BigbadB

That's an awful lot for a 1 year rental and salary relief to the team wanting to be out from under his contract. I wouldn't think it would take that much. But, the market is awful whack this offseason.

I was corrected on this recently as well, so I feel it is my duty to do the same to you. :D You know, that whole do unto others....... UK corrected me that Reid Brignac is currently one of the top SS in the minors and in the Tampa Bay organization, which essentially makes Zobrist a useless chip above the useless chip that Escobar would be. But, if they don't want Zobrist, can we have him?

I think the division will be a lot more competitive this coming year. Milwaukee could be adding a lot in the rotation with a healthy Sheets, Suppan and development of Bush. Pittsburgh's rotation could be quite a bit better with experience, and I really like how their offense is shaping up. Cincinnati is the only team that I think doesn't bring much to the table in 2007 in the NL Central. That could pose problems for a wild card in the NL Central.

Lowell would be a shocker to me considering his cancer issues of the past, unless steroids were used to help him rehab. The one guy that I think of first when I think of who might be guilty of taking steroids would be Gabe Kapler. Not a big name or anything, but for some reason, he's the first one I think of.

I'd be fine with Baldelli, too. However, I don't think Tampa wants guys who are not ready to pitch in the majors now. They really seem to want guys who can step in now, which is why Chuck James seems to be their prime interest. That eliminates Gallagher and Veal from the equation. Whether the others are enough to interest them, I'm not so sure.

I disagree. While the successes of Hill and Prior are important, there is a whole stable of young pitchers that can fill in and possibly be very successful given another opportunity and more time in AAA. You pretty much know what you are getting with Zambrano and Lilly. Hill should be pretty good, and even if he's not as good as he was in the 2nd half last season, there's no reason to believe he can't do as well as Lilly. Between Prior, Miller, Marquis and whoever remains out of Marmol, Marshall, Guzman and Mateo in the trade for Jones should be plenty of depth to draw from to fill the last 2 spots. The Cubs would have to be the worlds most unlucky team in the world if all those arms had back to back bad seasons. Oh wait, this is the Cubs we're talking about......... Anyway, I do believe that the pitching will be pretty solid this year throughout the rotation. The strong bullpen will also help the starters out. More than anything at this point is the necessity of another impact bat.

Agreed. And that sounded a lot like what Hendry had in mind going into this offseason. He mumbled something about getting two starting pitchers and two impact bats. So far, he has 2 starting pitchers and 1 impact bat. I like the Iowa Cubs and all, but I'd rather see a championship at the major league level than at AAA. Trade what is necessary to get that one last impact bat. While I'm a fan of the prospects and am very interested in Marmol, Guzman, Marshall and Mateo, the next generation looks just as promising with Veal, Gallagher and Pawelek just to name a few, and with a few surprises that may not yet have surfaced. There is plenty of depth in the rotation and in the bullpen, and actually the bullpen has one too many guys. Atlanta wants bullpen help. Andruw Jones will be a type "A" free agent, so there will be compensation when he leaves after this year. While I have been pretty much opposed to another 1 year rental, I'm not opposed to it anymore if it means starting the season with the line up as it's currently constructed, or is the line up currently constructed with Andruw Jones. Andruw Jones in the heart of the line up would put this team ahead of all the other teams in the NL Central, and would be very close to NYM in terms of best team in the NL. Tampa needs pitching and we can give Atlanta the pitching necessary to get Baldelli and turn Jones to Chicago. While it wouldn't be the way I would have orchestrated the Cubs offseason, I would definitely increase Hendry's grade to an A+ if he got Andruw Jones.

Will Carroll has seen a partial list and thinks it could have a major impact on public perception of the game. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=121 That's my reaction. I'm not so sure I want to see the list. But, I probably will anyway.

If he put up the same OBP as last year, that would be pretty ideal. But, what's the likelihood? In his years with the Yankees and Rangers, he had premier offenses hitting around him, therefore it didn't make much sense to pitch around a guy to get to another guy who hits just as good or better. If Soriano/Izturis are hitting 1/2, it won't matter how good of an OBP Soriano puts up, it won't be good enough. If Soriano/Murton are batting 1/2, then what Soriano gives up in OBP can potentially be made up by Murton if he can get something between .380-.400. If Theriot can really hit like he did last year, the better line up would probably be: Theriot Murton Lee Ramirez Soriano Jones Barrett DeRosa But, that's not going to happen for many reasons. I can live with Soriano in the lead off spot. But, his OBP will likely not be what any of us would hope out of a lead off hitter. At least when he does get a hit, he has the chance of extra bases or moving up via stolen base. At least he's a "good" player that will get more chances to hit than anyone else on the team.

