MPrior

I've always been a believer in Rich Hill, so I didn't think I'd speak up in this thread, but I actually side with the people who say that the jury is still out. Now, I do think that Hill has at least proven that he's more than a one-pitch AAAA LOOGY, but as far as what his actual contributions will be in the future, there's no way of knowing for sure, and expecting him to perform at this level next year is probably a mistake. All that said, I am HUGELY enjoying his recent run, and it is certainly possible that he's an ace in the making. He's basically the reason I've bothered following the Cubs recently.

This is so true - baseball statistics are FAR more indicative of a player's actual performance, and yet there is so much more resistance to them. Oh the irony.

I agree with what a few people have said - that Murton on his own is unlikely to net much of value. However, as part of a package including some pitchers, to the right team, he might land us something nice. Not entirely sure what - we need a good starting pitcher, a 2B, and a CF - and I guess if we got rid of Murton, a LF. All that said, I'd much rather keep him. I think he's more valuable to us than what we'd get in a trade. So unless we could pull off a trade for a bona-fide superstar (Cabrera), I want him here.

I just noticed that Rich Aurilia is having a remarkably good season. How is that fair?

Ditto. It's still fun to speculate, though.

I don't know if he's going to get Beltran money, but he's definitely going to cost a pretty penny, and I also doubt that Hendry will fork over the necessary funds - however, if there's one big name FA on the market this offseason that I think we should land, it's Soriano. As far as where I'd put him, I'd love it if he could (and would) play CF, but I think the more likely scenario is back at 2B. There's no way I'd even consider paying for him if he was going to be in LF, as his value is much lower there, he's almost definitely not going to put up another season like this one, and he would cut down on Murton's playing time, which would be a crying shame.

I REALLY like that K/BB ratio.

Me too. Man I hate those little buggers. And you TEACH 'em. What a masochist. That's okay, I teach 'em too.

This statement makes me laugh.

I think this makes a bit of sense. Zito is definitely not going to be worth the contract that he gets, but that's just the way things work - to get a pitcher like Zito, you've just got to fork it over. Now, I'm not saying that the Cubs should absolutely do everything they can to sign Zito, but it's definitely worth considering, because he could anchor our rotation for several years.

Beyond the whole "Flubs" thing, however you feel about that, he's still pretty much right, isn't he?

I wish - but I seriously doubt it will happen. Just for fun, who would we like to see replace him if he were to go? There's been a lot of talk of manager replacements, but if Hendry were fired this offseason, who should replace him?

Likes: Rich Hill Matt Murton Zambrano Barrett Other young pitchers Ramirez Wuertz The potential that Dusty Baker will not be back. Dislikes: Hendry's moronic philosophies and player acquisitions. Baker's moronic distribution of playing time, lineup constructions, overuse of starting pitchers, completely abysmal misuse of the bullpen, and excuse making. To name a few. Dempster sucking it up (for which I ascribe some responsibility to Baker) Cedeno sucking it up miserably. How Nolasco alone is a far more valuable player than Pierre - to say nothing of Pinto, Mitre, and the difference in salaries - and the fact that this was completely predictable and avoidable. The potential that Dusty Baker WILL be back. The potential that Hendry will hire someone equally stupid to replace Baker. The fact that this team is probably so far out of contention that sufficiently retooling it this offseason may be impossible - and just how ridiculous a notion that is, considering our payroll and core of talent.

I'm almost certain he was. Ditto.

Rich Hill, Zambrano, and Murton (and, to a lesser extent, Lee) are really the only reasons I have to watch the Cubs the rest of the season. So I'm glad things are turning out well for him. I love that he pitches deep into these games - he's not throwing 100 pitches by the fifth or sixth inning.

This made me laugh. Well done.

