mg420

What the hell are they thinking? Can we let em have him and trade for Lugo? The entire Dodgers organization are Morans. I'm of the mind that if we're going to trade for a position, our focus should NOT be at shortstop. Right field first, Center Field second, and then shortstop. I'm not comfortable with trusting Center Field to Corey or Hairston unless we upgrade both short and right field. If we can't get Furcal, I want right field addressed quickly (big stick, Dunn/Abreu, that caliber), and if you don't get an All Star caliber player, then you better upgrade center field (Pierre in trade, or Lofton even as a rental). If we don't land Furcal, we're perfectly fine having Ronny Cedeno as shortstop and Todd Walker at second base. So long as you upgrade right field, and if it isn't a huge impact, it's time to move on from Corey. i totally agree with you on these points. the cubs would still need a leadoff man and the only spot open would be cf so either pierre or gathright would be a nice fit. as far as rf, i would like to see either wilkerson or floyd.

Why not? Neifi and Rusch have both played in more than enough games with the Cubs for us to judge their worthiness. Howry and Eyre are established and have a long enough track record for us to judge them as well. The latter two are fine additions to the team, but when you look at their contracts coupled up with the bad deals for the others, and look at the enormous need for massive upgrades elsewhere, the big picture doesn't look that great. because what they did in the past is not always indicative of what they can/will do in the future. eyre had a pretty poor career before the last 2 seasons when he was good to great. i want to see what rusch can do starting a full season. who knows how well he would have done last year if he stayed in the rotation? if i told yu what garlands & contreares (sp?) #'s would be for the white sox before last season, would you have said that no way thats possible because of their career stats? same thing with d lee.

That's a mighty big IF. The thing with Hendry is we've already seen his results. I'm not judging Jim just on what he's done this offseason. I'm judging him on what his stated beliefs are, what he did as asst GM, what he's talked about liking in a player and what he's done so far as GM. I've fully acknowledged that there is more than one way to build a winning team. But the fact is Jim hasn't built a big time winner here. They achieved some postseason success in 03, but they were only an 88 win team that season. They won just 89 in 04 and 79 last year. The results are in. The teams he has assembled have not done particularly well. If you are wondering what I would have been happy with, it would have been more like an 85, 90 and 95 win team. But this team was bad in 2005 not just because of bad luck and freak injuries, they had several faults and came up way short. They were many of the same faults, only amplified, as the team in 2004. fair enough. but to judge the players he has signed this offseason before they have played one game doesnt make any sense. many things about baseball are big if's. if prior & wood stay healthy, if lee can have another big year, if dempster can close like he did last year, if howry & erye can be as effective as they were last year. i cringe as much as the next guy to think about having perez as a starter next year but he does have a great glove and got some big hits for the cubs last year. if he is used as a bench player he can be a big asset. that among other things is baker's shortcoming not the gm's.

before 2005 kenny williams was considered a buffoon & a terrible gm. just because people dont agree with some of hendry's moves doesnt mean they wont work out. many people here were VERY upset when the cubs didnt sign thome & traded choi for lee and that turned out to be a pretty good move. if rusch is the #5 starter and wins 15 games, i think most people will be very happy with him. how can you judge a gm on the moves you want him to make instead of how well the team he assembles does?

so hill is only worth a non-tendered OF who no one else wants? i dont think so. if hendry wont give hill for dunn, he certainly wont give him up for bradley.

great post. i agree 100%. of course some know-it-alls on this board said no way giles doesnt go to the highest because its all about $ but apparently they were incorrect.

whats the deal with all the wild rumors this year? there have been alot more this year than i can ever remember and most of them have not happened (as of yet anyway). i dont think there is a good source out there that can be trusted anymore.

Actually there has been more talk of getting Bradley in CF than Pierre recently. And mlbtraderumors reported the wilkerson for cedeno talks so take it for what its worth. But it seem sthat Bradley is more likely than pierre at this point. from todays tribune: "Hendry's next task is to try and reel in free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal, and then sign or acquire a power-hitting right fielder. Florida center fielder Juan Pierre also is a prime target, with his ability to add speed at the top of the order, and the Cubs have a surplus of young pitching talent to dangle."

according to the rumor, the nats would want cedeno to play 2b as they think vidro is "done for his career". link: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/chicago_cubs/index.html

assuming the cubs do trade for pierre to play cf (as has been rumored for several weeks now), who would you rather have to play rf-wilkerson or bradley? assuming they would both cost the same (in the neighborhood of cp, walker & welly?) i would much rather see wilkerson on the cubs. both are potential .900 ops guys btw so i would consider both of them impact bats.

so i guess bradley is out then. i wonder what kind of drinker pierre is?

