marc_foust

In his tenure as the Cubs GM, Hendry has made a number of midseason fleecings. his MO includes, not going to arb, fliers on injured pitchers, trouble signing FA's, and of course his midseason steals. The midseason moves have brought us ARam, Lofton, Nomar, Murton, Williams, Lawton, etc. In my opinion his best trade would have to be a toss up between the ARam trade and the Latroy for Williams and Ardsma trade. We all know what ARam can do. But with Latroy's worth, Hendry was able to get a number 3 pitcher and a young closer option. What does cub nation think Hendry's best midseason move was?

With the rotation looking like Z,Prior, Maddux, Wood, Miller, and then Rusch, Hill, Guzman etc on the outside, is anyone else thinking that Williams will be moved for sure? It is being made pretty clear that Rusch is going to be the rotation over Williams, and Miller and Wood are going straight back as they are healthy. That really makes Williams the odd man out. I personally would like to see Williams held onto and used in the rotation all year. We know what to expect from Z and Prior. Maddux is supposedly in the best shape he has been in for years. So we may be able to get 15 wins out of him. Wood is always a question, Miller is a big question as well. Hill, Guzman and the other minor leaguers are unproven. And Rusch is Rusch. Williams is young and pitched really well the last number of starts last year. With Wood and Maddux expected to be gone next year, That leaves Prior and Z, along with Rusch as our major league pitchers. If Miller pans out he might be resigned as well. In my opinion Williams would be the third best pitcher in the rotation this year and next. If the rotation has Z, Prior, Willaims, and a healthy Miller, we can either promote one of the minor leaguers, or maybe, just maybe sign a FA. But to trade Williams, a young, cheap, healthy, good arm would be a very short sighted move. With as many question marks in the rotation, I think it would be a huge mistake to trade off a proven arm. Unless of course it is for an impact player.

There are alot of ifs heading into this year. But there are some things that are in the cubs favor. Rusch has been pretty good early as a starter for the cubs. Before being pulled to the pen and back he puts up pretty good numbers and he should be a decent sub for Wood. Williams imo can be a very good #3 pitcher for this team. If he pitches well, Z and Prior stay healthy, we get 12+ wins from Maddux then whatever we get from Wood will be the determining factor. Pierre is an upgrade over anything we had hit leadoff last year. I dont think Hendry can find a suitor for Walker so he should be batting second. Murton and Cedeno are starting. Jones is at least a slight upgrade over burnitz, possibly a huge upgrade. I think that the team assembled right now will keep us at least in contention till the break. Then Hendry can pull a fleecing for either a starter or a platoon mate for Jones if neccesary. If there is one thing that Hendry is capable of it is the midseason fleecing that we all love so much.

I would not say that hitting 295-305 range would be hurting the team. If he is batting behind Lee and ARam and hits anywhere near 300 he should have 125 rbi at least. If we can go with Walker, Lee, ARam, Jones we could have four 300 hitters 2-5. With Pierre getting on base at all and Barrett and Murton contributing, the cubs would have a very impressive lineup, that is without Cedeno having to hit. It is not out of the question to assume that Jones could put up around 295+ batting average. He has done it before and is not so old that it would be impossible for him to regain form.

looking at positional holes is primitive and too conventional. you must look at what team holes he needed to fill, mostly OBP, which he did not come anywhere near upgrading enough. this is a team that will hit for a decent average, not get on base any other way besides hitting the ball, and finish in the bottom half of the league in runs scored. did he upgrade the bullpen? maybe, but that wasn't the area we needed to upgrade. a team that leads the NL in hitting should not finish 9th in runs scored, that's pitiful and hendry's a freaking blind man if he can't connect the dots. I think he did improve this team in OBP as well. Barrett, Lee, Walker, and ARam are pretty good in OBP. Murton is an improvement over anything we had in LF last year. Pierre is an improvement over CPatt and Hairston. Cedeno will at the very least meet Neifi's numbers. Jones has the potential to outdo Burnitz. Hendry did bring in players that could improve OBP( Pierre Jones) and name players starters who shoudl as well (Cedeno Murton).

I'm curios as to what numbers would make cub nation happy with Jones? 285/315/425 with 18 SB and 21 HR?? Higher or lower, what would take criticism off Hendry for bringing him in? What numbers would put him in the class of ARam, Lee, and Barrett?

