katway

We have a full-time left fielder and his name is Matt Murton. Hendry.. time to sit Dusty down and let him know the score.

Dusty must go now. He is seriously tanking our team. His decisions from constant line up changes, irresponsible righty/lefty matchups, sitting the kids, leaving pitchers in the game when they have already exceeded their pitch count, putting in Z to pitch run, riding dead horses Neifi and Holly all the way to the cellar...... Arghhh It's almost like he has a soft spot in his heart for SF and wants to give the games to them.

Dusty is trying to give these games to SF. He still has a soft spot in his heart for the team. Why else would you start holly, who has fared poorly against Tomko, instead of a red hot Murton and leave Z in to bat after 112 pitches and take the mound in the 8th. Dusty always goes against normal managerial reasoning and it never works out for us.

man on 3rd, no one out and we fail to score. This will bite us in the rear.

I've never understand how they can get well compensated to play the game they love and not be enthusiastic and give it their all everyplay. There are a number of occassions where I would have sat Aramis and other Cubs for not hustling on plays. While a lot of players get away with it, they shouldn't. It's really the only thing I respect about LaRussa's coaching style... he wont put up with a less than full effort and neither well the players on his team. The try your best and hustle mentality is contagious as is the slacker mentality that seems to have taken a hold of some of the Cubs players lately.

I don't think it has occurred to Dusty that some guys just aren't pitch hitters whereas others are better suited for that role. Gerut clearly does not look comfortable as a pitch hitter. Plus the guy has a bum knee right now and probably needs it to loosen up a little before he hits after sitting for several hours. It really made no sense to me at the time and still doesn't make sense to me now.

That's like saying a healthy Nomar should start over a pro like Neifi. This kind of stuff doesn't happen in Dusty's town. Note: Sarcasm refers to article where Dusty indicates Perez will likely start over Nomar when Nomar returns...

He similarly nixed a trade to Cincy a couple years ago, he probably feels the same way he did then. I think he's a real pro and will handle it just fine. He played left field a couple years ago, was his defense adequate? If he can defend in left, does anyone think we can get him for Mitre and have SD eat some of his salary. Not unless the Cubs have moved San Jose while I wasn't looking. not unless the cubs want to down grade in left. If Dusty would play Murton, then we wouldn't have to keep looking for a left fielder. Otherwise, Holly is not the answer and Nevin, based on his career averages, would be an upgrade over Holly as long as nevin can defend the position.

He similarly nixed a trade to Cincy a couple years ago, he probably feels the same way he did then. I think he's a real pro and will handle it just fine. He played left field a couple years ago, was his defense adequate? If he can defend in left, does anyone think we can get him for Mitre and have SD eat some of his salary.

Giants average nearly 4.5 runs per game. Hill gave up 2 in 5; so he held them just below their average. What I think people are enamored with is that he didn't tank. He faced major leaguers, got them out, and displayed a wicked curve ball. With that curve ball, he has excellent potential to become a Blyleven or Zito. Overall, his potential to be a Zito is probably closer to a reality than Kearns potential to be a J.D. Drew.

Problem is, Dusty will not play Murton unless a lefty's on the mound. Exactly. Which is why I mentioned "... but Matt won't get equality when it comes to starting in LF from Dusty because of Baker's aversion to playing rookies". In Dusty's mind... is Kearn's a veteran or someone fresh from AAA? Dusty is so stuck on the lefty/righty thing he might not even start Kearns everyday even if we acquired him.

We need to play Murton and Cedeno and there will be no need for Kearns.

The other way isn't working. Either stick him in the pen the rest of this year or shut him down, IMO. Personally, I have higher hopes for a contribution from Scott Williamson than from Kerry Wood for the rest of this season. I agree. I'm hoping Williamson provides that crucial spark in the bullpen. I wouldn't even count on Wood at all this year. Hendry must consider the team without him and determine if we need to make any moves. Even if Wood returns as a relief pitcher, I don't see him being effective since he tends to get hit hard early in games... Oh well, I just hope he comes out of this healthy and uses the offseason to work on his legs and tweak his delivery. Perhaps a steady diet of Clemens and Ryan tapes are in order.

