katway

I dislike how people claim a "hatred" for the Cubs after reading the opinion--and that's exactly what the quoted text is, opinion--of one baseball writer. And it's funny, too, because the consensus of this board is that Paul Sullivan doesn't know what he's talking about. Yet today he knows all when it comes to the pursuit of Brian Giles. Is there any way we can wait on the signing of Giles, wherever it may be, before we begin thumping the Cubs for their ineptitude? You are right that I am overreacting (I obviously don't hate the Cubs). Also, Sullivan is less than reliable. But I'm very frustrated that the Cubs seem to have no apparent interest in Giles (unless he's dirt cheap). In addition, Sullivan hasn't been the first to mention the Ineifiable (wasn't that word invented last week?) Alex Gonzalez II as a possible target for the Cubs. What are the Cubs supposed to say? If he goes out and says "I am willing to pay whatever Brian Giles wants" everyone will be ticked that he's just driving his price up. Hendry's not a complete idiot, I bet what we hear from the newspapers, etc. is about 5% of what really happens. Exactly. :wink: No team is going to go out and say they will pay a player whatever he wants.

If one places themselves in Hendry's shoes, you mention one quick reason in declining skill with age, but he also may be thinking Gile's salary is ultimately going to be too high for production and a large chunk of payroll (thereby limiting future flexibility), and may need to find a place for Brandon Sing (or another prospect he may be high on) pretty soon. Those are some thoughts he may have without commenting on their validity.

Doesn't surprise me that his agent would start out asking for the moon and the stars. Just because his agent says he needs 5 for $50M doesn't mean he will get it from anyone.

I like Walker, but he makes more sense in the American League where he can DH once in a while to hide his defensive liabilities. It's not that he is awful defensively. He can make routine plays, but doesn't have much range and can't turn a double play, which is crucial in ending rallys by other teams.

Matsui's best asset is that he is pretty good in the clutch. It's one of those intangibles that goes beyond the stats. would love to see him in Cubbie blue.

Aramis is our first consistent power/ribi/average 3rd baseman in his prime since Ron Santo. There's no way you let that go. It took the Cubs 30 years to find. If Aramis works on his legs this offseason so thaty he isn't taken out by groin pulls, etc., there is no telling how productive he can be... We can retain Aramis and trade other players to get better.

Sign Burnett, then include any package of Williams, Mitre, Hill for Dunn or a smaller package for Kearns. that Angel Guzman returns to form and the team will be set with starting pitching for the next several years. Then spend free agent $ on Furcal and relief pitching.

I also hope Angel Guzman looks good this spring. So far, it looks like he's coming along nicely in the fall league. Would be a nice shot in the arm to finally see some of these highly touted minor league pitchers finally produce for the Cubs.

I thought they were moving him to shortstop? Nats can't unload Cristian Guzman. No one will take on his salary. So, it left third base which is where Zimmerman would have ended up anyway as the years progress. In any event, I spend a lot of time in San Diego and a lot of Padre fans have mixed feelings. They feel they could have gotten something better than Castilla, but aren't disppointed to have gotten rid of Lawrence.

This year is probably Corey's last opportunity to stick around as a starter in this league. I'm glad he will actually be playing in winter ball. I hope he focuses on one thing...plate patience. We all know what a difference it would make for this team and Corey if he were actually patient at the plate.

Abreu has a big contract, will be 32 when the season starts, and can't man center field. It would make no sense to trade either Prior or Zambrano for him.

I agree. The only time you take on Sheffield is if he agrees to it in advance. He has effectively created his own no trade clause without actually having one.

Good thread. the kid has been doubted at every level, including college ball. He also has proved himself at every level. He plays good defense, gets on base, and is a smart base runner... pretty much sums up what we need at least to hold the fort until/if Pie arrives. He's not a long term answer, but he has the potential to provide a nice spark to the lineup similar to an Eckstein type player.

Exactly. Nothing new guard versus old guard in any of these instances. In addition, Bill James (a stat geek above all others) is being retained by the Red Sox, who will probably pursue Kevin Towers.

IMO, if Nomar does accept a move to the OF, I think he would be fine with a sidearm toss if it is stronger and more accurate than his overhand toss. His ability to make strong tosses from deep short and 3rd give me the impression that he has decent arm strength to play the outfield. While a sidearm toss is not optimal, I think I'd rather have his sidearm toss than Manny's, Damon's, etcs... overhand toss. With respect to his legs, while the outfield involves more running, it is somewhat easier on the legs than shortstop which requires rapid start and stops in acrobatic positions, throwing across the body while planted, going across the bag, etc.