His job is to continually make this team better. I don't think this team is any better than it was going into 2004 or 2005. I don't see any reason to give him credit for "going hard after guys", and I don't give him any credit for getting rid of guys that sucked, who he got in the first place even though they already sucked and he gave a raise to even though they sucked. This is still a deeply flawed team that had several glaring weaknesses that have been around for a few years that management refuses to either admit are weaknesses, or address them properly. He went after all of the players we said he should of, offered the right amounts, but other teams over paid. I dont fault Hendry for Giles or Furcal at the numbers they signed for. He addressed needs in the pen and a lead off hitter, and bolstered the bench by adding Mabry and dropping Macias. He uprgraded in RF and LF (By getting rid of veteran outfielders to platoon him Murton). He aquired a 5th starter in Williams last year. We have a team that can contend for the division. We could add another starter and a platoon mate for Jones, but both of which may not be necessary. What holes are left to be filled? Jones may turn out to be the OF we all want him to be and the pitching should be improved from last year with Williams getting a full year plus the revamped pen.

I seem to remember that last year Barrett was batting up in the lineup around 4-5th and really went on a tear until being dropped back down. So I would like to see him protecting ARam more than Jones or Murton until Murton can prove sustained success. Pierre Walker Lee ARam Barrett Jones Murton Cedeno

I bring back Dempster, Rusch, Neifi, and Walker. I see if Nomar is willing to stick around for a 3 mil plus incentives with a mutual option for a second year. If so he spells ARam, and platoons with Jones kind of, murton moves over when Nomar plays. Also I only carry 6 in the pen if he stays. I do the trade for Bradley but Im not sure that it was entirely possible with them not wanting to deal with us. If not I like the Pierre deal. I go hard after Furcal like we did but do not go over 10 mil per year. I give Giles a run but that appears to never have been an option. I dont mind Jones but 2 years would have been prefered. I go hard after Tejada, but not Prior hard. I keep walker when Furcal, giles, and bradley all fall through. I sign Eyre and Howry with the thinking that if one busts we still have a tough pen. I have Rusch as long man until either Willaims fails or Wood goes down and Hill is another option if Willaism or Rusch arent cutting it. I sign Mabry. And I keep Patterson as a 4th outfielder. CF- Pierre 2B- Walker 1B- Lee 3B- ARam C- Barrett RF- Jones/(LF-Nomar possibly) LF-Murton SS- Cedeno Hairston Mabry Blanco Neifi Patterson Nomar possibly Z Prior Maddux Wood Williams Rusch (Till Wood goes down then Hill) Howry Eyre Williamson Wuertz/Novoa Dempster Ohman ---------------------------------- I really dont mind the offseason, I think we upgraded a number of positions in a very weak free agent year. We over payed and went too many years on a couple of players but overall I think Hendry did comendable. If he is able to pull another fleecing at the break for a starter if our 5 is having trouble or when Wood goes down or perhaps to pick up someone like bradley or a platoon partner for jones. We have some players that could either bang or bust such as Pierre, Jones, Murton, Cedeno, Williams but I like their chances of at the very least being an upgrade over last year. In the best case Murton becomes a solid player, Cedeno provides excellent defense and hits at a decent rate, Jones goes back to being a 300 hitter, Pierre regains form, and Williams becomes a solid number 3 pitcher for us next year.

I realize that we missed out on a couple of signings this winter but overall I think Hendry has done a pretty good job this off season. He gave Furcal a heck of a run and decided not to pay 13 mil a year with Cedeno in the org. Giles was never really a possibility and I think that Hendry knew that. He resigned Dempster at a very reasonable price when you look at the rest of the market (Ryan, Wagner, Farnsworth). He signed two dependable relievers for market value which should keep our starters fresher throughout the year. He cut Macias. He improved in right field (Jones is better than Burnitz with a much higher ceiling) even though 3 years is excessive. He overpayed for Neifi but Neifi is a premiere bench SS. There is no one on this board that has a problem with Neifi as long as he is a bench guy. He let Nomar go, he cut ties with Burnitz, he was going hard for Tejada, he brought one of the premier lead off men to chi town, went hard after Bradley, was linked to talks for Wilkerson, Huff, Lugo. He improved our bench with the addition of Mabry. He has named Cedeno and Murton opening day starters. He cut Macias. He resigned Rusch to fill in whenever Wood goes down. And he held onto Williams. If he doesnt get rid of Walker I call this one the better off seasons in recent memory. Oh yeah, did I mention he cut Macias?

