mg420

They were 4 games under .500 on August 14th last year (56-60) and went 36-10 to end the season. the antithesis of the white sox this year.

what about his altercations with the fans, managment & teamates? with pie in the minors, i would prefer a stopgap like lofton myself.

bradley is a major head case (not to mention a wife beater). no thanks.

Well, Corey Patterson was rushed and look what it did for him. Having two managers who were complete morons in Baylor and Baker didn't do him any favors either, though. i dont think corey was rushed. he did better a few years ago when he first came up than he has done the past few years. his unwillingness to learn the strike zone, not swing at unittable pitches (especially high fastballs) and not try to hit a home run every ab has been his downfall imo. i agree about baker & baylor not helping matters. i wonder what he could have been (will be) for a team like the braves or the nationals. it amazes me that guys like the farns are head cases in chicago and go on to dominate for other teams. i guess there is a reason why the braves have won the division 14 years in a row but i wish the cubs could find some of that mojo with their young players. You can't just simply look at one half of 2003 and say "well, he's done ok since he's been up." No. He hasn't. Take away half of 2003 and he's been a dissapointment no matter how you look at it. He should have learned that strike zone in the minors. He should have had that "you can hit 40 home runs" mentality taken from him in the minors. He should have stood for hours at the plate taking BP, getting a fine every time he swung at an eye-high fastball. He didn't. He was simply not ready for the majors and they brought him up anyway. I agree with you when you say Murton and Cedeno are ready. They are. Pie isn't and we dont want him to turn into Corey 2.0. i agree that corey has been a dissapointment but his 03 & 04 seasons were decent. the talent is there but either he is too stubborn or he hasn't gotten the coaching he needed in the majors. looking at his minor leage stats i guess he was rushed to the majors. i didnt remember he only had 2 full seasons before getting called up. i also agree that pie isnt ready yet but if he tears up AA next year why not give him a shot in 07? same with with ep.

Well, Corey Patterson was rushed and look what it did for him. Having two managers who were complete morons in Baylor and Baker didn't do him any favors either, though. i dont think corey was rushed. he did better a few years ago when he first came up than he has done the past few years. his unwillingness to learn the strike zone, not swing at unittable pitches (especially high fastballs) and not try to hit a home run every ab has been his downfall imo. i agree about baker & baylor not helping matters. i wonder what he could have been (will be) for a team like the braves or the nationals. it amazes me that guys like the farns are head cases in chicago and go on to dominate for other teams. i guess there is a reason why the braves have won the division 14 years in a row but i wish the cubs could find some of that mojo with their young players.

why are the cubs so worried about "rushing" players? andrew & chipper jones, m giles & furcal all came up to play full time when they were 21-24 years old. if murton, cedeno, ep & pie show they are ready at 23-24, why not throw them in and see how they do? there will be some growing pains but most players go through that when they start in the majors regardless of age. i would rather see a group of young, exciting & hungry players learn how to win and make some mistakes than a group of overpaid veterens go through the motions and worry more about their contract than how many wins the team has.

down with nomar. go young with cedeno & win with your farm system like the braves do.

is nomar considered a type "a" fa? if so, they get another 1st round sandwich pick when he leaves dont they?

i wouldnt mind seeing theroit & fontenot as utility if's and greenberg the 4th of next year. of course thats assuming baker goes elsewhere.

wilkerson strikes out alot but he also walks alot 106 bb/152 k's in 04. Sarcasm is fun. Sulley loves walks so much his first born's name is going to be B.B. guess i missed the sarcasm. sometimes its hard to tell around here who is being serious & who is being sarcastic. dude, come on. i was laying it on pretty thick. i know but i'm not that bright.

go young and build around prior, zambrano, lee, aram & barrett with murton & cedeno. let nomar & burnitz sign elsewhere. the of is going to be the biggest ? in the offseason imo with 2-3 (it would be a tragedy if murton doesnt get the 1st shot at lf after his performance this year) spots to fill. alot of it depends on what they can and want to do with cp. if they trade him they can get a real leadoff hitter like damon to play cf until pie is ready. keep jhjr to backup in cf & 2b keep walker to start @ 2b. put wood in the pen to set up dempster, sign a good lefty to go with ohman & let wuertz, williamson, jvb & novoa fight it out for the last 2 spots. keep rusch & williams to start with prior, z & maddux (unless by some miracle he decides to retire-then give hill the 1st shot) with hill, pinto & nolasco ready to get a shot if any of the 1st 5 go down.

