BigbadB

I'll have to disagree with you on Murton. He was a great hitter before he ever saw the big leagues. He showed plenty of power in his short stint in 2005. While it is possible that they found a flaw in Murton's swing (he was hitting the ball on the ground too much), the slump was really timed perfectly with mention that he was not aggressive enough at the plate. That also coincided with the great Freddy Bynum getting lots of playing time in Matt Murton's spot. Every player goes through a slump occasionally. I really have no desire to give the last management group credit for correcting Murton's bat. The same management group was in charge when his slump started.

And while he did look horrible at the plate last year, I think he was doing exactly what he was asked to do. Swing early and swing often. Heck, Matt Murton was chastized last year for showing patience. And right after that, he slumped big time. Coincidence? I think not. Cedeno showed a lot of promise in his major league debut in 2005. Then, with more time under the 2006 regime, his promise turned to despair. I'm hoping new management turns him around. He might be our only hope at SS for the next few years.

Well, how about Jacque Jones for Zach Duke? :D I've certainly felt bad for Pirate fans over the years. But, at least they do have some exciting young ballplayers to watch, rather than guys who will never amount to anything.

So, if I understand what's being said correctly, you can switch out starting pitchers during the week, and mix and match however you want as long as you don't exceed 7 starts?

Yesterday was awful windy in these parts. That, and balls fly farther in the Arizona air. Until you see him hit a scoreboard in an NL Central ballpark, I wouldn't make much of it. BTW, we had 75 MPH wind gusts in some parts of SoCal yesterday. Not sure how windy it ever got in Phoenix, but it was VERY windy here in San Diego.

Seattle? They signed Jose Vidro to DH. He's hit 14 HR's combined over the last 2 years. Walker has 21 over the last 2 years. And I didn't necessarily mean that Walker would be signed by an AL team to be the primary DH. What's left on most teams at this point other than roster filler and/or replacing an injured player? Lots of teams have guys DH occasionally that aren't power guys. Shannon Stewart was signed by Oakland to fill in at DH.

Not to mention the fact he was awesome in his role as a lead off guy here. Who did we give up to get him? Nobody worth anything. The guy is still the best lead off hitter the Cubs have had in the 2000's, and arguably better than anyone they had in the '90's. The fact Dusty couldn't recognize where Bellhorn's value was best served isn't exactly a shocker. There were a lot of things Dusty was clearly clueless about. But hey, let's continue making fun of a former Cub. Especially one of the very few former Cubs that actually was worthy of an occasional standing ovation in 2002. And even though Bellhorn's value is no longer what it was when he was a Chicago Cub, I still wouldn't trade him straight up for Jose Hernandez.

I'm not sure where Todd Walker will end up, but it will most likely be in the AL where he can DH and fill in at several infield positions. I hope he wins his grievance. What the Padres did to him is inexcusable. How a team can offer arby to a player, lose the arby case and then cut the player and only be responsible for 1/4 of the arby decision is pretty bogus. Especially since they offered him arby, therefore rendering Walker as "off the market" considering teams were NOT going to give up players to get him. The Padres offered him arbitration as insurance. They need to fork it over.

I've been gone for the last week, so I'm way behind on what's been going on, but I'm going out on a limb and picking this team to win the division. I think they will avoid devastating injuries, and a few guys will step up and contribute in a big way this year. I think they'll win 90+. I think Houston and St. Louis are worse than they have been, and they weren't really all that good to begin with. Milwaukee is the only threat, but I think they still have way too many question marks going into the season. I think the Cubs bullpen will really step it up and with better management and more depth on the bench, they can't help but be more than 20 games better than they were last year. Fire away on my post, but the Cubs are going to the playoffs in 2007. Book it.

At the plate, Theriot has done nothing but impress. I'm a bit concerned about his "D", but I would imagine he's at least adequate wherever they put him defensively. I like DeRosa as well. I think his bat will come around soon enough. It's hard to say who will be more productive, but the playing time should be there for both of them. I hope Izturis continues hitting like he has. He's shown so far this spring that he can be an asset hitting 8th. With Soriano hitting lead off, it will help this club to have decent bats at the bottom of the order who can set up Soriano. But, I'm still skeptical of Izturis continuing to get on base at the rate he is. I suppose I'd be happy if he could put up a .330+ OBP and play the tremendous "D" everyone raves about. He has been drawing walks, which is a good sign.

