BigbadB

All he has to do is buy up a lot of MLB.TV stock once people find out they can't get their MLB EI anymore, and he'll be as rich as he wants to be. He's already told the world he's retiring. Now he's just got to get his retirement fund started. His kid's kid's kid's kids have got to eat.

When they reduce the price of tickets for those games, that would be the day I would come to accept a forfeit game as acceptable. For some fans, that is the only game they may have an opportunity to see the team play in person.

If Izturis is putting up the ol' .300 OBP line, I doubt he stays in the 2 hole. We have Lou, not Dusty. :D I'd be pretty bummed about Izzy in the 2 hole as well. Hopefully the Cubs scouts are right about DeRosa. If Soriano and DeRosa produced the same OBP this coming year as they did last year, .351/.357, this could be a very good year for Lee and Ramirez. Their career OBP's .325/.331 leave a little something more to be desired, but I like that they are trending upward rather than downward like Pierre. I also just noticed that DeRosa has played some shortstop each year he's been in the bigs. Hmmmm.

Exactly. Everything is supposed to be HD sooner or later. And to touch on a point in your first post in this topic, MLB stood to make 70m this year from JUST the cable companies. That would not include the offers ponied up by Dish and DirecTV and any other service to continue providing the service as they have in the past. The combined totals might have surpassed the 100m they stand to make by going exclusive with DirecTV. Seems like a poor decision to me. Amateur economist or not.

DeRosa I would be okay with. If it's Izturis, just shoot me now.

I was going to point out that Corey Hart was missing from the original post, but someone beat me to it. They seem pretty high on him. There is no guarantee that Jenkins will be in the outfield when the season starts. They've been trying to move him all winter long. But, I do agree that they are an improved team.

The vault has been open for a few years now. However, the spending gives the appearance it was only just opened this year. That's what happens when you give out big contracts to guys like Neifi and Rusch.

Sounds a lot like my posts in Transactions over the weekend.

Well, I've always viewed the Bears as a ball control offense. Moose fits the description of the ball control receiver. He should be the go to guy. Berrian is the guy you look for once you've got the defense convinced everything being thrown will be for 10 yards. Until you get the safeties to cheat up, take advantage of the short game. Once the safeties cheat up, THEN look for Berrian deep.

Last night he couldn't, but he did just that several times this year. Twice in the New Orleans game he horribly underthrew Berrian.

I really like Anderson. He makes one of Adewale or A. Brown expendable. I'm not sure which one I would part with, but Anderson needs to be in there on every down. Bye bye, Tank. Harris and Boone/Scott make for a solid middle. Hillenmeyer is the weakest link on D, IMO. I think he'd be alright if the Bears worked in a 3/4 defensive scheme, but we don't. Is Hester going to be an option on defense next year?

Grossman needs to learn how to see the whole field, even under pressure. As soon as there is a little bit of pressure, he folds up and looks like a scared puppy dog looking for it's momma. It's pathetic. Granted, the offensive line not being able to hold an attack doesn't help matters, but Rex and Turner need to work on safety outlets for when the line comes through so easily. I like Berrian, but I like him better as the #2 go to guy, not #1. Moose is still the guy who can make the catches when the ball is thrown to him. Grossman couldn't hit Berrian in stride on a deep route if he wanted to. Against a cover 2 defense, they should have just abandoned the Berrian deep passes for more 2 step, first down passes like Manning was doing.

I'm sure he will profit from it. It's the next generation who will get screwed as baseball gets less attention. Bud doesn't care about them or us. Only himself.

Nice post. That's exactly what should be happening, but I doubt anyone ever accuses Bud Selig of being a rocket scientist.

Go Bears! That is all.

I wish they would have stuck it out with Nomar another year, too, but I understand why they didn't. Yes, finding a position for him was probably a factor besides the fact the Cubs didn't really get their money's worth the 2 previous years. We couldn't have predicted Cedeno would end up being as bad as he was. I was penciling him into RF, with a move to 1st being perfect for him when Lee got hurt. Jones/Murton in left would have been a good platoon last year with Nomar in RF. I don't wish to dwell on that, however. Hendry does deserve kudos for getting Murton in that deal. I never said he didn't deserve it.

