USSoccer

That's really suprising. I also think it's a clear sign they're going to move at least 1 OF this winter. I don't want Huff, but if Hendry is set on Pierre, would Crawford be better?

I also do get the sense that Hendry feels Juan Pierre can rebound from his not-so-good OBP in 2005. My sense is that he'd want Dusty to bat Furcal first and Pierre 2nd if he got both of them. Depending on the player cost for Pierre, I could support getting them both, but I think he'd get that batting order dead wrong.

Actually Gammons said quite the opposite. According to him, the Cubs asked Nomar if he'd consider coming back to play LF, and Nomar said no. His willingness to shift positions is contained to 3B. Then there's zero chance of him coming back. He's not a better 3B than Aramis, and I doubt his range at SS.

He said no one saw Hollandsworth struggles coming. :x See man. I will say this though. Hendry pretty much said that he has failed the past two years. At least he can recognize that. Yeah, that was the only part of the interview that irritated me. I don't think the questions were the right ones, though. I would have asked about: -Why not Brian Giles? -Aramis' offseason stretching program -Dotel? -Rule 5 draft guys; why not trade some? -Why not let Neifi go test the market and save money? -OBP in the 1-2 spots. Agreed. Those questions would have been excellent to ask. Well I know Hendry did mention that Stat-wise the lead-off position was not where it should be. Hendry isn't going to come out and say that Dusty's top of the lineup was terrible. It's just not his M.O. He mentioned that RF was something they are going to be looking at as well as more pitching depth. I didn't expect him to come and tell Silvy and Carmen exactly who he is looking at. I wasn't knocking Hendry's answers; I was being critical of the questions that were asked. I didn't think they were the best questions to ask Hendry. He could have answered however he wanted, but if the interviewers at least bother to ask to right questions, that's all I could hope for.

I think the fact tha Neifi got resigned, and the presence of Cedeno probably dooms Macias to being non tendered. There's no reason to have Cedeno and Perez and Macias.

He said no one saw Hollandsworth struggles coming. :x See man. I will say this though. Hendry pretty much said that he has failed the past two years. At least he can recognize that. Yeah, that was the only part of the interview that irritated me. I don't think the questions were the right ones, though. I would have asked about: -Why not Brian Giles? -Aramis' offseason stretching program -Dotel? -Rule 5 draft guys; why not trade some? -Why not let Neifi go test the market and save money? -OBP in the 1-2 spots.

He said no one saw Hollandsworth struggles coming. :x

I guess, but that's like putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound. Just fire the manager if he's not managing the team the right way.

Thanks for recapping. It doesn't sound like anyone asked any good questions.

Somebody post a recap!

Friday

So I don't get it. Are the people that are backing up Hendry supporting this signing, or using the reaction to the signing as an opportunity to bash posters and trot out phrases like "groupthink"?

Some highlights: -"a little pressure thnks to the white sox winning" -"dusty is 'the right guy'" -Finally someone pointed out that Prior's injuries are mostly flukes. -Gives Lee and Ramirez thier credit for great seasons, and points out how bad our 1-2 hitters were. All in all, it was 3 minutes I'll never get back.

this is so lame. we could have done a better job at this.

Yes they have. I'd really like to see where. Results from the search function tend to support CPatt. Careful using facts to back up a point, JC.

word.

-I buy tickets to about 10 games a year. -I don't work in baseball because my degree is in history, and I played soccer and not baseball in college. Therefore, my opportunities to break into the big leagues were limited at best. -No one advocates playing rookies just because they are rookies. People advocate using rookies in spots where they are likely to perform at a similar rate for a severely reduced cost. -Baseball is not rocket science. Amateurs can sometiemes make decisions better than people who are involved, because we have a different perspective. It doesn't take a genius or a baseball HOF to read a stat sheet or look at numbers and figure out that a .280 OBP is nothing to give a raise for. -Running a business means you have to make decisions within a budget that ensure success. This signing does the opposite. And the more I think about your post the more it ticks me off; the self righteousness your words drip with makes me angry, since you accuse others of being know-it alls while acting like one yourself. So i'm going to end this edit now, before i type something stupid.

The only way I want Damon near the Cubs is on a 2 year deal. Anything more than that and he can go take his noodle arm elsewhere.

I also have to give credit to my father, who has been taking me to games since I was 6 months old. This past May, I finally took my father to a game. It was a great game, a great sunny day, and it was nice that I was able to treat him to something I've always loved, thanks to him. Thanks, Dad.

