nilodnayr

I want to take one of these guys in the second round, but cant decide which one. State your case for the player you prefer.

Welcome to the board. And only time will tell whether or not this is the year Gathright becomes a Pierre clone. However, I cant find a more comparable player in terms of the numbers they've put up at their levels. And Pierre's best year was actually his age 24 first full year in the majors, which happens to be Gathrights upcoming year.

Per Rotoworld :wall: So, Jim could have kept Mitre and Pinto and traded Nolasco for a 400K, 23 yr old Pierre. Its not even opening day and already we are getting salt poured in our wounds.

They already have a Carlos Pena...his name is Jason Lane. Cleveland or Cinci or even TB would be ideal destinations.

I never said he's a bad influence, I said I'm tired of his mouth. It seems every time there's a quote in the papers, it's from ol' Todd. Your opinion is worth more when you don't offer it every day. And while he shouldn't flat lie if the team is performing badly, saying we flat out suck can rub some players the wrong way who feel they are putting in 100% effort. Ok, first thing about the bolded quote. I dont mean to attack the poster or anything but that quote is on par with some one who believes a pitchers value is measured by his wins. Secondly, he is a professional athlete, reporters interview him everyday. Hes not offering anything, its his job to answer their questions. If he refused you would say he has a bad attitude for not talking to the media. And unless you have the ego of Sosa, even if you are a professional athlete you can realize that you have had a bad game or string of games. Walker does not have special powers, he sees the game out there the same as everyone else. You can put forth 100% effort and still go on a 1-20 streak. I have never heard any quote where he has called out any player or said that no one has given out less than 100% effort (unlike Jeff Kent).

If by lose you mean win by not having Jose Macias on the team and dusty batting him second once a week and pinch hitting every game in important situations, then yes, we totally lose.

Good idea, but the O's still don't do the trade unless the Cubs pay the salary difference. The bucs could pick it up. But they do have Chris Duffy, who performed well at the end of last year. He suffered a concussion during spring (from Schilling) but is back in the lineup now. They may be worried about his durabiliy, shoulder and hamstring (this year and last). And after the season last year Littlefield said Duffy would have to compete with McLouth for the starting job in center (which was a ridiculous claim). So the point is they may not be too high on Duffy. I wouldnt trade walker, but a three way could go down with Matos and Welly going to the bucs, walker and money from the bucs going to the Os and wilson coming to the cubs would work better for the cubs than the straight up deal. Of course that doesnt get around the fact that supposedly the break down of the deal (besides the money) is that brian roberts is going to be healthy.

Yeah I agree with you. Actually the Walker sucks at defense thing started in Minnesota and then was "validated" by Pokey Reese in Boston. And I also agree that I like him very much and respect him for speaking his mind. And by overall value of defense, I didnt mean that either sucks at their position, just meant that neither are great.

It's not that hard to improve on what we did last year, Rocket. Do you remember the countless AB's where there were RISP, and whoever was up there would get anxious and swing at the first pitch and hit into a double play? All the friggin time? Well the cubs hit into 55 GIDPs with runners in scoring position, the high was 61, the low was 35, median was 48. The ABs are fairly similar, I bet if you do a regression you will not find a significant correlation between GIDP/PA and runs scored with men in scoring position. Pretty much most teams GIDP about 3-4% of their PA. However, the affect on creating big innings is definitely understated based on just those stats. But my point is that you probably remember it a lot more than the actual stats show.

Heck, I'll answer my own question. In 2002, when he had his 39 HR/41 Steal year with the Yanks, he had a 822 OPS at home and a 933 OPS on the road. In 2003, he had a 805 OPS at home and a 917 OPS on the road. While the trend reversed itself with Texas, I still think that too much is being made of his home/road splits. His numbers obviously aren't all a product of the Ballpark at Arlington (or whatever it is called now). So, why exactly are you placing more weight on his 2002/3 stats than 2004/5? I would put more creedance on his numbers from the last two years. 2005 224/265/374 2004 244/291/444 Those are pretty ugly and pretty credible sample sizes. But I guess we will just see what happens this year.

yeah, that was the problem. these guys really can't be that oblivious to walks, can they? You know the answer to that. I've heard or read very little that says the Cubs coaching staff recognizes the value of a walk. I don't think it would shock a lot of people if we characterized the Cubs current set of coaches and manager as "old school", when batting average was the stat that measured a successful hitter. However, there is plenty of evidence that Hendry recognizes the value of OBP given that he has acquired Nomar, Ramirez, Lee, Grudz/Walker/Hairston, Murton, Pierre, Miller/Barrett and promoted Dubois who all have higher OBPs than their predecessors. Jones does not, but it is clear that Jacque was not Hendry's first choice to play RF this season. Why he has stuck with Baker who is responsible for hiring his coaching staff, I don't know. I wouldnt necessarily say that Hendry's acquisitions are perfect evidence that Hendry recognizes the value of OBP. Nor would I, just evidence. To be honest, I don't even know what perfect evidence means. I guess by perfect I meant substantial or conclusive.

