BigbadB

Maybe I am just a bit hazy here, but can I see this quote please? I don't remember it. Based on the fact that he pursued Furcal and Pierre out of the gates, or is there something else I am missing? Again, is there some sort of quote where he said this? I don't remember seeing it. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to go hunting for old newspaper articles quoting Hendry and his comments about Giles. Bruce Miles mentioned the age thing, and I really don't recall whether Bruce was speculating or was quoting an actual comment by Hendry, therefore no disrespect to the messenger. I saw the "bidding war" comment on ESPN Insider Rumor Central. Hendry basically stated he would not get into a bidding war for Giles. I saw it. If you wish to doubt me, feel free. I don't make stuff up, however. I don't think I have ever given anyone any reason to believe I make stuff up.

And joining the Yankees would have meant switching leagues and playing CF. The Yankees seemed like they were only posturing Giles to drive up his price. They didn't seem all that serious about Giles, and defensively, it was probably a good idea that they didn't. Never said a word about 1 year. The going rate appeared to be 3 years for Giles. I'm just pointing out all the evidence that suggests Hendry wasn't all that interested in Giles. Evidence can be pointed out that Giles had no interest in playing for the Cubs. It's pretty much been beaten to death. Fact of the matter is, none of us really knows, but does that mean I should automatically assume that Giles had no interest in playing for the Cubs when there is plenty of evidence that suggests that, just maybe, Hendry had no interest in going after Giles? Because you do? I can respect your opinion on Giles availability. Why do you constantly question mine?

Who had more money to spend on free agents this offseason than the Cubs? The Cubs had somewhere in upwards of 40m to spend. Would it have been in the best interest of Brian Giles and his agent to posture to get the best deal possible, but exclude the Cubs and all their cash to get that good deal? Not only did Hendry state he wouldn't get into a bidding war for Giles, but he also seemed more intent to settle the lead off spot than land a big bat. He also showed some concern about Giles age. Most everything lends towards Hendry not being interested than Giles not being interested.

How old is he now?

It's comments like this that always leave me scratching my head. You don't know that. And it's comments like this that always leave me scratching my head. You don't know whether they did or didn't. But, we have direct words from Jim Hendry that state he would NOT get into a bidding war for Giles. Good thing, too. I'm much happier they outbid everyone for Mr. Jacque Jones?

Stick around for what? Dunn stands to make more than 10m a year, and Cincinnati isn't a team that will be able to give that to him. If I was Dunn, and after seeing what the free agent market looks like for 2007, I would most definitely test the market.

Way below. But, the Gold Glove, for unknown reasons, gives defensive merit for offensive prowess. Ask Rafael Palmeiro. With that in mind, Pujols probably finished 3rd in the GG voting last year at 1b.

I'll agree the bullpen has better arms than in past years, but I am not the slightest bit assured that Dusty knows how to effectively use them.

Yeah, you won't see my picks until a few days before opening day.

I could actually deal with Jones in LF if Abreu was in the other corner.

Miguel Cabrera will be due for a boost in salary next year. I'm sure Florida won't want to fork out the cash. :D

I'd be interested in what Williams could net in return. What position would Hendry upgrade? Seems like the only option is LF or SS. Would he really turn Jones and his newly signed 5m contract into a platoon? I don't see it. I know he should considering his splits against lefty hitters, but what you will likely see Dusty do when a lefty is on the mound is move Jones down in the order, not bench him. He can catch the ball, afterall. :roll: Murton or Cedeno will pay the price if Williams is traded. If Williams gets moved at this point, it's probably likely to happen at the trade deadline. But, he'll need some rotation starts and be effective to make it worth trading him.

They aren't "passionate to avoid arbitration". 90% of players don't go to arbitration regardless of the team, so it's not hard to be perfect. And like I said before, their poor moves don't reflect a lack of passion or effort, it's just misguided passion or effort. Well, I won't argue that point. I will agree that they appear to be misguided.

I interpreted what they author was attempting to say as "I wish this team had as much determination for building a winning team as they appear to give in avoiding arbitration." In other words, they are passionate to avoid arbitration. They don't appear to be as passionate to build a winning team when they give out 5m contracts to utility infielders when there are gaping holes in the offense.

\:D/

Why the Red Sox? I'm picking the Red Sox. I really like Crisp, Loretta, Manny, Oritz at the top of the order. Watch Loretta put up a .400+ OBP this year. His career high is only .391. But, he's never had guys like Manny and Ortiz hitting behind him. And he's moving from an extreme pitchers park to an extreme hitters park. I like Boston's pitching staff better too.