I think a lot of that came during the first couple of weeks when he got a lot of fluke hits and had an insanely high batting average. I was more impressed with him as he was playing every day, hitting the ball with authority while showing patience at the plate. His .261/.329/.478 line against righties is acceptable to me. That goes without saying. By committing themselves to a league-minimum salaried Murton, it allows them to allocate more money towards a centerfielder and corner outfielder instead of having to spread it around for all three OF positions (as others have noted). Assuming, hopefully of course, that Patteron and Burnitz are not in the discussion. I agree completely. Murton has shown great patience at the plate and done well at nearly every level he has played. I was also impressed by his display of some power at the end of the year. I'd say he has a pretty good upside and with his batting approach, he should be a solid ballplayer. In any event, I think he is good enough that the Cubs can focus their budget on other positions of need.

Nats would do this in a second. But, why would the Cubs want to get worse? Wilkerson is a solid player, but nothing special and coming off an awful year. Vidro is over 30 and doesn't give us much more than Walker. Guillen can self-destruct at any time.

How about Ted Willams? The first inductee in the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in San Francisco. Guess he wasn't on the list because they thought he didn't represent the hispanic community.

Really? So the white sox were good at smallball til june then got bad at it? Fascinating. What is this comment refering to :?: The white sox won (basicaclly) all their 1 run games through june. After that, they were much, much worse. If this was a talent, why did it go away? A win in April counts as much as a win in September. In any event, their talent didn't go away. They continued to win many one run games.

They won the tight ballgames because they were not scoring 5 runs they were scoring 2 or 3. Fortunately for them their pitcihng allowed them to win 3-2 instead of losing 5-3. Those are games the Cubs would have lost 2 to nothing. So what's your point? You can't deny they were best in the league in one run ballgames. It's a combination of good pitching and actually scoring runs. In converse, the Cubs put up a lot of goose eggs in similar circumstances. A one run win counts as much as a 10 run win.

Really? So the white sox were good at smallball til june then got bad at it? Fascinating. What is this comment refering to :?:

Giles will sign with SD. Furcal may cost more than $8 mil per. $7 mil is too much for Paul Byrd. B.J. Ryan is going to get more than $5mil per. While I like Lofton, I see him and Furcal as somewhat redundant.

Sciocia's was right when he said "...The White Sox execute small ball probably better than anybody in our league." The fact is that the WhiteSox can manufacture a run against a good pitcher on top of his game. They may not score more runs over the course of a season or pad other stats, but the fact is that they are capable or scratching out a run or two in tight ballgames. They were best in the majors in one-run ballgames for a reason and it wasn't just good pitching. They know the one stat that counts... Ws.

The Sox outscored the Cubs this year. But, more importantly, it's their type of small ball offense that scores runs against good pitchers. They may not post up 15 runs in a game, but they consistently score and make the game competative. Even though the Cubs have more power in their lineup, the Cubs post far too many goose eggs for a good team. The Sox offense was more consistent in giving the team an opportunity to win and did, in fact, outscore the Cubs this year. Those 38 extra runs are a lot of one run ballgames with their stellar pitching staff. The Sox did not play "small ball". They were 4th in the AL in Home Runs. The reason they won games is because eevry single pitcher on that staff had a career year. EVERY one. The small ball/ozzie ball/parole ball thing is a media creation. Nothing more. That team is as dependent on the HR as any other WS team of the past 4 years, they just happen to have traded a slugger for a leadoff guy. That really didn't change a thing. Small ball isn't just scoring on singles. It's getting on base so the homeruns are more than one run shots. It's disrupting the pitcher, moving guys over, making the pitcher work so they come out earlier, etc. I attended a Sox game this year and their style of baseball was completely different than the Cubs. Pods totally disrupted pitchers when he was on base, they made good base running decisions, Ozzie called hit and runs, they actually took a few pitches from time to time :shock: , etc. In the several Cubs games I attended this year, I never saw the Cubs create havoc and move runners over like the Sox. Perhaps the stats don't tell the whole story. It's like Justice Stewart said of pornography... I know it when I see it. :wink: The Sox play small ball, the Cubs don't.

Yeah, it's right up there with letting a 6'9" lefty with crap tons of talent go rule V. . . . BUT...to be fair, neither Sisco nor Jenks (both have SERIOUS maturity issues, which wouldn't surprise me if it popos it's uglyhead again) have SUSTAIN success in the majors. And if the Sox win the series, Jenks might have an overload, and destroy his career. This "KID" doesn't have a LONG career in baseball. Everybody loves his FB, but he is STUPID, plain and simple. Think of him as a HEAVIER Kyle Farnsworth, their partying will destroy their careers. I, for one, don't miss Sisco. Jenks seems to have matured over the past couple years, the same can't be said for Farns. In any event, I wouldn't even say they have the same stuff. Farns throws hard with little movement. Jenks throws hard with movement. Farns has an average to slightly above average slider that has to be set up by his fastball. Jenks has a wicked above average curve that doesn't need to be setup by his fastball.