KingCubsFan

I didn't mind the Gorzelanny trade, as the Cubs probably traded him at his peak and they were going to struggle regardless of who their #6 starter was, but I seriously hope this wasn't Hendry's idea of depth. McNutt had only been playing professional baseball for a year and was barely out of A ball, and it was pretty foreseeable that Silva would blow up if he wasn't made a starter. My guess is that this wasn't Hendry's plan though, since he also brought in Wellemeyer and Looper.

Judging by the difference between this year's draft and drafts in previous years, it's possible Wilkin may have been under some budget constraints, so it's tough to fully evaluate him.

I don't think he's a type A. And there's no reason to hang on to Pena past the waiver deadline. Maybe the prospects work out, maybe they don't, but there's no reason to pass up a chance to add depth to a pretty thin farm system so we *may* have a better chance of resigning him. Pena isn't terrible, but if we don't add Pujols or Fielder in the offseason, there's a pretty good chance we'll be bad again. The Cubs do not lack depth in the system. They lack quality. That's debateable, but either way, it makes no sense for one of the worst teams in baseball to hold onto an older player about to be a free agent. The Cubs' ability to compete next year has nothing to do with Carlos Pena, so getting a mythical edge in resigning him doesn't do much for me.

I don't think he's a type A. And there's no reason to hang on to Pena past the waiver deadline. Maybe the prospects work out, maybe they don't, but there's no reason to pass up a chance to add depth to a pretty thin farm system so we *may* have a better chance of resigning him. Pena isn't terrible, but if we don't add Pujols or Fielder in the offseason, there's a pretty good chance we'll be bad again.

Wow. I had high hopes for him in Boise this year. I guess he wasn't quite ready for it, although I don't know if there's room in Arizona with Geiger.

Any news on what's happening to Ha?

This reads more like speculation on the writer's part than any concrete leads. And I can't see anyone taking Soriano's contract, even the Yankees.

The problem is that his status as a prospect goes hand in hand with the fact that he was the #3 pick. He has incredible raw skills that he will likely never be able to translate to the sustained success he is capable of. When he was drafted, the fear was that he'd never be able to develop enough discipline and simply skate by on his natural hitting ability. And that's basically what he's done.

2006 Juan Pierre (a favorite to us all): 48 XBH, 27 K. And he used to do this regularly in his "prime."

Silva got $1 million, so he wasn't exactly cheap. Seems like they're playing in line with their scouting reports. The catcher was supposed to have no bat, Silva was supposed to have speed, but with no patience or power and I don't remember reading Serrano had electric stuff. Seems like most of the Cuban players tend to be hyped up. Other than the White Sox, teams don't seem to have much luck there.

Really? I mean I think the opposite is pretty damn clear. All signs point to Ricketts keeping Hendry going forward. It might take a disaster of epic proportions to bring about change. How so? And I think the Cubs are well on their way to losing 100 games, which is pretty disasterous.

Relievers with a greater WAR than Marshall since Opening Day 2010: Brian Wilson, Carlos Marmol Relievers with a better xFIP than Marshall since Opening Day 2010: Billy Wagner, who retired before this season He's owed a little less than 4 million through the end of next season. He's about as valuable as a reliever can get, the only way he could have more value is if he still had arbitration years in front of him. Except he's not a closer. Right or wrong, teams won't be giving up their top prospects for a setup guy without real closing experience.

Agreed, if he never makes it out of the Rookie league. But I think with his athleticism he will at least play a few games in the majors as a defensive replacement.

The strikeouts are a bit concerning, but he's off to a great start. When was the last time a high school hitter drafted by the Cubs had seven walks in his first 12 games?

Tate won't be as big of a bust as Bush, but he's certainly trying.

Or they could have just taken Jason Heyward. Or Matt Wieters. Or Madison Bumgarner.

Are all of the Cubs' expenditures analyzed and questioned by the media? Barring a leak to the press or something, I don't know how anybody would find out until the Ricketts were ready for the news to come out. My point is that a a move like that has a very high likelihood of getting leaked to the press. Not to mention that the Cubs have one of the smallest front offices in baseball, and something like that is bound to get discovered by Hendry or somebody that works with Hendry. Then you have the awkward situation of the person in charge of running your team auditioning for another job while you actively look for his replacement. Either fire him now and quickly hire a replacement or wait until the end of the year, fire him, and begin the search. It's not like we need a search firm to tell us Andrew Friedman is good at his job, anyways.