wilkerson strikes out alot but he also walks alot 106 bb/152 k's in 04. Sarcasm is fun. Sulley loves walks so much his first born's name is going to be B.B. guess i missed the sarcasm. sometimes its hard to tell around here who is being serious & who is being sarcastic.

wilkerson strikes out alot but he also walks alot 106 bb/152 k's in 04.

how about murton, damon or lofton (if they would sign a 1 yr deal) & wilkerson? wilkerson has 35-40 hr power in wrigley so i wouldnt mind seeing him sandwiched between lee & aram and having damon or lofton leading off. Somehow, I doubt that. he hit 39 2b's with 32 hr's for the expos in 2004 so maybe 30-35 is a better range than 35-40.

how about murton, damon or lofton (if they would sign a 1 yr deal) & wilkerson? wilkerson has 35-40 hr power in wrigley so i wouldnt mind seeing him sandwiched between lee & aram and having damon or lofton leading off.

i would like to see the cubs go young with murton & cedeno ala the braves. with pie & ep on the horizon and pitchers like pinto, nolasco, marmol & gallagher (not to mention guzman & marshall if they can stay healthy) i hope the cubs fill some of their future holes within their organization instead of spending $ on long term contracts for overpriced aging veterans as they have in the past.

dunn would cost way too much and is a liability in the field. wilkerson is a better all around player imo and i hope the cubs can swing a cp for wilkerson type deal.

how about jim leyland? i wonder if he would manage again. he seemed to have a good outlook on younger players.

EP ready by late next year should not factor into the equation. He's got one partial pro season of great success under his belt, and his start at AA has been less than impressive (.200/.324/.267) He needs a full season of AA ball, and probably needs to start at AAA in 2007. Rushing prospects is not the way to go. he only had 30 ab's in AA in 05. why not bring up the fact that he is hitting .375 in the playoffs then? he had several years of college ball and will be 23 next year. if he has a good year in AA next year, i dont see how it would be considered rushing him to bring him up at the end of 06.

with ep probably ready by late next year or in 07, it would be a waste to sign a guy like nomar or move cedeno to 2b. after a year of cedeno/walker i hope to look forward many years of cedeno/ep in the middle if. going young seems to have worked for the braves so why not the cubs (assuming baker will be gone that is).

imo it all comes down to location and pitch selection. no matter how overpowering a pitch is, it will get hit hard if it's not thrown to the right part of the plate. an average fastball (like maddux had in the 1990's 88-90mph) is very effective if it is spotted well and a good offspeed pitch is also used. if guys like rick rueschel and bob tewksberry can win 20 games with a fastball topping out at 85 and pinpoint control, a guy like hill can do fine throwing 88-92 with a filthy curve if he can hit his spots.

It's true Cedeno could play SS next year, but say we take Walkers option (which we should) and either resign Nomar or sign Furcal with Neifi possibly going elsewhere to start for more money, Cedeno then becomes your main MI backup. He's not necessarily going to learn 2B to start there next year, I don't think it necessarily means he's out of the race to start at SS next year. I'd much rather have Todd Walker at 2B than Ronny Cedeno, though. me too. i just hope they go with cedeno @ ss instead of spending big $ on furcal or nomar for several years. i just dont see the point in messing with the kid seeing as how he has come so far in only a few years. with aram @3b, cedeno @ ss ep @ 2b & lee @ 1b i see a very good if for many years to come.

why are the cubs talking about switching cedeno to 2b from ss? in the pregame show they mentioned he might go to winter ball & play 2b. with ep doing so well in the minors and cedeno hittng well and having great d at ss, they could be the starting middle if after 2006 when walker leaves. :?:

i wonder if the nationals would trade wilkerson for patterson. the cubs could use a platoon of greenburg/jhjr(who could lead off) in cf, murton in lf & wilkerson in rf.

if rusch was left in the rotation the whole year he could have easily won 15 games imo. with Z & prior and most likely maddux (i like greg but he's the one i hope doesn't come back in 06), rusch & williams would be the best options to start & leave wood in the pen where he can excel (see dempster). if any of the starters falters or get injured, hill, pinto & nolasco are in the wings to get a shot. i dont see the cubs spending $ on starting pitching with such a good group of minor leaugers ready to contribute.