BeerHere

Best post in the thread.

Barney makes up a bit with his defense. WHIP/ERA is heavily influenced by the Cubs' abysmal defense. I'm not following your logic. Walks, hits and ERA are not impacted by errors. Am I being overly simplistic?

Interesting. Makes me wonder if the compensation to the Red Sox will be much at all considering that they had to pay his buyout. Maybe a mid-level prospect at best.

No it isn't. It sorta is. It's just not as bad as people think. We have been under awful ass-backwards ownership after all and professed an ass-backward philosophy of swing-at-everything as our minor league instruction over the past few years. We have a couple of awful contracts and are dead set on trading a decent starter and paying him to play for another team. We paid a closer decent money and now he might not be all that great anymore. There are a lot of problems but that doesn't mean this can't be made a competitive team next year. I feel like the organizational problems will take more/longer to fix than the major league product itself. No manager Extremely restrictive and aging ballpark, limited public financing options available Ownership shooting itself in the foot by declaring that a pitcher under contract won't play for the team again Multiple years of the Soriano contract remaining Minor league coordinator with a "swing first" approach, no one seems capable of teaching patience at any level Mediocre farm system Marmol has issues No corner infielders currently under contract Rotation needs help - at least one starter needed, possibly two That seems like a mess to me. I'm not saying it can't turn around, or that it will take years, I'm saying the guy has a big job ahead of him. I'm extremely happy he's here though.

I am thrilled that Epstein is coming. Compensation won't be that much. He has a HUGE job ahead of him, this team is a mess.

Found this on BA posted 10/10; http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2011/10/world-cup-van-hekken-keys-american-victory-u-s-reaches-medal-round/

My view is/was that you only consider pursuing the Votto/Castro trade after potentially missing out on both Fielder and Pujols. Though it'd take really fluky decisions (not being outbid) for the Cubs to miss on both if they really want one. I see your point but everyone needs to consider that Fielder/Pujols are not a lock to come here. Maybe we show them the money, but if I'm Pujols for example, I want to play for a team that contends rather than a team that is rebuilding. Being younger, Fielder may be a little more flexible in that regard but it is far from a guaranty that he's coming here either.

ugh

Woo! BeerHere (Chicago): Is Brett Jackson in the Cubs 2012 opening day lineup? Nathan Rode: Obviously that depends on how Spring Training goes for him, but I think he'll be given every shot to make it.

I think that an awful ST would be the only thing that would prevent him. Otherwise, we have a starting OF looking something like Soriano/Byrd/Colvin unless someone else is signed or traded. Even if we did get someone like LoMo or Michael Taylor(just thought Id suggest him as a possible target), I'd prefer Jackson in CF and trade Byrd. I would tend to agree. While I think Colvin was misused a bit this year, he didn't build upon his 2010 season at all and seemed to have regressed quite a bit. I wouldn't be disappointed if he was the starting RF to start the season, but he certainly has to be on a very short leash. If he's hitting under .200 with a poor obp by June, then I think we turn the page and look elsewhere.

Seems clear that he'll be on the opening day roster in April. Whether that is in RF or CF remains to be seen. In my world Epstein swings a trade with the Marlins sending Zambrano and Byrd with Morrison and Dominguez/James coming back.

I saw Moneyball this weekend. It was actually a pretty good movie, I enjoyed it a lot and so did my wife. I'm obviously a big baseball fan but my wife is more of a passive fan so the fact that she liked it says something. The movie and the book are entirely different. Yes, the idea that Beane and DePotesta (?can't remember his name, they changed it in the movie and it has been a while since I read the book) changed scouting based on statistical analysis, is throughout the movie. Not a lot is said about Jeremy Brown, but Hatteberg was front-and-center. It is also about his relationship with his daughter, and how the life of a baseball GM is tough. What surprised me though was that Art Howe would lend his name to the character in the movie. He was made to look like a complete moron with no understanding at all about players and motivation. If I were Art Howe I would be pissed and never would have lent my name to the role.

What if Fielder decides to sign somewhere else? The Cubs are supposed to be leveraging their money into premium talent. Votto is about as premium as it gets. Cheap talent is nice, but we don't need it the way some teams need it. If it were just Castro I would do it in a second. The fact that the Reds are in the division and Votto is a stud tells me that it will take more than Castro, probably throw in Jackson and/or Cashner. If that is the price, I pass. Castro straight up, I would hate to do it but I would do it none the less.

