BigbadB

We know what they do when they want guys out. Apparently, they still haven't learned from Patterson and Sosa. I really don't understand the concept of destroying a guys value to the point he is worthless in trade.

Did you ever hear me say we need a 3rd shortstop or a 3rd catcher? I never said we did. Bullpen guys are trained to be effective for an inning or two at the most. With only 4 starters, why make all of your bullpen arms guys who only have the capability to pitch an inning or two when a guy might be needed to pitch 4 or 5? I'll make a wager with you right now that the Cubs WILL NOT handicap the team going into this season with only 4 starters and nothing but short relievers. It's not going to happen. And why won't it happen? And if you think it will happen, what shall the wager be?

Sure, you can call someone up, but what good does that do you when you are out of bullpen arms and the game is going to extra innings? This is like the situation with Macias last year. He was lauded as the 3rd catcher, but it was a worthless title. Macias was ALWAYS used before Blanco, so his use as a 3rd catcher was absolutely pointless. The hypotheticals you bring up are pretty far-fetched to be making roster decisions off of. With the injuries this team suffers, I don't know how any Cub fan can call any hypothetical too far fetched.

When was the last time the Cubs DIDN'T have a long man in the bullpen for security? I don't know. Either way, you don't save a spot specifically for a longman. Especially not when you have 7 relievers. If things get off to a rough start, go ahead and make some moves. But you don't purposefully handicap your roster because of hypotheticals. It's not purposefully handicapping your roster because of hypotheticals. It's being prepared.

I'm just saying, if you are going North with only 4 starting pitchers, one of your bullpen guys needs to be able to go 4 or 5 innings. You can disagree with me all you want, but it won't change my opinion. If they had 5 starters healthy in April, you may not need that long man in the pen. But, with only 4, someone has to be able to step up out of the pen.

Sure, you can call someone up, but what good does that do you when you are out of bullpen arms and the game is going to extra innings?

When was the last time the Cubs DIDN'T have a long man in the bullpen for security?

Hypothetical: Zambrano goes 6 innings and throws 110 pitches. He's pinch hit for in the bottom of the 6th. Game becomes tied and ends up going 14 innings. That's 8 innings from the bullpen. Maddux gives up 10 runs in 1.1 innings. He obviously doesn't have anything decent and this game is already way out of hand. You can leave Maddux in, but why stretch him anymore than the 75 pitches he's already thrown? So, now you have to use the entire bullpen to finish up the last 7.2 innings of this game. Next game, Rusch fouls a pitch off his ankle in his first at bat and cannot continue in the game. The bullpen now has to work another 5 to 7 innings. Wouldn't it be nice if you weren't completely wearing out the bullpen in Maddux' meaningless blow out game? The bullpen might have been able to be sharp covering for Rusch. You have 4 starters, 7 bullpen guys and 1 long relief man for bullpen protection. Sure, my hypothetical is far fetched. But, it's not impossible. It's also not impossible to have back to back extra inning affairs. And it's not unreasonable to think that there might be a 1 1/2 hour rain delay after the 1st inning of an April game that would send your starter to the showers early, forcing you to use the bullpen for that entire game as well. There is room at the end of the bench for a spot starter/long relief guy, even if he isn't all that good. Rain happens, injuries happen and extra inning games happen. The extra arm is more important than the extra bat, IMO.

Seldom doesn't mean never. In 2004, the Cubs and Reds had nearly back to back games in early April with an 11-10 win and a 11-10 loss. It only takes one game where the wind blows out to knock a starter out in the first couple of innings. But, it's not just occasional winds blowing out. It's the chance someone tweaks something, extra innings, rain delays. Rain delays happen a lot in April.

I didn't say you asked him to do it. Dusty is the manager. I don't want Dusty taxing the few starters we have in April because he's afraid to use his bullpen. If you don't have to use the long man, great. But, he should be there for blow out games just the same.

We'll just have to disagree on this one, Goony. Starters aren't in full season form at the beginning of the year. Letting Zambrano throw 120 pitches in the first few weeks is just asking for trouble.

Besides the high scoring games from high winds, you also have extra inning games, rain delays. One of your few starters could take a come backer that could knock them out of the game. It's just poor planning, IMO, to not have a guy in the bullpen that you can send out there for 4 or 5 innings. Not to mention the fact you have Dusty Baker managing this club. Do you want to see him sending Williamson out there for more than an inning at a time? Did you see how Baker used Chad Fox last year?

Because you need someone to be able to go long innings on short notice. In April, the winds blow out a lot. Do you want Maddux giving up 12 runs in 5 innings or do you want Jon Koronka giving up 12 runs in 5 innings? Do you want to tax the entire bullpen by making them all pitch extended innings in back to back games? If the wind is blowing out, everyone outside of Zambrano can get torched. I'd rather see a scrub gobble up those innings rather than a much needed starter or bullpen arm.

Wow, 9? Unless his career goes through an unexpected nose dive, you may want to reconsider your rankings. 9th is probably pretty fair. Another strike against him is that he is playing on a bad offensive team and half of his games in a bad park to hit. I'd take Edwin Encarnacion over Zimmerman just for park effects alone. With the way Tony Clark played last year, Conor Jackson will not be a regular everyday player.

I'm just a seasoned veteran in this league at 42.

It's also not out of the realm of possibility that one of: Miller,Wood or Prior could be ready. I'm guessing Blueheart is right on what the rotation will look like in early April. And I believe Prior might still be back shortly after that, if not, Hill will get a start unless Guzman or some other kid is absolutely dominating at the time. Even if Blueheart's rotation is accurate, they will need a long man in the bullpen.

