Rob

Wooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, that only happens on dinky 20-40 yard kicks. 50 yarders are no problem.

Weak

I thought Peterson was about to lose that one too.

Not real

He hasn't logged much time in the OF the last couple years, but what information we do have suggests he would be far better defensively out there than Dye or Gomes. i don't believe that a guy who was never a good fielder to begin with and hasn't played much of that position can do an adequate job out there as he moves into his mid 30s. branyan is about 40 lbs heavier than he was earlier in his career and hasn't played corner OF in almost 4 years. he'd be awful. I didn't say he wouldn't be awful. I just said that it's likely he's not as bad as Dye or Gomes... both of whom are far beyond awful.

The OF will be Reimold, Jones, Markakis. IF will be Tejada at 3B, Izturis at SS, Roberts at 2B, and Atkins at 1B with Wieters catching and Luke Scott getting the majority of starts at DH. That leaves Wigginton to be the main infield backup and Pie as the main OF backup.

Based on what I've observed on this board it seems to be that the best line up is to simply put your best hitter in terms of OPS first and then go down the list from there. I was debating the actual validity of that claim. Where do you get that? Nobody is saying that's the absolute best lineup. It's just used as an illustrative example in showing how current lineup structure is flawed... of particular note are over reliance on speed at the top, as well as batting subpar players #2 for want of a guy who can "handle the bat" and bunt. I posted this earlier in the thread.

If Castro wasn't on the 40 man roster, couldn't he been picked in the Rule 5 draft? Just curious because I thought you had to be off the 40 man roster in order to drafted in Rule 5. I don't know all the rules in Rule 5 so maybe someone can help me out here? Yeah I don't think he'll be called up till Sept. as well, but I can see if Blanco really struggles... Castro could be called up to be on the bench and slowly ease into the SS starting spot. Also wait to call him so we can have another year for arb. instead of him being a super-2. I think he will start in AA as well. Cubs AA team will be something to watch this year. I'm hoping to see at least 1 game this year early. Players are eligible for the Rule 5 if they're not on the 40 man and have been in the organization for more than a certain number of years. I believe it's 5 years for guys who signed at age 18 or under, 4 years for older guys.

Something tells me this is gonna be like when Joe Morgan ripped on Billy Beane for writing Moneyball about himself and all the made-up theories he had about what were in the book.

Each team has 162 games, so by definition you're going to have a last PA 162 times. 9 spots in the lineup. Average of 18 PA. Obviously, some spots (those with crappier players in them) are a bit more likely to be the last one in a game, but I still don't see much of an issue with rounding up 2 PA.

If memory serves, anything over $1 mil needs to go to MLB for approval. But they basically just rubber stamp everything that comes through.

He hasn't logged much time in the OF the last couple years, but what information we do have suggests he would be far better defensively out there than Dye or Gomes.

Generally speaking, each spot in the batting order comes up about 20 more times per season than the one behind it. Therefore, moving a guy who isn't one of your better hitters up in the order costs each person he leapfrogs about 20 PA. Do you really think micromanaging a few hit and runs and sac bunts with Theriot in the 2 spot is worth costing DLee, Aramis, Byrd, Soriano, and Soto about 20 PA each? I'll grant it's a little more complicated than that, obviously. There are real benefits to splitting up lefties who struggle against same side pitching. OBP should be valued a bit higher in a few spots, SLUG in others. And of course, speed does play a role in things (though ironically, it's more suited towards the bottom of your lineup where you're less likely to have guys able to slug you in from first base). But the general principle remains the same... if you want your lineup to do the most damage possible, you need to have the guys who do most of that damage coming to the plate as often as possible.

It's abysmal. Were he allowed in the field more often, you'd see him popping up on those "worst defenders" lists with Dunn, Hawpe, and Dye.

Baldelli also still has some upside that the others quite frankly don't. A good deal of his decline was related to that strange mitochondrial disorder... a problem that's more likely to be resolved than a complete lack of defensive ability. That's not to say he's a good bet to return to form, but his ceiling still remains.

Get out of my brain.

It's not about greed, it's just the way the system works. Players have absolutely no leverage whatsoever on their contracts for the first three years of major league service time and so are vastly underpaid compared to their market value. Hell, he's still being vastly underpaid compared to his market value. I agree he's WORTH the money he's asking for, based on production. But, if Theriot was an actual free agent this offseason, you think he would have commanded MUCH MORE than the 3.4 he's asking for? I'll give you the fact that at his age, he'd get a multi-year deal. Probably 3-4 years actually. But, with the market turn we've seen over the last couple of years, I doubt we'd see a team give him more than 3-4 mill per year honestly. That's hard to say. Pretty much everybody was signed before the downturn in contracts, signed a team-friendly long term contract to get some financial security, or is still under team control. The only FA SS who have signed recently have been Marco Scutaro (2 years/12.5 mil, 7.5 WAR over the last 3 years), Cristian Guzman (2 years/16 mil, 5.2 WAR), Edgar Renteria (2 years/18.5 mil, 6.1 WAR), and Rafael Furcal (3 years/30 mil, 6.6 WAR). Theriot has been worth 7.5 WAR in the last 3 years. That's not to say Theriot would get the same contract. It's worth noting that Coletti, Sabean, and Bowden are/were 3 of the dumbest GMs in the game. Then again, Theriot wouldn't have the same warts that all those guys have either...

It's not about greed, it's just the way the system works. Players have absolutely no leverage whatsoever on their contracts for the first three years of major league service time and so are vastly underpaid compared to their market value. Hell, he's still being vastly underpaid compared to his market value.

The mods should really step in. The mods here are a joke.

Well that's a completely different argument than what I said, but I'm not going to disagree with you.

Castro gets to dictate when he comes up. I keep trying to temper my expectations for him, but I'd say that as long as he has a pretty good season, he'll probably at least get a cup of coffee. If our middle infield gets banged up or he has another season like last one, he could be our starter by the deadline. Cashner is a maybe. I'd like to see him get some more work in the minors as a starter to see if he doesn't have a long term future there, and there's certainly no lack of middle relief arms in the system that could do just fine if we need them. But this is the Cubs, and I'm sure Lou will be screaming for bullpen help every single day from now until the end of the season. Whether Hendry can hold out is anybody's guess. The only other one of our top prospects that could force his way up is Jay Jackson, but I'd put the odds of that pretty low. Aside from them, you've got the usual suspects like Gaub, Russell, Atkins, etc... for the pen or a spot start. And guys like Snyder for the bench.

To be fair to Hendry, I'm sure he thought it was going to cost him money to move Bradley even if he ate an unfavorable contract. Nobody expected him to get money back in the deal.

What hat is he wearing? And did he get the same skin treatment that Sammy Sosa did on his right arm? That's a sleeve. No, it is a hat. Oh... I was WAY off.

What hat is he wearing? And did he get the same skin treatment that Sammy Sosa did on his right arm? That's a sleeve.