BigbadB

Seriously, stop trying to fit some group of posters with some preconceived notion you have. No one is running away with one metric here. You're crying out for balance when it is already there. I don't agree TT. Maybe the moneyballers need to expand their views a little. It's not just one person who feels moneyballers are running away with only one metric. I think you are smarter than most on this board, but I also read your posts as being "extreme" on the whole moneyball thing. I don't see the balance you talk of. Are you suggesting that because someone doesn't agree with how you would assemble a baseball team, that they should expand their views? Maybe what we really need to do is get to the bottom of this. Make a list of the people you feel are too extreme towards moneyball. Don't leave anyone out. Then, once you've compiled the list, we can then finally disprove your theory that any of those people are brainwashed or part of a large groupthink that seems to be tagged to anyone who uses Moneyball or any of it's philosophies. As far as I can tell, and I've been here since day one, everyone is a free thinker. And they are welcome to think what they wish. It's not for you to decide who should or shouldn't expand on their views. Feel free to ignore them and feel free to debate with them. But knock off the holier than thou crap. Thanks!

If I recall correctly, Houston didn't have any meaningless games last year.

Well that just makes an Oakland outfielder available, IMO. Swisher and Johnson were going to share 1b and DH duties. This moves Swisher back to the OF I would imagine.

So 498 top of the order plate appearances is a "small sample size"? I guess you learn something new everyday. By the way, I'm referencing Mark Bellhorn's lead off and #2 plate appearances with Boston in 2004, the year they won the World Series. I guess Bellhorn can't even remotely be considered as a top of the order player impacting an offense with such few plate appearances. I think what people really wish you would quit doing is insulting their opinions because they don't agree with yours.

Good move on Remlinger's part. He'll have such a good year this year with Mazzone, that he'll be able to con some team next year into signing him to another 3 year deal. :wink:

2001 Miller > 2005 Ponson 2006 Miller = Allen Benes 2006 Ponson = 1997 John Popper We have a winner. :cheers:

Plus isn't Bengie Molina 33 or something around there? For a catcher that's pretty old. There has to be a reason he's not getting any love on the free agent market. He's demanding 6M a year and threatening to sit out a year if he can't find a suitable offer. He should be careful what he wishes for.

Anthony Young>>>2006 Sidney Ponson

I like this deal a lot!

So let me get this straight. Cubs management paid a ridiculous sum for a guy who can't land a job for any other team in the league? And not just for 1 year, but 2?

You're right! Juan Pierre was caught stealing 17 times last year, making his .326 OBP even worse that it already was. Michaels scored 54 times in 289 at bats last year. Pierre scored 96 times in 656 at bats last year. Michaels has a better scoring ratio than Pierre even though Pierre stole 57 bases and possibly advanced extra bases on numerous occasions that Michaels probably didn't. It's about getting on base at the top of the order. It's about not getting picked off or caught stealing or nailed attempting to take the extra base while your most productive hitters are at the plate. Speed does have value if used properly. Getting caught stealing 17 times is 17 times your most productive hitters WON'T be trying to drive you in. 24 times the previous year. If Pierre plans on running a lot, he needs to do a better job of being successful at it.

You may be right. I only jumped on the Huff bandwagon when Giles stayed in San Diego, Nomar got let go by the Cubs, Bradley got traded to Oakland, Wilkerson got traded to Texas, etc.....(in no particular order) I wanted to see a power bat in the outfield, and Jones just didn't do it for me.

I can't and/or won't guarantee anything with Baker in charge.

Then Hendry made at least one right move this off season. Huff's salary would have been $2M more than Jones this year for similar to less offensive production and sub par defense. Plus, Jones didn't cost the Cubs any prospects. 23 HR .249 .317 .757 22 HR .261 .321 .749 Definetely not a $2M difference. You are correct that it is not a 2m difference. However, how well will Jacque Jones play 3b if Ramirez has to miss any significant time? While Tampa may have been asking for Guzman in the early stages of the offseason, I'm sure it would take much less now. Between Huff coming off a bad year, his high dollar contract, 1 year rental and the fact very few teams have 7.5m to drop on an outfielder, I highly doubt that it would have taken much more or even as much as Nolasco and Pinto to get Huff at this later stage of the offseason. Compare it to Sammy last year. When the Cubs planned on moving Sammy, they set their hopes high for a guy like Cliff Floyd from New York in the early stages. Instead of a power hitting, high OPS guy who provides + production, they got a career part time player and a minor leaguer or two while paying all of Sammy's contract. Hey, Tampa may still be holding out for Guzman. If that's the case, fine. They can keep Huff. The Cubs will have the option of signing him as a free agent next year where it definitely won't cost them Guzman. I feel the Cubs really dropped the ball by not resigning Nomar. Fine, he can't field SS well enough to be an everyday starter? Stick him in RF. Use a guy like Jacque Jones as a 4th outfielder or spot starter if Nomar is replacing Aramis for whatever reason. Nomar wouldn't have costed that much, he would have costed us any players and he would likely provide more production than any one of our current starting outfielders. If your offseason worked out so well that Nomar is just a bit part, trade him to someone who has a starting job available. I think the Cubs are going to miss his bat. Yes, I know he missed most of the 2005 season so that there wasn't much bat to miss. However, it's 2006 now. Just because he missed a huge part of 2005 doesn't mean that it's automatic that he'd miss most of 2006. I guess we'll soon find out.

