katway

Go Cubs! We must take this series. Otherwise, the additions on Friday may be too late.

With respect to left field -- Hendry will always talk up his own players to make them more valuable... so no surprise he would talk up Dubois before the season. In any event, I really don't recall many signable people for left within the Cubs budget constraints. Part of the equation is the budget and it was a position we were trying to save from having to spend on. Sosa's contract (not Hendry's doing) kind of put us in this bind with respect to the outfield. With respect to Pudge -- If I were an NL manager, I wouldn't give Pudge a long-term deal either. He has had some health problems and is an aging catcher with a lot of games under his belt. The AL has the DH, which is tailor made for guys like Pudge to give them a little rest, keep them healthy, and get their bats in the lineup. Pudge also cost a lot more than Barrett. Economically, Barrett has been a good deal. With respect to Nomar -- Nomar was a risk, everyone knew about certain injuries, but the groin pull was completely unanticipated. Nomar tore up spring training, so it would have been nice to see his production this year. In addition, that deal doesn't take place without Murton. Essentially, the Nomar deal netted 2 starters for low level prospects. with respect to Wagner -- Houston's trade of Wagner was about cost cutting; so they only wanted cheap decently talented prospects / young players in return. Houston would not have wanted Wagner in a Cubs uniform and would have required a premium to trade him in the same division. What about Aram and D. Lee -- As long as were mentioning some players are worth more than a team received. I think it's pretty clear Aram and D. Lee were worth more than what we paid to get them. With respect to closers -- Hendry did not know closers would get hurt; but, what he has said is that the older closers tend to fade in August through October. That's why he really didn't want a Benetiz or Mesa. He wanted Dotel, but the price was a little too high. Hendry wanted Demster in the closer role from the start, Dusty fouled that up by putting him in the rotation and putting LaTroy back into a role he was clearly uncomfortable playing. It would have been nice to improve the relief pitching, but their really weren't many set up men and quality relievers available this last offseason, so the only real good move he was left with was to through darts and see if any of them stick. In retrospect, Andy sisco has developed well, but he had poor character and work habits, it was the fact that the Cubs left him available in the rule 5 draft that finally made him realize he wasn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. As I see it, the only real glaring mistake (a mistake without the benefit of hindsight) I think Hendry made was signing Maddux knowing that it would foreshadow letting Clement go because the budget wouldn't allow us to keep them both.

Burnitz CF info: Last year, he played 69 games in center due to the Preston Wilson injuries... A Davenport Translation of 92 on defense and a ESPN zone rating of .792 both of which were well below average. The only worse NL regular in zone rating was Ken Griffey, Jr. (he was still recovering from injuries last year). Burnitz was the worst regular as measured by range factor.

A shot at what, an everyday ML player? He sure doesn't look like one to me. I see him and I see Doug Dascenzo, without the crafty mound presence. I see Adam Greenberg and I see my paperboy. He looks like he should still be in high school. Adam Greenberg has been a consistently excellent performer througout his college baseball (ACC rookie of the year, All ACC, first team All-american, etc....) and minor league career. I have a feeling he will someday remind us of a david ecstein in the outfield. Tremendously scrappy player that should make an excellent fourth outfielder with defense, speed, and a good eye, but little to no power.

The same kind of duplicative bat that Lofton and Grudzielanek were? I like Walker in a run-producing spot Lawton NOT in center which means Murton to AAA until September Lofton and Grudzy were complimentary (1 & 2 hitters, Grudzy was not a leadoff hitter even though he batted 1st in the lineup often by default). Lawton and Hairston are both leadoff hitters. Hairston is just not a really good leadoff hitter; nonetheless, he certainly is not a 2 hitter. I can see putting Hairston in the 8 spot since he can be a little patient and take some walks before the pitcher is up, then assuming the inning doesn't end on the pitcher's at bat, Lawton can have an opportunity to knock in Hairston. I'm still concerned about the defense with those 2 out there. However, I'm lessoning my position on those 2 being duplicative as long as Hairston bats in the 8 spot and not as the 1st or 2nd batter in the lineup.

I'm pretty sure his speeds fine. I don't know if he's conventually fast, but He had quite a few steals in AA, and the guys got like 3 infield singles. As long as Murton keeps that BA and OBP up, he's got a welcome spot on this team as long as I'm cheering for them. We can make up the power in other ways. He may be a good #2 hitter in a few years if he keeps hitting like he has been. I'd rather go w/ Lawton in LF or RF and either Pie or Patterson in CF. Find a power hitter for the other outfield spot. The Cubs can get their #2 hitter from 2b or SS. If Murton was a leadoff man, I'd like to keep him, but I doubt he can come close to stealing as many bases as Lawton. It's too early to give up on Murton developing a power stroke. Aside from that, if Lawton/Burny is resigned, figure 20 homers. If CPatt or Pie come up, figure 15 to 25 homers. If Murton plays full time for a year, figure 10 to 15 homers with the potential to hit 25 if he decides to change his swing like Ryno did. I'd be satisfied with that kind of production if they are getting on base. Hairston wont get waived this year, but will probably be packaged in an offseason trade.

