BigbadB

Whoops. No, I meant 1998. A .337 team OBP is pretty good, actually.

No, I'm not. I was attempting to show how well the Cubs did with a really good OBP in 1989 in comparison to the rest of the league. I just threw the pitching stuff on the end because it shows that the Cubs were able to win a lot of games with a good offense and bad pitching. The Cubs walked A LOT that year.

Which makes Theriot an awesome bench guy. He's super cheap, and could potentially step into the everyday job and provide even better production than the guy he's replacing. Lugo and DeRosa with Theriot backing both of them up. Izturis is traded to anyone looking for a guy who can catch the ball.

More threads like this please. Let's pound OBP into his skull.

I think a couple years back Tim had an article on the front page that showed a slew of stats' statistical correlation with runs scored...and guess what, OBP had the highest correlation. Anyone want to try to find that? You have to go back to 1998 to find a Cub team that scored 800+ runs. That team went to the playoffs. And the pitching staff in 1998 was NOT good. Kevin Tapani had a 19-9 record with a 4.85 ERA. Score enough runs, and you can make a mediocre pitcher look good in the win column.

And I think I'll survive going after mediocre OBP guys if they would just keep guys like Neifi and Izturis out of the top spots in the batting order. If you can't get on base at a .350+ clip, you are a bottom of the order hitter. Period.

They eye roll smiley doesnt work as well when you are mocking somewhat solid points. Its not Soriano who set the market, heck he was asking for Beltran money, Hendry gave him MORE than he was asking for. And although we do not know for sure we can assume that no other GM was willing to come anywhere near what Hendry offered. 1)The signing happened so early in the offseason. 2)The signing materialized so quickly. Soriano's agent isn't dumb, he and Hendry talked Saturday. He then took the offer the cubs had on the table and shopped in around to others teams that were interested. He was met with a resounding "Hell NO", and then quickly accepted Sunday morning. If he was even met with an apprehensive "maybe", it wouldn't have materialized so quickly. That right there shows that Hendry really doesn't understand OBP. :shock: Oh my god. The Cubs also finished 4th in AB's. That's because no one walks!! Pittsburgh: 1921 base runners (hits and walks only) Cubs: 1891 base runners I'm not asking to lead the league in BB's. Just quit finishing dead last. 8th would at least be respectable. But, they'd need to walk 136 times more than they did last year to reach 8th. As far as hits, they only needed 19 hits to finish 2nd overall in hits. Timely hitting? Uh no. The teams that get issued the most free passes along with a batting average like the Cubs put up in 2006 are the teams that score the most runs. The team that led the league in runs in 2006 had the best OBP in the NL. The Cubs had a better AVG than the team that scored the most runs in the NL last year. The difference in runs scored is 149 by the two teams, or nearly 1 run per game. Timely hitting factors on a much smaller scale than just getting guys on base. OBP and SLG should be the most important things when analyzing players to add to your roster. The Cubs have been dead last in walks the last 2 years. They haven't finished above 13th in walks since 2002. Try it! I think you'll like it.

Other than the amount of money being discussed, I hope Floyd comes to Chicago.

Not sure what McGehee's k/bb rate is in the minors, but I'm impressed with this kid. Looks like he has the tools to be a pretty decent major league hitter. His glove doesn't appear to be all that, however.

Who is our current 4th outfielder? Angel Pagan or Freddie Bynum? I'm a huge fan of Murton, but Murton can't beat this: Floyd last 3 years against RHP: .277/.369/.498/.867 It doesn't necessarily have to be an exact platoon, but I'm all for adding Floyd and getting him some at bats against RHP. Floyd not on the team< Floyd on the team Not to mention the fact that if someone were to get hurt (most likely Floyd of the current bunch we have :D ), you have someone solid coming off the bench to pick up the slack. Floyd is another guy who would not have much business batting against LHP, but Floyd might be a guy who could spell Derrek Lee at 1b occasionally as well.

David Wright will be available in 4 years. :D

I have no qualms with that opt out clause. I'm in agreement that it might be a good thing. If you read Tim's article about Aramis, I think there is definitely some substance to his premise that Aramis could decline quickly. I'd like to think he won't, but once a guy gets into his 30's, big money becomes a big gamble. I think Soriano is a bit of a different situation. He's got great speed and a very athletic body. To me, he has the capability to play later into his career than Aramis. Aramis is slow now. Imagine how slow he'll be if he can't keep his weight down. It can also impact his range at 3b. And he certainly doesn't have the best of range now as it is.

I'm curious what Hendry might do if he loses out on Schmidt. Will he look at Drew some more since there won't be a top notch SP to add? In other words, what will be Plan B if Schmidt isn't doable?

Call me crazy, but I think I'd rather have Bynum. Watching Counsell's stance in the batters box makes me want to :pukel:

Schmidt hasn't been listed on many of my wish lists this offseason because I didn't think he was realistic. But, hey! If Hendry gets Schmidt, I'll freak!

I have to admit that I was very upset with the Jacque signing last year. I thought it would really handcuff the team in the coming years. I'm happy to say I was completely wrong about that. The Cubs are sitting pretty with Jones at this point. They can keep him or they can move him. If they elect to move him, he should net a really nice return. If GMJ is going to get 11-13m a year, what team wouldn't rather trade for Jones at 4-5m? The Cubs have some trade chips now. Jones, Izturis, Barrett, bullpen arms and pitching prospects. If they can't get what is needed on the FA market, they should be able to upgrade through trades.

