MadDog07

I know how this website has a powerful disliking for Dusty, and usually I've never had a big problem with him...the pitch counts don't bother me too much, the lineup management seems to get the right guys in the right situations, but one thing that's always getting me is how he picks his favorites and doesn't quit on them. Holla has a quiet bat, while Murton got another 3 hits tonight, and Holla gets the majority...he plays everyday now...but Hairston never got the time he should have had when Patterson was still on the team...and I don't think Cedeno should be an everyday starter, but I never see him playing because Neifi is always there, and his numbers have gone to the wayside after June...Whether the head management makes him start the players that are getting bigger $'s or what...Dusty just seems to not quit on some of these guys.

I'm up here in Wisconsin so I don't hear about minor leaguers a lot...I honestly never knew about this Dopriak(sp?) fella' was before I first came to this site...but anyways, I remember Kelton's first at bat, and he flew out to the left fielder, and the crowd went wild because Kelton took the first at-bat of a long and fruitful career. Flash-foreward about 3 years and he's moved to 3rd base, and we haven't heard him really since, except for a quick stint last year...and once Doobie was lifted, that was the end of Kelton to a certain extent...where's that coveted bat of his and where is he these days? Is he even still with the franchise?

My only Cub's jersey is a Woody one, which is pretty much the sole reason I want to keep him... I can't imagine another decent starting pitcher being aquired for Wood, so would you rather have another project to worry about in the rotation for 15 starts a year or for 35? I don't know how many years he's locked on for, but Wood knows he'll never see this much money with another organization, so he may even be willing to take a little bit of a cut.

Weurtz looked so dominant at the beginning of the season, then he's fallen apart since, i can't get over it...he might need to get his act together if he wants to stay with the club much longer. Novoa was looking good for about 5 or 6 games, but his last 3 have been garbage, I think he's a better 6th or 7th inning man, especially because he has the ability to stretch it out an extra inning. Remlinger has gone to the wayside this year...he can't stay healthy, and can't get out of innings. Maybe he would do alright if given Ohman's role, but for all we know Ohman can't handle entire innings consistently. As far as who to lift, I never liked Bartosh's release and I don't know if he'll be any sort of an upgrade to what's on the roster now...I have yet to see Wellemeyer go out there and get whipped around a lot of times, he's wild, but he always gets sent down w/ an ERA under 4.2....other than that, these guys obviously aren't getting lifted because they're not as good, because we've got an Iowa full of relievers on the team already. [/i]

BABIP Batting Average on Balls in Play. This is a measure of the number of batted balls that safely fall in for a hit (not including home runs). The exact formula we use is (H-HR)/(AB-K-HR) This is similar to DER, but from the batter's perspective. You're going to use this stat to decide whether or not you want this guy? That's digging deep...I agree Kearns will be cheaper, but him and Dunn are both 25, and Kearns strikes out a lot, has a so-so BA, doesn't hit the HR's that Dunn can, has a good OBP but nothing to covet, and can't bat leadoff or anything. These are the stats that I'll focus on. I just don't see the attraction in him, he looks like another Holla to me that can platoon with him in left field. It almost seems like Gerut is a more accomplished player than Kearns too...don't we want a player that's going to give us a playoff push? Another platoon man isn't going to do that... If he's going to be a great player with this Cubs I want him on my team, so I want to know what it is that'll make him that good of a player. I know what BABIP is and I wasn't the poster who used it in his argument as to why we should/shouldn't get Kearns. I was just saying that i don't agree with the argument that Kearns's career high in BABIP was unsustainable just b/c Kearns's BABIP was in the upper 20% of major league players. As to why get Kearns over Dunn...Dunn has so many holes in his game, it's ridiculous. He is proof positive that you can just sit at the plate and wait for a pitch in a certain zone and be successful. that approach doesn't lend itself to clutch hitting or fundamental baseball, which are two qualities we need to be looking for in any new acquisitions. Kearns is everything Dunn is not: a decent fielder, rocket arm, nice average hitter (when healthy), and fairly clutch (as he showed us in Cinci in this last series). Kearns is also cheaper than Dunn...by millions of dollars. Ask GMs like John Schuerholz about Kearns. He loves the kid. Scouts love Kearns. We are so OBP starved (from the 1st half of this year) that we'll take a player like Dunn with his sizable contract and obvious flaws. It's not going to help us. We don't need power. We need well rounded ballplayers. I'm not blaming you, I just think that, fundamental or not, Dunn will get 100 rbi's and runs, and the fact that he gets the job done is something to be regarded more than how he gets the job done. I believe in clutch, but I don't see a .260/15/65 player being so much more clutch than a .220/45/100 player. Whether or not a GM loves him or not...Hendry loved Patterson, and that didn't turn out for the best. I'm sure scouts love the numbers that Dunn puts up there too. The Cubs aren't the Yankees by any regard, but they don't have to worry about money, especially if they're going to get rid of Patterson or Holla or whoever else. Like I said before, I'd be happy with either player, I just don't see how Kearns is going to help the organization.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/statpages/glossary/#babip You can find a lot of these other deep stats at this webpage; I figure it'd be good to cite my sources.

