty much stuck with the core of the team and small changes are all that will probably come. The core is not bad and has some young talent. But it is mismanaged and needs upgrades in a few spots. The OF, Pen, and another starter are holes that need filling. We may be able to fill one or two of those holes but i just dont see us filling all of them just like last offseason. I could sit here list a dream team of free agents and players from other teams, but I think this is what the team will look like next season. The title of the thread is a realistic look at 06 and beyond and that is what I think I came up with. Your point is well taken - unfortunately what you said is correct that your view likely is closer to the realistic view of what next year might look like than most others here (mine included) :-(. As much as you don't see the team really changing that much, I don't see the management organization (or philosophy for that matter) changing either. Sadly that doesn't give me much enthusiasm for the 2006 season :-( Giving up on the 06' season already? WOW, that's nice!

He's got one more year of arbitration, he'll be a FA after 2006. TY for clarification

IIRC, Padilla is a FA @ the end of this year.

Bingo. Although Patterson's defense is usually respectable. Macias is a better hitter & Patterson a better defender = wash Neither should be starting on any major league roster.

Wright's two weeks older than Encarnacion and he's hitting .303/.385/.509 playing half his games at Shea. That's your perennial 3B all-star in the NL most likely. Cabrera's younger than both of them and the Marlins have said that he'll be moved back to third when Lowell moves on. And he's hitting .336/.397/.591. Well that might be a while b/c after the 04' season I think Lowell signed a 4 year deal with the Marlins.

Yes, yes you could. Name some better back-up SS in MLB. Please back it up with stats. You may think Cedeno could perform better than Neifi, but you don't know that for certain. AAA stats don't compare to ML stats. Please include defense. Not to mention intagibles like leadership can't be ignored either. Only 4 SS's in baseball have worse OBP's than Perez. In order for Cedeno to NOT outproduce Perez offensively, his average would have to drop over 80 points, his OBP over 105 points, and his SLG over 135 points from his AAA numbers. Cedeno has a reputation for being a fine defensive player, far from a liability defensively. Technically, Cedeno has outproduced Perez in his short time here, when you combine their fielding and batting runs above average. I'd appreciate it if you would explain why Neifi has been a good backup SS. sm. v.s. lg. sample size yet again

great AB by JHJR!!!

Walker is hitting .322 with a .375 OBP in August, Perez is hitting .326 with a .383 OBP. Just throwing that out there. Oh, and Neifi's had 16 fewer ABs Neifi's hot streaks are so unreliable that I'm inclined not to rely on Neifi at all. No, I see that, I'm not defending Neifi especially - I go through that same stomach-plunge as everyone when he's at the plate, just throwing in a stat that could be used to defend him, or at least his selection of late. I'm not a Neifi appologist either, but he isn't nearly as bad as many people here make him out to be, especially since he has been in a Cubs uniform, which is all that should matter if you are sincerly a Cubs fan. Yeah right, so what you are saying is if we are true Cubs fans we can't criticize decisions the manager or organization makes? Please, that's ridiculous. That's not what I'm saying! People here continually ignore the positive things Neifi has brought to this team, they let their hate for him to get in the way. Could you ask for more from a back-up SS? I personally have no problem having Neifi on this team. You are right he is an excellent backup SS, yet thats what he should be a backup shortstop. We have the moron Dusty who likes to play his boys instead of regular starters. Walker or Hairston should be starting at 2B, not Neifi. Too many backups on this team have important roles which they should not have. I agree I would rather have Hairston or Walker starting @ 2nd.

Yes, yes you could. Name some better back-up SS in MLB. Please back it up with stats. You may think Cedeno could perform better than Neifi, but you don't know that for certain. AAA stats don't compare to ML stats. Please include defense. Not to mention intagibles like leadership can't be ignored either.