Actually, "player relations" are one of the few explanations that can be given for re-signing Neifi, unless Hendry really is a 100% complete moron. By all accounts, Aramis Ramirez is an emotionally fragile guy, he was hurt by the departure of Sammy and particularly, Moises Alou. Now he has a countryman on the team in Neifi, and Furcal would complete the Dominican version of the Cub Musketeers. Some of these Caribbean players in the big leagues really struggle with life in The Show, and if it takes a couple compatriots to bring out the best in Aramis, then maybe that's why Hendry brought back Perez. That, and it might help bring in Furcal rather than see him go to the Mets. Makes sense actually--we all know from direct observation that Neifi seems to be everyone's "buddy" on the team, I guess Hendry didn't want to lose that. Crappy justification for the kind of money he paid him, but then, Hendry never has been smart with the wallet. I responded once that you post was well put. But, as I sit here and think about a player who took less money to come to Chicago for a potential bench role (Walker) get treated with disrespect... and as I sit here and think about how Nomar seemed to want to stay in Chicago (quite possibly for non personal reasons, like playing a full year healthy for the wonderful fans of Chicago and attempting to prove he can still be the great player he was) and no one showing any interest whatsoever.... and how the whole Sosa thing went down..... and the unprofessional comments like "I like guys who can catch the ball".... I wonder what some of the other guys on the team think about all of this stuff going on. Walker had to have some friends in that locker room. Again, great post. I think this mess is bringing out some of the best in our postings here.

That sounds far fetched. Really far fetched. But it's not unrealistic.

Actually, "player relations" are one of the few explanations that can be given for re-signing Neifi, unless Hendry really is a 100% complete moron. By all accounts, Aramis Ramirez is an emotionally fragile guy, he was hurt by the departure of Sammy and particularly, Moises Alou. Now he has a countryman on the team in Neifi, and Furcal would complete the Dominican version of the Cub Musketeers. Some of these Caribbean players in the big leagues really struggle with life in The Show, and if it takes a couple compatriots to bring out the best in Aramis, then maybe that's why Hendry brought back Perez. That, and it might help bring in Furcal rather than see him go to the Mets. Makes sense actually--we all know from direct observation that Neifi seems to be everyone's "buddy" on the team, I guess Hendry didn't want to lose that. Crappy justification for the kind of money he paid him, but then, Hendry never has been smart with the wallet. If that was the reason, okay, I guess I can buy that. I was of the mind that losing Alou and Sosa might affect ARam. It didn't seem to, but if Hendry thought bringing back Neifi would help his best player, fine. But still, $2.5m per? You cannot tell me that you could have had him for less.

Who cares. He should have thought about this a year ago. Walker's not the sharpest knife. #1. You didn't answer my question. #2. If you don't know the answer, why are you responding? #3. I care. If you don't like it, don't respond. I'll answer: Yes, I believe Walker did request that. However, I think Hendry's doing the proper business thing by picking up his option, and then exploring all options. I don't disagree with that. Even if the best option was to extend him and trade him. But, resigning Neifi at the same time you have basically extended him just blatantly disrespects Walker in every possible way. He took less money to come here, and he took less money to stay here. He's been nothing but loyal to the organization and he's been everything expected of him. By signing Neifi, they've just kicked Walker where it hurts. Now, if they kept Walker and signed Furcal, and Neifi was just Walker's back up, that might be something entirely different. But, all indications are that Walker's days are numbered. Something tells me that player relations on this team are traveling further south than they already have been. I completely concur with your assesment of how Walker should feel. The intelligent thing that Hendry should have done was to let Neifi go past Friday, let him get some bids while trying to move Walker. Ideally, you'd move Walker before resigning Perez, if that was your plan. This way, on paper, it looks like he has "flexibility".

Who cares. He should have thought about this a year ago. Walker's not the sharpest knife. Hendry knew about Walker's defense when he signed him. It's Hendry who isn't the "sharpest knife." What a moran! As a side note, how did the Cubs come by Walker in the first place from the Red Sox? At the time the Cubs had Grudzielanek at 2nd base. Was he brought in as a utility man and was it a trade or FA signing? He was brought in, according to Hendry, to back up 2B, be a left handed complement to Grudz off the bench, and even couple "play a little LF and 1B".

Who cares. He should have thought about this a year ago. Walker's not the sharpest knife. #1. You didn't answer my question. #2. If you don't know the answer, why are you responding? #3. I care. If you don't like it, don't respond. I'll answer: Yes, I believe Walker did request that. However, I think Hendry's doing the proper business thing by picking up his option, and then exploring all options.