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.

I really dont see how we can even consider getting rid of Walker and Cedeno if all that we add are Bradley, Wilkerson, and Furcal. We still have the same problem as last year, no power in the OF. We are leaning Murton to produce and Wilkerson to revert to his good numbers. If we give up Cedeno for wilikerson, and then work Patterson/Hairston/Rule 5 Arm for Bradley, That would give us a solid lineup. In a a lineup of Furcal Bradley Lee ARam Wilkerson Barrett Murton 2nd Basemen I really dont see where the power is coming from either than Lee and ARam. To suggest moving Walker and Cedeno without an impact bat addition is in my opinion not a smart move. Bradley and Wilkerson are very nice players and probably an upgrade over last year, but neither are the impact bat we have been talking about. Walker was hands down one of the best hitters we had on the team last year and that lineup in my opinion leaves too many questions for my liking. Now, Furcal Walker Lee ARam Bradley Wilkerson Murton Barrett Looks much nicer. That would give us a chance to have 6-7 .300+ hitters.

I am sure dusty will just move furcal to 2nd and leave cedeno at ss then :wink: remeber neifi wasnt brought back to start. :(

They'll move kent to first, and Walker will play second. As for Konerko, I don't think the Dodgers would be interested. I was close, I knew it was something to do with first. On a side note that could be the worst defensive half infield in the league.

I believe they had interest in using him as a first basemen.

I would like to see Walker saved for a slightly better deal. With all of the talk out of LA wanting to dump this guy shouldnt we be able to pull reverse sammy and give them a hairston package to basically take bradley off of their hands? Then use Walker to procure a top tier RF such as Dunn, Abreu, etc. A walker/williams package along with a prospect or two should be a very nice trade package.

I could see Hendry trying to use a couple of our major leaguers to net Manny. Such as Hairston(if the bosox have any use for him), Williams, Wuertz, Greenburg, Novoa, Macias (if only we were that lucky). And then throw in a mix of a couple of minor leaguers. That may get it down to around 11 mil if they take Williams/Hairston/Wuertz/2 minor leaguers.

I am not so sure I would like to trade Walker unless we have aquired a power bat for the OF. Adding Furcal and a stopgap OF (Mench, Burnitz, Preston Wilson, Lofton) does not make me comfortable enough to trade away one of our best hitters for bullpen help. Unless we aquire a big bat like Giles, Dunn, etc I think we may want to consider keeping Walker around, unless we have a 300+ hitting second basemen to replace him.

I dont mind seeing Neifi resigned if Nomar/Furcal is the starter. Rest them on certain days or ARam with Nomar at 3rd and put Neifi for SPOT duty while Cedeno stays in the minors. If neither of them are signed then we start cedeno and again, Neifi makes only spot starts.

If we do indeed have to drop a middle infielder, why are we keeping the one who has played in only 30 games this year?? Nomar may have better skills than walker, but those skills dont help us from the dl. His power numbers are nice to have but only when they are actually on the field. Why do you all think that somehow Nomar will actually healthy next year when he has missed half of the season for the last two years? Keep walker who is fairly reliable, cheap, and puts up pretty good numbers. Not the fall apart rabbit who has taken the trib's money to sit at home for the last two years.

With the holes we have to fill this offseason (Of, Of, 5th st, SS?) I have no problem with the pen we have now. Wuertz looked solid until he was run into the ground by Dusty, Ohman is more than capable for a loogy, and Novoa has looked strong in some showings. Bring back demp to close and willianson as the set up if my my next idea doesnt fly. The long man goes to either mitre, rusch, welly etc. I would really like to pursue another starter to replace Wood. Wood will not be traded and i know his contract is too much for a bp guy, but the contract is already signed and i dont think any of us think he can go the entire season as a starter. Put him in the pen where he will get limited use every game and let him be the lights out 8th inning guy before turning it over to demp. The rotation looks like Prior, Z, Maddux, Hill or williams, FA Starter. I think that will be a very cost effective offseason for our pitching. That just leaves holes for two outfielders. and possibly a ss.