He's a decent 25th man, probably best suited for a defensive replacement. Anything more than that is a mistake. . And that's what he was signed to be

Walker is hitting .322 with a .375 OBP in August, Perez is hitting .326 with a .383 OBP. Just throwing that out there. Oh, and Neifi's had 16 fewer ABs Neifi's hot streaks are so unreliable that I'm inclined not to rely on Neifi at all. No, I see that, I'm not defending Neifi especially - I go through that same stomach-plunge as everyone when he's at the plate, just throwing in a stat that could be used to defend him, or at least his selection of late. I'm not a Neifi appologist either, but he isn't nearly as bad as many people here make him out to be, especially since he has been in a Cubs uniform, which is all that should matter if you are sincerly a Cubs fan. Yeah right, so what you are saying is if we are true Cubs fans we can't criticize decisions the manager or organization makes? Please, that's ridiculous. That's not what I'm saying! People here continually ignore the positive things Neifi has brought to this team, they let their hate for him to get in the way. Could you ask for more from a back-up SS?

Walker is hitting .322 with a .375 OBP in August, Perez is hitting .326 with a .383 OBP. Just throwing that out there. Oh, and Neifi's had 16 fewer ABs Neifi's hot streaks are so unreliable that I'm inclined not to rely on Neifi at all. No, I see that, I'm not defending Neifi especially - I go through that same stomach-plunge as everyone when he's at the plate, just throwing in a stat that could be used to defend him, or at least his selection of late. I'm not a Neifi appologist either, but he isn't nearly as bad as many people here make him out to be, especially since he has been in a Cubs uniform, which is all that should matter if you are sincerly a Cubs fan.

But we're not talking about either of them playing SS. The fact is that Walker has been a better 2B in every aspect of the game this year, and in most aspects his entire career. I understand the Fantasy baseball comment was a generalization. An unnecessary and inflammatory one at that. Oh well, I guess you don't understand the difference between a sm.. & lg. sample size. How is the fantasy baseball comment inflammatory? People don't watch baseball to root for players on their fantasy team who only generate offensive stats, not defensive ones? This will tend a fan to overanalyze the offensive stat over the defensive. Not inflammatory, probably fact! I understand sample sizes. Over their careers, Neifi has been a better defender at 2B. Over their careers, Neifi has been 10 runs above average defensively while Walker is 48 runs below average. Offensively, Neifi is 218 runs below average, while Walker is 9 runs above average. That's what everyone is talking about when they say that the offensive difference makes up for a lack of defense. Maybe I'm just frustrated that Walker's tackling job of the baseball in the the 2nd inning of last nights game may have cost the Cubs the game. However, Corey did help him out by consistently looking lost @ the plate.

But why does there have to be 2 automatic outs in the lineup? I never understood this. Over the course of a full season, the offense that Walker/Nomar provide more than makes up for any defensive problem. They simple create more runs, so i don't see the point. I would definately take a healthy Nomar over AGonzo(Fl). However, I'd rather have Hudson than Walker. He's the better overall 2nd baseman.

Walker is a very good hitter, but very below avg. defensively. Neifi is a defensive upgrade over Walker. The problem here is batting Neifi 2nd. This year, Walker has been better defensively at second base. Walker is a better hitter against LH than Neifi, this year, the last three years, etc. There's no justification for him to be out there besides the inane L/R argument. Walker is a defensive hack! People on this board tend to favor the offensive skill over the defensive one. Maybe they are playing too much fantasy baseball. Defense is very important. I wouldn't mind seeing the Cubs acquire some more defensive skilled players in 06, especially in the infield. Imagine a MI of Hudson(Tor) & A.Gonzo(Fl)! IIRC, both are FA's Walker at 2B in 2005 94 Rate, 11 runs above Replacement level Neifi at 2B in 2005 86 Rate, 1 run above replacement level. The fantasy baseball comment is uncalled for. I hate, and am horrible at fantasy baseball, not that it matters. I didn't say you play too much fantasy baseball. I said maybe people on this board play to much fantasy baseball. That was meant as a generalization, not to personally single you or anyone out. Your comment about Walker has been better defensively @ 2nd LY over Neifi is accurate but not entirely fair. It's a large sample size (Walker) compared to a small sample size (Neifi). Neifi 14 GS, 2 E, .967 FPCT. Walker 67 GS, 4 E, .987 FPCT Also Neifi natural position is SS & Walker's is 2nd. I bet you would see a larger desparity in fielding if Walker ever played SS, which probably will never happen, b/c everyone knows he is a liability defensively. But we're not talking about either of them playing SS. The fact is that Walker has been a better 2B in every aspect of the game this year, and in most aspects his entire career. I understand the Fantasy baseball comment was a generalization. An unnecessary and inflammatory one at that. Oh well, I guess you don't understand the difference between a sm.. & lg. sample size. How is the fantasy baseball comment inflammatory? People don't watch baseball to root for players on their fantasy team who only generate offensive stats, not defensive ones? This will tend a fan to overanalyze the offensive stat over the defensive. Not inflammatory, probably fact!