Exactly my point. Ricketts can send out feelers on who might be interested and he can hire a search firm to very quietly do some research, scout around and narrow the list somewhat all while Hendry is employed or not, but courting currently employed front office members simply won't happen until the season ends and that's what really will make a difference in finding a new GM. "Beginning the transition" is a nice sounding phrase, but it means about as much as calling a player gritty. Realistically, I find it hard to believe that a well-publicized company can hire a search firm to find replacements for one its highest-ranking employees without somebody finding out.

If he keeps pitching the way he is, Matt Garza is an ace. didn't he already stop pitching the way he was? He's taken a noticable step back since returning from injury. 5.14 ERA, 14:10 K:BB ratio in 21 innings

Wow, he did say that. Not sure how I missed it. If they were going to build another park elsewhere in the city, I would like to see in in the Logan Square area. Would extend the culture from Wicker Park/Bucktown and bring the area up quite a bit, would have blue line access and there is a ton of empty space out there. Some parking, too. Living in Logan Square, I gotta say that there's not many open lots within a fair shot of the blue line here, either. The entire atmosphere of Wicker Park/Logan is completely different from the neighborhoods on the north side around Wrigleyville, it doesn't really seem like a fit. Any move within the city would probably involve some 'dead' area around a transit line, not something that would displace a bunch of people and create a lot of opposition. Are there concrete plans for Cabrini Green yet?

Given his struggles, I don't think he'd get as much as he's probably worth. I'm not opposed to trading him though, particularly if it looks like we'll be in a multiyear rebuilding process. Since he appears to be good every other year, it might be best to wait until next year and see if he's performing better. Plus I'm still not 100% sold on Wellington Castillo being an everyday catcher.

Well, yeah, which is why you saying that they "created" the story right before doesn't make much sense. It's a memorable story because of how unique it and the larger context was/is, regardless of ESPN. It's only memorable and unique because the media made it that way and they continue to perpetuate it. I remember waking up the next day and being shocked at how much attention he was getting; I had largely forgotten about it after all the other crap that happened. I expected Gonzalez's choke to be the center of attention.

Yeah. The guy got a raw deal, but it's a pretty unique story in the way everything played out. About the only other thing I can think of in baseball that's similar is the kid who screwed over the Orioles with the home run catch. That kid was responsible for a key homerun in a playoff game. Bartman interfered with a ball in foul play that Moises Alou, despite his temper tantrum, probably wasn't going to catch. If Alex Gonzalez doesn't choke, Bartman is a non story. Yet somehow nobody remembers Gonzalez. Actually, the reviews of this doc make it sounds like it goes into everything that happened. That said, Bartman is clearly the heart of the story. Cubs fans can spin it all they want, but it was the start of a very dramatic series of events (and non-events in Dusty's inaction) wrapped in the larger context of where it was and what was at stake. Yes, Bartman was unfairly demonized and he didn't do anything wrong and he's not the reason the Cubs didn't go to the WS, but the repeated insistence of many Cubs fans like it's essentially a non-story and that the REAL story is Gonzalez booting the ball. It's not. A player screwing up a key play in a high pressure situation isn't unique. The Bartman situation and how people reacted to it is. That's why it's a story. Yes, most of the time people take a hack approach to remembering it or describing it, but it did inspire a very interesting reaction and series of events and a good documentary could do a lot with it. Hopefully this one will based on the skill of the guy behind it. I'm sure the documentary will be well done, but in the end it's just another attempt by ESPN to make the Bartman story some sort of modern myth when, in reality, it's really just something they created. And the whole reason for it is, like you said, a player screwing up a key play in a high pressure sitaution isn't unique. It's already been done by Bill Buckner, even though Gonzalez's is right on par with it. But a fan screwing up his own team's chances at a World Series? We had never seen that before.

Yeah. The guy got a raw deal, but it's a pretty unique story in the way everything played out. About the only other thing I can think of in baseball that's similar is the kid who screwed over the Orioles with the home run catch. That kid was responsible for a key homerun in a playoff game. Bartman interfered with a ball in foul play that Moises Alou, despite his temper tantrum, probably wasn't going to catch. If Alex Gonzalez doesn't choke, Bartman is a non story. Yet somehow nobody remembers Gonzalez.

I personally wouldnt be an any rush to trade either of these guys without a significant return. Yep trading either of those guys signals a rebuild mode. Otherwise, you have to go out and find a similar pitcher, for similar money, on the free agent market this offseason. Doesn't make a lot of sense. And I doubt they go the rebuild route. You're going to need to pay $18 million for a guy with Zambrano's numbers?