BigbadB

You're the GM, so you wouldn't have a bad relationship with Coletti, therefore you were able to work a deal. :wink:

Yeah, it's Dusty proof. But, I'm not sure these moves would fit within the budget. If it does, I give your offseason a very big :cheers: Of course, going over budget a bit when you feel like you have a World Series caliber team assembled shouldn't be completely tossed out the window. :wink:

Saying guys are "potential 100 RBI guys" makes it sound like driving in an RBI is some sort of skill he's working on. Anybody who doesn't suck that hits 4th or 5th for a full season on a decent team should be able to flirt with 100 RBI. It's not any sort of accomplishment to drive in 90 from the 5 hole if you're playing all, or the vast majority of the season. Jones could have a bad year and still drive in 80+ from the 5 hole, and hurt the team due to their relative underperformance against the league. I don't disagree with you. My main point was that his low seasonal RBI totals appear to be low moreso because of where he hit in the line up, which was lead off nearly half of his time in the bigs. A #5 hitter on a Cubs team should have well over 100 RBI's if they are hitting behind Lee and his .400+ OBP and Ramirez's .360+ OBP. That's a lot of RBI opportunities. Burnitz had 87 with a .258 AVG.

Good call on the Ogunleye jersey, I've got my Vasher saved for the big game. I thought the better call was taking him up on that bet. :wink: :D And I actually wanted an Alex Brown jersey, but he couldn't find one. Carolina sure knows who Alex Brown is. That was arguably Alex's best game of the season.

Not that I'm overly excited about supporting Jacque Jones in any capacity, but nearly half of his at bats over his career have come as a lead off hitter. Therefore, his RBI totals aren't as bad as they appear. He's had 357 career at bats as a #5 hitter, and he has 52 RBI's. As a #6 hitter, he's basically on the same pace with 93 RBI's in 692 at bats over his career. It appears as though he has the potential to be a 100 RBI guy in the 5 or 6 spot if he can hit somewhere around .300. I'd much rather see him hitting 5th or 6th than 2nd.

Bill Madlock came up through the minor league system of the Washington Senators (Now the Rangers). He was part of the trade for Ferguson Jenkins after the 1973 season. As Tim pointed out above, there was Grace and Palmeiro in the 80's. You could possibly add Shawon Dunston from that same time period, although many would question him. Going back before that, you have Brock, Hubbs, Williams & Santo from the early 60's..... and that about sums it up for the last 45 years. [sigh] And Joe Carter. Too bad we cut bait, but at least we got Sutt in that deal. I love The Red Baron. Yeah, can't really complain about that trade. Without Sutcliffe on that team, they don't make the playoffs.

I'm not sure why Rusch was so quick to sign with the Cubs, honestly. He should fire his agent. My reasoning for not signing Rusch as the "fake GM", is that with a healthy Wood, I felt the Cubs had enough protection in the rotation with guys like Pinto, Nolasco, Guzman, Hill, Mitre. It would be blocking all of these guys completely to have Rusch. One or some might have been gone in a deal that brought relievers or an outfielder in trade, but if this Hill guy is so good that he can't be included in trades, let's see what he's got. Let him do that spot start, long relief role. It will keep his innings to a minimum in 2006 while preparing him for a potential starting role in 2007. If Guzman is healthy, he'd be a guy I want getting major league service in 2006 to see if he's worth hanging onto. Let me also add that I like Rusch. Goony and I have argued about Rusch plenty of times. I don't like what he's making and I don't like that he's blocking the prospects. Of course, some of those prospects are gone now, so Rusch is more needed now anyway. But, I am more in agreement these day with Goony that this probably wasn't one of the better moves this offseason. My apologies if I'm mis-speaking (sp?) on Goony's behalf.

