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BigbadB

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  1. BigbadB
    Maybe I'm wrong, but to me that sounds like a very weak offer for an established MLB star with a good contract. If the Cubs were shopping Crawford we'd all want something more. I'm not saying that will get it done. But, Tampa needs pitching. They are well stocked with cheap young talent offensively. How many teams have a good, cheap and young front line starter to just give away for an outfielder that is a dime a dozen. At least a dime a dozen in comparison to studly front line starters that make league minimum.
  2. BigbadB
    Depends on what they use to grade CFers. Defensively, he is probably top 30%. Stealing bases, he's probably top 30%. Durability, he's probably top 30%. Slugging, well....... Is it top 30% of the free agent class, or is it top 30% of all CFers?
  3. BigbadB
    So, we should still receive compensation for Pierre. I won't mention Aramis, because I'm expecting Hendry to give him whatever he wants to stay.
  4. BigbadB
    I didn't know he was signed until 2010. But, the '09 and '10 club options are in line with what I would expect him to make after his arbitration years were up. I'll still say no team is going to give up a young front line starter for him. A package along the lines of a Sergio Mitre, Renyel Pinto and Ricky Nolasco might be enough. Depends on whether Tampa wants to go into the season with no pitching staff to speak of once again.
  5. BigbadB
    I thought my position was pretty clear :? . No, not a chance. As I mentioned a few times, a top-end MLB ready starter. There are only a handful in baseball and the Cubs have only one - Hill. I wouldn't make the deal, because the Cubs need pitching as much as hitting, even though I absolutely love Crawford. What team is going to trade a top-end MLB ready starter for a slightly above average, about to make a mint in arbitration and not all that far from FA outfielder? I can't think of a team that would do it. Therefore, the nicest package of major league ready prospects would likely get the job done if they truly want to fix their crowded outfield situation. They need pitching desperately.
  6. BigbadB
    If they didn't add another bat, but retained Aramis, they are essentially the same team they were last year, which isn't good enough. While, if healthy, they aren't truly as bad as their 2006 numbers reflect, they still weren't a middle of the pack offense if everyone was healthy. 2 bats AND Aramis would likely be necessary to make them one of the elite offenses in the NL. It will be much harder to fill the pitching holes, so going big on offense makes the most sense to me. Resign Ramirez, trade for Drew and sign Soriano and a lesser FA like Dave Roberts, Ray Durham, Mark Loretta or Julio Lugo and I think you have an elite offense. Soriano Lugo Lee Drew Ramirez Murton Barrett Pie When Pie proves he's ready to produce at the major league level, move him to 6th in the line up and Barrett is like a whole new #3 hitter, only deeper in the line up.
  7. BigbadB
    There aren't many 3b's in the league, available or not available, that outproduced Aramis this year. Only Miguel Cabrera outslugged him. Only Garrett Atkins and A-Rod had more RBI. If Aramis had Damon and Jeter hitting in front of him instead of Neifi and Pierre, no one would be ahead of him in RBI. No one had more HR's. Aramis had the best fielding percentage at 3b in the NL this year. He's 5th overall, but none of the guys ahead of him played as many games as he did. With his history of hammy problems, I don't want to see him pop it attempting to hurry a throw on a routine grounder. It's amazing how poorly people think of Aramis. The Cubs have an incredible history of not being able to put someone respectable at 3b, and now we want to ship one of the best 3b's in the major leagues out of town because he sort of has a reputation of not running out a ground ball or poor AVG with runners in scoring position with 2 outs. Unbelievable. I admit that I can't stand lack of hustle. But, the alternative to Aramis is decreased production. I can't stand decreased production a whole lot more than I can't stand lack of hustle. Period.
  8. BigbadB
    I was totally opposed to it, picking just about anybody not named Dusty over him. However, his comments about improving on base percentage and stats definitely perked my ears. I'm going to give him a chance.
  9. BigbadB
    And Murton was hitting nearly .400 in the minors prior to his call up in 2005. He continued to hit well with the parent club. He was doing fine in April and May. I don't disagree that time is needed when adjustments are made. However, in Murton's case, I see a direct correlation to Dusty calling out Murton publicly for not being aggressive enough and Murton's immediate slump. Murton was first pitch swinging during that stretch quite regularly. First pitch swinging was not his forte' prior to his slump. Yet, after Dusty's suggestion, Murton's game went in the toilet.
  10. BigbadB
    I didn't know Kemp was playing CF. He sure doesn't look like a CFer.