I like Neifi. As a benchplayer and even for an occasional spot start. I can be realistic and know that you aren't going to have a good OBP/slick fielding/decent OPS/speedy guy as your 25th man on the roster. If the guy had all that, he'd be a starter for some other team. But, a 25th man should not make 2.5m a year. A 25th man doesn't need a 2 year deal. A guy who gets on base as infrequently as Neifi should never hit lead off. NEVER! A guy who hits into as many double plays and gets on base as infrequently as Neifi should never bat 2nd. 7th or 8th is where he belongs. Because he has a respectable AVG, the bottom of the order actually makes sense. You want a guy with a respectable AVG to be able to drive in some runs in the 8 spot, since the pitcher's probably not going to do it. There probably are some people who don't like Neifi. It doesn't appear to be many, however. Most appear to dislike the usage of Neifi by Cubs management. Most believe that if you are going to have a guy like Dusty as manager, then you have to counter that move by getting rid of the guys who Dusty will use improperly. I will never receive a satisfying response for the rest of my life from anyone as to why Neifi Perez and Jose Macias batted 1/2 in the line up for the Cubs in 1 game, let alone anymore than that. Whether they were in the race or out of it. Doesn't matter. Neither provide speed. Neither provide an above average AVG. Neither provide a respectable OBP. It is that kind of thinking that gives me every right to question the person who filled out that line up card. Only a truly clueless manager hides their worst hitters at the top of the line up, where they will not only NOT set up the most productive hitters on the team very often, but they will also receive the most at bats. This isn't targeting Dusty. This is just my honest opinion of the worst place to hide your worst hitters on the team. The first guys in the line up are supposed to set the tone for the game. Go out there and get a hit, draw a walk, steal a base, make the pitcher show extra attention to you at 1st, take an extra base on a single, etc.... Macias and Perez aren't those kinds of players. If Hairston and Walker aren't playing, then stick Murton and Cedeno at the top. Find someone who can do those things or at least has the chance to be successful once in awhile at it. If Dusty never put guys like Neifi, Macias, Enrique Wilson, etc.. at the top of the order last year, I probably wouldn't be so down on him. To me it's common sense, something that apparently lacks to even remotely think a guy like Macias and his sub .300 OBP would flourish as a #2 hitter. In essence, it's not Neifi that people are frustrated with, but the guy who doesn't use him correctly.

I'm not the slightest bit interested in autographs of any kind, but at Spring Training at HoHoKam, I took the kids for 3 games. The last game was a scheduled Sammy Sosa signing session and I wanted to reward the kids for being patient during my mini vacation. We waited for an hour after the game around the arena where Sammy was supposed to sign. A PR guy came out and announced that Sammy was not going to be able to sign that day afterall, and the crowd dispersed. As we pulled around in the parking lot to bail out, there was Sammy signing stuff for the small group that remained after the announcement. [-(

Insurance fraud??? This could get interesting!

D'Angelo Jimenez

This is a great thread to fade back to 2002 when one of the great Cub lead off hitters of our era made his presence known. Mark Bellhorn in 212 lead off at bats in 2002: 48 runs scored .274/.389/.542/.931 36 walks 4 HBP 27 XBH's 2 stolen bases in 4 attempts :cheers:

Hmm. Maybe so. It's not the way I read it originally, however.

Yep, you missed all the fun. Maybe next time you'll be in here at the crack of dawn rather than wait until your 5th cup of coffee, eh? :D

I'd be quite happy with Pope. The Bears need to add another dimension to the offense. Clark was a huge non factor all year. I think the biggest reason he caught that touchdown pass against Carolina was because he was such a non factor all year, Carolina paid him no attention. A good hands TE for those 3rd and longs can sustain more drives rather than turn them into punts. 5 or 6 throws to the TE will also open those receivers up a little more. Now, if the good hands, good blocking TE is available via free agency or via trade, then I could see going after something other than a TE in the draft. Or if the top 2 or 3 TE's are off the board (unlikely) by the time the Bears draft.

No, I wouldn't have made a trade that involved Prior or Zambrano. My point (again) is that there were plenty of players available this offseason that would have improved this team. I really don't see the need to sit there and break down every potential deal to prove whether they could have been made or not. I can respect your opinion that you believe the Cubs did everything they possibly could to improve the team and that you believe they are better than last year. I just happen to disagree. And I don't want my other point to get lost in all of this. THE OFFSEASON IS NOT OVER! If Hendry finds a way to steal Huff away from Tampa prior to Spring Training (or someone comparable), I won't call the offseason a total loss. In fact, I'd upgrade their offseason from a "D" to a "B-". If they keep and start Walker, I'll raise it again to a "B".

Orlando Hudson - I'd rather have Walker Brad Wilkerson - You're right about him X Nady - Where would he play? Bradley - Right on. Javier Vazquez - We couldn't have given up what the Sox did to get him. Edgar Renteria - Would've taken Pie and then some. Adam Eaton - Good point Josh Beckett - Not enough to trade for him if it took Hanley. Luis Castillo - Maayyyybe. For the cost I'd still rather see Walker. The Fonz - No thanks. Mark Loretta - Walker. Those names were just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more. I also mentioned that there were many others that were mentioned in trade rumors (Abreu, Tejada, Manny, Floyd, Lugo, Huff, etc....) The point is that there were plenty of moves that could have been made this offseason to improve the team. My only concession is that the offseason is not over yet, so an improvement could still be forthcoming. I would be shocked if Hendry didn't add another outfield bat.

I might also argue that if the market was so barren this offseason, it might have been a good idea to retain the services of Nomar on a 1 year, make good, incentive laced deal, something Nomar was kind of hoping to be able to do as well. I would have much rather seen Nomar in RF this year than Jones.