MPrior

Um. Wow. Let's hope those projections are close to true. Cause if they are, we could be in some pretty good shape for the future. Woo. Hoo.

Yes, I KNOW that some people find this offensive, but I seriously couldn't help but laugh.

Then they would bring the opposing manager on and yell at him for a bit, (very) occasionally letting him speak.

I'm not sure that anyone was actually criticizing Hendry for providing this many options - I think it really was just a question: what if Guzman, Prior, and Miller all pitch well out of the gate? Not that your points aren't valid - I'm glad we've got insurance as well. Although, like virtually all contracts this offseason, the Marquis and Lilly contracts are pretty bloated, and Marquis' signing is questionable at best.

And I hope Hendry is right about Izturis. But, I'm very, very skeptical that Izturis will be any better with a bat than the worst SS's in the league. if he stays healthy & plays great defense, does it really matter what he hits? the sox & cards won the WS with guys who had .713 & .694 ops's respectively. The White Sox also had a team ERA of 3.61. I'd say that played a bigger role in their WS title than a guy with a .713 OPS. Not to mention that a .713 or .694 OPS would be a good year for Izturis.

Triple B, Short of the Cubs acquiring a right-handed platoon partner for Jones, I still think that when the Cubs are facing a lefty, Lou Piniella will consider using DeRosa in RF and starting Theriot at 2B. Hoops I hope you are right, as I would be pretty pleased to see that. I would be pleased as well. I still think they need a RH bat for the bench. Thirded. Anything to get Jones out of the lineup against lefties. He's worse than a lot of pitchers against them.

overvalued? :shock: The guy made 5m last year and had 79 XBH's, 35 stolen bases and scored 127 times. Is there a better SS in the NL? Granted, he isn't an on base machine, but I'd take him. He's a lot better than Jacque Jones and he plays SS. I guess I was more referring to the way GMs would view him. The hit streak got him a lot of attention, and 2006 was arguably the best year of his career - and even so, there are at least a few NL shortstops who had equal or better years than he did. Reyes, Furcal, Hanley Ramirez, and Bill Hall were arguably all better. Also, and this could just be my faulty memory, but didn't he sign a pretty large contract in the 2005 or 2006 season? Maybe it's backloaded, but I think he did. I agree with Rob, though. If we could get him for Izturis plus someone who isn't a world-beater, it'd probably be a good deal.

Rollins is definitely an upgrade over Izturis, and would be an asset at SS. However, I think he's very much overvalued - both by his contract and by baseball people around the league - and as such would likely cost more to acquire in talent than he's actually worth.

Clearly Shelden Williams wins. No contest. Also, don't forget Popeye Jones. And this thread weirds me out. It seems like it's mostly people just talking about their own teams, with no one really responding. Maybe it's just that I'm so used to talking about the Cubs with other people who want to talk about the Cubs on this board, I don't know. Also, the Tar Heels rule. Raisin, it's too bad we won't play in the regular season. I'd really like to see a UCLA-Carolina matchup. I kind of hate that, in order to stay competitive for the tournament, teams have to fill their schedule with powder puff games.

I am in complete concurrence with you. While neither would be fun, I'd much rather have a bruised jaw than an intrascrotal hematoma. Just my two cents. I'm in agreement here. Bruised nuts are no laughing matter. I'll take a punch to the face over getting hit in the nuts by just about anything. I think I might let a car run over my foot over getting hit in the nuts. I've had that happen. Not that painful. And wow, I actually thought her name wasMuskat Me too. My foot was run over by a Land Rover Defender 110 (big car). Didn't really hurt at all.

Agreed. Thirded.

Ain't that the truth? Just in life in general?

Like I said, in their minds it's probably something else. But in reality, what they are after is average. They think 88/89 win seasons are great. They think contending within the division is admirable. They think Soriano is a whole lot more than he is. What is average in reality appears to be gold in the eyes of the Cubs. Striving for mediocrity implies intent. Clearly, the Cubs are not spending all these millions with the intent of being average. You can call their methodology lousy, and their philosophy garbage and their GM deluded, but to say they are "striving" to be average is just wrong. Because Hendry did his job so poorly over the past couple years, he put himself in the position of having a ton to spend with nothing to spend it on, while fighting for his job. Soriano is overrated and now overpaid, but he was the best position player on the market. By all accounts Schmidt wasn't going to leave the coast for anyone. Zito isn't worth a fraction of his contract. There really wasn't a lot Hendry could do that he didn't. With the premium put on pitching this offseason, you better believe a legit #2 and #3 would have cost the Cubs Pie, Veal, Pawalek, Gallagher and more. But of course, Jim helped put himself in this position. I just think it's sad that the Trib finally opened the vault when the store shelves were nearly bare. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that everyone's arguing semantics here. Basically I see a bunch of people saying the same thing, but arguing over it. Is it fair to say that what they are striving toward is averageness, regardless of what they believe it actually is?

I am in complete concurrence with you. While neither would be fun, I'd much rather have a bruised jaw than an intrascrotal hematoma. Just my two cents.

Just like they did last year. Which still blows my mind, by the way.

Guzman's line gives me great hope there - that 21/4 K/BB ratio is pretty shiny. I really want him to turn it on this year, and I think he can.

Which clearly means we're winning the World Series, because, as we all know, chemistry begets winning, not the other way around, as some of you "statisticians" and "scientists" and "sabermetricians" who always insist on "empirical evidence" and "observable behavior" and "causal relationships" and all that other crap keep claiming. DISCLAIMER: please don't interpret this as as invitation to argue chemistry again.

I'm not completely averse to the idea, but Soriano, Murton, Lee is probably better. Either way, the most important thing is to get the better hitters early in the lineup, and keep Izturis in the 8 spot, where he can do the least damage.

are you saying what i think you're saying? He's saying that Dunn is a bum and only tries when the game is on the line, because he is a glory whore. Well, he's never once hit a meaningful home run. Very true. He just litters baseball with his meaningless home runs. It's clear to me that he, like Kyle Farnsworth, is a gutless choking dog. Now take Juan Pierre. He doesn't hit many homeruns, but man, when he does, they are meaningful.

If this is true, and I'm inclined to believe that it is, it's a very good thing. Murton needs to stay and start, and get lots of PT.

http://www.users.muohio.edu/rothkr/fdup.jpg You really need to think a little bit before you post, or at least research your topic. As the posters above have clearly explained, Radke has no shoulder. I don't think that was necessary. I agree. Don't attack the poster. It's no big deal that he wasn't aware of the full extent of Radke's injury. Thirded. Also, shredded wheat (particularly bite-sized frosted mini-wheats) is very good.

A gamble cannot exist without a possible gain. Dealer: "I suggest you hit, sir." Austin Powers: "I, too, like to live dangerously."

I only saw about 15 minutes of the game, but UK did a very good job of controlling the tempo of the game, as well as containing Hansbrough (which naturally has me worried - he shouldn't be that easily contained). Thankfully (from a UNC perspective), Brandan Wright can pick up a lot of the inside slack, and Lawson and Ellington do a good job from the guard positions.

As soon as we signed DeRosa, it seemed like the obvious thing to do was platoon him - the big trick is, I think we'd still need to find a reasonable replacement for Izturis (which I doubt Hendry will do), or find a 2B that's more of a sure bet to produce than Theriot.

Agreed. The only possible sticking point is cost - but a small difference is definitely worth it, I think.