BigbadB

What I understood was that the team originally dumped payroll because the owner spent nearly everything he had purchasing the team, and didn't have the money to make improvements. It seems like he must have fixed his financial situation with the way he's spending money this offseason.

Maybe the bullpen? That's probably about it though. A package deal that had us take some salary could probably be arranged, but I'm not overly excited about Gonzalez. I wouldn't mind Green, but I think he'd invoke his no trade clause.

And Josh Kroeger

I'm not sure the officials would have ever been able to clear the field if they threw a flag AFTER Michigan scored the touchdown. Some of the people already on the field weren't players or coaches. Much more chaos would have ensued if Michigan scored on that play. The Nebraska players were the first to enter the field of play when the fumble occured back at the 30 yard line.

Doh!!! Yeah, I really messed that up.

I can't believe I haven't heard anybody else talk about this part of the play. That was just so stupid. I watched that play over and over. If anyone gets the opportunity, take a close look at at least 1 Michigan blocker (I use the word blocker loosely) at about the 25-30 yard line. He and others had already given up on the play. Michigan very easily could have gotten into the end zone on that play with: 1. A cut back to the inside rather than down the sideline. 2. A lateral to the quicker guy trailing the runner. 3. The runner ran past 2 blockers who hadn't given up on the play. 4. The other blockers who DID give up on the play staying in there ahead of the runner. Split second decisions, I know. But, Michigan had a golden opportunity to get into the endzone. It appeared that only the few guys who ended up being in on the tackle were the only one's on that team that didn't give up on the play.

He probably also sees a former leadoff hitter with speed. He'll hit 2nd. Yep. I think he'll hit 2nd as well, and whoever Hendry gets to get the bulk of the playing time in LF will either go between Lee and Ramirez if he's a lefty, or will hit 5th behind Ramirez if it's a righty.

I'll add one more thing. When (I use WHEN rather than IF because I think adding another outfielder is inevitable) Hendry does add another outfielder, it will be Murton who gets platooned, not Jones. Jones is viewed as an everyday starter by Hendry and Dusty. He was basically an everyday starter with the Twins. We (NSBB) see his horrible splits against lefty starters, but Dusty sees a veteran who has been an everyday starter for years who is also making starter money.

I'm all for it. As stated before, Hendry seems to like rehab projects. Mike Sirotka, Dempster, Sullivan, Fox, etc...

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but I think the likelihood that Murton is your everyday leftfielder next year is probably at about 20% odds at best. Hendry seems intent on trading Patterson and Walker, and he still has an extra arm or two in the bullpen he can deal between Ohman, Novoa and Wellemeyer. Between those guys I just listed and a prospect or two, Hendry WILL find someone that turns Murton into a platoon at best. Dusty has no faith in rookies. Cedeno and Murton might both be given plenty of playing time, but I doubt you see them in the same line up together very often. Unless they are both just creaming their competition silly. I could have seen Murton win the job all by himself if Hendry signed Giles or Furcal, or traded for Tejada. But, with Neifi now looking more and more like he's going to be a big factor in the offensive scheme next year, Jacque Jones being Jacque Jones, Hendry will feel the need to give the outfield a boost somehow. I mean, Jerry Hairston is currently the 4th outfielder. Yikes! Think about that. If Murton or Jones sprain an ankle, the outfield will be Murton, Pierre, Hairston. Ughh. I'm hoping that Hendry has taken my advice (I know he reads me daily :D at NSBB) and has decided that Huff wasn't worth what Tampa wanted, and that just before Spring Training breaks, Tampa will be asking for a Neifi Perez chewed piece of gum in exchange for the Cubs taking all or most of Huff's 7.5m for 2006. But, Tampa better hurry or Hendry won't have 7.5m to spend. Anyway, Dusty might put Cedeno and Murton out there at the same time if he gets enough pressure from Hendry. Once. But, out of spite Dusty will do it just long enough to show negative results just so he can play "his" boys. I would have loved to have seen Murton AND Cedeno playing everyday in 2006. But, in order to do it and make it work, the Cubs would have needed to add players that make Murton and Cedeno's offensive production look generic in comparison. With the players added, the Cubs can't afford generic numbers from Murton and Cedeno. They would need above average production, something that is not very fair to ask of a rookie.

I'm still holding onto hope that the Jacque Jones rumors aren't true. :D

Soriano is not a must have and he isn't a good fit for what this team needs. I woudn't give up much for Soriano. It's Bowden's problem he traded for a 2nd baseman when he already had a 7m+ 2nd baseman. We have a 2nd baseman in Walker. We have several if you include Hairston, Cedeno and Perez. That being said, I'd gladly welcome Soriano if it means the rotation stays in tact.