You have Walker leading off and batting 7th. I definantly agree with your points though. That is the reason I made this thread. I dont see the Cubs jumping into the FA market unless they can pick someone up cheap, like burnitz this year. I would like to see Giles signed, but only for 3/27. We do need to add another starter, but I dont think that we will aquire one through FA. I would like to see the cubs activly pursue a trade for a big bat for left even if we sign Giles, because I dont see Murton doing anything but hitting for average numbers in left. I wouldnt mind seeing a package deal that could bring the cubs a #4 starter and a corner OF. We have plenty of bp arms that can be used to deal and we should be able to find some takers. Something like 3 of the following: rusch, mitre, wuertz, novoa, aardsma, welly, koronka and either holla or hairston. If we add a bat or two to the lineup and a starter I think we can contend. If we bring in a real managerial staff that will help the most but I think that may be asking too much.

I may have misworded what I said there, but your response is also taking what I said out of context. My response to marc_faust's idea's of what will happen in the offseason was basically that if the management and coaching staff don't undergo much change, the offensive "strategy" and "philosophies" don't change and the make up of the team isn't changed very much then I don't see much reason for enthusiasm. I expect there to be some changes in the offseason of course, and I hope they consist of something more than adding a couple bench players. I've gone into every season since the 60's with hope and expectations high, but my tolerance and patience is gradually being tested. I stand by what I meant by my comments that if we go into 2006 with basically the same group of ballplayers and the same ideas of how to play the game, I have no reason to expect any different results than .500 baseball. I agree with you. We do not the power at every position or the pitching depth to win a series with Dusty Baker at the helm. We cannot hit enough bombs to compensate for mismanaged pitchers, idiotic substitutions, inability to call for small ball plays such as a squeeze or to let patterson take second without a hit and run. I am not saying that we need to base our entire philosiphy on small ball, but we cant just base it on power numbers either. Dusty has shown an inability to handle rosters, lineups, bullpen, and in game situations. Our pitching coach and batting coach have not been the pictures of compentency either. I think that the talent that we have/will have is certainly good enough to make the playoffs year in and year out. Our starters are pretty strong 1-3(Z,Prior, Maddux) We have some power hitters(Lee, ARam, Nomar, Barrett) and we have table setters(Walker, Lawton, Barrett), our bullpen has been sufficient when handled correctly(wuertz, ohman, novoa, demp, wood). We have some players who with some serious work could be all star caliber(Barrett, Patterson) with the right coaching. This team while maybe not worth all 100 mil is still one of the better teams in the NL and should perform like it. When performance is down something has to be done, it is pretty easdy to see who should face the music first and it shouldnt have been announcers, corner outfielders, or relievers. A team performance is usually a reflection on the coach/manager and in this case the reflection is very negative. With a lineup that could be put together in the next few years there is no reason why this team cannot make the playoffs if not more. C- Barrett/Blanco Average to above average 1B- Lee Above average 2B- Walker/Hairston/Fontenot average to above average SS- Nomar/Cedeno Average to above average 3B- ARam Above average RF- ??? CF- Patterson/Pie Average and could be above very easily LF- Murton/Lawton/???? Average to below average SP Z/Prior/Williams/Wood/Maddux/?? Above average BP Wuertz/Novoa/Ohman/Dempster/Williamson/??? Average There are alot of young talented players on that roster and a few veterans that can still go. The core is set for the next few years andit should be a winning one. There are some questions that need to be answered this offseason and I think that most of them will with the remainder being answered before the deadline. The same old story is always that we are injured. Well that wont cut it this offseason. We field a player at almost every position that is better than most the teams in the league(Barrett, Lee, ARam, SP, Walker) and some that average at their positions(BP, Patterson, Murton). The glaring changes that need to be made are the OF, SP, and coaching staff.