Actually, the Cubs announced that Wood could be put in the pen. Cubs.com Everything I've read says he will be moved to the pen or, at the very least, that's the first option they're going to try. See http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2116209 http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-050725cubswood,1,3425424.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

Vizquel is the same guy who turned down the White Sox for a chance to "win" in San Fran :roll:

Has Wellemeyer gained some control or is he still walking the ball park? If not, no thanks. Mitre gets out of trouble. A walk and a stolen base made that far too interesting. Wellemeyer is far from ideal, but more useful out of the pen than Mitre, that's for sure. The Cubs have announced that when Wood returns it's going to be in the bullpen. I would suspect Mitre would be the man sent down since he hasn't been very effective in the pen.

Has Wellemeyer gained some control or is he still walking the ball park? If not, no thanks. Mitre gets out of trouble. A walk and a stolen base made that far too interesting. Wellemeyer is far from ideal, but more useful out of the pen than Mitre, that's for sure. The Cubs have announced that when Wood return it's going to be in the bullpen. I would suspect Mitre would be the man sent down since he hasn't been very effective in the pen.

Reyes regarding Neifi's swing "He's always jumping at me, looking for something off-speed."

I agree we should shut Wood down if there's a physical injury requiring surgery. Let him heal up sooner and focus on delivery changes, etc. Hill deserves a chance to start this year given his performance in the minors. I'm also looking forward to seeing Guzman compete for a starter's job next spring since reports on his rehab have been positive.

The funny part about that game was that Neifi made the two errors at second, then Dusty moved him over to short later in the game and took out Cedeno. Typical Dusty move.

Why? He won us one game. How many games has he cost us over the last month and a half or so with his horrible play. Add to that the fact that Cedeno is wasting development time while he sits on the bench and gets to pinch hit every couple of weeks. It may be Dusty's fault but it still completely unacceptable.. How many has he cost the Cubs over the last month and a half? Neifi's defense has remained outstanding this year regardless of his contribution with his bat and he plays a position where defense is highly valued. He is not the greatest hitter by any means, but he is a backup SS. Nefi was a Gold Glove winner in 2000, but that gold luster has faded. He no longer has much range at short. He has fairly sure hands, but just doesn't get to balls like he should. His poor defense cost us a game against the Nats earlier this year and I think a shortstop with decent range would have gotten to Kearn's hit last week and stopped the bleeding in that game. His lack of range was obvious is a game I attanded earlier this year, Cedeno started the game and Neifi replaced him in the 6th inning. Neifi stood at the same spot as Cedeno as the pitcher went into his windup. The ball was hit to the same location near second at about the same velocity, Cedeno came up with it earlier in the game, Perez couldn't reach it and simply waved his glove at it as it went by him. In any event, he is an adequate backup. I don't think Neifi can be blamed for beinging Neifi.. we know exactly what we are getting when we put him on the field. But Dusty should definitely start Cedeno since he really can't do any worse than Neifi and the kid shouldn't be sitting on the pine as it is counterproductive to his progression as a player.

I think Hendry isn't going to jump at anything unless its a long term solution. We are pretty much settled long-term for infield positions (First - Lee, Second - Walker [we hold an option for 2006], Third - Ramirez, Short - Cedono [Nomar is possible if he'll sign for a short salary] Catcher - Barrett). With respect to the outfield, it looks like Pie may be the long-term center fielder and Murton will be a corner outfielder. Burnitz is only a $7 million option for next year, so they may let him go if Corey looks like he can turn it around. We have a huge need for a middle reliever followed by an outfield bat. At this point, I'm thinking Mitre (who is potentially a number 3 in a rotation as his career progresses) is the most logical to be traded perhaps for Baez (who is somewhat overated as a closer, but still good out of the pen).

Nevin hasn't approved the deal yet and I don't think he will. He really wants to remain in San Diego. It's why he turned down a trade to Cincy a couple years back. The fact that the Os are in a playoff run may help their chances, but Nevin doesn't want to move from San Diego and they have a better chance at actually making tha playoffs than the Os.

Neifi will the unbelievable. I'll still trash him as a starter, but wow. :D

Neifi will the unbelievable. I'll still trash him as a started, but wow. :D