Pirates wanted a young player that they could control for several years (i.e. not Holly) and would have been foolish to take anything else given their financial situation.

They do have Burny for next year if they want to pick up the $7 million option. Otherwise, they can negotiate for a smaller number before he becomes a free agent open to the league.

Why do so many think Walker has power when creating lineups? He's been in the league nearly 10 years and doesn't have 100 homers. He's ok with hitting doubles, but nothing special. I do think Walker is an excellent hitter, but he really doesn't have much power. I'd prefer Walker at the top of the lineup with Lawton. He's much better at getting on base than producing power. If Hairston also starts, then bat him 8th. Hairston has a good eye and I don't mind taking the bat out of his hands when people try to pitch around him to face the pitcher.

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems. Cubs pitching in close and late games is the 2nd best in the league. Offense is the problem, especially OBP. Lack of patience is the reason why they get shut down by crappy pitchers and bullpens very often. Does lack of patience also explain why they are 5th in the NL in runs? They do score quite often. The are probably streakier than most teams, but I think some people underestimate the offense. Do you not understand that very high batting average and slugging percentage can make up for somewhat below average OBP? The team is in 8th in the NL in ERA. It's not bad, but should be better for a playoff team. Thanks for disspelling the myth that the Cubs offense is the main culprit. If people want to point figures, point it at the Trib for not giving Hendry enough money to get another superstar pitcher. Offense has been a problem because we get streaky and score in bunches. Sure that helps your stats when you get 10 mruns in one game, but it does't help if you only score two or three runs for the next three games and get shut out 5 times during the year. The offense needs to be more consistent. The year long stats don't tell the whol story and being 5th in a category may not be good enough if you want to lead your division or win the wildcard. One thing for sure, the 5th best team in the NL wont make the playoffs. This is just utter propaganda. The 11th best team in runs, Houston, is up in the wildcard. The White Sox are 5th in the AL in runs and blowing everyone away in the AL. Sure the Cubs need to score more runs, but having a strong 3rd starter would be nice. When I said "the 5th best team in the NL wont make the playoffs", I was refering to a team's record to point out that 5th place is not "good enough" and that we shouldn't accept that 5th in runs scored means we are doing a good enough job scoring runs. Baseball is situational. Houston looked horrible for the first 2 months and that is why they are 11th in scoring, I bet they are more than 11th in scoring the last 2 months. In addition, yes a starter would help, but an offense that scores 2 to 3 runs followed by a 12 run game is not going to get you very far unless your starters have an ERA below 2.

Looks like Raffy wont be getting a free ticket to Cooperstown anytime soon.

Aren't most deadline trades between buyers and sellers youth for more expensive and experienced talent? Doesn't this trade also qualify under a need for need analysis. Pirates needed payroll relief, we needed a leadoff hitter. We both got what we needed. In any event, if Lawton does not stick around, it really isn't a big deal since we have some youthful outfielders that Gerut was not going to play in front of and Gerut is not a tremendous loss for the future. In terms of his future, Gerut was not going to be our starter and would have likely filled the role of fourth outfielder. I could understand the criticism if Gerut is going to be as good a hitter as Lawton, but I really don't see that happening. In essence, we gave up a youthful, less talented, player that was never going to be a starter for an aging, more talented (2 time all-star) player that is a starter and can continue to be a starter for us if we resign him.

Below average? I would have to disagree with you. Aram has really improved defensively and is average to slightly above average, IMHO. Overall, I would call ARam the best 3rd basemen in the National League this year. I would put him second to only ARod this year. His defense has been solid and he is starting to become a legitimate All Star with his bat. ARam does need to work on defense again. Last year he was solid. This year he is tied for 4th worst in the league with 13 errors. Several of those errors have taken place in recent games where he seems to be having a problem with his throw. Hopefully, he will iron that out and get back on track to how he was fielding last year. His groin problems may be keeping him from taking a good step into his throws.