Looking at Soriano's career stats, he is clearly ideal to be a #5 or #6 hitter in any line up. The low OBP is better suited in front of the worst hitters on the roster (bottom of the line up). The good SLG and AVG will drive in the better OBP/SLG guys a lot. With that said, I don't have an issue with him batting 1st. I'm so sick of watching guys like Pierre, Corey and Neifi hit lead off, all guys who don't get on base as often as Soriano does. In an ideal world, two fairly speedy, fundamentally sound, high OBP guys would bat first. Guys like Kenny Lofton and Hanley Ramirez would have Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez feeling quite heavenly. Because Soriano is batting first, it will be important to put one of Murton, Theriot or DeRosa (if he's duplicating last year) in the 2 hole to make up a bit for Soriano's only real weakness offensively. As far as why Soriano walked more last year, I think it has a lot to do with the fact Soriano is or was the best hitter on the Nats team. He was the biggest threat to the opposing pitcher and team, therefore he was pitched around to limit the damage he could do. I wish Soriano would show a dramatic increase in walk rate. But, I doubt it will happen. He knows he's paid to hit rather than walk. It's a shame he wasn't more selective, because if he was, he'd be a complete hitter and a yearly candidate for MVP. It's a bit late in his career to do a complete turnaround and become a patient hitter. And that's not what they are paying him to do. They are paying for the results he's put up to this point, and getting on base was never his strong point (outside of 2006). The top of the line up is important in many ways. Not only is it very important for the top of the order hitters to find a way to get on base for the best power hitters on the team, but these guys also get the most at bats in a game. They come to the plate before some of your all star hitters. They are essential to the success of an offense. Cesar Izturis is not a guy who fits the profile of who should hit first or second. Out machines belong at the bottom of the order. They should also be pinch hit for nearly as much as the pitcher. Extending innings is how runs score in bunches. Therefore, the guys who are good at making outs need to be placed in a spot near the bottom of the line up (if they are forced to play at all) where they can do the least damage. Period. Since I've gotten way, way off track...... Soriano batting 5th only increases the likelihood that someone like Izturis will bat near the top of the order. Theriot probably won't play unless Izturis or DeRosa is injured or needs a day off. Because Soriano is batting lead off, Piniella may feel that DeRosa is better in the 5th or 6th spot to drive in runs (using the stats he put up last year as his predictor), Murton has rarely ever been given much attention at the top of the order and Izturis has been known to hit 1st or 2nd when he was with the Dodgers and fits the profile of the old school line of thought that your lead off hitter needs to be speedy, can hit to certain parts of the field to advance runners, etc... The old school way of thinking is a fossil at this point. It's about scoring runs and protecting leads. With that said, here is the best line up Piniella can throw out there with the roster he currently has to work with: Soriano Murton Lee Ramirez Jones Barrett DeRosa Theriot If this line up played 130 games just like this, I would go out on a limb and say this line up could put up well over 800 runs in a season. That's not likely to happen, and this line up probably won't play 10 games together, let alone 130. What I envision will happen is this: Soriano Izturis Lee Ramirez Jones Barrett DeRosa Pagan Jones will play in place of Murton and Pagan (if they don't find someone else for CF) will get more at bats than Murton. Predictable and very ordinary.

While I'm not aware that any of the guys the Braves have are the next Jeff Kent, they do have plenty of guys that they like at 2b for next year. Prado, Aybar, Johnson and Orr are all options, and all might or likely are better than Cedeno or Theriot. The production Giles has given them the last year wouldn't be hard to match from one of the above guys.

That's a reasonable request, but some posters may not feel inclined to back up their sentiments with much more than a blanket opinion at this point and time. Some, and I really hate using a point Goony made :D , may want to wait until the offseason is done, have more info on Prior's health, etc... before they make a more analyzed opinion. I know I'm waiting. It's probably just better to dismiss an opinion that doesn't meet your expectations rather than complain about it. Otherwise, you end up getting completely off course from the original intent of the thread. This thread is a perfect example. Now, to get back on topic, admittedly, I am pessimistic about this coming season. I did briefly discuss each transaction in another thread and I gave Hendry a "B" grade for the offseason moves to date. I don't find a "B" grade to be a pessimistic grade, but actually I think it is. Why? Because with the improvements this team needed to make this offseason and the available money to spend, there is no excuse for not getting an "A". This team needed to make major improvements and I don't think they've done that. They get a "B" for recognizing the biggest needs and addressing them, but I'm not sure it's enough to get them much over .500 in a division that I think will be better than last year. Pittsburgh and Milwaukee are two teams that I think will be better as their young players continue to develop. St. Louis and Houston may be taking a step back at this point, but will it be enough of a step back to continue calling the NL Central the weakest division in baseball? I'm not so sure.

