BigbadB

Dempster was pretty good with regular work. Regular work comes from leading a lot of games in the late innings. They don't need a closer.

Vernon Wells, Andruw Jones, Rocco Baldelli, Ryan Church to name a few CFers that are available this offseason, and the 2nd big outfield bat Hendry claimed he was going to get this offseason is Brady Clark? Way to shoot for the moon! Rowand and Jones would be a really good platoon. But, I think Hendry would put Rowand in CF, Jones in LF and Murton on the bench.

He has one of the wimpiest arms I've ever seen at SS. But, as someone stated before, he makes up for his weak arm with a very quick release. And though I wouldn't call it a lunge, there is a pronounced move that helps him get the ball to 1b.

So it's one less offensive player and more pitching points?

Church made the most sense, even before Lofton was signed. We have the players necessary to get Church. Church is also about as inexpensive as it gets.

Sounds like he would come to the Cubs for cheaper, but after last year he shouldn't be expensive at all. He's nothing more than a platoon guy at this point as well. I'd offer 2m base with incentives that could reach 5-6m.

The Dodgers have Saito, Broxton and Brazoban for the pen, along with an assortment of other arms. For what Dempster costs, they could just bring back Gagne, which they don't seem interested in doing. If they want 2/3 of the outfield that finished in last place last year, more power to 'em I suppose.

This line up is definitely going to put a scare into just about any left hander that steps on the mound. Using last year splits except D Lee: Soriano: .293 .401 .581 .982 DeRosa: .342 .394 .589 .983 D. Lee: .333 .439 .673 1.112 (2005 splits due to injury) Ramirez: .261 .345 .521 .866 Murton: .301 .385 .485 .870 Barrett: .313 .396 .663 1.059 Jones: .234 .261 .416 .677 Theriot: .346 .460 .519 .979 I think Ramirez can do better in the OPS department with extra protection against lefties. Figure out someone to play in place of Jones and let's hope lefties start everyday against the Cubs. Ryan Church: .265 .321 .429 .750 Cliff Floyd: even more useless than Jones against lefties.

I'm guessing he'll be in Iowa.

Plus I think some team out there will give Huff a full-time job instead of just a backup/pinch hitter. Cubs could give Huff an everyday job as well by sliding Soriano to CF and put Huff in RF. Trade Jones and one of the kids for a a SS prospect. Huff will likely get a pretty rich deal, and one more rich than the Cubs will be willing to spend at this juncture, I would imagine.

This is where Aubrey Huff makes more sense than Floyd. But, Huff might be a lot more expensive than Floyd.

Eh, after reading some Dodger forums, sounds like his arm is about as weak as Pierre's, in addition to probably not being able to play full time. I'd rather have Church. I'd rather have Church too, but last I heard the Nats wanted the farm for him. Is he that much more valuable than a year of Lofton and then Pie to give up as much as it sounds like the Nats want? I'd love him, but I'm very unsure about the cost. I think they wanted marmol instead of marshall... Pay up Jimmy!!! Yeah, doesn't sound like they want the farm for him. More like they want the best offer they can hold out and receive from the 3 or 4 teams asking about him. Seems his value is increasing by the day, so the longer this drags out and more CFers are off the market, could take more in terms of talent to get him. Certainly not the ridiculous demands of a Tampa Bay GM. But, Baldelli is another guy I'm interested in. Unfortunately, Baldelli is another guy who struggles with OBP, which has been a common theme this offseason, even if they have done a bit better than previous seasons.

Umm. No.

The Reds were a threat until they made one of the dumbest trades of the century when they gave up Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez for bullpen arms. At this point, they might as well trade Dunn for whatever they can get. And the fact they blocked 1b yet again is unbelievable. Dunn really has no business patrolling the outfield.

I think the draft will be looking a lot stronger this year. I'm letting some good players go. I have my 8 or 9 locks, but the last couple are tough to call.

Fuzzy's had a hot run in the second half of the season. I have lots of exempts available and lots of cap space as well as I continue to improve the team.

If Izturis is batting 2nd, I could see Soriano getting IBB'd a lot with 2 outs.

Who plays CF?

