KingCubsFan

For the type of player Cespedes is projected to be, 6/36 was a good deal, but 4/36 really wasn't. Especially considering the higher-than-average bust risk he holds.

That's certainly a distortion of the problems with the Cubs for the last 20 years, which weren't even that bad of a 20 years. I can't think of too many examples of overpaying, besides the obvious one. I can't really think of too many worthwhile young players who got blocked. And it ignores the biggest problem of all: drafting. Drafting was obviously the biggest problem, no doubt. But when you try to buy wins via free agency, you're going to be buying wins inefficiently. It's just the nature of free agency. So when you look at deals individually, it's easy to say "that one wasn't so bad" or "that one surprisingly turned out pretty good" but in the aggregate, building a team through free agency will almost always result in mediocrity. So I'm glad Epstein is getting away from that (Hendry was on the right path at the beginning, but eventually the situation spun out of control). As for blocking "worthwhile" young players, my opinion is that a guy's ultimate career path is not always indicative of what a player could have become. So when you say the Cubs haven't produced any "worthwhile" players, you can't just look at the real-life results to make that determination. I'll use Corey Patterson because, to me, he's the most glaring example of this. If Dusty Baker didn't try to make him into Lou Brock, I think he'd still be playing for the Cubs, hitting .260 with power and speed, Gold Glove defense, and a few 30/30 seasons under his belt. Instead, he's a NRI in Milwaukee's camp. Is this how he would have ultimately turned out? Impossible to say, but the Cubs have been too quick to pull the plug on young players or try to mold them into something they're not. I think someone (might have been you, actually) brought up the point that, at the time Kevin Orie was pulled as starting third baseman, he had a ridiculously low BABIP. If the Cubs had been more patient instead of replacing him with guys like Gary Gaetti, maybe he would have had a productive career. I think there's a lot of of these type of players that have come and gone through the system, and Epstein finally is giving some of them a chance (and getting them from other teams). Long-term, this is a much more efficient strategy, but it's going to produce some bumps in the road.

Yeah, I didn't really have a problem with it. I've always advocated going after guys like Ian Stewart and Chris Volstad, so if they end up horrible I won't be too angry. To me, this path is better than repeating history and coming up with a patchwork of veterans to stretch to 85 wins, which realistically is all we could have done without severely hampering Epstein's long-term vision. There is no repeating history. The recent history has been disapointing because their GM took a haphazard and archaic approaching to maintaining the system. There is no reason why they couldn't have done more in 2012 and still have accomplished plenty of long-term visioneering. The media was all too willing to embrace the tanking of this season which just made it all that much more easy for the organization to choose that way. So overpaying for veterans in free agency or trade, blocking young players from getting a chance to contribute, and hoping for the best in order to win a crappy division isn't a repeat of what this organization has largely done for the past 20 years? I must have been watching a different team.

Yeah, I didn't really have a problem with it. I've always advocated going after guys like Ian Stewart and Chris Volstad, so if they end up horrible I won't be too angry. To me, this path is better than repeating history and coming up with a patchwork of veterans to stretch to 85 wins, which realistically is all we could have done without severely hampering Epstein's long-term vision.

While I agree with your proposed moves, there's absolutely nothing the Bears could have done this season that would have made them the favorites in the division. I don't know about that. Adding 2 of the top 20 players in the NFL would've helped a lot. Are you counting Marshall as a top 20 NFL player? Besides, the Packers still have far and away the best player in the NFL (and at the most important position). I hate the Packers, but there's no way they're not favored in the division considering they really didn't lose anyone important.

While I agree with your proposed moves, there's absolutely nothing the Bears could have done this season that would have made them the favorites in the division.

you want a 5'11" player to guard 6'5" SG's? If you wanted to do this (not advocating it), I'd just put Rose on the SG. SG's tend to be worse than the PG on most teams these days anyways.

It seems like JL3 is either on fire from the beginning or cold. I wouldn't mind Thibs throwing him out there to see if he can catch a hot streak. If not, just bench him and play CJ his regular minutes.

I'd see if they would overpay for Barney. Maybe the Phillies are desperate and would give up Domonic Brown for a package starting with Barney and a 95% paid-for Soriano.

I think it's too early to say, as a lot of it will depend on how the young players develop this year. Things like Samardzija/Volstad/Wood breaking out, Rizzo and Jackson showing they can start longterm, a few of the lower level prospects breaking out, etc. will go a long way towards determining the future.

Full recap of both Daytona and Peoria's minor league games at Fitch here: http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/03/17/rawhide-keeps-them-doggies-movin-fitch-park Hope I read this a lot this season.

Apparently Asik is high on their wish list this summer. That's why we should look into trading him if possible. There's no way he comes back next year.

Do we even know what aggravates his wrist? Do simple things like shooting and dribbling also increase the pain? Either way, he shouldn't be playing more than 2 games a week until the playoff start, provided we can hold on to the #1 seed (which I think we can).

It's only for bleachers, and the price can't drop below the season ticket rate. Right. So it really only affects the Red Sox and White Sox game.

The Cubs were screwing themselves by charging people less than the market would allow. I get what you're saying, but those fans aren't getting screwed in any way by having to pay what the market deems that those tickets are worth. If they can't afford to go or choose not to spend the money, that's on them. Somebody else will. I would hate to live in your world. And I hate that my son will not be able to see as many MLB baseball games live with his father as I saw with mine. Oh FFS. Get the hell out with that [expletive]. The one thing I'll say is this: they don't yet know that the market will demand this price. They're taking an educated guess. If people didn't buy, or if they decide not to come but then can't re-sell (then next year's tickets go unsold), then the true price may wind up being lower. I understand the reasoning and agree with it, but saying "this is what the market demands" is not entirely accurate. They're guessing that this is the demand. If people then buy, and continue to, then it is confirmed. I'm pretty sure that, with the new dynamic pricing system, the price will fluctuate up until the game. So if there's still tickets available, the price could eventually go down until they are all sold out.

we're about 2 strong games from WSR touting him as the next bryan lahair. http://www.northsidebaseball.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=60617&p=2765769&hilit=mather#p2765769

Are you a Heat fan?

We can't go after anyone of value.

Wouldn't be able to do much with the cap situation after that, and Rose's prime years probably end up wasted. Still, I think you have to do it and hope Howard stays. Does he get the extra year from the Bulls if they trade for him midseason?

I still really like him as a 5th outfielder longterm. His speed alone should make him a valuable member of the team until he starts getting expensive.

It's their new dynamic pricing plan.

Doesn't surprise me that Malave isn't there, but Baez and Penalver sending another season in the Dominican would be surprising. Balaguert is somewhat intriguing but I don't have much hope.

What has to be killing you guys, is that Illinois fans will barely care if we lose. I mean yeah, losing to Iowa is a fate worse than death (though not as bad as losing to IU), but there are positive consequences to losing today (possibly no postseason, meaning the new coach can get in earlier) Is it a foregone conclusion that Parker isn't coming to Illinois? Seems like all U of I fans can't wait to get rid of Weber, but firing him would seem to greatly reduce the chances of getting Parker.

"Don't worry ticketholders, we're getting back a center who doesn't rebound and will leave soon." "Don't worry ticketholders, we are getting back an aging power forward who doesn't want to be here." No matter what, they lose.

Salary-wise, sure, but Orlando isn't going to trade D12 for Noah and Ronnie Brewer. What about with Charlottes unprotected pick? I think that's a really hard sell to your fanbase that you gave up your franchise for a pick that has a chance to be really high 4 years from now. I think they'd have to sell Noah as the main part of that trade. But as soon as Howard goes, the fans will stop showing up regardless of what they get back.