Walker is a very good hitter, but very below avg. defensively. Neifi is a defensive upgrade over Walker. The problem here is batting Neifi 2nd. This year, Walker has been better defensively at second base. Walker is a better hitter against LH than Neifi, this year, the last three years, etc. There's no justification for him to be out there besides the inane L/R argument. Walker is a defensive hack! People on this board tend to favor the offensive skill over the defensive one. Maybe they are playing too much fantasy baseball. Defense is very important. I wouldn't mind seeing the Cubs acquire some more defensive skilled players in 06, especially in the infield. Imagine a MI of Hudson(Tor) & A.Gonzo(Fl)! IIRC, both are FA's Awesome. Then the Cubs will still struggle to score runs, but it won't matter because defense will be great. Not if they upgrade @ one of the corner OF spots. Giles,Dunn,Kearns or Huff!

Walker is a very good hitter, but very below avg. defensively. Neifi is a defensive upgrade over Walker. The problem here is batting Neifi 2nd. This year, Walker has been better defensively at second base. Walker is a better hitter against LH than Neifi, this year, the last three years, etc. There's no justification for him to be out there besides the inane L/R argument. Walker is a defensive hack! People on this board tend to favor the offensive skill over the defensive one. Maybe they are playing too much fantasy baseball. Defense is very important. I wouldn't mind seeing the Cubs acquire some more defensive skilled players in 06, especially in the infield. Imagine a MI of Hudson(Tor) & A.Gonzo(Fl)! IIRC, both are FA's Walker at 2B in 2005 94 Rate, 11 runs above Replacement level Neifi at 2B in 2005 86 Rate, 1 run above replacement level. The fantasy baseball comment is uncalled for. I hate, and am horrible at fantasy baseball, not that it matters. I didn't say you play too much fantasy baseball. I said maybe people on this board play to much fantasy baseball. That was meant as a generalization, not to personally single you or anyone out. Your comment about Walker has been better defensively @ 2nd LY over Neifi is accurate but not entirely fair. It's a large sample size (Walker) compared to a small sample size (Neifi). Neifi 14 GS, 2 E, .967 FPCT. Walker 67 GS, 4 E, .987 FPCT Also Neifi natural position is SS & Walker's is 2nd. I bet you would see a larger desparity in fielding if Walker ever played SS, which probably will never happen, b/c everyone knows he is a liability defensively.

Walker is a very good hitter, but very below avg. defensively. Neifi is a defensive upgrade over Walker. The problem here is batting Neifi 2nd. This year, Walker has been better defensively at second base. Walker is a better hitter against LH than Neifi, this year, the last three years, etc. There's no justification for him to be out there besides the inane L/R argument. Walker is a defensive hack! People on this board tend to favor the offensive skill over the defensive one. Maybe they are playing too much fantasy baseball. Defense is very important. I wouldn't mind seeing the Cubs acquire some more defensive skilled players in 06, especially in the infield. Imagine a MI of Hudson(Tor) & A.Gonzo(Fl)! IIRC, both are FA's

Walker is a very good hitter, but very below avg. defensively. Neifi is a defensive upgrade over Walker. The problem here is batting Neifi 2nd.