If Lugo is going to be 8m per, I'm quite pleased we are out of the picture. I like the guy, but not that much.

Nevin will be looking for a starting job somewhere. If he can't get one, it's a possibility that he could end up back here. He's very versatile. He can fill in at 3b, 1b, COF, and catcher, none all that well. :D But, he does have a respectable bat. Klesko is another option. He probably won't be an A or B and a lot of teams might pass on him as well. Klesko would have to prove he's healthy, though. Both would be good bench options.

When did the splits feature get added to that site, or am I just an idiot for never noticing that before?

My lengthy post was not about DeRosa. It was about making the team better. It's debatable whether DeRosa will be better than Theriot. But, DeRosa at least has a large enough sample size to argue in his favor. DeRosa is most definitely better than either Izturis or Cedeno. I'm not so sure Hendry or Piniella value Theriot higher than either of those two, so is it an upgrade to have DeRosa at 2nd over Cedeno? ABSOLUTELY. DeRosa can play multiple positions. As a platoon with Jones in RF, he can be very valuable. As a 4th outfielder, he is valuable. As a back up for Ramirez or Lee, he's a whole heck of a lot more valuable than John Mabry. As a 2b, I'll agree with you that he isn't someone to get overly excited about. If it was going to cost much more for a better upgrade at 2b and Soriano and Drew or Soriano and Manny is no longer doable, who is upset now? The Cubs have made it clear that they still want 2 BIG bats and two arms. DeRosa isn't standing in the way. If EPatt shows he belongs in the big leagues anytime within the next 3 years, DeRosa isn't standing in the way. If Drew and Soriano ended up wearing a Cub uniform in 2007, DeRosa at 2nd is not going to hurt much. I fell into the Cedeno trap last year. I felt he could handle a starting job. I'm not so willing to play that game again without significant upgrades elsewhere. Theriot isn't Cedeno. But, he is still somewhat of an unknown. I can understand Hendry's hesitancy to do this also. His last offseason earned him a last place finish. My post wasn't about DeRosa. It was about getting better across the board. DeRosa is a better bench option already than any player that was a bench player last year. Maybe that won't be his true role, but I'm going to give Hendry the benefit of the doubt for the time being. If DeRosa ends up being our most significant addition, I'll be right there with you with the torches.

So a top free agent is going to sign because the cubs signed DeRosa? doubtful. I don't know if Hendry has a plan in place and is fitting the pieces together. I sure hope so. Hard to give him the benefit of the doubt after the last two offseasons though. I have said all along that the DeRosa move has to be put in context. Hendry definitely overpaid and I'm just praying he isn't the starting 2b. Active teams tend to get more attention. I wasn't really referring to DeRosa. But, since you mention it, I'm not really dogging DeRosa like everyone else is. He wasn't on my list of choices for 2b, but some of Hendry's bold past moves worked out fairly decent, so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt on that one. Hendry has been busy. He managed to work a deal for Ramirez. He re-upped Miller and Wood, made a few trades and the Cubs seem to be listed as interested in every FA on the market. I like the vibe I'm hearing from the Cub camp this offseason. Can't say the same about previous years. Hendry, this offseason, kind of reminds me of a a player in the last year of their contract. They seem to always be better in that year where the fat, long term deal lurks. I can only hope we continue seeing this aggressiveness in the future. It's almost as if Hendry takes on the personality of his manager. Dusty was ho-hum, and Piniella is intense. Hendry was ho-hum the past few offseasons and this season he appears to be intense. There is no way you can sit there and say he's done nothing this offseason. Hendry has bid 30m on Mats, is rumored to have said he will not be outbid by ANYBODY for Soriano, has been mentioned as one of two teams serious about Drew, is mentioned in talks for pitching, like Westbrook and Marquis. Signed a guy to play 2b. Who is really signed at this point? Soriano? Nope. Drew? Nope. Bonds? Nope. The Cubs have arguably been the busiest team this offseason. I'll be first on the list to bash on him some more if he doesn't get some of the guys he's after. But, I'll hold off judgment for now, because he is not the same Hendry that went into the '04 and '05 offseasons at this point. I think he's actually waking from a 2 year coma.

I don't buy the rumor at all. Meanwhile, I get excited everytime I hear that Hendry is looking at one of the top FA. I'd be shocked if Drew signed that deal. If he did, it likely means he really wanted to play in Boston. In this money crazy market, he's worth more than that. As far as signing DeRosa and other role player moves, I hate to say it, but these guys typically get signed much earlier than the top tier guys. the semi-decent one's anyway. There's not nearly the market for these guys and if a good deal comes along, they are wise to take it. Plus, if Hendry sat on his hands waiting to spend all the dough on top free agents and not fixing the rest of the team, the top FA's might not see the team as a place to sign if they aren't serious about being competitive. I'm certainly not a Hendry apologist by any means. But, I'm not about to let this rumor get me all worked up. Hendry should be talking to all the agents of the top tier FA's. He needs to make them well aware how interested he is in each player, and to make sure they don't forget. Hopefully, he gets 1 or 2 of them.

Might as well be "Z". If he'll count towards a FA signing, I'll pass.

Florida got more in every trade they made last year, and they covet Willis much moreso than the guys they traded last year. I don't see any truth to this rumor.

I have to admit that I like his sound bites. A pleasant change from Dusty's nonchalant "we need some good players, I think I'll go fishing."