  11. BigbadB
    Yeah, that's the timeline I remember. Murton was told he was being too patient. Murton attempted to be more aggressive and his AVG slipped. After that, he was sharing time in LF with Bynum. If Baker/Clines helped Murton, there should have been no reason to sit him in favor of Bynum.
  12. BigbadB
    April: .286/.368 10 walks May: .286/.358 8 walks June: .212/.257 4 walks
  13. BigbadB
    Dusty didn't get on him for slumping. That's when Dusty decided to platoon him. Dusty got on him early in the season for being too patient. It was after that Murton's AVG started slipping.
  14. BigbadB
    ok, let me just say that how patient the reds hitters were is probably completely irrelevant. Did Chambliss make them patient? doubtful. I guess there is some benefit in not teaching patient hitters to be impatient but hendry is the man that needs to go get patient hitters. chambliss isn't going to turn jones into a walk machine. In a perfect world, the Jacque Jones' of the baseball world end up playing in some other outfield, far, far away from Chicago. Better players, like JD Drew, take his place. I really don't know the extent of what hitting coaches do for the players. But, I do know that early in the 2006 season, Dusty was getting on Murton for being too patient, which, IMO, induced his slump. Baker stressed aggressiveness. I doubt that the hitting coach stressed the opposite.
  15. BigbadB
    Considering how patient the Reds bats were under Chambliss, I'll happily welcome him to Wrigley. Hopefully, he doesn't change anything in wake of his firing.
  16. BigbadB
    I could listen to Anita Baker do the National Anthem all day long. Wow, what a voice! In case anyone missed it, she did the SSB for game 2.
  17. BigbadB
    Ya, he did. He looked just like this: b Funny, but backwards. The dude singing looked 10-15 years older than me. I'm almost positive it was Bob Seger, age 61. Thanks. I wonder who looks good for their age, because I'm 18 years younger than Seger.
  18. BigbadB
    Tejada after the 03 season. Beltran after 04. Abreu 06 deadline. To me, having Alex Gonzalez, an expensive Sosa, and a losing team in those respective years are not reasons to let great bats go without giving much of an effort. I will forgive the Vlad thing with a still somewhat good Sosa and Alou. I cannot forgive the Vlad thing. Sosa's defensive skills had reduced him to nothing more than an average/below average LFer by that time. Felipe Alou had just taken the San Francisco Giants job, which made it easy to move Alou to the Giants. Vlad in RF and Sosa to LF. Sosa was horrible in RF and Alou ended up in San Fran anyway via FA. Vlad is not here.
  19. BigbadB
    Ya, he did. He looked just like this: b Funny, but backwards. The dude singing looked 10-15 years older than me.
  20. BigbadB
    Does anyone know who sang the opening at Game 1? I had about 3 people tell me that it was the splitting image of me, just 10-15 years older.
  21. BigbadB
    Link That's one way of looking at it. However, they lose out on compensation for Aramis and Pierre.
  22. BigbadB
    Good point. With BJ Upton likely playing 3b, Cedeno could have some appeal. I think they really want pitching. I can't think of any teams that will give up a front line starter for Crawford. Renyel Pinto, Sergio Mitre and Ricky Nolasco for Crawford seems like a good deal. Oh, wait. Nevermind. Marshall, Cedeno and Novoa is where I would start. They'll likely start with Hill, Marshall and Cedeno. Crawford is definitely of interest to me.
  23. BigbadB
    Because they need to. Actually, I'm okay with Izturis and Theriot as the utility infielders. If this team wants to improve the offense, they can't pencil in horrible OBP guys like Izturis or relative unknowns like Theriot. For those expecting Theriot to continue to hit like he did in 2006, I'll quickly remind you that Cedeno did enough in 2005 to have our support with a starting job in 2006. Neifi Perez did enough at the end of 2004 to have management's support in 2005 and beyond. Theriot is basically an unknown. I'd rather go with a known commodity. Also, if there is a spot open for Izturis or Theriot, I have no faith that Lou would give the nod to Theriot over Izturis. Izturis has a slick glove, therefore his offensive deficiencies will be forgiven.
  24. BigbadB
    Marshall, Gallagher and Mateo or something comparable is probably what I think Tampa would want in return. The negotiating may start with Hill.
  25. BigbadB
    I'm not sure. If that was the only change, I could easily see it passed off as minor. Baseball media in general ignores the draft. I'd view it as major. A lot of players go unsigned late into the offseason, as teams await the arbitration deadline to avoid giving up compensation. A lot of players get avoided by teams that don't want to pay top dollar for a free agent AND give up draft picks. Removing free agent draft compensation changes things in a huge way, IMO.
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