I suppose that depends on whether one is satisfied that the additions of Jacque Jones, Scott Eyre, Juan Pierre, John Mabry and Bob Howry was worthy enough of an improvement to be a playoff caliber team. I suppose it also depends on whether having more than 40m to spend this offseason, lots of trade commodity, and plenty of available players on the market to improve the team and the moves that were made met your satisfaction. I don't think any member of our community that isn't happy with the moves made this offseason really deserves the catch phrase "faulty logic". I don't think anyone who wishes to be optimistic about this offseason deserves it either. Since 2003, this team has taken a step backwards. They did win a game or two more in 2004, but the team was more poorly run than the team that took the field in 2003. They were clearly more talented, also. But, 2004 did not feature playoffs like 2003 did, so yes, 2004 was a step backwards. 2005 was a horrible year to be a Cub fan. Not all blame should be pointed at management. Injuries did factor in. As far as I was concerned, the stars were all in alignment this offseason. A big splash could have been made to improve this team. They had the resources to make a big impact improving this team. Instead, they went with a modest approach. Whether an argument could be made that players could have been attained or not is not what I am going to debate. We do know that many talented players were available this offseason and maybe no other team outside of the LA Dodgers had more money to spend this offseason than the Cubs. I think this offseason was filled with mistakes right out of the gate. Sending Nomar packing was not a good idea. He would have been fairly cheap to bring back and he seemed to have a chip on his shoulder to do Chicago right. I'd much rather have seen Nomar's bat in RF this coming season than Jacque Jones. Well, I'd rather have seen his bat at the plate behind Lee and Aramis anyway, but you get my point. I would have much rather seen him have a healthy season with the Cubs than with the Dodgers. That does remain to be seen, but it was a gamble worth taking. With Cedeno and Perez, SS had 3 capable players. Nomar could have moved to RF and he also would have been a nice replacement at 3b if Aramis got hurt. If he misses most of 2006 due to injury, then I deserve a heaping helping of crow. But, I think he's going to have a healthy season and many of us will regret that we didn't hang onto him. Especially when he's ouproducing Jacque Jones by a healthy margin. I do think this team is better than last year. But, I don't think it's enough. The whole season is riding on the starting staff. Based on past history, not a good idea. When I look at the list of players that could have been obtained this offseason, and then I see a line up that features Jacque Jones in it, it makes me ill. To see that he's probably the best option to hit 5th makes me very ill. I do like Juan Pierre. I would have much rather seen a guy like Coco Crisp, and I would have liked to seen less spent to acquire a guy in the final year of a contract, but lead off HAD to be addressed. I've been screaming for that for quite some time. All in all, I'm not happy with the offseason. I don't think this team is playoff caliber. I hope I'm wrong. I'll cheer for them anyway and hope I'm proven wrong. But, if I see Neifi Perez hitting 2nd in the order, I'm turning off the tv. I will not pour salt into the wound that was opened up last year when Dusty consistently gave Perez top of the order at bats. I don't trust him to not do it this year. My best remedy is to just not watch when that happens. I'm tired of watching mediocre baseball from an organization that has no excuse to field mediocre teams. I'm frustrated that what was once an organization with a strong farm system, with plenty of resources and a positive direction nose dived as quickly as they did.

It's sarcasm on the part of signing all of their players to guaranteed contracts. However, I happen to agree that if this ownership group had just as much desire to build a playoff caliber team as they do to avoid arbitration, this team would be more enjoyable to watch play.

Who cares about the World Series? First team to sign all their players to guaranteed contracts wins! I'm with ya, dude.

Where did Williams go? Did he get traded for a bat? Just curious where you see him when Miller takes his spot in the rotation.

When I saw that they put him on the 40 man roster, I went back and looked at his stats and couldn't understand it one bit. I don't recall whether it upset me or not, just thought it was weird. It did make me wonder what they saw in him that felt needed 40 man protection. It's starting to look more apparent that they made the right call on that one. Of course, at that time, I didn't really feel that much ill will towards Hendry either.

Until it is seen how much of a spike offensively it will be for AgoneII, Lowell and Snow moving to a hitter friendly park, I don't think accurate judgments can be made. At the same time, I think Coco Crisp, Mark Loretta, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz at the top of the line up is going to be an incredible combination.

He's in Florida when they traded Burkett and Lowell to Boston. I keep seeing Burkett. Did Beckett legally change his name?

Didn't Teixiera's value dip a bit due to a broken leg? Without the broken leg, Tex may have been the Cubs #1 pick. He was certainly being talked up as the Cubs #1 pick. Or did he break his leg the previous year and he elected to stay in school? Years start blending together as you get older I guess.

Walker also distracts the view of the catcher more than a righty hitter. If Pierre plans on taking off 70+ times, we need the extra distractions. I wonder what Pierre's SB success rates were with Castillo hitting right or left handed? I wouldn't mind Cedeno or Murton getting a 2 hole start against a left handed pitcher, but Walker is a proven commodity to put up respectable OBP at the top of the order.