BigbadB
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Everything posted by BigbadB
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I'm cool with Floyd. I half expected Murton to be more of a 4th outfielder/platoon anyway, since the chances that Dusty would play both Cedeno and Murton everyday in the same line up isn't all that likely. Given the Furcal situation, Cedeno pretty much defaulted into a starting job, which makes upgrading a corner spot in the outfield a higher priority. Murton will probably platoon with Jones against lefties, and get some occasional starts in place of Floyd in LF (assuming the Cubs did get Floyd via trade). I'd be a little happier with this offseason if the Cubs find a way to get Floyd or Huff or the like. -
DBacks sign Upton
BigbadB replied to sweetpeteman's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
I believe he was talking about going to community college, which would allow him to spend a year playing baseball, but then come out in the draft next year. Sounds like he had serious plans to join a major league team. He had to have a pretty tall stack of scholarship offers that would trump a community college. -
Patterson for Meche would surprise me. It doesn't seem like it would free up much money for a potential Tejada deal. Patterson for a B+ prospect or something of that nature frees up close to 3m, as would Walker if they found a way to move him. Could Walker be part of a deal for Tejada? Can Brian Roberts still play SS? I suppose Hendry could make it work, but I was thinking they were getting tight on the budget. I guess the scary part of that is that Prior very well could be part of a deal for Tejada.
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DBacks sign Upton
BigbadB replied to sweetpeteman's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
it wouldnt matter because the cubs are pretty much skipping junes draft this year. He wouldn't fall to the Cubs in the first round, but he would push one more potential draftee down to the Cubs. Wouldn't he have signed up for classes if it appeared he wasn't going to get a deal done with AZ? -
I can't compare their major league hitting since Fontenot has yet to get his shot, but minor league numbers show pretty comparable numbers with the bat. Both have about a .280 AVG in the minors with pretty comparable power. Fontenot has the added dimension of OBP.
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Not to start a huge debate on comparisons between Neifi and Fontenot, but Fontenot is a much better all around hitter than Neifi, IMO. Neifi is better defensively. Based on organizational philosophies, Neifi is a tools guy and Fontenot isn't. Neifi is good with the leather and can switch hit and doesn't strike out much. Fontenot is not as good with the leather, draws too many walks and strikes out more often than Neifi. Fontenot makes more happen when he does put a bat on the ball, however. Fontenot isn't quite the second coming of Mark Bellhorn, but he's not that far off. Dusty had no use for a guy like Bellhorn. This organization just doesn't put any value on the ability to work the count and draw the occasional walk to get guys 90 feet closer to home. Bellhorn has power which little Mike doesn't. Without the power, Bellhorn has no value either. How much power can one expect from a utility infielder? Given the current roster the Cubs have, would you rather have a sub .300 OBP/slick fielding utility infielder, or would you rather have a .340+ OBP/decent fielding utility infielder?
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Not to start a huge debate on comparisons between Neifi and Fontenot, but Fontenot is a much better all around hitter than Neifi, IMO. Neifi is better defensively. Based on organizational philosophies, Neifi is a tools guy and Fontenot isn't. Neifi is good with the leather and can switch hit and doesn't strike out much. Fontenot is not as good with the leather, draws too many walks and strikes out more often than Neifi. Fontenot makes more happen when he does put a bat on the ball, however. Fontenot isn't quite the second coming of Mark Bellhorn, but he's not that far off. Dusty had no use for a guy like Bellhorn. This organization just doesn't put any value on the ability to work the count and draw the occasional walk to get guys 90 feet closer to home.
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Any mistreatment will never reach the fans in this instance. If he was ever mistreated by the Cub organization, Corey might share that with his brother, or has already shared that with his brother, but I doubt he comes out publicly about it. The only real mistreatment (IMO) that I can recall was when Corey was first called up, Baylor sat him on the bench more than he played him. If that's what you intend to do to a youngster/prospect, you might as well leave him in the minors to play everyday. Valuable time was lost in 2000 and 2001 with a grand total of 173 major league at bats. Meanwhile, the Cubs were throwing guys like Damon Buford, GMJ, Todd Dunwoody, Brant Brown and Michael Tucker out there in CF.