I had no problem grasping the concept of this thread and I'll be happy to give my grade of A+ so far. It was just a regular A until I read this latest quote about Floyd being saved for the stretch run. Not only will this kill a bunch of Floyd's incentives kicking in, but it gives Murton a chance to show what he can do playing regularly. Piniella has said all the things I want to hear. Now, he just needs to follow through and do all the things I want to see. He's empasized walks being important. He's put good OBP guys in the 2 slot. He's said he will take the best 25 guys to the show. He's talked about moving one of Theriot or DeRosa to the outfield (assuming he is considering platooning Jones) on certain days. The list goes on and on. Lou has quickly desolved my pessimism. I'm optimistic going into 2007. The combination of added talent and Lou's comments and what he's shown so far has me excited for the first time in quite awhile. Worst to first is a pretty big leap. But, I think Lou's managing style fits this club way better than the lifeless bunch Dusty created and managed. I'm not a big believer in clubhouse chemistry. But, I do think the attitude that people come to the ballpark with can affect their production. If the guys are excited to be there, I think the production level is better than when you have a whole bunch of guys who could concoct a long list of places they would rather be than on the field in Wrigleyville, which is what I saw last year. This team has the talent to win lots of games. Winning makes people want to win more. From what I have seen so far, I think Lou is moving this team in the right direction to win a lot of games. A+

Very cool of my cable company to pay for my MLB.TV. It's not exactly what I wanted, but they are still sticking it to DirecTV with what little ammo they've been provided with.

If it's a 6 team league, you probably won't do too well. If it's a 12 team league, it's a competitive team, but probably not a top team. If it's a 20 team league, you should win.

This is exactly the way to play it. Phil Rogers just continues to write garbage that only furthers my belief that I would be wasting my time reading anything he writes. If he honestly believes the Cubs should trade Jones even if they have to pick up his entire remaining salary, I'm glad he isn't the GM of the Chicago Cubs. While Jones does not feature the characteristics in a ballplayer that I prefer, he does possess value to other baseball organizations, values that those other clubs continue to prove they value. People get hurt all the time. The Cubs organization should know that better than any other team in baseball. A surplus of talent is something you don't just take for granted. You use it to your advantage. If one of the Cub outfielders gets hurt, you have a decent option to replace that player. If another team loses one of their outfielders, you have a nice bargaining chip in trade.

2 hours of practice a week and 20 games a year is kind of hard to scout talent, don't ya think? Actually, put me down as being interested in filling that scouting position. 5 hours a week of scouting and umpteen hours a week sightseeing and just taking in Australia. :cheers: I hope this kid at least opted for the extra 2 hours of weekly training.

I think Greenberg would have been a decent 5th outfielder for this team last year and this year had he not suffered the HBP.

Errands sidetracked me from getting to watch Guzman pitch all the innings he did pitch. From what I did see (1st and part of the 2nd), his breaking pitch was dynomite. He was spotting it real well. His fastball was consistently in the strike zone as well. Without a change up, you cannot consistently be in the strike zone on each pitch. When you have a guy down 0-2, you need at least 1 throw away pitch. Something outside of the zone. You have to deceive the hitter a little bit. If everything you throw is in the strike zone, hitters will get too comfortable. And nothing looks worse for a pitcher (outside of walking people consistently) than to give up 0-2 hits for extra bases, IMO.

I agree but I don't see Cotts being sent down. It would be like the Cubs admitting that the Sox got the better of the trade (although, Aardsma is in jeopardy of not making their team as well)--I heard Paul Sullivan make this point on the radio-- Cotts may be in the bullpen whether we like it or not. Hendry may force Lou's hand on this one. That would sorta go against the grain of everything Lou has been saying during Spring Training. He said he was going to take the best guys with him to Chicago. Cotts is not one of those guys right now.

If he still has his off speed pitch, he better break it out in his next start if he wants to make the team.