It's not that they didn't have Sammy's money to spend, it's how they spent it. A lot of players got raises this year, and a lot of other players were paid much more than they deserve.

Let's get Hill and Menechino and keep Walker. We could start a different 2b every day of the week.

Wow! I guess it's down to Geoff Blum, Mark Bellhorn and Josh Barfield in San Diego for that 2b job.

I'm in the same boat as you, Raw. I didn't think I'd find what I was hoping to in that thread, so I didn't read it. I'm going to assume Prior is okay, and all these injury rumors are just to better the Cubs odds in Vegas.

Have there been any Nic Jackson sightings this Spring, or is he completely done?

Nice post CIE! We have a very similar history with this organization. The strike is what made me walk away from the game for awhile. The steroid induced home run barrage is what brought me back, sadly enough. I've been cheering the Cubs since Milt Pappas threw his no hitter. That is still a top 5 moment in all of my years of watching Cub baseball. Fantasy baseball is probably what most likely lifted my interest in the game to an all new level. I read your stuff at Cubs.com, and I still enjoy reading your stuff here at NSBB. But, more interest in the minor league organization has also helped my interest level. My interest in the game has taken a hit. I'm not excited for the start of this season. I have made no effort at all to land tickets to Cub games in Arizona, San Diego or Los Angeles. To look at where we were in 2003 and to where we are now in 2006 is depressing to me. The farm system is weakened by trades for players in the last year of their current contracts. Big money has been spent on guys who have probably already had their best year somewhere else. Injuries, injuries, injuries. Someone's going to break their nail today and need to go on the DL for the next month and a half. It's saddening. I've watched the current manager reward poor play by getting another start tomorrow. I've watched him put the worst possible choice to lead off in the lead off spot. Not just once, but consistently. I've watched him leave starting pitchers in the game well after the outcome has been determined. The direction of this team this offseason was one that I do not agree with at all. The focus to improve speed and defense was the wrong choice. If it was 1930 or maybe even 1975, that might be the right way to go. However, it is 2006. Baseball stadiums are built like phone booths nowadays and the power teams who put runs on the board and the pitching staff that keeps the ball from leaving the yard will be the teams that stand the best chances to win. During my return to the game, players contacts have reached a whole new level. A-Rod has won what so far with his 250m contract? That's what I thought. It's a team game. Always has been. Ticket prices soar year after year making it nearly impossible for a middle income family of 4 or 5 to afford to attend a game. All the controversy surrounding the game these days has certainly stripped the game of it's "national pastime" status. Foreign born players who have the gift to play baseball better than most come to this country and have handed to them the "american dream", yet they are so selfish of anyone around them to even remotely consider switching positions for the benefit of the team. No, it's not all foreign born players. But, the selfish behavior of Alfonso Soriano, who wouldn't be making 100K playing professional baseball in the Dominican Republic can come to our country and dictate where and when he plays, and that turns me off even further. Sammy not wanting to hit 6th in the order was another instance that angered me to no end. I'm still hanging in there, but the future of this organization is looking a bit grim to me. I'm not a fan of several players on this team. I'm not even close to being as excited as I was in 2003. It wasn't just coming oh so close in 2003 either. I felt this organization was in a position to win year after year for the next umpteen years because of the depth of the minor leagues and the available cash to spend. Facinatingly enough, I can't place any blame at all on the Tribune. They have opened up the purse strings more and more each year of the 2000's. The ineptitude of the current regime is where I place all the blame. Juan Pierre is probably going to be a pretty good lead off hitter for us this year. However, he will likely only be the 2nd best lead off hitter this team has had during this decade. I doubt many can even name the best lead off hitter the Cubs have had this century. Many people scoff at me whenever I mention his name. I'll go ahead and mention his name. Mark Bellhorn. Table setter du jour. He scored 78 runs in less than a half season of at bats in 2002. What would Dusty do? Attempt to turn him into a bottom of the order RBI man. :roll: People aren't going to agree with a lot of this post, and it would go on forever if I attempted to list all the things I feel are wrong with this organization. Bottom line, my interest is waning badly. I need Cedeno and Murton and Lee and Prior and Zambrano to breathe some air into the fire. The problem is that if they end up winning with this team, a team I'm not real fond of in general will have accomplished something I didn't really think they had a chance of doing, which only disproves my theories on how a team should be put together and how an organization should be run. I'm not attempting to say that I could run an organization better than the current regime. I just don't like their philosophies as much as I like other teams philosophies. If Neifi Perez is playing everyday and hitting at the top of the order, I'll find myself turning off the tv and finding something else to do with my spare time. I've dedicated too much time to this game already to believe that anything good can come from it. I love the Cubs and I love the game. But, I haven't been this frustrated since I walked away from the game during the last strike. Another one of those strikes is probably not all that far off. If they can't use steroids to bring the fans back to the stadiums next time, what will they use?

Unfortunately, this organization hasn't given me any reason to believe they value OBP in the 2 hole, so I don't think the word "paranoia" is appropriate. See how many at bats Neifi got at the top of the order last year and then defend that number of at bats.

You may be right, but trading Walker for basically nothing in return (considering how no teams have shown much interest) is probably the worst idea of all of them. I'd rather have Walker coming off the bench to pinch hit or spot start than have Neifi pinch hitting or spot starting ahead of someone like Luis Matos (rumor only). I just don't think you trade a relatively cheap bat if you aren't going to get equal return.

Horrible trade. Why on Earth would the Cubs need Matos? If that trade happens, this teams bench will not be any sort of a threat to any opposing teams relievers. Hairston and Jones can occupy CF if for some weird reason Pierre doesn't play in 156 or more games. I think I'd actually rather go with Grissom than Matos, and that's not saying much.