Some ideas: If we go after one big-time free agent, I think it should be Soriano, and we should play him at 2B. I'm not crazy about him as a player, seeing as he can't take a walk to save his life, but he does have A LOT of power, especially for a second baseman. 2B also happens to be our biggest offensive hole. If that doesn't pan out, I think Loretta is a great option (and he's an NU grad, which automatically makes him awesome). Keep Murton in LF. He's one of maybe four players on the whole team who have a decent OBP (Lee, Barrett, Aramis are the others), and his power looks like it might still develop. His numbers are lower than they should be because of one prolonged, awful slump, which also happened to coincide more or less exactly with a statement from Dusty that he was being "too patient" and that they were trying to "fix" that. Jacque Jones should either be traded (maybe someone would give us a decent starter or something for a package including Jones) or, if we can sign or trade for a decent RF, moved to center, where he has more value. He should also be platooned, perhaps with Restovich. Offer Pierre arbitration. He most likely won't accept, which means we'll receive compensation picks in the draft, and he won't block Pie, who might be ready early next year. Sign Lofton, who can still be effective if he's not played every day. Since Pie will (hopefully) take up a lot of playing time in center next year, Lofton would be perfect. Put Rich Hill in the rotation. He could be pretty darn good out there, and he has no value to us anywhere else. If he's not going to crack the rotation, trade him. Marshall should also go in the rotation, I think. Guzman and Marmol belong back in the minors - Mateo probably does too, but I'd like to see him pitch some more. If signing Soriano works out, then sign a lower-level starting pitcher, like Adam Eaton or Ted Lilly. If not, then go after Zito or Schmidt. I think Zito actually deserves a good look, because while he certainly is overrated (largely because of his 2002 Cy Young campaign), he's been consistently good his whole career, he eats up a lot of innings, and he's still relatively young, so he should be effective for several more years. Try to trade Izturis. Since Hendry won't do this, I hope he does his best to trade Cedeno - maybe someone who can afford to have the hole in their lineup will take him on as a project. In addition to trading Jones and Izturis/Cedeno, we should see if anyone will give us anything at all for Rusch or Bynum. If not, DFA them both. Also, see what the following could net: Novoa Pagan One of Howry/Eyre Dempster One or two of our minor league pitchers. Potential targets: Vernon Wells (he doesn't plan to stay in Toronto, so he may be easier to get than you'd think) Ryan Freel (just plain good) A decent starting pitcher Jason Michaels (decent platoon parter for Jones, potential CF leadoff candidate - having a bit of a down year, so might be cheap) I'm sure there are many, many others. I've got more to say, but this post is already way too long, so I'll stop there.

Oh, and how could we possibly contract the Cubs? We provide entertainment in the form of comedy to the entire baseball world. That's indispensable.

What are you talking about? I hate Duke. Hear hear! Not that it's related to the thread.

I'm a quiet member of the bandwagon - I read a lot more than I post - but I've definitely been right there with you the whole way. I was nuts about this guy last year, and he was the part of our bullpen this year that I was most looking forward to.

My one absolute requirement is that Murton be given the starting LF job next year. I don't think he should platoon at all. Not only is he showing signs of improvement, but the only two regulars in our lineup with higher OBP than Murton are Barrett and Lee - and Lee barely counts. Why on earth would an OBP-starved team like the Cubs bench one of its best guys at getting on base, especially when you've got him for the league minimum? On top of that, Murton's power seems to be progressing - if he keeps hitting well, he may finsih the season with an OPS over .800. Also, his splits against righties are no longer really that bad at all. He certainly has the potential to develop into something special, and even at his current level of production, he's providing something that the Cubs desperately need - OBP. Something needs to be done about Cedeno - he's providing sub-Neifi production. This would be acceptable on a team with otherwise good hitters. But we don't have otherwise good hitters. He needs to go back to AAA to see if he can figure things out or be traded. I guess he'd be all right on the bench. As far as the pitchers, I feel pretty strongly that Marmol belongs back in the minors. His control problems are HUGE, and he needs to fix them before he can get anywhere. I'm leaning towards leaving Guzman in the minors too, because he hasn't impressed this year in either league, and could probably use some more ironing out - but the rest of the season could easily change my opinion. I want Hill in the rotation, unless he completely implodes the rest of the season. There is literally no value to having him in the minors at this point, and he certainly has the capability to dominate. If he's not in the rotation, I want him traded. Marshall is the hardest one for me to answer. He's shown a lot of poise, and can clearly mentally handle being in the big leagues. However, he has a pretty limited ceiling, and might not progress too much beyond what he's done this year. I say he goes in the rotation if there's room. If not, AAA. Pagan is a bench bat at best, and not a particularly good one at that. That said, I'd love for him to prove me wrong.

I think you must have misunderstood. He won't re-sign him because he's TERRIBLE.

I heartily endorse the idea of offering Pierre arbitration, but no more. If he accepts and sticks around for another year, it's okay, because he does have some value (albeit little), and Pie could probably use a little more time to develop. If he declines, it's great, because we get draft picks, don't have to pay him anything, and we have a near-ML ready potential star in CF waiting in the wings. We can maybe pick up someone on the cheap for the first half of the season.

How do you explain Glendon Rusch then? He's actually an albino walrus. Nice.

Yeah, I thought this would be closer as well.