BigbadB

Which is my point, in a nutshell. I was clamoring for Schmidt. Daisuke would have been good, too. For the money they spent this offseason, it seems like they could have done much more. And let's talk about Boston. They not only got Daisuke, Drew and Lugo (3 guys I wanted real bad), but they are still in talks with Colorado to go get Helton. Helton might be overkill. Boston should go out and win the division this year without Helton. However, Helton would put them clearly over the top. That, to me, says "we are going to do everything in our power to get this team to the World Series". That's exactly what Hendry should have been doing. Forget this outfield feud already of who should play where. The gameplan should have been to recognize your needs and go get them. The biggest need was at SS. Tejada and A-Rod were available for the right price. It's actually a sad state when you pay all this money out and you don't even know where some of these guys fit into the grand scheme. Will Soriano play CF or RF. Will Marquis be a #2 or the #5 or in the pen. Will Floyd be the highest paid bench guy in history, or will a superior Murton be wasted away on the bench once again for a breaking down ballplayer trying to earn a big salary? The direction of this organization is lacking. Direction is what they needed this offseason, and I don't think they accomplished it. What I think they did was just throw a bunch of money out there and see what stuck. They can win with this team, but how much can they win?

I believe what you are saying, Bruce. However, the disappointment I'm feeling about this offseason is that upper management has clearly stated they are doing everything they can do go out and win it all. I think Hendry has done a decent job this offseason, but to go out and win it all, I don't feel like he's done enough. I also realize that the market exploded. However, that should not change the gameplan. If you stand up in front of the fans and scream "we are going to get this team to the World Series, by George, you better do it. It seems to me as though the only way the Cubs reach the promised land is if Prior has a healthy and productive year. Basically, they are still counting on him. As assembled, this team could go out and win the division. "Could" being the key word. I can't put "should" in there. If they really want to go out there and get the Cubs fans a World Series, they should make the moves that they can then say "should" be a shoe in to win their own division and the league. Nice efforts by Hendry this offseason, but I don't think he meant it when he said they were going to do everything they could to build a winner. They threw a lot of money around, some good, some bad, but the finished product leaves a lot to be desired. And, IMO, it still requires Prior to be healthy, something they said they wouldn't count on or expect this year. I guess what I'm trying to say is that when you say you are going to do something, get out there and do it. Don't half-ass it. If you are Picasso, don't put the finishing touches on your masterpiece with finger paint.

My keeper list added up to less than 2500 based on the Excel spreadsheet Juan sent out. :wink:

I hope the 1st 4 starters are Zambrano, Prior, Hill and Lilly. Prior's health makes that quite a stretch, however.

i haven't looked at the spreadsheet, but the projections still have guys like scott olsen outscoring pujols. did we really bump pitching points up that much? If that's the case, I'm deeply in love with my keeper list.

I'm usually outside smoking a chain of cigarettes (no smoking bars in California) during the halftime show, so that I have my fill and don't miss the important parts of the actual game. Not sure how, but I was witness to Janet's exposure. Of course, (and maybe this belongs in a different forum, but I always liked Janet.

Myself, I'd prefer LF: Cabrera CF: Beltran RF: Vlad :D No bench guys? I think you need more depth. 8-)

It's hard to be a defensive god from injured reserve. Barmes was bad last year, and his splits on the road in 2005 were pretty pathetic. If Theriot can handle the position, we have the answer in-house. I'd just like to see someone else outside of Izturis/Cedeno at SS. Cedeno should spend the whole year at AAA.

You mean the Rock em Sock em Robots tournament is cancelled?!? :wall: How about this: The Lions and the Raiders play 7 on 7 flag football. Winner gets the #1 draft pick. What if the game ended in a tie?

That's very possible.

And my point was missed. The Cardinals filled a brand new stadium all year (higher ticket prices?) and won a World Series. What have they done this offseason to reward the fans? Preston Wilson wouldn't cut it for me.

