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gflore34

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Everything posted by gflore34

  1. gflore34
    Free agent after this season? Maybe, ala Womack for the Cards in 2004, he'll have a career season for the Cubs (along with helping them to the WS) and be ridiculously overpaid by the Yankees in 2007. Go for it Hendry!
  2. gflore34
    At this point I'm willing to give Hendry the benefit of the doubt, I'll wait on his remaining offseason moves. But, if he trades Walker and signs Furcal, Cedeno might as well buy himself a copy of War & Peace for 2006 bench reading.
  3. gflore34
    I think this is easier said then done. Besides why would you want to bury someone good and cheap on your bench? I think it would be a crime if the Cubs buried a player like Cedeno in a bench role. Neifi is an OK player if used in the right role. That's the point, Dusty cannot be trusted to use Neifi in the right role. If Furcal or Garciaparra are not signed leaving Cedeno and Neifi at SS, Dusty will find a way to start Neifi. The only way Neifi doesn't play a signifcant role with 2006 Cubs is if he's removed as an option.
  4. gflore34
    The offense is why this game is tied, a team with even a remotely competent offense would have put this game away in the third quarter.
  5. gflore34
    If Hendry keeps following the previous World Series winners "format" then he has no plan on how to run a team and that really would worry me. I agree, maybe Hendry has come to conclusion that adding pitching and defense, along with a OBP machine like Giles has good chance of producing a playoff team.
  6. gflore34
    Not in a million years, Zambrano owned the Cards and Astros, 4-1, 1.99 ERA, for that alone you keep Zambrano.
  7. gflore34
    To me, Hendry hotly pursuing Furcal makes sense for the following reasons: 1. Pitching and defense this was the MO of the White Sox and Astros, it was even that of Cardinals. Signing a Furcal and moving Cedeno to 2B represents a tenfold increase in the Cubs infield defense. 2. Garicaparra' injury prone, after the injury riddled seasons of 2004 and 2005 can you really blame Hendry for being a little gun shy about taking another chance on Garciaparra? I truly believe a healthy Nomar will but big numbers but, given the Cubs luck, does anyone doubt a re-signed Nomar will spend a third or more of 2006 on the DL? 3. OBP - by default Furcal leading off improves this category perhaps, not as much as we'd like but, relative to Perez and Patterson, this is a major upgrade. Furcal would be on base far more often for Lee and Ramirez than Perez and Patterson ever were or will be. 4. If Hendry can ink Furcal quickly, that leaves plenty of time to pursue Burnett, Millwood and Giles (Brain). I sincerely hope Hendry has Giles in his plans for, a 1,2,3,4,5 of Furcal, Barrett/Murton/Cedeno, Giles, Lee and Ramirez may take care of the Cubs offensive inconsistencies. Even Baker couldn’t muck that up…
  8. gflore34
    That I did not check. People were contending that even though they weren't much(if at all) better than the Cubs, that the ability to score consistently was the reason their offense was helping them win more. Turns out that wasn't true. there's the good old expected wins matrix on BP. Pitching and defense was the key to the 2005 White Sox success, Hawk Harrelson can shawk all he wishes about Pods' impact. But, without Garland having a career year, the bullpen pitching out of its collective minds, etc. none of the 2005 White Season would have happened Pods or no Pods.
  9. gflore34
    I was thinking along the same lines, should the Cubs win the 2006 WS, no doubt, someone will write of the great Chemistry they had...
  10. gflore34
    Has he learned nothing from last off season? Chemistry is such overrated garbage. Tell the 05 White Sox, 04 Red Sox, 03 Marlins, 02 Angels and the 96-2000 Yankees that. why? do you know for a fact that they had great 'chemistry'? The empirical evidence suggests they got along well, which helped their performance as a team. What evidence is that? I can give you the 04 BoSox got along well, but the 03 Marlins and 02 Angels? The notion of Chemistry is overrated garbage, when one looks a little deeper; the common element to all of the above teams was pitching and defense. How did the 72-74 Oakland A's win those consecutive WS with their Chemistry of fighting amongst themselves and basically disliking each other? What was more crucial to their success Chemistry or a rotation that included the likes of Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, and Ken Holtzman along with Rollie Fingers in the pen? A healthy Prior (maybe Borowski as well) in 2004 and a healthy Wood and Prior in 2005 and we're talking 3 consecutive playoff appearances for the Cubs.
  11. gflore34
    hyperbole If Prior, Z and Wood are all healthy, the Cubs can beat anyone. That's proven to be a big if. very big if. Very, very big if, getting 25 - 30 starts out of each is the key to 2006, if that happens the Cubs make the playoffs.
  12. gflore34
    Tell me know one saw the that "Pick 6" coming? Garcia got away with trying to make a play out of nothing last week vs. Cleveland with good results. But eventally, throwing the ball up for grabs and trying to force a big play will burn you...
  13. gflore34
    Being a former Chicagoan I'm delighted for the City, there isn't a Major League City that was more deserving of World Series Championship than Chicago. The fact it's the White Sox bringing the Championship to Chicago infuriates me. Not so much that it’s the White Sox (well a little) but, it’s a team with far less resources than our Cubs. Looking at what the Cubs have going into 2006 along with the monetary resources at their disposal, I DEMAND Jim Hendry build a playoff team for us. In summary I'm dealing with it by accepting no less than a 2006 Cubs playoff appearance. After that, as this Post Season has demonstrated, it’s a crapshoot.