Murton was a product of the Red Sox, not the Cubs. I hope Wilken turns things around, but the Cubs farm system is currently below average. I don't understand. 10 yrs from now hopefully no one will remember where Murton was drafted. They'll remember where he made his name. Is Ryne Sandberg a Phillie? I agree with your posts most of the time but Hendry picked Murton out of a million. He does deserve a little credit on that trade. I wish someone would come out and say he seen a little something in Murton. Where's Bruce Miles when you need him? I didn't say anything about not giving him credit for the trade. The words used in the original post were that the Cubs "produced" the likes of Murton. No, they didn't. Boston drafted him and they produced him until the Cubs traded for him. The Cubs can have some credit for continuing his progression, but Boston drafted him. Prior was pretty much a finished product before the Cubs ever drafted him, but I would still say that the Cubs "produced" him, because the Cubs drafted him and he progressed through their system. Ryne Sandberg was a product of the Phillies. There's nothing wrong with recognizing a good prospect and trading for them, but you don't get to take the credit for drafting them and developing them into major leaguers. So, I do give credit to Hendry for the trade. I do not give him credit for developing him into a major leaguer. And I'm still a bit shocked that Hendry did trade for Murton, because he doesn't fit the mold of the skill set Hendry likes. Hendry likes tools guys and Murton does not fit the description. And when the season starts, we still don't know who will get the bulk of the at bats, Floyd or Murton.

I think he's finally figuring out the value of OBP, but I still don't think he embraces it. There is no way you can sit there and bat Cedeno, Bynum, Perez, Pierre, Izturis and Womack as many times as he did at the top of the order and embrace OBP.

You are correct. For some reason I thought they were both there at the same time for a short period. But, it doesn't change the fact the Dodgers took Hendry for a ride on that deal.

Murton was a product of the Red Sox, not the Cubs. I hope Wilken turns things around, but the Cubs farm system is currently below average.

I agree that there are things beyond a GM's control. But, some of those things that are now beyond the GM's control are things that could have been within the control of the GM prior to lapses in judgment. For example, last year Greg Maddux was traded for Cesar Izturis. I'm sorry, but if that's the best the Dodgers have to offer for Maddux, I'd have let Maddux finish the season as a Cub. Just how valuable was Izturis to the Dodgers? They already had Kent and Furcal in the middle infield, and had already traded for Julio Lugo. Izturis was bench fodder. Hendry didn't play hardball. He caved like an umbrella in a wind storm. Maybe Hendry couldn't have gotten LaRoche or Elbert or Kemp, but I wouldn't have just given Maddux away for nothing. Especially to the Dodgers. The Dodgers stuck it to the Cubs hard last year, and Hendry probably shouldn't have even talked to the Dodgers about Maddux. Furcal, Nomar and Milton Bradley all come to mind as guys that the Dodgers stuck it to the Cubs with last year, though Nomar was Hendry's own fault. Add Maddux to the list. Let's evaluate this Maddux deal with a few other deals that happened in the NL West. July 22- Fabian Jimenez and Joel Santo for Scott Williamson July 31- Jose Ceda for Todd Walker July 31- Maddux to the Dodgers for Cesar Izturis July 31- Sergio Pedroza and Joel Guzman to Tampa for Julio Lugo August 31- David Wells to Padres and George Kotteras to Red Sox. Wells netted the best Padres prospect in their system. Guzman was a top prospect in the Dodgers system. Jimenez, Santo and Ceda is a decent return for Williamson and Walker. Maddux was traded for the Dodgers 25th man. Sorry, I went off on a bit of a tangent with Maddux. I'm still very upset with that deal. The point is the direction of this team has been nonexistent for awhile now. I don't know if it's because Hendry trusted others to help him find direction or what the exact problem is, but to resolve the lack of direction, Hendry just blindly throws money at the problem hoping it will solve the problem.