The Cubs are in a win now frame of mind. They've made that very clear since the offseason began. Getting Ichiro, even if for only one year, is a win now move. You don't spend the kind of money that Hendry spent and settle for 2nd or 3rd in the division. Unfortunately, the moves Hendry has made to this point might not be much better than 2nd or 3rd. Getting Ichiro, IMO, changes that to a very likely division championship, and potentially beyond. It also appears that Hendry is going to do everything in his power to trade Jones, since Jones really wants out. I'm opposed to a trade just to trade him. But, if the trade brings back something better, I have no qualms. I'd still like to see one other move made for a SS. A reliever for Clint Barmes might be a possibility. Not only is Cesar injury prone, but his bat may never rebound to his past production, which really wasn't anything to brag about. There is a question about Theriot's abilities at SS, and Cedeno needs to spend the year in AAA. The money Hendry has spent this offseason can't be undone. At this point, you do what is necessary to finish the job. Would I care about a prospect that had to be moved in a trade if this deal meant a World Series victory? Probably not. I don't agree with how Hendry went about rebuilding this team, but he could have done a lot worse. Whoever ends up being the PTBNL will likely not be as good as they guy the Cubs land in the June draft, therefore, I really think this deal needs to get done.

Not always. The Aramis trade had a PTBNL that was a choice between Bobby Hill, Steve Smyth and Francis Beltran, and I believe all 3 of those guys were on the 40 man roster at the time.

If the discussion is Gallagher and a PTBNL for Ichiro, I'm all for it. The team improved OBP this offseason, but not significantly. Ichiro would be enough to make it significant. When Izturis loses his job at SS to Theriot, it will be even more significant.

You must be so proud.

Dude! Neifi won't play everyday. Cesar Izturis will. :wink:

Okay, I've set my keeper list. C- 1b- 2b- Dan Uggla (exempt) SS- Jimmy Rollins 3b- Scott Rolen OF- Rocco Baldelli (exempt) OF- OF- U- Jonny Gomes SP- Roy Halladay SP- Jeremy Bonderman SP- Ervin Santana (exempt) SP- Matt Cain (exempt) SP- Adam Wainwright (exempt)

I was just looking at that. Something is definitely wrong with pitching points. If they aren't wrong, Bonderman and Halladay almost add up to 2500 by themselves. :shock:

The '85 Super Bowl team doing the Super Bowl Shuffle. It will really be a big hit with Bears fans since the Bears will have a commanding lead at that point and time. :wink:

The wife told me that she was watching Keith Olberman's show and heard that John Kerry was stepping into the ring in this fight. Good for him. Something needs to happen soon. We are less than 2 months from baseball season.

That's about right for the early bird price. Through my cable company, I would get it just a bit cheaper than that (139.99) with early bird rate and repeat customer.

This isn't meant as a feel sorry post for Cardinal fans, but I really don't understand what they are doing this offseason. The Cardinals just came off a World Series win in a brand new baseball park. While the Preston Wilson signing is a good one in terms of years and dollars, where are the big money players to keep the team competitive this coming year and beyond? I agree that Reyes and Wainright are better prospects than the Cubs guys of last year (exception for Hill), but they are still extremely thin in the rotation and will now also be thin in the pen once they remove Wainright from the equation. It's as though they are cutting back on the budget rather than showing their fans the appreciation they deserve for filling that brand new stadium all season long and a World Series win. If I was a Cub fan and this was taking place, I'd be outraged. Instead, the Cubs throw more money out there and still don't win a World Series. At least they pretend like they care about the fans. :joker:

Can you get MLB EI with basic cable (or whatever they call it at DirecTV)?

Well, I won't win any contests in computer speak. After networking my computers to share program files on XP Pro, I don't care to ever have to deal with anything that involves networks ever again. If Bill Gates was in the room at the time, I would have punched him in the face. Since I have never attempted to access a site from two different computers within my network at the same time, I can only assume whether it can or can't be done. But, I'm imagining that one computer is actually accessing the site and the others are logging in as the computer that is accessing the site. Therefore, ony 1 actual login to the site. But, maybe that's not right either.

Yeah, I'm guessing that the difference here is "the network". It's one line coming in, but all those computers are tied together by that one line. I would find it reasonable that I would be able to watch the same thing on all of the computers on my network by accessing the computer that is showing that game, which is easily done on my network.