  14. gflore34
    If it's true he's staying in SD, it may be just as well. Giles could have signed with STL before even considering the Cubs. With Sanders ($4M) and Walker ($6M) both free agents, and Roger Cedeno off the books ($1.5M), STL could have easily paid Giles $10-12M per year. That type of dough and the chance to win year-in/year-out is hard to pass up. Let's see if we get confirmation reports in the next 12 hours about re-signing with SD. That's about the most positive spin to put on it. Thankfully's he not going to St. Louis. The Cards would have had to add about 10M or so to their payroll to snag Giles. Even with that money coming off, it is nearly equal to the amount of money they have to pay inhouse for raises. Plus the have the matty mo decision to make. Also if Im not mistaken they need to get two corner outfielders with whatever money they have. Petty as it may sound (or is read?) I too, am thankful Giles may be re-upping with SD rather, than potentially seeing him in the Cardinal OF. As for the Cardinal corner OFers, we all know the "smart" Jocketty is going to take a gamble on some re-tread or a Jacque Jones, etc. who'll proceed to have the obligatory career year. Must be a secure feeling to know that nearly every gamble you take will pay off.
  15. gflore34
    Lack of offensive versatility, we all know the Cubs MO at Wrigley wait for the 3 Run HR, how many times did we hear Dusty say - "if the wind wasn't blowing in, those deep fly balls would have been HR's" - or something to that extent? Combine this with a pitching staff that couldn't throw strikes if their lives depended upon it and you have a losing home record.
  16. gflore34
    Things evolve. No way. That's not what President Bush tells me... President Bush likely can't spell "evolution",much less explain it. I don't believe he's come across a word what that many syllables amongst his coloring book exercises.
  17. gflore34
    He'll be sprinkled with the Magic Baseball Dust that is sprinkled upon every Cardinal FA aquistion and proceed to have the obligatory Career Year. Is there any doubt he'd put up a .900+ OPS? It's as sure as death and taxes. I wish Jocketty would share some of that Magic Baseball Dust just for one season.
  18. gflore34
    I thought Lidge did shake him off. May have been the pitch before though. I definitely would have pitched around him most especially after the first strike, all breaking balls in the dirt. Perhaps, that's what Lidge was trying to do but, the slider just rolled on him. With Lidge' fastball, there's a more than average chance Sanders doesn't put the ball in play.
  19. gflore34
    Hey, don't be dissing the bald guy !! My hairline was receding before I got out of high school. No offense, he just doesn't look like he's 25...
  20. gflore34
    Not taking anything away from Pujols greatness but, isn't about time he comes clean with his age? 25 with that receding hairline? I'm not suggesting he's 40+ but, he maybe closer to 35 than 25.
  21. gflore34
    But it's not like the Crawford boxes are only there when the Astros are up. The visiting team can also take advantage of the short porch there. Mel Ott hit most of his home runs over a wall that was 275 feet away. Should we take him out of the hall because he probably got a few "cheapies" in his career? It works both ways. There's a difference between making excuses for a loss based on the ballpark, and complaining about the stupidity of the design of the ballpark. It is the same no matter who is batting. But you wouldn't put the fences 150 feet away, or 600 feet away in any new stadium, and it's not because it would be unfair against one team. It's because it's dumb. The short left field porch is a joke. The insane cut-out area in left center is stupid, the center field is pointless. It was a poorly designed ballpark. The stupidest thing of all is that hill. Its right there with that moronic Wild Card Champs banner...
  22. gflore34
    Andy got to celebrate his pennant after Game 4, and after Berkman's home run last night. I don't feel sorry for any of them. Did you see the Cardinals' reaction after the game last night? No celebrating. They simply shook hands and headed for the clubhouse. They know that they still have work to do, unlike the Astros after Game 4. That's why the Cards are the best team in baseball. At least Pujols' shot was a legit one, not a cheesy fly ball ala Berkman last night and Burke in the NLDS. And they say it was 412 feet. That shot was 450 if it was a foot. Maybe the dimensions of Minute Maid Park in the area it was hit limited the measurement to 412 feet.
  23. gflore34
    Andy got to celebrate his pennant after Game 4, and after Berkman's home run last night. I don't feel sorry for any of them. Did you see the Cardinals' reaction after the game last night? No celebrating. They simply shook hands and headed for the clubhouse. They know that they still have work to do, unlike the Astros after Game 4. That's why the Cards are the best team in baseball. At least Pujols' shot was a legit one, not a cheesy fly ball ala Berkman last night and Burke in the NLDS.
  24. gflore34
    But defense is not the reason this team didn't win enough games this year. True enough but, if Hendry' going to go the pitching/defensive route, it makes sense.
  25. gflore34
    That would be a very impressive offseason. And I'd be pleasantly suprised if it happened. As far as Milton Bradley being insane, the White Sox have dealt pretty well with Carl Everett, who's no model of mental health. I think Bradley just needs to be on a winning team in a supportive enviroment. My concern would be that Hendry wouldn't see the need for a big-time RF if he made the trade and landed Furcal. That would be my major concern after those deals. It would be an upgrade no doubt, but not an enormous one. Plus, I could see Jim being extremely satisfied with the team after those moves, then exercising Burnitz' ugly option (when does that have to happen?). I would not be happy with that OF. Defensively, Castillo/Furcal is an enormous upgrade
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