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I still don't think the payroll is set at 105 million this season. What are we at now? I am assuming Patterson and Walker are gone. I'm assuming they will be gone as well. But, even with them gone, I'm not sure how they afford to take on Tejada AND Weaver. That's almost 20m in added salary. Tejada gets 12m in 2006 and Weaver will likely get close to 8m. The problem is that Patterson and Walker are NOT gone yet. It may require that to trade either one of them could possibly require the Cubs to take a bad contract back. I'm actually shocked that the budget is as high as 105m, personally. After the last 2 years of poor performance, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Trib reduced the budget rather than expand it. I'm happy they did, but I'd really be floored if they were allowed to spend even more than 105m when they had so much money available to spend this offseason as it is.
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That sounds about right. Hendry may have to figure out a way to free up salary if he does get Tejada, which means Walker is as good as gone for nothing more than a prospect. And we know Patterson is definitely a goner. Maybe that's one of the reasons Hendry is considering Prior in a deal, because the 4-5m he'll likely make after arby would help free up the salary to add Tejada. I don't agree with it, but where else does Hendry free up salary if it is truly required in order to trade for Tejada? Not to mention the fact that Tejada will be locked in for several years. Maddux frees up money for the Cubs next year, but Zambrano will gobble up a bunch of that money. If the Cubs wanted to keep Pierre, there is little else left once you re-up Lee, Aramis and Barrett. Trading for Tejada without giving up Prior will create quite a salary issue in the next year or two.
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I don't think it would be even remotely possible to sign Weaver if they took on all of Tejada's contract while sending minimum salary guys like Hill and Williams back to Baltimore.
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Manny himself said, "I want out of Boston. I love it here, and I love Big Papi. I hate the Red Sox and need to go somewhere else. I could spend my entire career here. I want to go somewhere else in the AL where I am comfortable. I never want to leave this organization, it's what I know. Shampoo is better! I go on first and clean the hair! Conditioner is better! I make the hair silky and smooth!" That's what I thought he said. :D
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Hasn't there been a rumor that Manny would accept a trade to Baltimore, which is why Boston has been doing everything they can to create a match.
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Couldn't Baltimore still consider themselves "in the thick of things" if they went ahead and traded Tejada by himself for Manny, Clement and cash? Manny in left, Matos/Markakis in CF, Gibbons in RF, Mora at 3b, Roberts at SS or 2nd, anyone at 2nd?, Javy Lopez at 1st, Ramon Hernandez behind the plate and anyone to DH? Piazza? Conine and Newhan can DH, as could Walter Young. A Patterson deal might still be in the works and Walker might be an option at 2nd along with a few others that might be available in trade. Roberts, Mora, Manny, Gibbons, Lopez, Hernandez is a pretty good line up in the top half. Bedard, Clement, Cabrera, Penn, Dubose/Chen/Loewen/Lopez/Maine is the start of a decent staff.
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Questions you'd like someone to ask Hendry at Convention?
BigbadB replied to badger1679666666's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
I really don't know the answer to this. But I'm sure it would cause him to miss at least a couple of starts because of it. Ah, you have to know the answer to that question. Why, he'd chuck all the wood that a woodchuck could, if a woodchuck could chuck wood! :D Whoops, Jim was supposed to answer that one, wasn't he? Well, I think he has a few more left that some of us would like to know the answer to. -
But, if you honestly wanted to move Prior, wouldn't it make more sense to open up the bidding for his services to the other 29 teams in the league rather than just the Orioles, who don't seem to be giving Prior the respect he deserves? What would other teams pay for a guy who has #1 stuff? Would Phily give up Abreu, who basically is as good or better than Tejada at a position on the field that the Cubs have a much bigger hole? As bad as Jacque Jones is, that's arguable. The Cubs corner OF hole is still bigger than the SS hole. Well, gee, maybe it's not. My mistake. The way I see it is that Murton and Jones make for a decent platoon in one corner spot, and that leaves no one left for the other spot. Cedeno and Neifi can both play SS, therefore the bigger hole in my mind is in the outfield. Cedeno is an unknown commodity just as much as Murton is, also.
