BigbadB

Miguel Montero had a year somewhat similar to Soto's 2007 back in 2005, unlike any other year previously in his minor league career. He's now in the bigs. I'm not going to assume every player who shows development in power is a juicer.

Wasn't Cabrera a young (for MiLB) teenager for most of those AB's, though? It's a little more understandable there. Not that I have any doubts about Soto, I'm just saying. Yes, Cabrera was a young teenager for most of those at bats. And going back to my original comment, players develop at different stages. Soto just got it going later.

Miguel Cabrera hit 28 HR's in 1428 at bats during his entire minor league career. Soto hit 25 HR's in 1574 at bats prior to his 2007 minor league season.

All players go through power development changes, some faster than others.

hehe. I came here to see the line up card, knowing it will be several more hours before they are posted.

I was watching the Padres game last night and he has his thumb in a splint. He had it looked at yesterday, but I don't remember what the actual diagnosis is. What I do know is Cameron will miss the remainder of the regular season and it is still up in the air, but likely during the playoffs, when he'll be back.

His little hop before catching a ball in the outfield is what drives me nuts.

Did Froeming's crew just work back to back series in Petco?

I hope you both lose. :D

Didn't Pena miss a significant portion of the first month or so of the season, also?

yes, he is so selfish. man, i can't believe he wants to achieve more milestones as a player. who on earth would want to play baseball at age 44 for 10 million a year? i know i wouldn't. Seems as though you read my post wrong. Teams weren't interested in paying that kind of money for him last year, so he stayed in San Fran. San Fran gave him the money because they had plenty to spend. Now that they are out of the picture, who's going to give him 15m to be a part time player?

Aren't they kind of high on Spilbourghs, also? Or has he cooled off?

He's going to love Chicago.

Learn somethin' new everyday. Hmm. Oh, and I still believe Aramis deserves the Gold Glove.

While I enjoy a great defensive play at SS, I don't put all that much value on a guy who can get to a ball better than another guy. For example, Ozzie Smith could get to balls that Theriot could only dream of getting to. The Cubs have been winning with a mediocre fielding/non bat at SS all year long. Whether that be Izturis, Theriot or Cedeno playing the position. Offense is the big problem with this team. Geovany Soto addresses some of that offensive problem by handing him the job behind the plate. Not only does Soto provide adequate to above average offense behind the dish, he is tons better defensively than any of the other options. If Tejada can't play SS anymore, I'd be fine with him at 2nd and slide DeRosa back over to SS. If Mark Loretta can still play SS, so can DeRosa, and probably better. Realistically, Tejada and Renteria are probably the only 2 upgrades that can be found at the SS position this offseason over someone like Theriot. Most other teams will be hanging on to what they have. What it will cost to get either of those two guys is what this thread really comes down to. Baltimore does know our system. The two guys that I would label as untouchable from our prospect/youth list are Rich Hill and Geovany Soto. After that, I'd certainly be willing to work deals to get either Tejada or Renteria. Heck, I'd trade Soriano to Baltimore for Tejada if they'd be interested in him. I think Theriot is fine if there isn't a significant upgrade at the position. Though, I do believe Cedeno would put up better offense if he was just left alone to play the position everyday. What I don't want to see is the Cubs just stand pat this offseason like St. Louis did last year. What is nice is the Cubs do have quality, cheap talent to use as filler or trade bait. The upgrade makes the most sense at SS. I'm curious how many other teams will be interested in an upgrade at SS this offseason.

I don't see Bonds getting 15m. He's a part time player now and only continuing to play to pad his individual achievements.

That Brewer fan should be made to sit and watch the entire April and May Cub season this year. You want to talk about not getting any luck. April and May was painful.

If it wasn't for Balco, I'd have forgotten the Giants were even a team this year.

The Cubs are bad against lefties, but they were horrid last year. I'm in agreement that they have to get some looks before swinging the bat. Instead of swinging at balls out of the zone, hope that the umpire has a tight strike zone so that the counts start working in the hitter's favor.

You should really be thanking Marlon Anderson.

I'm really disappointed to see that WGN won't be carrying the last Cub game of the regular season. I'm working in a bar that day, and I won't be able to watch the Cubs. I will be able to see the Padres/Brewers game since they televise all the Padres games locally. Kinda sucks. Hopefully, we lock it up and the last game is a meaningless game.

No. I am not rooting for any particular scenario. And if the Cubs do come here, the only way I go to a game is if my buddy serves up his season tickets behind the Padres dugout. The smoking law really turned me off from going to games. Special seats is about the only thing that would stop me from watching the game in the comfort of my own home. And Petco couldn't touch Wrigley with a 10 foot pole. It's just another boring ballpark built in the '00's and a pain in the butt to get to. If it was at Jack Murphy, I'd be all over it.

You need to make some adjustments to your sarcasm detector. :wink:

Yesterday was a crazy day for baseball. Mets score 4 in the 9th to take a 3 run lead into the bottom half, only to watch Florida tie it and win it in the bottom of the 10th. Phillies come back late in the game to beat Washington. Milwaukee loses a boring game against a guy starting his first major league game. That sounds familiar. San Diego beats Pittsburgh to keep pace. A Cub win and a Milwaukee loss today would be very nice. May I please have this as my early Christmas present?

From what I understand, the wild card team does not play the division winner from their very same division. After that, it confuses me how they actually determine the playoff match ups.