Our offense is streaky, but I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unbelievably terrible. It is above average in the NL, and not the team's biggest problem. I'd say that our pitching, specifically the bullpen, should be a much bigger concern. Today's game is a good example of the team's pitching problems. Cubs pitching in close and late games is the 2nd best in the league. Offense is the problem, especially OBP. Lack of patience is the reason why they get shut down by crappy pitchers and bullpens very often. Does lack of patience also explain why they are 5th in the NL in runs? They do score quite often. The are probably streakier than most teams, but I think some people underestimate the offense. Do you not understand that very high batting average and slugging percentage can make up for somewhat below average OBP? The team is in 8th in the NL in ERA. It's not bad, but should be better for a playoff team. Thanks for disspelling the myth that the Cubs offense is the main culprit. If people want to point figures, point it at the Trib for not giving Hendry enough money to get another superstar pitcher. Offense has been a problem because we get streaky and score in bunches. Sure that helps your stats when you get 10 mruns in one game, but it does't help if you only score two or three runs for the next three games and get shut out 5 times during the year. The offense needs to be more consistent. The year long stats don't tell the whol story and being 5th in a category may not be good enough if you want to lead your division or win the wildcard. One thing for sure, the 5th best team in the NL wont make the playoffs.

He can be resigned for any amount (hi or low). I think arbitration does not have limits; but, the parties must come up with a number. Not surprisingly, the teams generally come up with lower numbers than the player and the arbitrator sides somewhere in between. In effect, the team sets the minimum with their offer in arbitration. Most teams try not to ridiculously low ball a player becase it may create for an unhappy player in the clubhouse.

Lawton has good speed. He generally gets about 25 SBs or more when he plays a full year.

.380 OBP is above mediocre. Lawton gets on base (he even had a year with over .400 OBP), that will help a little. He's not great by any means, but may be the first legitimate leadoff hitter we have had since Lofton. Hairston was not a true leadoff hitter. So, he does change the dynamic a little bit. He doesn't put us over the top alone like a Manny or anything, but it's a good move for the team.

I agree, I hope that Hendry signs him to another year. The way I see it, the Cubs will decide whether to keep him or Burny at the end of the year. Murton will be given left field if he continues to play well. Pie will be give a shot at center against Patterson coming up next year. If Pie beats out Patterson, then Patterson will either be traded or be the fourth outfielder. Lawton or Burney will then man one of the corner outfield positions.

Never. Besides I believe Farnsworth is a FA, a RENTAL. So I doubt Farnsy stays in Atlant beyond this season. Either Farnsworth will listen to Mazzone and become the elite closer in the NL or he will be gone at the end of the season. As we all know, it's a matter of Mazzone being able to get inside his head. I don't think Atlanta will tolerate Farnsworth if he won't take Mazzone's instruction. If Mazzone can add some movement to the fastball (probably sacrifices the 100 mph for something around 97), then Farnsworth will do well; if he throws like he did with the Cubs (pure heat with no movement), he's going to continue to be inconsistent.

That third option would be a bad one. An outfield with both Lawton and Hairston would provide an unnecessary duplicative bat and give us two less than average defensive outfielders.

Great job by Hendry. A good pickup probably only made possible by the Dubois trade. Probably most NL team did not want Dubois given his poor defense, but the kid was more atrtactive to AL teams. Hendsry gets what he can for Dubois (who Pittsburgh probably didn't want) and turns that into Lawton. Hopefully, it's not too late to trun this season around. We have a lot of games left against Houston and we are going to need those to catch them.

The Cubs should offer him $3M to retire. And if he says no, you've just ticked him off and still owe him 9 million to play next year. Let's see what kind of determination he has to play if you tell him he's not wanted. Hendry would not make that kind of mistake.

Lawton is not a great fielder, but has the speed to cover center. So, he is probably at least better than Hairston in CF. If we leave Hairston in center and Lawton on a corner, I think that's a worse defensive outfield than Lawton in center and Murton on one corner.

There's much more to playing centerfield than just having speed. That's true. There is more to center than speed. But, you still have to have some minimum amount of speed to play center. Lawton is not a great fielder, but neither is Hairston by any stretch. Burny is the most solid defender among them, but still lacks the minimum speed to play center. When I saw that ball drop in front of Burny during the game he played in center earlier this year, his lack of speed for the position was glaring. Burny may not make an error when he gets to the ball, but he wont get to as many balls in center as a speedier outfielder.

Outfield of Murton- Lawton - Burnitz. It gives us the best offensive production with the lowest downside defensive risk. Lawton has the speed to play center, Burnitz does not. As for Burny in center, it is clear that Burny's speed would hurt in center. In the one game in center he played this year, he simply couldn't get to a shallow fly ball that would have been reach by any centerfielder with speed. Burny is a pro and can play the position correctly, but his range is too limited. Lawton will play center because Lawton has the range and we can't have both him and Hairston in the lineup.