MPrior

A great Rf (or OF in general regardless of position) is easier to come by than a great SS, though. There's really no reason a team with a $100M payroll should end up with Burnitz/ Jones/ Hollandsworth, etc in their OF. And the RF numbers, weren't horrible. But they were middle of the pack, and boosted by players like Ward and Pagan having astronomical numbers in RF. Even Floyd was better in RF than he was in all other situations by a long shot (LF, PH, DH). I think the point was that we didn't need a great SS, we could get the same marginal additional production by acquiring a decent SS as by acquiring a really good RF. Yes, they probably could have gotten better improvement by just getting a decent SS, to replace the pathetic one. RF was middle of the pack, but it was the leader of the middle of the pack. And I find it hard to believe that some combination of Murton, Jones, DeRosa would struggle to match the 794 OPS next year. Murton playing 150 games would probably beat that number. The second best RF OPS in the NL was just 843 last year. They were 235 OPS points from moving up to 2nd at SS. There was much, much, much more room for improvement at SS. Choosing to focus your attention on RF is choosing to take the hardest road to improvement. In the end, you can end up with a great lineup, if done correctly. But it's just another example of Hendry's lack of efficiency. He's probably going to end up spending a lot of money and talent to wind up with minimal improvement at RF. What's infuriating is that this is so obvious. And yet, Hendry and co. have committed themselves to doing EXACTLY the opposite. It's like they penciled Theriot as the starting shortstop without a second thought, and instead are choosing to spend time, energy, money, and/or prospects on a marginal improvement in RF.

That better not be true. I'd be fine including Marmol, I guess, although I'd rather not. But including Hill decimates our rotation, and there wouldn't be a ready fill-in for him. I'd prefer the Cubs trade Pie this offseason for someone good. I'm not convinced Pie will ever be more than Jacque Jones.

I knew Hendry was desperate, but unloading Jones for a dead guy? That's pretty bad. What's even more surprising is that he's had any ABs since then.

Clearly, Raisin, you (and others) have some misconceptions about exactly which team is the best in the country this year. My Tar Heels will undoubtedly destroy all of their competition. Until they just decide simply to stop all scoring of any kind, as they did in the last several minutes of regulation and the entirety of OT against Georgetown last year in the Final Four. So, we may not win anything important, but we will spend at least SOME time atop the coaches' poll! Even though UCLA got more first place votes! So there!

Regarding your sig, please, PLEASE tell me Hawk was referring to Erstad. Lie to me if you have to. It would make my day. You know what, I think he was. It's been a while since I put it on there, so my memory is a little hazy, but I'm pretty sure it was Erstad.

Can anyone describe to me, in a nutshell, how these +/- numbers are calculated? Second, are they +/- something tangible, like runs, or outs, or something, or are they just comparative numbers? Last, what makes this metric better than others? I haven't really kept up with it, but last I heard (this was a while ago), the general belief was that defensive metrics were not entirely to be trusted.

I'm kind of meh on it. I don't think Peralta's all that great, considering he's a pretty poor defender and likely only a slightly above average offensive player (I imagine that this year is the most representative year of what to expect from him, but who knows). Murton and Gallagher seem to be a lot to ask for a no-sure-thing, poor fielding shortstop. Then again, I don't think it would be a terrible deal - just not a particularly good one.

I'm pretty sure he's not worth what he'd cost. In addition to being expensive to the point where he'd probably eat up all of the extra payroll space in the budget for the offseason, his K/9 dropped precipitously this year. It was around 8 last year, and he's around 8.5 or so for his career. In 2007, it was barely 6. That could be a sign of declining production.

It just may be a tuna fish you're lookin' for. Tuna Fish? Am I missing something? It's a joke. The lyrics to the song are "it just may be a lunatic you're lookin' for" I know the lyrics. I'm just not sure where the "Tuna Fish" comes from. Does Billy Joe Tolliver have something to do with Tuna? I really don't know.

It just may be a tuna fish you're lookin' for. Tuna Fish? Am I missing something?

and what better tutelage than to have the actual mariano helping him? I think if the price were right, i'd bite. Coming over to a "weaker" NL could help him out. What price were you thinking? He's been making more than 10 million a year for the last umpteen years. If the Cubs have 10m to spend this offseason, I'd much rather see it spent improving SS or RF. Yes. Spending that much on a reliever to add to an already expensive bullpen would be a tremendous misuse of assets.

