BigbadB

I'd like an explanation of how Cedeno or Murton are not ready to be #2 hole hitters, yet Neifi is? Neifi had a .300 OBP as a #2 hitter last year. How many of his GIDP's were from the 2 hole last year? Neifi had a .263 OBP as a lead off hitter last year. I'll take my chances on Cedeno or Murton before I let Neifi anywhere near the top of the order, thank you very much.

Ready for what? Soft tossing? According to reports, he is soft tossing already & will be ready to throw off the mound in February. Supposedly, what will take the most time is to get his velocity & stamina back. Ah, I was just being sarcastic, but hope he will be ready by opening day. Or at least the first time he would be slated to start.

Nice work, Diff. I have a new one for you to work on. :D Average RBI's per season for guys who have had 99 or more XBH's in a season. And just for kicks and giggles, another one with 88 or more XBH's.

Ready for what? Soft tossing?

I agree to an extent. But I would never build a team with walks as my centerpiece. I would much rather have a hit than a walk. Like I said, the best case if to build up a player's pitch selection so they don't end up chasing pitches six inches above their head ala Corey Patterson. Corey's problem wasn't that he didn't take enough walks per se, it was that his pitch selection was crap, which lead to less walks and less hits than he should have had. I don't think anyone is suggesting you focus the offense on the walk alone. The Cubs had the 2nd best AVG in the league. The Cubs had the 2nd best SLG in the league. They had by far the worst walk rate. Couple that with very poor judgment on the managers part by putting some of the worst OBP guys on the team in the top spots in the order, and you have a recipe for exactly what happened last year, poor run production. The White Sox didn't have good OBP guys for the most part either, last year. But, they didn't put sub .300 OBP guys in front of their most productive hitters like Dusty. Derrek Lee had 99 XBH's last year. Of all the guys who have ever hit 99+ XBH's in a season, Derrek Lee is clearly in last place on that list for RBI's.

Instead of wasting your thoughts away on pipe dreams, how 'bout you come up with some possible scenario where the Cubs could actually acquire those two without giving up some key component for next year's team? I don't see the Cubs just sitting around with an extra Coco Crisp to throw the Red Sox way and please don't suggest Patterson. So many fans here seem insistant on focusing on the "why not" rather than the "how"...no wonder so many have a warped sense of reality. Of course, playing video game GMs have that impact sometimes.... Thanks for taking a personal shot at dkwg at the end there. That was uncalled for. Oh please. Don't be so overly sensitive. Anyone who thinks that the Cubs could have gotten Marte and Shoppach without messing up the team the Cubs are going to put on the field this year is in a fantasy land. It's not hard to pull of these trades in video games...maybe that is a factor in leading to this warped perception of reality. "Personal shot"? Give me a break. READ THE PM I SENT YOU! And a refresher course on the NSBB Guidelines might be in order as well, which you can find in my sig.

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not. I'm not so sure that the timely hitting was there. We left a lot of runners in scoring position including a number of basesloaded situations IIRC. It's difficult to have timely hitting when there are not many guys on base to create timely hitting in the first place. Walks are fine but I'd rather have a team that relied on timely hits. You can't build a team around telling guys to walk. You can just try to stress pitch selection, which should lead to better hitting and more walks. Having guys on base to be driven in isn't just walks. But, the only thing lacking from the Cubs offense last year was walks. Toss another 150 walks on their team stats for last year and the problem with run scoring isn't even a discussion.

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not. I'm not so sure that the timely hitting was there. We left a lot of runners in scoring position including a number of basesloaded situations IIRC. It's difficult to have timely hitting when there are not many guys on base to create timely hitting in the first place.

Eventually? I will absolutely scream if Neifi or Jones see any part of the top of the order this year. Nice question for Jim: Jim, did you know that Neifi Perez hit .305 in the 7th spot in the order last year? Did you also know that Neifi Perez hit .318 in the 8th spot? Can you make sure Dusty knows this too?

The timely hitting was there, Jim. The guys who draw the walks in front of timely hitting were not.

If the Sox get Crisp, I like them in the NL East. Crisp (62 XBH's from a lead off hitter ++ Constantly improving OBP) Loretta (capable of .370+ OBP in friendly hitting Fenway) Manny Ortiz Nixon Lowell Varitek Snow/Youkilis Cora/Gonzalez? Schilling Beckett Clement Wells Wakefield Arroyo I think Foulke will bounce back this year. This team will score a lot of runs.

Wow, Dusty is going to play the kids. :shock:

Whoops. I have been caught browsing. :D

I'm picking the Dodgers in the NL West, so add them to the list. I know, sounds crazy, but even with questionable starting pitching, offense is what they have drastically improved on this offseason. Furcal Mueller Drew Kent Cruz Jr. Nomar Werth Navarro Penny Lowe Perez Tomko Seo/Miller/Broxton Nice pen with Lance Carter, DJ Houlton, Brazoban, Baez, Gagne Nice bench with Choi, Saenz, Lofton, Repko, Robles, Izturis (eventually), Alomar According to Odalis Perez' career history, he'll be good next year. Lowe was respectable. Penny isn't a great #1, but with a good offense and good bullpen, he doesn't need to be. Tomko and Seo will be alright end of the rotation filler until Miller and the other kids are ready.

Don't get me wrong. I only said that I was optimistic about the future in 2003. Strong farm system, good players on the roster, excellent pitching staff, coming off a playoff appearance, available cash to spend to improve the club, etc... It's been a lot of downhill action from there.

I don't know how anyone can say Hendry is on the right track, offensively. At the end of the 2006 season Lee, Wood, Williamson, Barrett, Pierre and Walker can all leave via free agency. Aramis can opt out of his contract at the end of next season. Maddux will be gone. How exactly do they replace all those guys if they decide to test the market? Who does that leave on offense? Actually, I'm not certain on Barrett. But, if he is a free agent at the end of this year, here is what we have to work with in 2007. Murton, Jones, Cedeno, Perez. Add Barrett if he's not a free agent next year and it's still a skeleton of an offense. I don't see how this is being on the right track. A quick search of the free agent list for 2007 leaves a lot to be desired. A look at how depleted the farm is now due to poor trades and management of the 40 man roster doesn't provide a whole lot of hope for trades to improve the team next offseason. If Murton and Cedeno bust, there is nothing left for this team on the offensive side except hope that Felix Pie will pan out. That's obviously worst case scenario, but I don't understand how anyone can be frustrated with a few of us who haven't been the slightest bit pleased with the way this offseason has gone. I suppose I could attempt to take the optimistic approach. But, what is there to be optimistic about? That Cedeno will play just good enough to keep Neifi on the bench? That Jones will have a career year? That when one of Jones or Murton become injured, we always have Marquis Grissom or John Mabry to step in and play everyday? That Dusty might actually get a clue on how to fill out a line up card? Maybe I can just be optimistic that all the other teams in the NL Central did nothing to improve and therefore by process of deduction, the Cubs have a shot at winning the division with 88 wins. From where we were in 2003 to where we are now, I see a substantial decrease in my optimism that the management team that is currently in place can create a winning atmosphere for a significant amount of time. And that is something that should be expected from an organization that has the capabilities to spend what they spend each year on annual salaries.

What about the players? Ha! Good one. Here's my nomination: The Tampa Bay Sunny Beaches

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