I was singing high praises for Jim Hendry in 2003. In 2004, I felt like he did a good job in the offseason. In 2005, I was very upset over the Sosa fiasco, the whole player vs. booth issue, the lack of retaining order with the players as well as the "get rid of the bad apples" philosophy they used that offseason. In 2005, I'm pretty speechless. Overall, Hendry has been adequate as a GM. I'd love to see him back on the farm. I think he was outstanding in that regard. I also believe the farm has weakened considerably since his promotion. I believe Hendry was a bit cash strapped for team improvements until this offseason. I believe there really was no excuse for having a poor offseason making team improvements. There were good players available in trade. There were good players available on the free agent market, the Cubs had a lot of trade value in current roster guys and farm system depth. Finally, Hendry had an incredible amount of cash at his disposal. Regardless, I'm not totally a proponent to run Hendry out of town for the above paragraph. His refusal to recognize how poorly Dusty fits into this teams plans is what has me in complete misery. When you are inserting the crappiest player on the team at the top of the batting order on a daily basis, someone needs a good scolding. When you convert a dominant when healthy starter into a relief role and potentially hurt the beginning of the next season because a needed surgery is delayed to attempt to win meaningless games in August of the previous year, someone needs scolding. When you misuse players day after day after day (leaving your dominant starter in to throw 120 pitches in a blowout, Remlinger facing a lefty batter on a hunch, starting veteran crap players in place of the prospects in meaningless games in September, etc...), someone needs a serious scolding. To watch the manager seem to reward poor fundamental baseball rather than discipline it, someone needs to be scolded. To make so many off color remarks like the manager did, someone needs to be scolded. To know you have a team built on the strength of a good farm system, there is no excuse for blocking every young player with a mediocre veteran bat. Unless you honestly believe that one mediocre veteran bat is the player that puts the team over the top. This team is nowhere near being close to over the top. I could live with a Hendry extension. What I can't live with (obvious sarcasm), is giving Dusty an extension when he has done absolutely nothing positive for this organization. If he gets an extension before we get to see the results of the 2005 offseason, I'm going to absolutely lose it. A poor start or a poor first half, and he's really got to go. It would honestly take a playoff appearance to even remotely consider extending him. I haven't like much at all with what Hendry has done this offseason. But, an added power bat to the outfield has the potential to salvage this offseason, IMO. This management team has regressed in each year they've been here. IMO, another regression this year is grounds for termination, not an extension.

Ink Nomar for 1 year on a make good deal. Extend Walker and announce him as my starting 2b immediately. Overpay to sign Giles. Give Neifi a 1 year deal to be my 2nd utility guy with Cedeno. Wood would have had surgery right away last year, so his health would not have been in question going into 2006. Would not re-sign Rusch. Trade from our prospect corps to get Mike MacDougal and Jeremy Affeldt for the pen. Add bench depth by picking up Sweeney and keep Patterson. Trade for Milton Bradley or sign free agent Kenny Lofton. Preferably Bradley. Line up: Bradley, Walker, Lee, Giles, Ramirez, Nomar, Barrett, Murton Starting Staff: Zambrano, Prior, Wood, Maddux, Williams Pen: Dempster, Williamson, MacDougal, Affeldt, Wuertz, Ohman, Hill Bench: Blanco, Cedeno, Perez, Sweeney, Hairston, Patterson Cedeno and Perez can have rare starts, Cedeno gets regular starts for injury, both can be used as late defensive replacements. Wow! What an offense! Weak defensively up the middle with Nomar and Walker. But, there is Perez and Cedeno as protection.

This game may end up being the best of the bunch. In fact, I'm going on record that the winner of this game goes to the Super Bowl to play the hottest team in football, New England. Seattle will have a cake walk with Washington, and won't be prepared for a really good team the next week. I like the Bears because of home field advantage. I'd probably call it a toss up if it was in Carolina. The playoff hungry fans of Chicago will make it difficult on Carolina, and the defense won't need those hungry fans to feed off of. I think Urlacher will have this defense so fired up, Carolina won't get a decent drive going until the 2nd half at the earliest. I am so looking forward to this game. :cheers: that the game is on Sunday instead of Saturday. :cheers: is what I hope to see the officials doing a lot of when the Bears are on offense. :drunken: is what I'll be while I sit in my good friends bar watching this game. He's a huge Carolina fan. I'll be wearing the Ogunleye jersey he had to buy me when the Bears beat Carolina earlier in the year. No bets on this one. Just a lot of trash talking and well respected kudos to whichever team wins this game.

Stole or bought? :) If Cedeno outperforms Jones, will he have the option of taking the number back?

I don't think Tim was comparing the two players abilities, but rather how far of a regression each made. Burrell was horrible that year. But, he came back from it. And he did it with the same club. Whether Patterson could do the same is still in question.

Did someone mention Huff? :D He's the one that's been on my radar all offseason. Lugo is going to cost too much, and I don't see Tampa backing down on their demands for him. He's not "too" expensive for their budget and he provides a lot at a much bigger position of need for many teams. Tampa knows that there are teams in dire need of improving their shortstop situation, so they can hold out or simply keep him if they aren't happy with what other teams have to offer. Huff, on the other hand, is easily replaceable with people they already have on their team. They brought back Lee to play 1st, they traded for Shawn Burroughs, and also already have Crawford, Baldelli, Gomes, Gathright, Upton and Young to make up plenty of offense in the outfield and DH. If they get Marte for Lugo, Burroughs probably slides into the lefty platoon DH spot. Huff's asking price will plummet as it gets closer to Spring Training. How many teams have the financial resources to take on Huff's 7.5m contract, and how many would gamble that he might have another bad season like he did in 2005?

