BigbadB

TRIMSPA!

No wonder he hurt his ribs. They're practically protruding from his chest. There's no meat on them bones.

I'd love to see DeRosa at SS and Theriot at 2b more than just 20 games.

I didn't even know they kept track of that info. I looked up my own records, and it's not nearly as impressive. 1 first, 3 seconds and a 3rd out of 9 total teams since 2003. I won't mention the 5th, 6th and 2 7ths. In 2004, I was quite unlucky. 3 teams and all 3 finished in 2nd place. Last year, I was 1st and 3rd. Almost all of the teams I've played on in Yahoo were Cub related leagues.

I disagree about a back up 3b. Here's what I have for depth based on Pagan, Ward, Floyd, Theriot and Blanco: 1b: Lee, Ward, Floyd 2b: DeRosa, Theriot, Izturis SS: Izturis, DeRosa, Theriot 3b: Aramis, DeRosa, Barrett, Theriot LF: All outfielders CF: Soriano, Jones, Pagan, Theriot? RF: All outfielders C: Barrett, Blanco The 25th guy can be anyone since DeRosa can play 3b and Jones can play CF. It probably comes down to Hill, Cedeno, Pagan, Moore or McGehee. Hill is on the outside since he's not on the 40 man roster. Someone on the 40 man that goes on the 60 day DL opens up a spot for Hill.

You've been on quite a hiatus. Welcome back. I fixed Muskat for you.

Other rule changes include: IAL :w00t:

Has Rey Ordonez received a spring training invite with anyone? I'll understand if no one wants to divulge such information.

I know I mentioned in this thread somewhere for everyone to stop bagging on each other. Please respect my wishes.

Lets see how he performs before making bold statements like that. If he reverts back to his sub 4.00 ERA form, $7MM a year will be a bargain, if he puts up a 6.00 ERA it was a horrible signing. Yeah, I can't give the nod to Marquis until he actually pitches his way to something worse than Todd Hundley.

Posts with actual substance: BigbadB: 11437 JC: 3 I'm a little bit ahead of you there. :D

The Cubs have done it. Or at least came very close. 2006: 5th in AVG, 16th in OBP 2005: 2nd in AVG, 11th in OBP 2004: 6th in AVG, 11th in OBP 2003: 11th in AVG, 13th in OBP During the 4 years that Hendry/Baker have been in charge, the Cubs have walked 1795 times. Atlanta: 2192 Philadelphia: 2561 NY Mets: 2034 Washington: 2103 Florida: 2023 St. Louis: 2193 Houston: 2213 Cincinnati: 2348 Milwaukee: 2120 Pittsburgh: 1874 San Diego: 2295 Colorado: 2257 LA Dodgers: 2085 San Francisco: 2223 Arizona: 2082 Cubs walks in 2006: 395 League average walks in 2006: 537 Cubs walks in 2005: 419 League average in walks in 2005: 525 Cubs walks in 2004: 489 League average walks in 2004: 546 Cubs walks in 2003: 492 League average walks in 2003: 541 The league average in walks stays pretty consistent year after year. The Cubs walk rate has plummeted each year of Hendry's tenure. In the Baylor/Kimm year, the Cubs walked 585 times. That team just couldn't hit.

Welcome back, JC. Whether it was a hiatus or sabbatical, I'm done with it. Its good to be home. Too bad, suckers. :roll: Haven't had to break out that emoticon out since the last time your graced us with your presence. :D Welcome back!

What was Marquis in St. Louis? The #5 starter? So, he throws up a 6.02 and gets a guaranteed contract for more than double what he's made for his entire career AND he moves up 2 spots in the rotation. Okay, I'm not going to overreact. Breathe deep. Exhale. Breathe deep. Exhale.

Lou is starting off way better than Dusty already.

I'm guessing Pagan still makes the team. Hill will probably get cut. There are already too many options at 2b and 3b in AAA with Patterson, Fontenot, McGehee, Moore and Craig. I suppose Hill could replace Fontenot as the utility back up at Iowa, but not sure how that will sit with him. I'd like the 25th spot for McGehee, but it's probably not very likely.

Keepers won't come into play until the end of the season.

Oh, okay. Tampa and KC are teams that I could see skimming past the top picks to get the top high school players. It's not necessarily signability issues by the player demands per se, but also the fact those smaller market teams may not want to fork out the huge signing bonuses. Tampa did shed some contract this past season, but they have some guys who will start earning the big dollars soon enough. KC spent a huge wad this offseason. When the Cubs got Prior, Minnesota went with Joe Mauer instead. Local high school kid they knew they could sign, and for much cheaper that the Cubs paid for Prior. San Diego did the same thing with Matt Bush a year or two later. If Tampa or KC takes Price, they are going to have to pay a premium for Price. They know that up front. Price still has to agree to a deal, but I don't see any of this as a negative on Price.

But, what is this in reference to? You are referencing something in your response, but I have no idea what it is. You didn't quote whoever you are responding to. David Price is too humble and nice to do what? In what way would he be too nice and humble to screw over teams?

There was a lot of addition by subtraction in the walk department this year. If each starter could average 50 walks, the team would have 400, which is more than they drew last year, and that doesn't include the 5 bench players. And, this was a team that preached aggressiveness and scowled at the thought of drawing a base on balls under Dusty. So far, I've heard that Lou likes drawing walks and Perry might be a perfect fit to help change the dynamics that have been preached too much over the last several years. It honestly does not take a rocket scientist to figure out baserunners are a good thing. Especially in this day and age of the long ball. The Cubs have the power to easily lead the league in HR's this coming season. It makes sense to find ways to get hitters on base to add emphasis to those HR's. Most teams are all pretty close across the board in AVG. AVG. does not make up the huge discrepancy in runs scored between teams like Philadelphia and the Cubs. OBP does. I'll get really excited in this coming season if I hear more emphasis on getting on base via the walk. The difference of a .319 OBP and 716 runs in 2006 to something in the neighborhood of .335 and the 831 runs they scored in 1998 can make a huge impact on the standings. Couple that in with good pitching, and there really is no telling how good this team could be. Zambrano being his normal self, a healthy Prior, second half of 2006 Hill and anything respectable in the back half of the rotation and you have the makings of a dominant team. I'm actually excited about the prospects of this team, but I do still have my guard up. Guarded optimism. Lou, please don't shatter my guarded optimism with something silly like batting Izturis 2nd in the order.

Daryle Ward has played twice as much 1b as Cliff Floyd. Ward is actually pretty decent defensively at 1b. If or when Lee gets a day off, that would be the ideal time to let Ward get a little PT.

I think the bullpen will be a huge strength for the Indians this year. That just who they added. They still have Rafael Betancourt, Jason Davis, Fausto Carmona, Fernando Cabrera, Edward Mujica and Juan Lara.

Getting back to Theriot, he makes for a perfect poor man's Ryan Freel if he can play some outfield as well as the infield. I really like this kid, although he really isn't all that young.

What is this in reference to?

He probably said the same thing about Drew when the Dodgers signed him to that big contract.