I usually hate to single any one poster out, but I don't see your 2006 team being anything more than slightly better than this season's team. We've been basically a .500 ballclub give or take a little all season long - that's just not gonna cut it to make a run at a championship. For the amount of money this organization has spent on this team it should be producing much better than it does and I don't want to see us go into 2006 with the same cast of characters. I want this team to change their offensive strategy and get some guys in here who know how to make a pitcher work for outs, how to take walks when they're given to you and how to get on base and run the bases. I just don't see how we improve much if we follow your plan. I don't think anyone on this team should be considered untouchable if they can be moved to make the club better. About the only person I might even remotely consider untouchable is Mark Prior but even he could be had for the right price imho. I forgot the most importent ingredient, find a new managerial staff(Manager, Hitting Coach, Pitching Coach, Bench Manager etc.). But seriously, do you all see a major overhaul coming? There really are not very many viable options this offseason. I really do not like our chances of signing a top tier free agent like Giles Wagner or Burnett. Hendry is not wild enough to even consider moving Lee, ARam, Barrett, Prior, or Z. And Maddux and Wood arent going anywhere. Nomar, Dempster, Lawton, and Walker all have to be resigned so they wont get traded. That leaves a lot of marginal players and prospects. Since Hendry overvalues our prospects, I doubt teams will like packages he puts together. We may open the pocket books enough to add one major FA, but I am guessing that will be all we will get out of that market. I dont think we will add anything through trade, but maybe a marginal upgrade to what we already have. The single biggest/best move that can be made this offseason will probably be to find a new managerial staff. I really dont think a whole new team will be added this offseason. Unfortunatly we are pretty much stuck with the core of the team and small changes are all that will probably come. The core is not bad and has some young talent. But it is mismanaged and needs upgrades in a few spots. The OF, Pen, and another starter are holes that need filling. We may be able to fill one or two of those holes but i just dont see us filling all of them just like last offseason. I could sit here list a dream team of free agents and players from other teams, but I think this is what the team will look like next season. The title of the thread is a realistic look at 06 and beyond and that is what I think I came up with.

We have a core of young players that will hopefully be around for a few years. We also have some veterans who will more than likely only be around until 06. C- Barrett. Barrett is a piece that should be in place for years as well. I would like to see him bat up in the lineup higher due to his ability to walk Blanco is the backup for his work with our pitchers. 1B- Lee: sign this man to an extension. He plays almost every game and makes everyone on the team better. If handled right he could be around for years as well. 2B- Walker for 06. If we can keep hairston around as backup go ahead. Hairston is pretty versatile so he is not a bad guy to have on the bench. Walker has a cheap option and produces at a great rate for a second basemen. SS- Nomar for 06 only is cheap, a nice incentive laden deal to keep him around for a year. I think Neifi should be kept as the backup so Cedeno can play AAA instead sitting behind Nomar and he can get a shot in 07. 3B- ARam. He completes the infield and should be a piece of the cubs for years to come. I would like to see a backup with some pop brought in but if we have to Macias will work. LF- I am not necessarily sold on Lawton but we would be hard pressed to do much better with so many other holes to fill this offseason. CF- Patterson. His defense is solid and he is fine in a 6-7 hole capacity. If he can figure out the plate he can be the player we all want him to be. If not then Pie gets the go in 07. RF- Make a run at Giles but not for any more than 9/3 . If not availibile then look for someone through trade. I really like Kearns and think he could be another ARam/Barrett success story. Bench- Holla, Hairston, Macias, Blanco, Grieve, trade for someone like Blum if poss. Starters: Prior Z Maddux Williams/Hill/Rusch Wood or Burnett I would like to see Burnett even though it is probably impossible. I wouldnt mind seeing us acquire someone through trade. Pen: Wood or Guzman Dempster Williamson Ohman Novoa Wuertz Trade bait for the offseason: Patterson, Rusch, Mitre, Holla, Grieve, ohman, wuertz, novoa, aardsma, welly, neifi, macias, guzman Non tradable: Lee, ARam, Wood, Maddux, Prior, Z, Walker, Demp, Nomar, Burnitz, Williamson, pie, sing, I would be pretty disapointed if we didnt move rusch, mitre, welly etc in the offseason to fill either a starter role or a corner OF. I would almost rather keep Wood in the pen with how dominate he is right now if he can stay healthy the whole year doing so. If we can add a starter in the offseason I would really like to see him stay in the pen.