BABIP Batting Average on Balls in Play. This is a measure of the number of batted balls that safely fall in for a hit (not including home runs). The exact formula we use is (H-HR)/(AB-K-HR) This is similar to DER, but from the batter's perspective. You're going to use this stat to decide whether or not you want this guy? That's digging deep...I agree Kearns will be cheaper, but him and Dunn are both 25, and Kearns strikes out a lot, has a so-so BA, doesn't hit the HR's that Dunn can, has a good OBP but nothing to covet, and can't bat leadoff or anything. These are the stats that I'll focus on. I just don't see the attraction in him, he looks like another Holla to me that can platoon with him in left field. It almost seems like Gerut is a more accomplished player than Kearns too...don't we want a player that's going to give us a playoff push? Another platoon man isn't going to do that... If he's going to be a great player with this Cubs I want him on my team, so I want to know what it is that'll make him that good of a player.

If you ask me, we're still in playoff contention. I think Hill's got a major-league curveball and had a few good innings up here, but I don't want an experiment-player for 5 starts if we're contending...I'd rather let Mitre get back out there, because he's young, but we've seen what he's capable of already.

Todd Walker is too valuable at this point in this season, so we better damn well be getting Ted Williams' frozen head with a Cub's hat on it if we're going to trade Walker back to the Sox.

I will accept this trade only if the satellites of Austin Kearns are involved...I don't want the player, i want the ears

Closers like Baez will end up somewhere that needs a closer, which, for now, isn't our Cubs Bottalico will end up going someplace like Boston or Florida that'll need spot closers, because he is one of the better relievers on the market, and has over 100 career saves under his belt By no means am I saying he's the answer, and I don't have stats on me, but ever since being lifted for the third time, Novoa has looked pretty impressive on the mound. We must have traded Farnsworth for a reason. Weurtz seems to be falling apart, and Remlinger can't handle an entire inning. I would rather leave Novoa and Rusch setting up and getting an outfielder. The relievers that are gonna be available for the Cubs are guys like Shingo that are DFA from other teams...what's Stephen Randolf doing these days?

All teams need a utility player that can go anywhere in a jam, which is the only reason macias stays on the cubs...he can play 7 positions. I don't like neifi starting though, and I think neifi can fill the utility void, because macias has a boring bat. I don't think there should be so many rookies brough up (i.e. cedeno, fontenot, dubois when he was with them), but grieve is a good outfielder, and can play either corner.

Hank Aaron never had more than 40 HR's in a season, and what made him the best HR hitter who ever played is the fact that he had consistency over the span of his career. Even though Raffy is more famous for his Viagra ads than his baseball career, he's managed to consistently maintain being a good player, without getting injured...something most players can never do. There'll even be first ballad players that didn't do nearly what Raffy did, it's just that Raffy's been on some bad teams.

Hank Aaron never had more than 40 HR's in a season, and what made him the best HR hitter who ever played is the fact that he had consistency over the span of his career. Even though Raffy is more famous for his Viagra ads than his baseball career, he's managed to consistently maintain being a good player, without getting injured...something most players can never do. There'll even be first ballad players that didn't do nearly what Raffy did, it's just that Raffy's been on some bad teams.

I'm not saying that Grieve is the answer to any extent, but, living up here in Wisconsin for about 10 years, I remember all of the hype of the potential that Grieve had with Milwaukee, they talked about him being a great OBP player. And don't quote me on this, but he possibly may have won ROY with Tampa...he rots on the bench when he's up with the Cubs...and we seem to be able to option him constantly with no problem...is Grieve just a fill-in for the rest of his career?

Who's saying that Gerut would be long term? I don't like the trade for the simple fact that Dubois, though struggling, still has the potential to do something in this league. For all I know Gerut will hit .320 and bat leadoff, but it seems as if he's a quiet player...good OBP, no pop in his bat, no speed, doesn't strike out a lot, doesn't walk a lot, hits mainly singles, solid defense...I'm not seeing an upside. Does Gerut have anything that Hairston or Holla don't have?

Dunn's OBP is about .365 while hitting about .222. The trick is that he hits in the 6 spot, with struggling Wily Mo and LaRue behind him. Burnitz's OBP isn't quite as high, at about .350, and he does have a .280 BA to top Dunn's, but power-hitting 6th spots tend to get walked a lot to get into the other hitters. If we do get Dunn, would he hit in the 6? He would be a 4 or 5, and have Burnitz and Aramis potentially behind him, which gives Dunn a lot nicer pitches to look at, but will also lower his OBP to a certain extent...I suppose what I'm getting at is do we need another rbi man with bad defense?

We already have burnitz, i know Griffey strikes out a lot too but Dunn is just outrageous with how much he whiffs. More importantly than who they could get...who would they give up for an outfielder? Is Angel getting too hurt to hold onto, and with Hill and Brownlie knocking on the door, can getting rid of a starting pitcher in the farm system be worth it? There'll only be one open position in the rotation until Maddux goes after next season...

What do some of these potential outfielders that we may aquire bring to the table? What type of player do we need? Another HR hitter? Good OBP? What part of the batting order is in dire need of an upgrade? ORIGINAL MESSAGE - Hairston played primarily in LF when he was with Baltimore, and I definitely like him more than Holla, Murton, or Dubois...What possibilties would there be to get a solid CF now that Kotsay is off the market with his new contract? With all of the SP's in the Cub's minors, would trading Angel be a big deal at this point? I thought it would be a good idea to get Junior from Cinci on account of they're out of contention, want to put Wily Mo in, and we have the money to afford him...We could also get Aurillia in the deal, because he's on the block too...is there any better trade possibilities you can think of that'll work?