I get that feeling as well. I think he'd be a good utility man. But Dusty hated him, and it's possible they would let him walk. Any chance he gets traded rather than non-tendered? I think there is a remote possibility he could be the opening day CF for the Cubs next year if the cubs dont get pierre or furcal, perhaps there will be a gathright/jhjr platoon ito lead off & play cf? i dont see why baker hated (if indeed he did). he was better on the bases than alou who was another one of bakers favorites. then again, i think stevie wonder would be a better baserunner than moses.

he was injured and his home park is like the grand canyon to hitters. its no mystery as to why he had an off year.

wilkerson might be similar to barrett as far as the cubs are concerned. he is 1 year away from a 32hr/.872 ops year in a home park that was tough on hitters. he is still young at 28, has a strong arm and his high obp more than makes up for his k's imo. from his prior years stats, i dont see why he couldnt put up 30+ hr's with a .375 obp & a .500 slg in wrigley. his rbi's would go up significately also if he were sandwiched between lee & aram in the lineup instead of hitting leadoff. i wouldnt mind seeing him in cf or rf as long as the cubs have a real leadoff hitter.

you're joking right? bradley has had several altercations with the police, fans, the media & management not to mention his pregnant wife. unless kent was at each of these occurences egging him on, i would say bradley is/has the problem.

If Williams goes anywhere I'll be ticked. I really liked the trade that brought him here, and I think he showed a load of potential. I'm not saying he'll ever be a Z or Prior caliber starter, but I could see him being a very solid #3 guy. He's not someone you want to get rid of easily. That's one thing that really irked me about the Rusch signing. I can appreciate Hendry's desire to have a lefty in the rotation, but it just seems that Williams has far more potential (for far less cost) then Rusch. On the flip side, that could potentially make Williams more valuable to another team. I would think that teams like Cinci or Philly could have a lot of interest in a guy like Williams who could be an effective SP for few dollars. if maddux doesnt return and/or wood gets injured again, both rusch & williams might be in the rotation. i really like what i saw of williams last year too. i also think rusch would make a very good #5 starter and could win 12-15 games next year if he starts the whole year.

not too long ago wasnt the 6'6" chuck finley assaluted by his very hot but psycho wife tawny kitean? the difference between the to incidents is that bradley has a long history of violent behavior and physical temper tantrums. even without the questionable assault on his wife, bradley rap sheet is long enough that i hope the cubs stay away from him.

i understand florida doesnt want cp but the nats might take him in a package for wilkerson. pierre was rumored to be going for 3 minor leauge pitchers and who knows if/when that might go down. i think alot of things hing on where furcal signs as far as the cubs are concerned. Maybe Washington would want him, but there's no chance he's the centerpiece of any deal. What's much more likely is that he'll be sold for cents on the dollar at the Winter Meetings or during ST. im sure he wont be the centerpiece but he does still have decent value. he plays great d, has a strong arm and runs like the wind. if someone can get the obsession for power out of his head he can still be a very good center fielder.

i understand florida doesnt want cp but the nats might take him in a package for wilkerson. pierre was rumored to be going for 3 minor leauge pitchers and who knows if/when that might go down. i think alot of things hing on where furcal signs as far as the cubs are concerned.

You know, this could be a big pickup for the Phillies or the Yanks. I like this, because it tells me Florida was looking for a CF and pitching prospects. Both of which we have a couple extra. (Patterson and assorted pitching prospects) I think this is a good sign for us. I'd send Williams, Novoa, Patterson and a top pitching prospect for Pierre, forget about Furcal and throw stupid money at Giles. thats way way way too much for pierre. no way the cubs give up that for a 1 year rental. Ok, fine. We need to clear 40 man space, we need a place to ditch CPat, we have pitching to burn, we need a leadoff hitter, we need someone to block Pie for a year, we need a speedy OBP guy (.350 will due) ... it all lines up. If we have to give up less, cool. If we got Pierre we could overspend on Giles instead of Fucal. It's like, Pierre and Giles or Wilson and Fucal. Given our 40 man situation, I think a trade and a signing is the way to go. We have arms to burn and a window to work with. Keep Walker, keep Pie and figgin' go for it with Pierre and Giles. i agree about going after pierre instead of furcal and keeping cedeno at ss and walker at 2b. as far as giles, all reports are that the cubs are not pursuing him. i hope to see either wilkerson or floyd in rf for the cubs but i dont know if either are available or what it would take to get one of them. mench would be a bad fit for the cubs imo. they need a power hitting lefty and rf is the only spot to put one.