The most similar situation I can think of to Corey's in recent times is Pat Burrell in 2003. He was a former blue-chip prospect who had had some success in the bigs, but had a simply dreadful year, looked awful doing it and the fans booed him mercilessly (it is Philly, afterall). At that time, Philly could have dumped him for next to nothing (his contract was much worse than Corey's) and used all the same excuses that the Cubs just have used. Time to move on, change of scenery, trying to compete this year, blah, blah, blah. Pat the Bat has come back pretty well and I think Philly is pretty happy they showed the patience in him at this point. I just don't understand why people insist that it is absolutely impossible that Corey could ever come back and do well in Chicago. It is impossible to know. Agreed. Very good comparison. I'm tossed on whether Corey should have been retained or moved. Honestly, a trade was probably in his best interest, and probably the Cubs too. If the Cubs went a different direction this offseason, I think they could have stuck Corey out there for 1 more year while Pie continues his development. For example, if the Cubs signed Giles, Lofton and brought back Nomar, Corey in CF wouldn't have been too counterproductive. Lofton would have been insurance or possibly pushed Corey into a reserve role. The problem is that Corey would have likely struggled even more with inconsistent play. I wish him well. I hope he figures things out in Baltimore. It will be interesting to see if another organization can turn him around.

He's not my problem anymore. I wish him well and hope he starts everyday for the rest of his career.

I don't see how that would work. Jones and Pierre are locks at their respective positions, while Murton is a cheap (seemingly) viable option at his. Although this lineup could use another LH bat (a quality one, not one of Dusty's "just for the sake of having one" guys), it would make little sense to add much payroll (which is what they'd end up doing) with where the overall is at now (and the Cubs still have to give increases to Prior and Z). Then factor in you'd be giving away at least 2 prospects (pry Murton, and someone else the org. can ill afford to lose) and a deal simply wouldn't make sense. Not that I wouldn't be open to one, its just that the Cubs made there beds (as in LITTLE affordable flexibility) when they signed Jones. It may not work. As far as payroll is concerned, if they were concerned about payroll, there wouldn't already be rumors floating around out there about Soriano and Floyd. With the new rumors sounding like they can move Patterson for prospects, the increase to Prior is covered. They already knew that Zambrano would be getting his increase. If may end up being Soriano or Vidro or Lugo rather than a corner outfielder. I think the Cubs will still have enough in the tank to add at least one more bat. I'll rehash my reason for why I believe the Cubs will land another bat before the season starts. I don't see Dusty going into 2006 with two inexperienced guys like Cedeno AND Murton as everyday starters. They could end up being everyday starters by midseason or earlier, but I just don't see both getting an everyday job right out of the gates. Especially with no one overly significant to back them up (Mabry/Hairston/Grissom?), (Neifi/Hairston) Trade for a guy like Huff, and you have lefty power. It does move Murton into a 4th outfielder/bench role, but he'll get some starts. Huff can play LF, RF, 3rd and 1st. Huff is a nice bat off the bench. And, if Hendry waits out Tampa, Huff's asking price might be within reason as teams head off to Spring Training. A guy like Huff gives the Cubs more bench depth. Right now, I have major concerns about their bench depth. Am I alone in thinking Dusty will not want Murton AND Cedeno as guaranteed starters going into 2006?

I don't see Wuertz going anywhere, but I believe Wellemeyer and Corey are definitely gone, Novoa or Ohman gets added in a deal and I really have no idea what the deal is with Walker, so I'll leave him on the roster.

I haven't given up on the potential of a deal that nets a power hitting lefty bat to Chicago. Aubrey Huff and Cliff Floyd are tops on my list. The Manny deal would likely need to go down with the Mets for Floyd to be available, but those are two guys who would help me feel a bit better about this offseason.

I'll say the Mets. The Mets need to move Matsui. Once he's moved, there is room for Walker.

Heck, he'll probably be their cleanup hitter behind Cabrera. Heh. I haven't kept up with what position players they still have left. They don't have any position players left outside of Cabrera. Conine, Encarnacion, Pierre, Lowell, Gonzalez, Castillo, Delgado and LoDuca are all gone.

Did the Angels ever lock down Kendry Morales? I believe he was a Cuban defector. Can't recall whether he was a 1b or an outfielder.

I would imagine he'd be a PH more than anything else, and I really don't like his splits as a PH. Over the last 3 years he's: 4-41 .098 AVG as a PH Over his career, he's 7-77 .091 as a PH. Yuck!

Almost the same: 1. Delmon Young 2. Jeremy Hermida 3. Stephen Drew 4. Brandon Wood 5. Casey Kotchman 6. Lastings Milledge 7. Connor Jackson 8. Ian Stewart 9. Andy LaRoche 10. Daric Barton dkwg, BJ Upton already has fulfilled his ROY eligibility. How is Kotchman eligible for ROY?

