USSoccer

Have you guys been keeping up with anything that's been going on in Boston since Theo Epstein left? It's as if RSN has turned on itself. You've had people on SOSH calling out Curt Shilling (who posts there) and questioning his knowledge of the situation. You also have most of RSN wanting Lucchino fired, and the owner won't get involved. Can you imagine if this happened here? If a player posted here, would any of us call him out, even if he was opinionated? I know I got in a little spat with Ron Potesta a few weeks back, but it was a civil disagrement. Some of those posters are just being brutal. I guess, my thing is that, with no GM, a team President that's clearly lost all credibility, and clubhouse unrest (with Varitek, Schilling, Timlin and Ortiz leading the players in questioning the Theo thing), how is Boston going to handle this winter?

Hear Hear. Neifi, used properly, isn't as bad. When with Dusty, it's like mixing gasoline and fire and gunpowder.

I agree with your rumor of a rumor thing, but Neifi's defense wasn't all that good. He cost us at least 2 games because of 2 error innings. Might want to check a thread I just posted in the Baseball forum and decide if you wish to retract that one. I'm going to be stubborn and stick by it. Because I dislike Perez THAT much. :P *edit*-i know he's generally sure handed. I still don't like him and don't want him anywhere near Wrigley unless he's an usher.

Baker, yes. Hendry, no. Hendry acquired Neifi to be exactly that, a bench player. Twice. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Hendry is great when it comes to trades, but he has a huge blindspot where Dusty is concerned. He just seems to overvalue mediocrity, as if there's a value in playing it safe that intrinsically higher than other investments.

Baker, yes. Hendry, no. Hendry acquired Neifi to be exactly that, a bench player. Twice. So you'd think he'd learn his lesson. Would you rather have Cedeno as the backup SS or Neifi, at 10 times the cost?

I agree with your rumor of a rumor thing, but Neifi's defense wasn't all that good. He cost us at least 2 games because of 2 error innings.

It's funny how Neifi can make you long for AGonz. Heck, I'd rather have Alex on the bench than Neifi. At least Alex has power.

Would you take 2 years of Perez if it meant no years of Macias? Talk about selling your soul to the devil. No. I wouldn't do that. At least Macias doesn't block anyone. Except that he (Macias) is Bakers #1 option off the bench and we all know that is where young players go to learn under the Baker system. These two players are a lose lose situation IMO with Baker at the helm. I agree, but in Macias' case it's the lesser of two evils. Macias can do less harm than Neifi can. Baker sees Neifi as an everyday player who "saved" us. Macias as a bench player only does so much harm.

Obviously not, since we are so far into the offseason and so many teams have made moves and Hendry is just screwing up left and right. :roll: Seems to me that are always going to be some people hoping for a bad offseason because they seem to get more enjoyment from ripping mistakes (real or perceived) by Hendry, Baker, etc. than they get when the team is succesful. Trouble is, with moves like this, we aren't likely to be successful.

Would you take 2 years of Perez if it meant no years of Macias? Talk about selling your soul to the devil. No. I wouldn't do that. At least Macias doesn't block anyone.

Only problem is it's not the bench... Yeah, that line about competing with Cedeno is funny. The thing is, this Rosenthal report contradicts everything that's been reported about the Cubs going with Cedeno and Murton in the everyday lineup. Let's hope it's just a lazy reporter trying to fill space in a column.

If true, the line to storm the Cubs offices starts behind me. I'll buy the torches and the pitchforks. About the only thing keeping me from going nuts is the fact that it's Rosenthal.

I'd say if we seriously pursue all 3, we stand an excellent chance of getting 1, a fair chance of getting both, and a slim chance of getting all 3.

That's dumb. Frank would be a perfect solution for the Cubs CF issues. According to the Dusty Dice, Thomas would be the primary RH set up man, and the backup C.

It was more of an opportunity for Jim Annixter to be a self promoter and for Murphy and he to take cheap shots at the Tribune Co.

Maybe Hendry is going "under the radar" with Giles??? Let's hope so. It could very well be that Giles is a main target, and the press hasn't gotten wind of it yet.

I do like the fact that Hendry seems to be acting proactively this offseason.