Starting Lineup Name AVG HR RBI SB 1. J Hairston Jr., LF .260 4 19 7 2. N Perez, 2B .269 8 43 5 3. D Lee, 1B .346 35 89 14 4. A Ramirez, 3B .305 30 91 0 5. N Garciaparra, SS .239 2 7 0 6. J Burnitz, RF .263 17 58 4 7. M Barrett, C .287 13 51 0 8. C Patterson, CF .230 12 28 14 9. G Maddux, P .226 1 5 1 Name AVG HR RBI SB 1. L Gonzalez, 2B .294 7 28 2 2. C Sullivan, CF .266 2 18 8 3. T Helton, 1B .303 13 50 2 4. M Holliday, LF .317 11 45 8 5. G Atkins, 3B .274 8 56 0 6. D Mohr, RF .225 14 31 1 7. J Closser, C .230 7 26 1 8. O Quintanilla, SS .225 0 3 1 9. J Francis, P .136 0 4 0

Imagine that! BTW, what's he doing in the big leagues to begin with?

Cook hasn't given up 1 HR all year, therefore this is not likely to happen.

that's why they play 9 innings & not 6

I will be happy when K- Corey is no longer wearing a Cubs uniform.

The title of this thread is Most Realistic line-up for 06. Some of you must have missed the title by some of your posts. Ex. Arod?both Giles & Burnett? Soriano? Wagner? C'mon none of these are realistic. Giles is the only possibility out of these for the Cubs. With 40 games still left in the 05' season & late season call-ups still a week & a half away there is still alot TBD. This off-season will be very different from others. The FA market is very thin. Therefore I expect many trades to happen: Example, Kearns,Dunn,Huff,Baez, Soriano,Overbay,Cameron, & Sweeney(KC) all have a good chance to get moved. C- starter Barrett Back-up Blanco. I doubt this will change. Blanco is signed through 06' & is a very solid defensive C. Barrett signed a 4 year deal in the off-season, therefore I wouldn't expect him to be going anywhere. Some of you who think Barrett is the main cause of how the Cubs pitching staff has performed so far in the 05 season is somewhat ridiculous. Barrett is an avg. defensive C who is only going to get better. 1B- Lee. He is a FA after the 06' season, if healthy I expect another big year from him. Hopefully, Hendry will be able to sign him to an extension but that will be up to D.Lee & his feeling on whether he wants to test the FA market in 07'. The Cubs do have a couple up & coming prospects a year or two away from ML ready in Dopirak & Sing 2B- Hairston. IIRC, he is still arbitration eligible. He will be the Cubs starting 2B in 06'. Walker will sign with Texas once the Rangers move Soriano. SS- Nomar will be a Cub next year. If healthy he will have a shot @ winning comeback player of the year in 06'. I also think the Cubs will resign Neifi Perez. Cedeno will also make the roster out of ST & will start the year as a utlity IF backing up Nomar & Hairston. 3B- Ramirez. Look for Fontenot to be the back-up OF- Lawton, Patterson & either Brian Giles,Burnitz, Huff or Kearns will be starting OF's for the Cubs in 06'. I expect the Cubs to work hard to resign Lawton to become the lead-off man in 06 & beyond. Patterson will be pushed hard in ST by PIE, who has a shot at starting CF, but that will all be determined by CPatt & his determination to change his approach & make adjustments @ the plate. Murton & Pie will be the Cubs young OF off the bench. Starters: Barrett,Lee,Hairston,Nomar,Ramirez,Lawton,Patterson,RF Bench: Blanco,Fontenot,Perez,Murton,Pie,Cedeno Rotation: Zambrano Prior Wood Maddux Williams or Guzman Bullpen: 6 spots Williamson (set-up) Ohman (Loogy) on the bubble: Weurtz,Novoa,VanBuren,Aardsma Closer: Dempster could resign depending how he does for the Cubs down the stretch. Ryan is more likely for the Cubs than Wagner. Baez,Wagner & Ryan maybe the only off-season possibilities for the Cubs @ closer. Therefore, I see Dempster the more likely candidate.