This is why there are many of us who didn't get all that excited about Juan Pierre being added to this team. Other than speed and OBP, he really offers little else, and his OBP did take a big hit. In and of itself, it's not a bad addition. Considering what was given up to get Pierre's speed, it doesn't seem like that great of a deal. Couple in the addition of Pierre along with Jones, re-signing Neifi, potentially going with 2 near rookies in Murton and Cedeno and you could have the makings of a disaster, and the Pierre deal just makes you go "meh". I honestly believe Hendry and Baker wanted "speed" at lead off. Whether Pierre has a career .325 OBP or a .375 OBP probably never entered Hendry's mind. They see a guy who doesn't strike out much, and a guy who can make contact as often as Pierre is going to get on base, and then when he gets on base, he can get himself in scoring position. It's why they were shopping Furcal and Pierre. If they really wanted to improve OBP, they could have done it more cheaply than Furcal and Pierre. If they really recognized OBP as a serious problem on this team, they would have been looking for guys with better OBP's than Furcal and Pierre. Todd Walker's career OBP is the same as Furcal's career OBP. Pierre's is only .007 better than Furcal and Walker's. My offseason hopes were that the Cubs would go out and look for ways to improve the team OBP across the board. Significantly. I felt that the Cubs had the potential of putting 8 guys in the field everyday that all had the potential to post a .350+ OBP. There were cheap ways to do it, and there were expensive ways to do it. But, it could have been done. Improving the bench with guys who do better than .320 at minimum wouldn't be asking all that much either. Lee, Ramirez, Barrett and Murton are 4 guys that have the potential to post .350+. Walker staying with the team or getting replaced with equal production makes 5. My offseason hopes look like this: Resign Nomar, extend Walker, sign Giles, sign Lofton Lofton/Hairston .370/.340 (projections with the platoon) Walker .348 Lee .370+ Giles .400+ Ramirez .350 Nomar .360 Murton .340+ Barrett .340+ Now, I went low on some of these guys. But, I went with this Hairston/Lofton platoon for 1 year with the hopes that Pie would be ready in 2007. Giles locked down for 3 years with that heart of the order lefty bat is huge. Defense is a problem with this team, but the guys on the bench coming in as defensive replacements and occasional starts (Cedeno, Fontenot, Patterson, etc....) allows you to put an explosive offense on the field. With the team looking at potentially making Neifi Perez a starter, going with Jacque Jones and possibly Ronny Cedeno, the OBP has the potential to be just as bad as last year. Giles and Lofton were free agent signings, which allowed all of our pitching prospects to be used in trades to beef up the pitching staff and bench. It was a relatively easy direction that I believe would have made the Cubs a scary team in 2006 offensively. But, if Ramirez gets hurt, you stick Nomar over there at 3rd and move Cedeno into a starters role. If Murton isn't cutting it in LF, stick Nomar out there and move Cedeno into a starting role at SS. If Lofton would be better off the bench and Hairston is too lousy in CF, stick Patterson back in there (if he's still around), or go with Greenberg or Pie if either were showing signs of being ready. Don't want Walker? Send all those prospects we sent to Florida for Luis Castillo or Juan Pierre. I'm not so fond of those prospects that I felt the Cubs got ripped off on the Pierre deal, but sticking Pierre in CF while adding Jacque Jones in left makes me feel like it was not worth it. Trading 3 prospect pitchers for a CF in the last year of his contract is the type of deal you make if you are just a player away from being as good as can possibly be to make a run at a division title. That didn't happen. Anyway, Hendry sure went in some crazy tangents to get to where he is with this team right now. All that effort, and it's very arguable whether this team is any better than it was last year. If Brian Giles wasn't a good direction to go because of age or because of the overall weakness it creates defensively, go after Milton Bradley, Brad Wilkerson, Luis Castillo, Cliff Floyd, etc... There were several ways to get it done this offseason. Hendry focused his energy on "speed" at the top of the order and little else. I'm not sure OBP ever crossed his mind. If it did, I'd like for him to explain why Neifi received a 2 year deal. I like for him to explain Jacque Jones' 3 year deal. I apologize for turning this thread into my personal rant, but it's the topic that gets my attention more than any. Juan Pierre could put up a .375 OBP next year in the lead off spot, but if Neifi Perez is hitting 2nd, the Cubs have done little to address the most glaring hole this team has had for quite some time. Only 1 team in the entire major leagues (Tampa Bay) walked to first base less than the Cubs last year. Wasn't a thing wrong with the Cubs team AVG. Not a thing at all. But, that walk rate was brutal.

Same here. Unfortunately, it won't matter what day they draw for the next weekend, I'm all booked up both days. But, they do have a huge projection screen that I can peek in on.