You like to take the stance that none of the players currently on the Cubs were players that the Cubs might have had a chance to sign or trade for. As if the only deals Hendry makes are the only deals he had any chance to make. That's fine if you think along those lines, but I certainly don't. While you can give your list of reasons for each player I list that could have been Cubs, I'm just using examples. My examples of what would have improved the Cubs are just about endless. I could go back a few years and include Carlos Beltran, Vladmir Guerrero, Miguel Tejada when they were free agents themselves. I'm not the one who was standing at a podium announcing to the world that I was going to bring a World Series to the north side of Chicago. Jim Hendry did that. If he can be so bold to make that prediction, then he better back up his words with moves that will get the team there. Soriano was a pretty good score. Outside of Soriano, the moves he made were pretty generic. I'll give him credit for re-signing Aramis as well, just so you don't think I'm all gloom and doom. The lack of direction is quite real. The farm system has gone from being one of the best in the league to below average. The team itself has gone from 1st to worst. This is also very real. But, the thing that really makes me disrespect anything you have to say about this is when you sit there and tell me or someone else that this isn't fantasy baseball. What, do you think I'm some little kid who is watching baseball for the first time? I'm 43 years old and have been watching Cub baseball religiously since 1971. Our opinions don't have to agree to have a mature and respectful debate. You don't have to drag insults into it to make your point. If the team didn't have the resources to go out and build a World Series team, maybe THEY shouldn't have been standing in front of a podium announcing to the world they would go out and get the players necessary to win. The team, as it is currently constructed, isn't any better than some of the other teams in the NL. You might feel that Cesar Izturis (a guy who has played a total of less than a season of baseball over the last two years and whose numbers have plummeted) is the SS that can take us to the promised land, but I don't. You might feel that Greg Maddux for Cesar Izturis was a good trade. Personally, I think we got better for Todd Walker. The problems of Jim Hendry extend beyond what he did this offseason. He had problems in previous seasons as well. When you compound the problems from year to year, the end product will suffer, which is exactly what we are seeing now. Would Miguel Tejada, Vladmir Guerrero or Carlos Beltran have turned down 8/136? Probably not. Each is either a better overall player than Soriano, or performs above and beyond their position of need. Agree or disagree. But, please leave the "this isn't fantasy baseball" crap out of your argument to keep this a respectful debate. I respect your opinion even though I don't agree with it.

I think Hendry might have had direction at one time. It looked like he had direction last year when he rolled out the red carpet to Rafael Furcal. Unfortunately, Hendry didn't have a back up plan. When Furcal went somewhere else, Hendry just threw money at whatever he could find. Neifi, Rusch, Jones, etc... It's great that the higher ups have opened up the wallets for Hendry to go out and build a winner. It's not too great when the guy with the money doesn't know how to spend it wisely.

I'm not so sure you can hurt the farm system anymore than it already is. Zero position players in the last how many years? Okay, Pie and Patterson are close. But, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Those two guys lack some of the same skills that many other Cub prospects lacked and never reached stardom. The Cubs have been successful developing pitching. But, they don't value it like they should. 3 pitching prospects for a no-hit one year wonder. Abuse the guys you have to the point they need surgery. If the Cubs are just going to run pitching prospects into the ground and not focus at all on developing position talent, then forget the farm system, because it really can't be hurt much more. This year, they have just as many pitching talents as they had last year, yet they managed to deal off a bunch and still have new guys step up. The same will happen this year when they take the 3rd overall pick and get one of the first sandwich picks. It will be another good offseason as far as picking up new pitching talent. But, it's win now time in the big leagues. Why spend 120m to build a 2nd place team when you can spend 140m for a 1st place team? Why only go half way? Why save a prospect who can't help you win now if it means the difference between 2nd place and 1st? Obviously, they still have to play the games. But, a stronger and better team has a better chance of winning. We all know that. Ichiro or A-Rod or Tejada or Miguel Cabrera, etc... made this team a 1st place team. 1st place in Iowa just doesn't mean squat.

20/20 hindsight? Are you kidding me? It was Tim that suggested Daisuke. I wanted Schmidt. I would have been fine with Daisuke, but I wanted Schmidt, Drew, Lugo and whatever pieces and parts Hendry could get. There is nothing hindsight about what I wanted going into the offseason. I think Hendry did alright. However, I'm not sure if he did enough. He spent money like crazy. But, spending money like crazy isn't going to win you a World Series. Spending money on needs while focusing on the direction of the club is what builds a winner. This team has no direction. None. They spent 136m for an outfielder and they have no idea where he's going to play. They spent how much on Marquis, and there is no guarantee he'll be better than the 8th or 9th best rotation option in 2007. They haven't extended the most important player to this team, Carlos Zambrano. They really gambled with DeRosa. He's been strictly a super sub, which would have been a great thing for him in Chicago, but Hendry gave him starter money and a starting job. I hope it works, but it's quite a gamble. He doesn't have a clue what to do with Jacque Jones. Great, they went out and spent a bunch of money. But, they didn't go out and spend it with any direction.