Heh! What did the Cubs pay for Jerry Hairston last year? 17m? :shock:

Derrek Lee hit 6th in the order 38 times last year. That's 37 more times than Albert Pujols has hit 6th in the last 3 seasons combined. Cool, huh?

Want more depression? Neifi Perez as a #8 hitter in 2005: .318 AVG/.375 OBP Jose Macias as a #8 hitter in 2005: .364/.375 Neifi Perez as a #7 hitter in 2005: .305/.341 Jose Macias as a #7 hitter in 2005: .345/.367 Jose Macias as a lead off hitter in 2005: .229/.270 Neifi Perez as a lead off hitter in 2005: .254/.263 Macias had just as many at bats in the top two spots as he had in the bottom 2 spots (7-8). Neifi Perez had more than twice as many at bats in the top two spots than he had in the bottom two spots. The numbers say hit those guys at the bottom of the order if they are going to play at all. What would Dusty do? The exact opposite. Kind of reminds of you of Mike Remlinger a little bit. He was good at getting righties out, so what does Dusty do? Bring him in to face 1 lefty. Matt Murton compiled 11 at bats in the top 2 spots in 2005: .300/.364 Ronny Cedeno compiled 24 at bats in the top 2 spots in '05: .292/.346 Cool, huh?

Tight End please. Either through draft or free agency.

I agree. In fact, he would probably hit more. Texas is the only real hitter's haven in that division. The NL Central doesn't have a poor hitters park to speak of.

I don't feel that way. I think they felt they were within striking distance with the combination of youth and talent they had on their roster along with some solid additions. Because of their location, their forced to spend top dollar to coax players to move to Canada. They might still only finish 3rd, but they have put together a team that has the potential to be better than all the teams in the AL Central or West, and could also slide by Boston or the Yankees if either team falters.

Can they afford a pitcher after taking on Tejada? I don't think so. With Dusty and Neifi on the same team, I wouldn't count on Neifi sitting all that much. To make a trade for Tejada so that Neifi doesn't play as much would be masking the real problem. Dusty. A real bad masking job, IMO.

Ah, I missed the NL East thing. Your right. They have no chance of that. Maybe I did say Seattle rather than the Bears. But, since Seattle has it locked up, we'll never know.

No chance? Boston hasn't done a whole lot. The Yankees are a year older. I wouldn't pick Toronto, but I wouldn't say they have no chance. Remote is a better word. Didn't we just have this same discussion recently in reverse? :D Edit: Oh yeah, I said the Packers had "no chance" to beat the Bears.

Why is that? I wasn't aware that Pierre had a no trade clause. He's probably thinking the old sign and trade thing. Technically we haven't signed Pierre yet. Even after we sign Pierre, we can still trade him. Not that we would. Do you know the rule on that Jeff? I would be curious to know about sign and trade with players in the MLB. I was told most other sports can do it but not in the MLB. Thanks in advance. Jeff can probably answer that one better than I, but I believe the only way it can be done prior to June 1st is if the player approves of the trade.

And one is a SS and the other is a corner OF. Couldn't you match up Sandbergs numbers with a corner OF guy too and make him not look as good? Granted, the player cost is a big difference but I don't see how comparing a corner OF with a middle infielder stats and seeing them as the same value. That's exactly what was about to point out. It's a meaningless comparison. It's meaningless if you use it to rank the two players. It's not meaningless if you're talking about what that guy would bring to the team next year. Either Gonzo or Tejada would be fine for the 5th spot in the order, and both would bring similar production. The difference is what kind of production they would be replacing, Murton or Cedeno. Theoretically Murton would still be getting time against LHers, either replacing Gonzo or Jones, depending on the day. Gonzo would be replacing Murton vs RHP. Whereas Tejada would be replacing Cedeno vs just about everybody. Murton is likely to produce a bit more than Cedeno, but a nice chunk of that production would be against LHP. Against RHP he's not going to be as good. Without concerns for what you give up, you'd rather have Tejada, obviously. But when you take into account their similar production, you'd be insane to prefer Tejada + Murton - Prior over Gonzo + Cedeno + Prior. It's not even a debate. Well put. Too bad Hendry doesn't see stuff like this.

Then why would he want to come here? This is a really good point that should be expanded on. Why would Tejada want to come here? We don't have a winning tradition. We haven't made the playoffs since 2003. Teams don't become better when they trade 1 player for another of equal value when it just creates another hole somewhere else. If Tejada wants to win, I'm afraid he'd be going to the wrong organization if he became a Cub. He should want to be traded to the team that has Mark Prior. A combination of Tejada and Prior with a decent supporting cast will probably create a winner. How long will it take for Tejada to wear out his welcome? How long before he asks for another trade?

I thought he picked the Rockies to win the division in 2004? Which one of us has the wrong year? Or did he do it again? #-o