This actually works pretty good for me. I can usually only see Bears games at a Sunday Ticket location, which also means drinks. Now, I can watch the game at home while the wife takes 2-3 hours to get ready to go out for New Year's Eve, which coincidentally also happens to be my birthday. For my birthday, I would like a Chicago Bears win and no injuries please.

By the way, my first response in this thread was to you. I have stated already that I won't make my predictions until the offseason is officially over. I did give Hendry a "B" grade for his offseason moves, but reserved the right to change that grade based on more possible moves. I don't make individual player projections. Ever. I make team projections. I've made it pretty clear that I don't like Izturis, and the moves that Hendry made are not the moves I would have made. I wouldn't call that pessimism, however. That's more of a frustration. I'm very frustrated with the overall direction of this organization. That, combined with the failures of this front office has me feeling very pessimistic going into 2007. With the long history of futility in this organization, how can anyone call into question someone's pessimism about the future of this organization? Please answer that question. Because that's what I really don't understand.

Wow! I'm really sorry you didn't get what you wanted for Christmas. And I'm really sorry that I give you some false impression that I would demand proof if you said Soriano would hit .360/1.000. Because that's about as far from the truth as it gets. As far as calling me a pessimist. That's false too. I'm certainly pessimistic about the Cubs, but that's about the only thing I'm pessimistic about. But, please explain to me what the Cubs have done that should make me feel optimistic? Throwing money at people with no semblence of a plan is certainly not my idea of how to turn a horrible team into a good one. The problem with your posts is that you are requiring that they provide something they aren't required to do. They are welcome to make whatever opinion they want as long as it isn't offending other posters. If you don't like it, ignore those posters or quit responding to them. You have a different opinion than some of the other posters here. There is nothing wrong with that. It's certainly not something to get so worked up over. Calm down.

Forming opinions is more than just baseless conjecture and hyperbole. I happen to think it's a bit unreasonable for someone to require facts or proof on an opinion of something that hasn't happened yet. It's all guess work, including your opinion. I could go out on a limb and state that the major league baseball season will IN FACT be played in its entirety next year, but it won't truly be a fact until after the fact.

:shock: Poor reads, poor first step, terrible lateral acceleration, no vertical leap... I think it'd be one of the worst defensive shortstop contributions we've seen in quite a long time. :lol: I think it would be a very fun experiment. You have the choice of a butcher defensively or an automatic out in the line up. Which one hurts the team more?

Time will tell whether he knows what he's doing. Agreed. They were in a position to be very good with an addition to the roster here and there. They still can be, but if they don't make the necessary moves to be competitive this year, Williams is going to look pretty bad with these moves. Detroit has improved their team this offseason.

I still think something is brewing on the south side. It might just be something faily small like Rocco Baldelli, but then again, it could be something big like A-Rod. Looking over the rosters of many teams recently, I noticed that a lot of teams still have work to do this offseason. Tampa really needs to move an outfielder. They need pitching desperately. The White Sox should be in a win now mode. Thome, Konerko and Dye are not getting any younger. Strike while the iron is hot. LAD and Phily have too many starters, if that makes any sense. Phily has Lieber, Myers, Eaton, Garcia and Moyer, and no room for Cole Hamels. LAD has Schmidt, Wolf, Penny, Lowe, Billingsley, Tomko and Hendrickson Pittsburgh wants a 1b and have been working with Atlanta to get LaRoche. Houston is perplexing considering they were willing to bid big dollars for Pettitte, but don't seem to be showing any interest in the few arms that remain on the market. Lots of free agents still looking for jobs. The Sox have the arms to get an impact player. Who it might be is the big question.

I don't know what sapped his power, but I know he's been dealing with back problems the last several years.

isnt wainwright the cards closer now? i thought they were going to keep him there because of his performance in the playoffs. If Izzy proves healthy, Wainwright will likely move back to the rotation.

Does WARP take into consideration the era that these people played?

This is true. But, how many minor league teams are there? Approximately 6 per MLB team? 30 major league teams x 6 minor league teams is 180 teams. Now take 180 minor league teams x however many roster spots each minor league affiliate is allowed. 25? 4500? Also keeping an eye on all the top high school and college prospects, plus potential import players and independant leagues and it's a pretty big job. Does anyone project 30 teams of prospects very well? Hats off to anyone that does.

Meche ado about nothing. :P

What's up with Shnsajax? I sent him a trade proposal via email over 2 weeks ago, and I also sent one through roadkill at least a week ago, and no response on either.