That 's sigworthy. :jocolor:

The problem is Nomar isn't athletic enough. He's had leg problems fro 2 years! Is moving to the OF wherehe has to cover more ground going to help? Also, Z for Abreu, Michaels and Leiber isn't even close to a good trade. Abreu is leaving his prime, Michales is servicable and Leiber is a 4.00 era type guy. No thanks.

What worries me is Hendry wants to overpay average to below average players. Furcal, Preston Wilson, Encarnacion, Jacque Jones, Pierre, Rusch... Where did you see that Hendry wants to overpay for Preston Wilson, Encarnacion or Jacque Jones?? Also, why do you think that Rusch is not worth $3M a year? Hendry has a very bad habit of overpaying fringe talent. Neifi, Macias and to a lesser extend Blanco and Burnitz are excellent examples of this. He's pound wise, penny foolish. In regards to Rusch, the issue is that we have multiple internal options for the role Rusch will pay, and all of them are much, much cheaper. Plus, if Rusch isn't starting he's absolutely terrible. Name all of those "multiple internal options" for Rusch' role that are cheaper. Hill and Koronka stunk, Mitre and Welly stunk and are RH, and Williams shows promise, but he is our 5th RH pitcher. I think Rusch at $3 million is a good deal, he gives us a LH starter, a veteran swingman, and enough depth to use him or our younger pitchers as trade bait. Williams' numbers with the Cubs were quite good, and he wasn't even in shape. Were he to go down, you could legitimately see Hill, Koronka, Guzman (if healthy), Pinto, Wellemeyer or even Nolasco in a true emergency slide in and start. I don't think Rusch is multiples better than any of those guys, and he certainly isn't better than Williams. Also, it doesn't matter that the Cubs would have 5 RHP in the rotation. Having a lefty is no good if that lefty sucks. See Estes, Shawn circa 2003. If Rusch gets bounced around again from pen to rotation, he'll stink again. Also, the fact that he may not make the rotation but be a swingman means having a 12 man pitching staff, which is ludicriously stupid.

If Corey truly needs tim off to clear his head of CUBS fans booing him... he will never be back. I doubt he's back regardless, unless it's as a reserve player.

Has Heinrich been reevaluated?

You know, I really don't think Pierre is very good, but if we got him for Patterson and Mitre, the OF would be improved. Of course, the OF was so dang bad that it's hard to imagine it not improving. And even if Pierre puts up an OBP in the .330's, even though that wouldn't be great, it would be light years ahead of what we had leading off in front of Ramirez and Lee. It's about cost, though. If Pierre costs more than Patterson and Mitre or another Rule 5 guy, I'd pass.

Say that again, this time with a straight face. Read his scouting report, says he has Josh Beckett like stuff. Beckett stuff is considerably better than Zambranos. ESPN's scouting reports are notoriously innacurate. He has a 4.47 career ERA. Z's is 3.26, WHIP is 1.27 and BAA is .228. Myers' numbers in WHIP and BAA aren't close to Z.

I'd do it for Bobby Abreu and Brett Meyers. That would be a disaster of massive proportions for this team. I don't think it would be a bad trade. Zambrano is a great pitcher. Abreu is a great hitter. Myers has comparable stuff to Z (maybe better), strikes out a ton of guys, is the same age. I edited the post if you included Utley, I do it, you solve 3 problems. For a guy who still has control problems from time to time, and the big inning sometimes. Myers can't even sniff Zambrano when it comes to stuff, potential, ceiling, or even current ability. Abreu is good, but he is leaving his prime years of production. It would be a stupid trade. And there's no way Philly would trade Utley, Myers and Abreu at the same time. I hate to take the jam out of the "blockbuster" doughnut, but it is highly unlikely that we will be able to trade for Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn. Unless you feel like giving up on Pie AND gutting the upper level P prospects AND taking on salary, it's not going to happen. Likewise, We have 5 ML impact players on our roster-Z, Prior, Ramirez, Lee and Barrett. Hendry would be stupid to trade any of them unless he got an absolute stud in his prime and another good to above average player in return. Why? Because subtracting one strength to add one strength just spins your wheels. It's robbing Peter to pay Paul. It doesn't improve the club. So, in other words, we do not have the ML impact talent or the upper level prospect depth to trade for any of these players.