Why are you assuming that Howard isn't playing first for Philly next year?

Commish (NY): Really? No Josh Vitters? Seems like he's now being uundervalued due to the failure to live up to the hype. I think this is one guy who still could prove to be better than a good portion of the players ahead of him on this list. I certainly would slot him ahead of Archer..that seems about right. Ben Badler: Vitters improved as a hitter this year, but there just wasn't much support for him. He's a below-average defender at third base, to the point where I would be surprised if he stayed at the position and didn't end up as a corner outfielder. He has good bat speed, a short stroke and makes a lot of contact, but he's still learning a major league approach to wait for his pitch to hit, he'll never be a big OBP guy, and it's not like he's a guy with 70 raw power to carry him. There are people who think he could improve enough to become a solid everyday, but I think the most likely outcome is something short of that. Ryan (Abingdon, MD): Brett Jackson & AJ Pollack are both well rounded players where the sum is greater than the parts. Can you give some insight as to why they are so far apart in these rankings? Ben Badler: You're right, they do have similarities, but I think Jackson's tools are better than Pollock's. Power, for one, is an edge for Jackson. Pollock won't strike out as much as Jackson, so he might end up with the higher batting average, but Jackson works the count well and has more upside in terms of getting on base. They both have broad skill sets, but there's an edge for Jackson in OBP and power that I think is significant here. Ben (Leland Grove): How much did Trey McNutt regress this year? Ben Badler: McNutt was probably the most challenging player in the league to evaluate. The whole season, he wasn't 100 percent, spent time on the DL and battled through blisters. I think that took away from his stuff and his command and led to a fairly nondescript year. When I saw him in April, the fastball was plus, 90-95 with the two-seamer and the four-seamer, but the rest of the arsenal was just OK, with a power curveball and a slider that were tough to distinguish and a changeup he went to occasionally. Nobody I talked to who saw McNutt this year saw frontline stuff and there was a general feeling of being underwhelmed, but if he's healthy in 2012 I wouldn't be stunned if he had a bounceback year. Navin (Pasadena, CA): Who do you prefer between Ryan Flaherty and DJ LeMahieu? Can either be a big league starting second baseman? Ben Badler: Most people I talk to say LeMahieu; shorter swing, makes more contact, hits for a higher average in the minors, but I still like Flaherty more. He's got more power both to the pull side and to the middle of the field, plus he'll take his walks and get on base. With LeMahieu, I think big league pitchers have and will take advantage of the fact that he's got 20, maybe 30 power at best and he won't give you much offensive value. Flaherty's older but I can see his bat playing at the major league level. The problem is if you put either of them at second base full-time, it isn't going to be pretty, but I can see Flaherty carving out a career as an offensive-oriented utility guy.

He was driving while high and took a toke right next to officers at a stoplight. Still think he's a fine, upstanding citizen?

Wasn't he also busted for PED's when he was in the Braves system?

Love the "5 year ago" list - Gallardo, Votta, Braun, Kemp, Sanchez, Salty and the two Cubs on that list - Eric Patterson at 17 and Gallagher at 12.

Here's the link to the AFL scoreboard: http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=l_sco&lid=119

Any rotation discussion this offseason has to include a true #1/ace IMO. I am assuming that Z is gone. A perfect offseason for me rotation-wise lands CJ Wilson and CC if he opts out. If 2012 starts without at least two new starters then we're setup for another crap season. I think the team likes Shark out of the pen where his stuff plays up. Cashner and Wells as the #5 with Jackson, maybe Beeler or Rusin available in the event of injury. Sabathia Wilson Garza Dempster Wells/Cashner That is an outstanding rotation and would compete with the top rotations in the NL. This is a critical offseason in terms of the rotation. Does Greinke have an opt out?

Where are you getting the AFL boxscores? milb.com has nothing.

I checked. How the hell did I miss that? Sorry...mods please delete.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/minors/news/2011/2612442.html The two international signees will be there (Malave and Acosta) along with Maples, Baez, Zych, DeVoss, Penalver, VogelBOMB, Dunston, Golden, Candalario. I'm guessing they want Simpson to rest.

Shocking

Jeff Pico