In the past year and during the offseason it seems as though Craig Wilson and Walker have been subtely badmouthed by their respective teams, and based on their performance to this point undeservedly so. And additionally as both their names come up in trade talk, and it just stays talk with no action, it seems as though the rest of the league undervalues them as well. The only thing I can think of is the overvalued aspect of defense that is causing these players to be so unwanted but I wanted to hear others opinions. Ohh and as I've all but given up hope on the cubs this year, I'm now rooting for the Tribe, who just happen to have two holes on their team...first and second base. Shapiro is one of the best minds out there, he could pick up both players for spare parts and make the AL central race really interesting.

yeah, that was the problem. these guys really can't be that oblivious to walks, can they? You know the answer to that. I've heard or read very little that says the Cubs coaching staff recognizes the value of a walk. I don't think it would shock a lot of people if we characterized the Cubs current set of coaches and manager as "old school", when batting average was the stat that measured a successful hitter. However, there is plenty of evidence that Hendry recognizes the value of OBP given that he has acquired Nomar, Ramirez, Lee, Grudz/Walker/Hairston, Murton, Pierre, Miller/Barrett and promoted Dubois who all have higher OBPs than their predecessors. Jones does not, but it is clear that Jacque was not Hendry's first choice to play RF this season. Why he has stuck with Baker who is responsible for hiring his coaching staff, I don't know. I wouldnt necessarily say that Hendry's acquisitions are perfect evidence that Hendry recognizes the value of OBP. No one who appropriately values OBP would call Juan Pierre the greatest leadoff man in the game. OBP may not be the sole reason why Hendry has acquired those players. Theres pleny of evidence to show the contrary as well. I think Hendry acknowledges the existance of OBP, and in comparison to the coaching staff recognizes the value, but in the grand scheme of things he does not come close to recognizing the real value of OBP. Ohh and by those old school metrics, with men in scoring position we had a better batting average than the reds...I wonder how they scored 88 more runs than us (w/men in scoring position).

I'd rather play for KC or Pittsburgh, yes. To echo j shils, this really isnt about retaining Young or Upton when they become eligible for free agency because the Drays simply arent going to be able to pay them enough, regardless of any relationship they have. What this is, is about being able to sign their draftees because they have set a precedent of holding back their paydays.

Yeah, if Im the indians I would have wanted to wait another year. How soon people forget Alex Cintron and Angel Berroa.

If people posted the draft results of their league. I don't mean what team you ended up with. I'd like to try to get a guage of where some of the middle round guys are going.

Is it just me, or is that a ridiculous list to chose from considering its a 10 team league? Tell me you won last year.

Super 2 status is based on service time, not performance. It refers to the 17% of players with between two and three years of service time with the most time. Gotcha, I was thinking super 2s were players with 2-2.99 years of service time who were in the top XX% at their position.

Question. According to the palm beach post, Cabrera will receive ~400K range. How is he not a super 2? If hes not, then theres something wrong with the rating system (Elias?). If indeed he will not be going to arbi until next offseason then one can assume he will follow along the Sori path and then some (Sori has the advantage of playing 2b, but Cabrera is leaps and bounds better and will be rated as at 3b). Sori made 5.4, 7.5, 10. Cabrera could possibly reach double digits his second year of arbi if he continues to approve (as some predict). However, that will not be until the 2008 season. I assume that is the time they believe the marlins will have to deal him. At that time most likely the teams location will be settled (meaning they shouldnt be looking to deal him). Additionally, the prospect landscape will be quite different. Heck, look where the cubs were 2 years ago.

Indeed he was. My buddy and I found out that Todd really likes Jack Daniels. We also got him to take a picture of us from the field. Great guy. I also remember the Pierre chants. I can only imagine what I'll be hearing/chanting this year when I'm in the bleachers for a Cards game. I have a feeling Jimmy Edmonds doesn't like the bleacher bums. Au contrair, Edmonds loves bums! I remember that picture, Mizzou, that was awesome. I was at a Marlins game last year and Burnett was messing with everyone in the bleachers who was asking for a ball from him. He kept on pretending to throw it and acted like a jerk. 5 minutes later he walks up from inside somewhere and sits in the bleachers for a good 10 minutes or so, taking pictures with people, autographing balls, and the such. He was escorted back through the Wrigley bowels and emerged from a door in center and as he backpeddled to the dugout, he pointed at his chest and then pointed at the ground to motion that he wanted to play for the cubs. One of the cooler, player/bleacher bum interaction stories.

Yup, despite his extreme downturn in offensive production, Hairston really "caught the ball" in the second half. Thats why management thinks he had a better second half.

Anyone trying to get tickets at Miller?

Opening Day where? Chicago - the Cubs home opener. Forget ceremonies, the most important aspect of opening day (and the next) is the magnet schedule!!!

Section 120 are great seats!

Actually, the initial schedule is not an accurate representation of sold out games, but if you click to get tickets and then go to (or bypass) the VWR, the second schedule accurately shows the sold out games. Thats what I counted from and most likely explains the difference between me and Old.