BigbadB

I'd lean towards 100 losses if the other choice is .500. The trade deadline is July 31st. Some good players on this team could be gone by that time, which only further weakens any chance of a .500 season. If anyone came calling on Maddux, Jones, Williamson, Walker, Perez, Rusch, Eyre, Dempster, Howry, Pierre, Murton, Bynum, Pagan, Mabry, etc... Actually, it would probably be easier to say anyone not named Lee, Aramis and Barrett..... I'm all ears.

Was Chacon the guy who started the 19-1 game?

I can't blame Hendry for not signing Furcal. I can blame him for spending almost the entire offseason courting him when he already had a shortstop. RF was a gaping hole in the 2004 offseason and instead of looking to make a deal to fill the biggest gaping hole in the offense, he signed a poor stopgap in Jeromy Burnitz. Hendry ignored that Burnitz' offense in 2004 was mostly generated by playing half his games in Coors Field. The only other team in baseball even remotely considering Burnitz was Pittsburgh, a low rent, bottom feeder team. Where is Burnitz this year? If the gaping hole in RF wasn't enough for the entire 2005 season, instead of addressing it at the trade deadline or immediately in the offseason, Hendry camped out on SS Rafael Furcal's doorstep the entire offseason. While he was serenading Furcal, he was kicking Nomar to the curb. When he finally got around to addressing the biggest gaping hole in the offense, he basically had to settle for whatever was left of Reggie Sanders, Juan Encarnacion and Jacque Jones. And instead of going stop gap with Jones, he signed him to a lucrative, long-term deal. Just what the Cubs needed, a 3 year stop gap at a position that is supposed to be one of the most offensively productive positions in baseball. Instead of valuing OBP at the top of the order, he targeted speed. Pierre was coming off a .326 OBP season. The red flags were raised, but Hendry ignored them and sent 3 young pitching prospects for a poor OBP lead off hitter in the final year of his contract. You make a deal like that at the trade deadline in a pennant race, not in the offseason. After this season, Pierre will probably be gone, and Mitre, Pinto and Nolasco will still be somewhere else. Instead of having strong bargaining chips to deal for "good" players, Hendry is left holding an empty bag. The red flags that were raised prior to this deal have come to fruition. Pierre is having an even worse year than his previous season. I'm not so sure that Pierre will even qualify as a Type A free agent. A lead off hitter that doesn't get on base any better than Alex Sanchez isn't a major league caliber player. Alex Sanchez is in the minor leagues as I write this. What would it have cost for Alex Sanchez (not that I would want him in CF either)? Juan Pierre for 3 prospects and 6m or Alex Sanchez for less than a million and a no name, never-will-be minor leaguer? Hmmm. It's too bad that there is no one in this organization that has enough of a clue to see just how poorly this organization is being run. Someone with a clue could probably do something good with a tremendous payroll at their fingertips.

Does Clemens really have 92 pitches after 4 innings of work?

Lamb 3rd and Ensberg 6th? Wow, that's a very Dustyish line up.

:D

If everyone agreed with everything I said (which they should), even I wouldn't like it around here. It would become quite boring agreeing with everything that was said.

Hooray to Williamson. It will cost him his job and playing time, but someone with a microphone needed to say it.

Patterson could have had a change of scenery without every taking off his jersey. A new coaching staff to match the entirely new front office could have done wonders for Corey.

Take that, Dusty! Fired my entire bullpen today. Figured I better get some better protection for my 9 starts this coming week. Fuzzy's on a roll.

Nice!

Good article. This organization needs a thorough cleansing, top to bottom.

Can't say I didn't warn you. :P Damn bottomfeeder. You did turn around that team pretty fast. I'm in fire sale mode, not turnaround mode. :D

Maybe the fans were booing the whole team because Jones has clearly been one of our best hitters this season. :wink:

If for no other reason than the fact Palmeiro ratted out Tejada. He might as well get started writing his own book. Well, wait. Maybe he should wait until he's been rejected from the Hall of Fame first.

Can't say I didn't warn you. :P

I guess that means Weaver will be a Cub very soon.

Like we Cub fans have any room to talk. :D

Welcome to the forum. Let's hope someone upstairs noticed the importance of increasing base runners.

What exactly did he say that was any worse than what you said here? He didn't even use any different words than the ones you used. You both know better than that.

How about following your own advice?

Quoted for truth. Except in reality, that's not true. Nevin is hitting .231/.310/.346 in the last 7 days, with 1 RBI. And that's playing everyday, while Murton has been a pinch runner and occasional pinch hitter. Phil's got 1 extra base hit in his last 9 games, many of them against LHP. And Murton hits better than him against LHP. Nevin had an extremely brief (not to mention mild) hot streak when he first started playing for the Cubs. But he's been ice cold since, and has been ice cold for most of the year, and just as cold last year. He's a pinch hitter at best. If he's going to help the team, it's by getting an at bat a game hitting for the pitcher, and the occasional start. Anything more than that hurts the team's chances, both now, and in the future. I quoted it for truth because Dusty sees Nevin as the player that can help him improve his record much moreso than Murton no matter what the splits. I was in total agreement with the poster I quoted because of that. Not because I think Nevin should be playing over Murton.

Go for it this year. Trade some of your minor leaguers for better pitching. With such a shortage of exempt players on your roster, a Brandon Wood and Delmon Young package to a bottom feeder team might net a couple of good starting pitchers to win your league. Next year, your roster will be depleted because of the low cap and scarcity of exempt players. You will also get a poor draft slot. I say go for the gusto and win your league this year. Then rebuild.

There is also the possibility that a team signs a player prior to the arbitration deadline. However, I do not see that happening with Pierre. Just beg some team to give you whatever you can get and call it good. Another lesson learned. Wow. Cubs brass should be the most lesson learning group in baseball at this point.

Quoted for truth.