I was born in Boston, and my family still has ties there, so the Red Sox are my "second team." I don't really follow them, though, unless they get to the playoffs. Then again, I also really like the Indians organization, so I'd be happy if they won. And it'd be cool for the Rockies and their fans if they won. So, basically, anyone but the diamondbacks. I hate it when teams that clearly don't deserve it (like the Cardinals last year) win the whole thing.

He should probably start with his own (ass). True, but most of the blame, in my opinion, still has to go on Soriano/Lee/Ramirez. 2 feet < 3 asses. Lou's got a problem.

To be fair, I don't think we wound up dead last in walks this year. Or maybe we did. I'm not looking it up, but I think it was 14th or 15th, or something.

My girlfriend pretty much refuses to watch sports games with me anymore, if it's a team I really care about (fortunately, there are really only two that fit that category in all of sports). I generally don't ever get mad, or raise my voice, or whatever - I'm pretty even-keeled. But in 2003-2004, I REALLY got into it. And she saw that, and it scared her a bit, so she just won't watch with me anymore.

I'm more or less the same way. I mean, I still hope, and I still hurt (a lot), but somehow, it's less intense, purely because my expectations are so low. I imagine if this team were actually, legitimately very good, I'd be more upset than I already am. But they're pretty much just okay, so I wasn't expecting much. What I wish for is not just a World Series (although that would be very, very nice). I want a great team that dominates for a few years, at least. I want 90+ win seasons (maybe even a 100-win season or two). I want to feel that if the Cubs win the World Series, it's not just luck. Although I'd take it if it was, obviously.

Actually, it's more like 4 in 48, but still pretty close. How'd you get 1 in 12? I figure if we've got a roughly 50% chance of winning each game, our chances are 1/8. And that's pretty consistent with the 4 teams out of 27 that Raisin mentioned earlier.

i'm with you. however, if marquis struggles even the slightest bit then you go to lily out of the pen on 3 days rest. now is the question of pride and ego and i could only hope they don't come into play. I'm not sure how I personally feel about it, but I almost guarantee you that's not how they'll do it. If they win on Saturday, there's no way Lou pitches Marquis in a possible season-ender when he could pitch Zambrano on 3 days' rest. It may even boil down to a "get your Ace one more start" thing. that was more of a knee jerk, cubs lose reaction from myself personally. maybe i will think the same in the morning, but probably i'll agree with you that zambrano should get the nod in a win or go home game 4(hopefully we see game 4). i just have no confidence in lilly and i'm sure he has no confidence in himself right now either. either way, the cubs winning this series is 1/50 IMO. My confidence is shattered, i hope their's isn't. I think we should see if we can call up Les Walrond for an emergency start, actually. Is Wade Miller still on the roster?

the situation at wrigley couldn't get uglier than soriano, lee and ramirez's at bats. being a cub fan sucks right now, i shouldn't ever get worked up about a cubs team i suppose. Just right now? especially right now. Okay, good. Cause it sucks enough on a consistent basis that people here were talking about raising a kid as a Cubs fan as child abuse, and I'm not sure I disagree with them.

i'm with you. however, if marquis struggles even the slightest bit then you go to lily out of the pen on 3 days rest. now is the question of pride and ego and i could only hope they don't come into play. I'm not sure how I personally feel about it, but I almost guarantee you that's not how they'll do it. If they win on Saturday, there's no way Lou pitches Marquis in a possible season-ender when he could pitch Zambrano on 3 days' rest. It may even boil down to a "get your Ace one more start" thing.

the situation at wrigley couldn't get uglier than soriano, lee and ramirez's at bats. being a cub fan sucks right now, i shouldn't ever get worked up about a cubs team i suppose. Just right now?

The good news: Geovany Soto. The other good news: Kerry Wood. The other other good news: at least the Cubs aren't bothering to get our hopes up too high before they send them crashing down.

Who's ready to plan the offseason? I bet Augie Ojeda will be available. I hear he's clutch.

I believe "gutless choking dog" is the phrase you're looking for. DFA him.

I'd settle for that.