illiniguy

I'm not sure, but if you were gonna be this cash strapped that you can't do anything for a long while, why did you even buy the team? Better yet, why did MLB approve you to buy the team? I would assume they have enough money to be able to clean house and start over. Maybe they need a year or two to rebound financially before they start making sweeping "philisophical" and personnel changes; I don't know. Myabe they're thinking that until they have more leeway to make changes they don't want to saddle a new front office with a team where not much can be changed. I'm not saying that's the right move, but I could see why someone might come to that conclusion. Well that's so counter-productive. Hendry still will be given the ability to sign free agents, he still will be allowed to make trades, and he still will in some way be heading up the international signings. I still think you have to make the change. Hendry has benn given way too long already, he's done more than enough damage.

I am worried that '03-'08 might end up being the closest we get in a long time. I hope I am wrong. But I am a worrier, that's why my friends call me whiskers.

Damn, I didn't know that as I pretty muched stopped following them around the first of September. Well, I read a handful of quotes and saw a handful of games where stuff like that was going on, plus he's a baseball lifer and baseball lifers love that crap. So I'm assuming. Christ, I hope not. I'd hate to see Hendry spend the offseason picking up some Scottie Pod types to be able to make things happen.

I'm not sure, but if you were gonna be this cash strapped that you can't do anything for a long while, why did you even buy the team? Better yet, why did MLB approve you to buy the team? I would assume they have enough money to be able to clean house and start over.

Damn, I didn't know that as I pretty muched stopped following them around the first of September.

I'd like to think that idealized image of all that is true, but it seems like too many of the players/coaches/analysts/managers/owners/etc. who claim to be "stat guys" really aren't. True. Still though I look at it like this. We know what we have isn't going to work. It's foolish to keep using it expecting to do anything but fail. It would be like knowing that brushing your teeth with sugar is bad, but using something else could be worse. So you never try anything else and just continue to brush with the sugar. At some point we have to make the move reguardless of the outcome.

The only thing I worry about with Quade is the Koyie Hill thing. I don't want him platooning with Geo. If Quade is going to give Geo 80 percent of the starts I am fine with him.

Marge Schott???

at least they have came out and said what they had wasn't working based on what they are spending. Why can't we do the same? We have done the same. Then we just move on to another [expletive] theme/philosophy. The Mets will likely do the same regardless of who their GM is, as will the Cubs. Trading managers/GM is usually just trading one crappy, outdated baseball mentality for another, not dissimilar to Hendry going from "we need guys who can catch the ball" on year to "we need to be more left-handed." But, that's the problem. Hire a guy who values the ability to get on base. Not someone like Hendry, who has proven time and time again, that he just doesn't get what's wrong with the teams that he has constructed. I know I'm a broken record on this (and it always inevitably leads to the "YOU'RE SAYING THEY SHOULDN'T FIRE HENDRY!" one-sided argument), but guys like that tend to not get hired as GM's. Most GM's are not as good at their job as they need to be, especially if they have a lot of money to spend. The odds are, unfortunately, the Cubs will hire someone to replace Hendry who isn't necessarily better, but just bad in different ways. Yeah I know what you mean, but there is no reason why Ricketts can't look at the fact that every year the teams that are in the playoffs and make runs are the teams that value the ability to get on base and have pitchers who prevent that very thing. He claims to be a big stats guy so it shouldn't be too hard for him to read the stats and hire according to them.

Well I said I was afraid that's what they are doing, not that they are doing it. I think we will all know more after this offseason. But, I do think people have the right to be worried. I don't think you have to worry about someone squashing someone's "rights" to be worried. I do, however, think it deserves some patience, since coming back from dropping the type of money it takes to buy the Cubs takes time. Also, has it come out that guys like Wilken were insisting they needed to spend more money in this year's draft? No and I don't mean to say that it was. Just that it worries me that we seemed to go cheap and overdrafted our first round pick big time. I could be wrong. But, I am pretty sure we only signed the two kids from the international pool. That is a cause for worry as if you want to build from the farm you have to spend in one of those two areas. I hope he is just trying to recuperate his funds.

at least they have came out and said what they had wasn't working based on what they are spending. Why can't we do the same? We have done the same. Then we just move on to another [expletive] theme/philosophy. The Mets will likely do the same regardless of who their GM is, as will the Cubs. Trading managers/GM is usually just trading one crappy, outdated baseball mentality for another, not dissimilar to Hendry going from "we need guys who can catch the ball" on year to "we need to be more left-handed." But, that's the problem. Hire a guy who values the ability to get on base. Not someone like Hendry, who has proven time and time again, that he just doesn't get what's wrong with the teams that he has constructed.

Well I said I was afraid that's what they are doing, not that they are doing it. I think we will all know more after this offseason. But, I do think people have the right to be worried.

at least they have came out and said what they had wasn't working based on what they are spending. Why can't we do the same?

Who said that?

Yeah, I want them out in 3.

The frustrating thing to me is tha the Mets have had a similar go of it lately. But, they have decided enough is enough and are changing up their philosophies and going a new way. Meanwhile we seem content to stand pat and save money. It also worrie me that Ricketts is saying he wants to build through the farm and then didn't really spend a lot in that area either. I'm worried he figured the average fan doesn't follow the international signings and the draft all that closely, thus he can say that's what they are doing as an excuse to not spend money.

How do you feel about Carlos Pena?

Fans of other teams argue which WS team was better. We're reduced to this. sad. I'd prefer to not be lumped in with the Only the Cubs crowd, thank you very much Yeah this is dumb. I'd still rather be a fan of us then about 25 other teams in baseball.

Those were 7 awesome wins.

The Big Ten could not afford to have their last shot at a National Title Team gone in week 4.

He was a second round pick, did he fall because of his possibly playing college football?

It's probably time for LeBron to get rid of his friends as all of his "people". He needs a new PR guy big time.

I'm one of them, since I live in KC. About damn time they're coming to Kansas City. I'm another. I'll be there the entire series. Can't wait.

Turned it around from what? The point is Zambrano was never the High 4 ERA guy he was superficially earlier in the year. So you are saying that even though this team wasn't good enough to win anwyays, Lou actually sanbagged it even further by the way he handled its best pitcher?

It seems only fair that those Yankees teams give away some outs though. Kudos to those guys for trying to help level the playing field.