I obviously meant his arbitration clock. Alright, let's look at this another way. Say Jones doesn't get traded and Lou decides to platoon DeRosa in Jones' spot in RF against LHP. Can Pie in RF outproduce a platoon of DeRosa/Jones? No. Would they honestly put Pie in RF when he is the superior CFer of anyone even remotely close to being on the 25 man roster? If Pie did take over in CF, would they honestly move Soriano back and forth between RF and CF depending on when Pie would need a break against LHP? There would be no one else to play CF except maybe Pagan. Trading Jones right now is just making the same foolish mistakes this organization has been making for years. I think they have finally figured that out and won't make that mistake this year. Jones, Floyd, Soriano, Murton and Pie is depth. Trade Jones and put the walking biohazard Floyd on the DL and what do you have? Tomas Perez becomes the 4th outfielder. Or dragging Bynum out of his lounge chair at home to play a few games. There is NO reason to trade Jones or to promote Pie prior to the start of this season.

Speaking of IR threads, I drafted this team in a 16 team H2H league. How funny is this roster. By the way, there is only 1 DL spot. SP- Bonderman SP- Ben Sheets SP- AJ Burnett SP- Randy Johnson SP- Tim Hudson Bench- Mark Prior Bench- Angel Guzman RP- Bob Wickman RP- Ryan Dempster C- Pudge 1b- Derrek Lee 2b- Howie Kendrick 3b- Miguel Cabrera SS- Stephen Drew OF- JD Drew OF- Milton Bradley OF- Andre Ethier U- Todd Helton Bench- Jose Guillen Bench- Dustin Pedroia Healthy, it's a pretty good team. Not healthy, not so much.

I'd like to have Nolasco, Mitre and Pinto in exchange for Pagan. Crappy CF for 3 prospects. Where have I heard that song before?

Bolderdash. I like that word and it fits. The baseball diamond is an oasis where those things matter least. I disagree. There are players that allow outside distractions to effect on field play. It wouldn't be as big of a concern if Tejada had played in a large sports market previously; I don't consider Oakland or Baltimore in that class... In a way, it's like Dusty Baker managing in San Francisco and never being scrutinized only to find his every word (rightly or wrongly) analyzed in Chicago. Or ARod going from Seattle and Texas to NYC. While his overall numbers are impressive he seems unnerved by the off-the-field talk. It's hard to believe, but ARod may actually be more productive if he played in a different environment. The scrutiny in Chicago has everything to do with production. Jacque Jones didn't like it here his first month in Wrigley because he wasn't producing. Sammy Sosa has been in the midst of steroid allegations along with guys like Tejada, Palmeiro, McGwire, etc...infinity. The distractions for Sammy in Chicago weren't steroid related. They were his boom box, leaving early, not making adjustments at the plate that made him an easy out on the outside corner (ie, significant drop in production). Heck, Cubs fans didn't even make a big fuss about the corked bat. The rest of the baseball world did, but Cubs fans didn't. There is a level of loyalty to a guy who produces in a big way. Miguel Tejada might not produce like Sammy in his hey day, but a shortstop that hits like Tejada would be a warm welcome after Izturis, Cedeno, Neifi, Gonzalez, Ordonez, etc... infinity. The likelihood these guys (Tejada, Giambi, Sosa, etc..) ever get busted for using steroids is very slim.

Zero reason to trade Jones at this point. And it would be absolutely silly to have Pie in RF and Soriano in CF. Pie has zero chance of outproducing Jones this year. With that said, there is no reason to turn Pie's option clock on so soon. As well as Pie is hitting, he still has to learn to be more patient at the plate, cutting down on his K's and increasing his walk rate. I doubt if Blum has been discussed in any trade scenarios. The Padres probably won't be interested in moving him since Greene can't play more than about a month at a time without visiting the ER.

I definitely agree with this. What he did as a manager shouldn't have an affect on his ranking among the greatest to play the game. Had he been elected to the HOF prior to becoming a manager, would they pull him back out of the Hall later when he was caught gambling as a manager? I think it's a strong enough punishment to never allow him on a baseball diamond in any capacity. Seems to me like the whole thing could be put to bed by honoring him as an inductee into the HOF on the premise he goes away forever, quietly.