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I have another question. Why is Prior even being discussed? He's cheap considering what he offers in production. He can't leave for the next 3 years, and he's one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball when healthy. Why is his name even being discussed? Has he pulled a Todd Walker and made some comments that don't agree with Cub management? Is he a clubhouse cancer? If that's the case, get rid of Hendry and Baker. This club house cancer is going to the turn the Cubs into a bunch of Neifi Perez and Jacque Jones's because they never speak up when management does something they don't like. Quit allowing attitude to dictate who plays on this team and who doesn't. Personally, guys like Walker that make comments that point out basically the same things we scream about on this web site everyday are the kind of guys I'd rather have on this team. For example, if Walker went to the press and said that he thinks it's ridiculous for Neifi to bat in the lead off spot on days that Walker needs a rest, keep talking Walker. Get your point across. Because it's right. Something tells me in the back of my mind that there is a lot of player dissatisfaction going on in that club house. Whether it's over management philosophies, organizational direction, the filling out of a line up card, etc.... I would hope that the guys who are being rumored in trades isn't because they disagree vocally about these things. I would hope that Trib execs would do the right thing and not allow this team to be torn apart because someone doesn't like Dusty.
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Actually, I should have mentioned Abreu AND a pitching prospect. That would probably be considered lopsided in our favor. Abreu for Prior is probably about as equal straight up as Tejada for Prior. I wouldn't want to trade Prior straight up for anyone, since it really doesn't make the Cubs any better to strengthen one position while weakening another.
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But, if you honestly wanted to move Prior, wouldn't it make more sense to open up the bidding for his services to the other 29 teams in the league rather than just the Orioles, who don't seem to be giving Prior the respect he deserves? What would other teams pay for a guy who has #1 stuff? Would Phily give up Abreu, who basically is as good or better than Tejada at a position on the field that the Cubs have a much bigger hole? Right now, Baltimore is rejecting deals for Tejada that seem lopsided in their favor. If Prior is going to get dealt, I'd like to see a deal that was lopsided in our favor rather than the other way around.
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I'm going to answer this question one more time, with a different angle. "If you were the Orioles, would you..." First off, I'm not the Orioles, I could care less about the Orioles and they can fall off the face of the Earth for all I care. The question wasn't whether I could put together a fair trade for both teams. It was whether I would include Pie in a deal for Tejada. Nothing more. Therefore, why are you asking me if I would make that trade if I was Baltimore? Posts like the one you just made where you attempt to insult posters by making assumptions or twisting the argument into something it's not is really not very cool. I like Tejada. I'd love to have him. But, not at the expense of Prior or Zambrano. I've made my claim that Boston was overpaying by offering Manny, Clement and cash. If Baltimore feels like they deserve more in return for less, I'm looking elsewhere.
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If you were the Orioles, would you trade Tejada for Pie and Hill? Two unproven kids for an all-star shortstop and former MVP? No, I wouldn't if I was Baltimore. But, I meant to include Cedeno since Baltimore would likely want him as well. If I was Baltimore, I probably wouldn't do that deal either, though. I have already made my opinion known that I'd rather go into 2006 with what we have than deal off Prior. Let Baltimore keep Tejada if that's who they want in a deal.
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If it's Pie and Hill, I do that deal in a heartbeat. If Prior's name is even remotely mentioned, I back away faster than Boston or the other Sox.
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Carlos Zambrano has 30 wins over the last two years. Jeff Suppan has 32 wins over the last two years. Win-loss doesn't mean anything. Well, yes it does, but it's vastly overrated and shouldn't be considered in this situation. No, wins and losses shouldn't mean anything in this equation, unless you want to talk about whether someone is "trash" or not. Clement is not trash. I'm not voting him onto the all star team, but he isn't trash. 9m for a #3 starter seems to be the going rate. Heck, the Cubs pay 9m for their 5th starter. Of the pitchers that got close to 9m this year, I'd rather have Clement than many of them. Clement had 2 bad months out of the season. The other 4 months, he was solid to spectacular. He kept Boston in a lot of games. Call him decent, call him mediocre, but calling him trash isn't even close to accurate. Baltimore would be getting a heck of a deal for Tejada by accepting Manny, Clement AND cash.
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Trash? Now I know a 4.57 ERA isn't all that great, but he is playing in one of the friendliest hitters parks in baseball. In April and May of last year, Clement was 6-0 with a 3.06 ERA. After June, it was still 3.33. It started to nosedive after that, but he had 4 games in which he got a no decision in games where he pitched at least 6 innings and gave up 1 earned run or less. Give him 4 wins for those games, and he finishes the season 17-6. Hardly trash. He's a solid #3 starter. He finished 34th in ERA in the AL among qualified starters. I'm not saying he's great, but he would certainly make a fairly weak pitching staff just a little bit stronger. Clement had 11 starts where he gave up 4 runs or more. The other 21 were games he gave up 3 or less. That's not bad. Carlos Zambrano had 8.
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