You know, this could be a big pickup for the Phillies or the Yanks. I like this, because it tells me Florida was looking for a CF and pitching prospects. Both of which we have a couple extra. (Patterson and assorted pitching prospects) I think this is a good sign for us. I'd send Williams, Novoa, Patterson and a top pitching prospect for Pierre, forget about Furcal and throw stupid money at Giles. thats way way way too much for pierre. no way the cubs give up that for a 1 year rental.

I'd trade for Bradley and Wilkerson and play one in CF and one in right. I really doubt we get Abreu, but that doesn't mean I'd want to settle for Jacque Jones. I'd rather trade for Mench or Ibanez than play Jones. Juan Encarnacion is likely a better option than Jones, and I'm not really high on him. I'd see if the Diamondbacks would be willing to trade Tracy before I'd make a run at Jones. Jones may be a nice complementary player on the right team, but there's little about him that impresses me. I'd almost rather have Jeromy Burnitz back on a one year deal than to give Jones a three-year deal. Finally, if we don't trade for Abreu, the best option is still to sign Brian Giles. Hell, if we can afford to piddle away 7 million on middle relievers on three year deals, why can't we pay Giles 3/39? There's no way I'd play Wilkerson in RF (or Jones). Bradley could handle it. I think Encarnacion is a better option than both Wilkerson and Jones. There's no way the D'Backs trade Tracy if they have any sense, I mean why would they - doesn't he have a few years of arb. left? I don't want the Cubs anywhere near Burnitz, he was serviceable last year, but he's getting pretty old now. We're the Cubs, we have money, if Burnitz is back we should riot on Waveland people. I think Wilkerson could handle RF, but ideally you'd like better production from your RF. (However, Wilkerson would produce more than what Burnitz gave us last season.) Defensively, I don't think Wilkerson would have a problem in right. If Wilkerson were our RF and Bradley were our CF, I think the overall OF production would be ok. (Just think about a line-up where every hitter could post a 350+ OBP) As to why the D'backs trade Tracy: They have the following players for four spots: Luis Gonzalez, Connor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Troy Glaus, Chad Tracy, and Tony Clark. While it baffles me that they would keep Clark, they just signed him to an extension, so you can pencil him in at firstbase. The smart move would be to trade Glaus and put Tracy at third. If they keep Glaus, they have Jackson, Gonzalez, Quentin, and Tracy for LF and RF. They could move Tracy because of that. why wouldn't they want to keep him? the guy hit .304 with 30 hr's in 350 abs' and had an obs of 1.02. Clark's last four seasons- 304/366/636 221/297/458 232/300/472 207/265/291 Ok, sing along: "One of these things is not like the others..." If Clark can repeat his 2005 performance, surely he's a valuable commodity. But if he regresses to his 2004 or 2003 performance, then he's a platoon player at best. thats why gm's get paid the big bucks. he is a gamble but what if they let him go & he had another monster season for another team? he has had some lousy seasons but the #'s he put up in 05 apparently warrent the risk.

I'd trade for Bradley and Wilkerson and play one in CF and one in right. I really doubt we get Abreu, but that doesn't mean I'd want to settle for Jacque Jones. I'd rather trade for Mench or Ibanez than play Jones. Juan Encarnacion is likely a better option than Jones, and I'm not really high on him. I'd see if the Diamondbacks would be willing to trade Tracy before I'd make a run at Jones. Jones may be a nice complementary player on the right team, but there's little about him that impresses me. I'd almost rather have Jeromy Burnitz back on a one year deal than to give Jones a three-year deal. Finally, if we don't trade for Abreu, the best option is still to sign Brian Giles. Hell, if we can afford to piddle away 7 million on middle relievers on three year deals, why can't we pay Giles 3/39? There's no way I'd play Wilkerson in RF (or Jones). Bradley could handle it. I think Encarnacion is a better option than both Wilkerson and Jones. There's no way the D'Backs trade Tracy if they have any sense, I mean why would they - doesn't he have a few years of arb. left? I don't want the Cubs anywhere near Burnitz, he was serviceable last year, but he's getting pretty old now. We're the Cubs, we have money, if Burnitz is back we should riot on Waveland people. I think Wilkerson could handle RF, but ideally you'd like better production from your RF. (However, Wilkerson would produce more than what Burnitz gave us last season.) Defensively, I don't think Wilkerson would have a problem in right. If Wilkerson were our RF and Bradley were our CF, I think the overall OF production would be ok. (Just think about a line-up where every hitter could post a 350+ OBP) As to why the D'backs trade Tracy: They have the following players for four spots: Luis Gonzalez, Connor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Troy Glaus, Chad Tracy, and Tony Clark. While it baffles me that they would keep Clark, they just signed him to an extension, so you can pencil him in at firstbase. The smart move would be to trade Glaus and put Tracy at third. If they keep Glaus, they have Jackson, Gonzalez, Quentin, and Tracy for LF and RF. They could move Tracy because of that. why wouldn't the dbacks want to keep him? the guy hit .304 with 30 hr's & 87 rbi in 350 abs in 2005. he also had an obs of 1.02. t