I won't evaluate this offseason completely until the offseason is over. I think there is still time to make it a very successful offseason. If Hendry is done, I won't be fond of this offseason at all. But, I don't believe he's done. Evaluating what's been done so far: Soriano: I like this move, but I wanted Drew. Getting either or both are best case scenarios in this market, but I can't complain about Soriano. Lilly: It makes me real nervous that he's a fly ball pitcher. But, I like Lilly more than I like Zito. Zito and Hill are too much alike, and Lilly gives you a little bit of a different look from the left side. DeRosa: He wasn't on my radar at all in what I felt was a very strong 2b class. Lugo, Loretta, Durham, Giles are all guys that come to mind immediately ahead of DeRosa. But, DeRosa might surprise me. Yes, he put up solid numbers given more at bats in the friendly hitting confines of Arlington, but the NL Central is loaded with hitter friendly parks. If he matches what he did last year, he's a pretty good pick up. His versatility adds to his value if the Cubs were to grab someone else to man 2b later. In other words, I'm willing to see how he pans out at 2b, as he definitely has the potential to put up solid production. As a bench player, we couldn't have done much better than DeRosa. Marquis: I sure hope someone knows something I don't. Well, I know someone knows stuff I don't. But, looking at his year to year stats, he looks like a high profile prospect that never put it altogether. I hope "someone" knows what they are doing here. Ramirez: I can't stress enough how important this signing was. If they couldn't retain Ramirez, I don't think there is anything Hendry could do to salvage this offseason. Wood: Thanks Kerry! Looking forward to see how you do out of the bullpen and hope that your starting days are not over. Miller: Thanks Wade! The bargain basement price of a guy who has the potential of locking down a starting job all year is awesome. If he does well and there is plenty of depth at SP, Miller is the kind of guy that could net something REALLY good at the trade deadline. Cotts: More depth in the bullpen. I think someone has to go, but nothing wrong with having plenty of options in the pen. Ward: The Cubs have had weaknesses in just about every aspect of the team the last few years. None was more obvious than the bench. Ward certainly is a huge improvement over what they've had. Piniella: I wasn't in favor of this signing, but I do like his intensity. I do like what he's inspired Hendry to do this offseason. Dusty must be pissed. I'm going to give him a chance to show that I was wrong to want Bochy. This offseason, I wanted Lugo, Drew, Matsuzaka, Schmidt. We didn't get any of them. But, I think they've done some good things with the team overall. They didn't just assume Prior and Miller would be healthy and the kids would be enough depth if they weren't. They didn't just sit on the bullpen. They've improved the bench and they've kept the most important piece to the offense and added another key component in Soriano. I think Hendry will still move Jones and a bullpen guy, and bring in another starting bat (CF) and maybe another bench guy. Right now, I'd give him a "B". If he gets Church and gets a quality return for Jones, I'll likely move my grade up to an "A".

Frank Robinson went to the same school as Dusty. It's yet to be determined whether he'll be a great talent. But, even if he's just a good talent, Church patrolling CF when we don't have a current in house option to play CF is way, way better than how well Marmol does in AAA this year.

Shawon Dunston was one of my all time favorite players. Funny, considering my SABR views. But, when he was a Cub, I didn't look at OBP. I looked at AVG, defensive ability and hustle back then as the main indicators of a players abilities. But, when he was no longer a Cub, I paid zero attention to him. Fergie Jenkins was one of my all time favorite Cub pitchers. When he got traded to the Rangers, I didn't keep up with how he was doing in the AL at all. I'm happy for those guys if they continue to have successful years (easy there all you Dunston haters :D ), but I didn't care enough to follow their careers with other teams. Maybe it's different now that you can draft your favorite players on your fantasy teams, and there is much more visibility of other teams on cable tv. But, I've yet to really show dedication or loyalty to players nearly as much as I do for the team, unless they are actually on the team. But, just because they are on the team doesn't necessarily mean I'll show dedication or loyalty. They have to show values that I appreciate. And there really is something to be said for the lifers like Sandberg and Ripken. There aren't many of those anymore. Ripken saw playoff action 3 times in his 21 seasons. Sandberg saw 2 in his 16 seasons. They didn't have to stay loyal to organizations who suffered futility more often than success, but they did it anyway. I was never a Ripken fan, but I take my hat off to him.

It's not stupid to the team that gets the money for posting a player. pretty sure seibu is going to be upset if boston fails to reach a deal with matsuzaka. a revamped posting system would prevent something like this from happening. seibu would set a minimum bid, like a "reserve" on an auction. then, they're guaranteed to receive at least that much if a team reaches a deal with their player. Not a bad idea, but MLB would need protection from collusion on the other side. I don't think Seibu should receive $10m (pretending that's the minimum bid) simply because the player didn't sign a deal. The whole system is flawed, but I really don't have any answer to correcting it.