I'd trade for Bradley and Wilkerson and play one in CF and one in right. I really doubt we get Abreu, but that doesn't mean I'd want to settle for Jacque Jones. I'd rather trade for Mench or Ibanez than play Jones. Juan Encarnacion is likely a better option than Jones, and I'm not really high on him. I'd see if the Diamondbacks would be willing to trade Tracy before I'd make a run at Jones. Jones may be a nice complementary player on the right team, but there's little about him that impresses me. I'd almost rather have Jeromy Burnitz back on a one year deal than to give Jones a three-year deal. Finally, if we don't trade for Abreu, the best option is still to sign Brian Giles. Hell, if we can afford to piddle away 7 million on middle relievers on three year deals, why can't we pay Giles 3/39? There's no way I'd play Wilkerson in RF (or Jones). Bradley could handle it. I think Encarnacion is a better option than both Wilkerson and Jones. There's no way the D'Backs trade Tracy if they have any sense, I mean why would they - doesn't he have a few years of arb. left? I don't want the Cubs anywhere near Burnitz, he was serviceable last year, but he's getting pretty old now. We're the Cubs, we have money, if Burnitz is back we should riot on Waveland people. I think Wilkerson could handle RF, but ideally you'd like better production from your RF. (However, Wilkerson would produce more than what Burnitz gave us last season.) Defensively, I don't think Wilkerson would have a problem in right. If Wilkerson were our RF and Bradley were our CF, I think the overall OF production would be ok. (Just think about a line-up where every hitter could post a 350+ OBP) As to why the D'backs trade Tracy: They have the following players for four spots: Luis Gonzalez, Connor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Troy Glaus, Chad Tracy, and Tony Clark. While it baffles me that they would keep Clark, they just signed him to an extension, so you can pencil him in at firstbase. The smart move would be to trade Glaus and put Tracy at third. If they keep Glaus, they have Jackson, Gonzalez, Quentin, and Tracy for LF and RF. They could move Tracy because of that. double post

I'd trade for Bradley and Wilkerson and play one in CF and one in right. I really doubt we get Abreu, but that doesn't mean I'd want to settle for Jacque Jones. I'd rather trade for Mench or Ibanez than play Jones. Juan Encarnacion is likely a better option than Jones, and I'm not really high on him. I'd see if the Diamondbacks would be willing to trade Tracy before I'd make a run at Jones. Jones may be a nice complementary player on the right team, but there's little about him that impresses me. I'd almost rather have Jeromy Burnitz back on a one year deal than to give Jones a three-year deal. Finally, if we don't trade for Abreu, the best option is still to sign Brian Giles. Hell, if we can afford to piddle away 7 million on middle relievers on three year deals, why can't we pay Giles 3/39? There's no way I'd play Wilkerson in RF (or Jones). Bradley could handle it. I think Encarnacion is a better option than both Wilkerson and Jones. There's no way the D'Backs trade Tracy if they have any sense, I mean why would they - doesn't he have a few years of arb. left? I don't want the Cubs anywhere near Burnitz, he was serviceable last year, but he's getting pretty old now. We're the Cubs, we have money, if Burnitz is back we should riot on Waveland people. I think Wilkerson could handle RF, but ideally you'd like better production from your RF. (However, Wilkerson would produce more than what Burnitz gave us last season.) Defensively, I don't think Wilkerson would have a problem in right. If Wilkerson were our RF and Bradley were our CF, I think the overall OF production would be ok. (Just think about a line-up where every hitter could post a 350+ OBP) As to why the D'backs trade Tracy: They have the following players for four spots: Luis Gonzalez, Connor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Troy Glaus, Chad Tracy, and Tony Clark. While it baffles me that they would keep Clark, they just signed him to an extension, so you can pencil him in at firstbase. The smart move would be to trade Glaus and put Tracy at third. If they keep Glaus, they have Jackson, Gonzalez, Quentin, and Tracy for LF and RF. They could move Tracy because of that. why wouldn't they want to keep him? the guy hit .304 with 30 hr's in 350 abs' and had an obs of 1.02.