It might take even more than 7 guys, since Gallagher, Veal and the Cubs #3 pick could possibly be one of the best players in this year's draft could surpass Marmol in 3-4 years. This would be another perfect example of imcompetence of Cubs management to not work a deal for someone like Church. Maybe Washington his holding out for someone to overpay? Well, we've overpaid for Soriano, DeRosa, Lilly and Marquis, why not overpay for someone who won't cost you much more than minimum salary at a position you are extremely weak and trading from a position of strength. There is a lot of stuff we don't know about Jones (can he play CF everyday, does he want to be here anymore, is there a market for him), but he's currently the only person remotely capable of playing CF in 2007, assuming Pie needs another year of seasoning at AAA. Church can step right in, and it won't cost anyone currently on the 25 man roster. It's a no-brainer. Instead, Hendry (or whoever is calling the shots right now) is going to let Pittsburgh or Philadelphia swoop in and get him, leaving the Cubs to spend big money on an aging vet like Lofton, who we aren't sure can even play everyday, anymore. Overpay! Give them Marmol and Novoa. Give them Marmol and Ohman. Church is the one guy that just about everyone at NSBB is on board with acquiring. He is young, cheap, provides good OBP, hits left handed and can play any outfield position. A team that produces next to no positional major league talent is getting one (like Murton) handed to them for next to no visible loss in talent and it's not getting done. I know, I probably shouldn't jump the gun. It frustrates me that talks have broken down. I want to get really excited about an acquisition. DeRosa, Lilly and Marquis just isn't doing it for me. I really like Marmol. But, Jacque Jones could likely net even more than a Carlos Marmol type prospect if traded. Just get it done, already!

As long as the cost of a ticket comes out of the fans pocket, it wouldn't change a thing. A middle income family of 5 can't afford more than a game a year. The cost of tickets has become ridiculous. The reason tickets have become ridiculous is a vicious circle. Players demand a bigger percentage, the owners increase ticket prices to accomodate the players, and the fans of the game are the ones who suffer. It doesn't cost $40 a person to see a movie. At the same time, anyone making 1m or more a year to play any sport is making too much money for what they do. The question becomes how much it will be tolerated. The tolerance level is actually pretty mindboggling. The last strike definitely impacted the tolerance level, but not enough to change anything. Will there be a McGwire or Sosa to bring the fans back the next time there is a strike? I'm not so sure. I admit that my tolerance level for Juan Pierre was definitely impacted by the fact that it cost 3 prospects and nearly 6m for a 1 year rental, but he still would have frustrated me batting lead off all year if he was a minimum salary CFer. My frustration there isn't really on Pierre, but rather the GM who values what little tools he has, and the manager, who feels those tools are most valuable in the lead off spot. There is no cap in baseball, and there also isn't any uniformity. Free agency really kicked uniformity to the curb. If free agency didn't become so prominant, I'm sure there would still be 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier teams in regards to market size and visibility, but it really would be a thing of beauty if most of these teams could actually keep the players they drafted and groomed to be major league ballplayers. In other words, when the A's had too many long term major leaguers on the roster (Giambi, Tejada, Chavez, Hudson, Mulder, Zito, etc...) and needed to free up salary (because ticket prices are no more than $15-20 a seat), they could trade that talent to a team that can afford to take on salary, and the A's could get young talent in return rather than draft pick compensation, which has such a poor percentage of producing major league talent. What I really miss is baseball pre-free agency. And there really is a flaw in the system when a guy like David Wright can produce: .311 .381 .531 for $367K and a guy like Juan Pierre can produce: .292 .330 .388 and make $5.75m Granted, Wright hasn't reached his arby years yet, but it's just plain silly that a guy who is head over heals better at his job than someone who has been around for awhile gets less than 10X the amount of said veteran. Actually closer to 20X than 10X. I can't believe there isn't more rioting or protesting when a team like Pittsburgh trades off all their good players for prospects if the end result doesn't reduce ticket prices. When Florida cut their payroll in half or 2/3 (not sure how much they were before their latest fire sale), ticket prices should have been cut by that much as well. Maybe this doesn't answer your actual question, but I felt it needed to be said. I love the game and I'm more hooked now than I've ever been. But, there are a lot of things about this game that frustrate me to no end. That I know how much Pierre makes per year, and how overpaid he actually is bugs me, but it's more of how he was used and what he cost the team in talent that bugs me more. If that makes any sense. I can live with the salaries these guys make. I don't like it, but it's not what irritates me the most about this game. What irritates me the most is imcompetence of the people in charge. Valuing the wrong things and ignoring the true problems.

I think you both need to chill out. Because I knew Rich Hill before he was conceived.