Pinktermite

I agree with Goony, the manager matters so little, when you have too many players that suck. Or am I misinterpreting what was said?

I wonder who talked him out of deep sixing Torre? Or did he realize that his pitching sucks worse than his manager?

Oh, God. I think I'll drink the poison kool aid if Lou gets hired. It doesn't matter, if they don't spend the dough on pitching...it won't matter anyway.

I'd blow my wad (did I just say that?) on Zito and Matsuzaka and beg the tribune for MORE money to get AROD and even more pitching. Pitching is the key...starting pitching. It's why the Yankees were exposed like the ugly naked old lady they are...they were outpitched. The lineup matters not...well, it matters, but not as much as the pitching.

I thought this was a thread about Dusty? Regardless, Juan Pierre is NOT as bad as he's made out to be, but he's not great, either...and signing him long term is a bad idea... Please Jim, spare me another session of vomiting in the bathroom. I agree we should offer Juan Arb...hope he doesn't take it...and get the draft picks.. Andrew Jones and Arod people. Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt too...yeah, the payroll would jump what, 60 million bucks? They said they want to win, a payroll of 150 million is not out of the question...it won't happen...but that's what they need to do.

Can anyone point to a GM that hasn't made some dumb and stupid mistakes? Please, anyone? Even the great Billy Beane or Pat Gillick has to have some skeletons in THIS closet, huh? Again, I'll say that Jim H should be fired, but he's acquired a good share of decent players for us. Dombrowski couldn't possibly be any worse, and at least he had the guts to sign Maggs and Pudge...two players the Cubs could have acquired...cost or not... I remember people arguing on here three years ago that Pudge was overrated and over the hill...he's still playing isn't he?

Any trade involving Prior to land ARod I would do in a heartbeat. He is turning into the Danny Jackson of the 21st century...send him a way if you can get ARod...why would there be any doubt about something like that?

Another indictment of the Cubs front office. I'd kill to know if they pay attention to ANY statistic like this, or something goofy like OBP...

This is awesome. Thanks for all the feedback. I remember in the late 70s buying packs and I'm sure MORE than one Mike Schmidt and Paul Molitor card was abused with scotch tape on my wall. Buying these cards in packs is ridiculous. I agree with wondering why they can't have a pack that's like 79 cents or something, that gives you 15 or so cards...like some of us had when we were kids. I think that would do a lot to spark interest in baseball from the kids perspective.

I have a son that's 11 years old and would like to spark his interest in card collecting. I haven't collected cards for years, could anyone point me in the direction of two or three brands of cards to collect not only for fun, but for value? It seems the cards are rather expensive these days, so I'd like to focus on one or two types. Thanks.

Lee Elia and Joey Amalfitano were worse, just for the record...Jim Essian anyone? You guys are way smarter than I am when it comes to statistics and Billybeanisms and such...so I won't attempt arguments that will clearly have me feeding me my own feet. However, why is it that all you guys on here can see this stuff and Jim Hendry can't? Why doesn't he just consult with the guys on here to field a better team? Does anyone know if Jim H lurks on here somewhere? I agree wholeheartedly with using younger players as scrubs. Is there a manager out there that sees it the same way?

Hence the crapshoot? It was no crapshoot that these teams have good pitching and made it to the playoffs, the crapshoot begins IN the playoffs, am I correct here? So luck is spread out over less innings, thus making it more remarkable that the Yankees can dominate over the long haul, and have their weaknesses esposed hideously by Jim Leyland and a spunky Tigers team. If the Cubs had great pitching, clearly they would have beat the Cardinals out for the division. That's why spending ALL their off season money on the pitching is the most important thing they can do...and maybe trade for ONE hitter...or sign one...

Frank brings a bad attitude and bad feet.

I'm NOT making this argument, but is it possible that Dusty had NOTHING to do with this P/PA statistic? With Neifi, Ronnie, Juan, and others on this team, that it did nothing but balance out Todd Walker, Murton, Aramis, and a lack of DLee? I suppose not, I'm just arguing that Dusty had less to do with this mess than Jim Hendry and bad fielding/fundamentals...which I guess negates my argument, since Dusty is responsible for such things. Forget it, Dusty needed to go...and yeah, he's a nice guy. Please don't hire Pienella, Jim...PULEEEEEASE!!

It wouldn't happen, but it would be tough to argue against a guy like this. What kind of success has he had besides this year? Anyone know?

Clearly pitching is way more important. If the Cubs are serious about winning in the short term, then they lavish money on the top three or four pitchers on the market. Then they re sign Aramis, and trade for ARod or some other impact player whether it hurts the minor league talent or not. You can't have it both ways, trading for impact players while not being willing to give something up is not realistic. So given that, they should go for pitching and more pitching...and try to trade for ARod or Cabrera or some other impact player. Maybe A Jones? Whoever it is...he should come after we've acquired pitching.

I have to agree with sweet swinging billy to an extent. It can NEVER be proven that Dusty caused the injuries to Prior and Wood. And there's no way that any of you guys on here can, either. In 2003 we had a bullpen that demanded Dusty get everything he could out of those two, and he rode them like the broken horses they became...and he may have contributed to their demise...or maybe not. Kerry was injured far before last year...many times over. Prior hasn't pitched enough in the big leagues to make it a CLEAR guilty verdict on Dusty. Besides that, I would have done the same, and dealt with the consequences later on... Be that as it may, Dusty had his chance...and is gone...but without a radical transformation of philosophy in this organization, they won't win next year either. Jim Hendry (and I say it again) is WAY more responsible for this train wreck than Dusty ever was...

Yeah, then they could hire Stoney to general manage :) (thought I'd ruffle a few feathers on here)

I don't disagree that Juan probably doesn't fit in, but man, some people on here just bash the hell out of the players we have that are doing okay (note I didn't say 'great'). The same people bash Dusty for being some kinda stupid hack that can't manage. Maybe he's not the greatest, but I remember a few cubs managers that were worse. Mostly, I say again, it's the piss poor player choices that make way more difference than Juan or Dusty or anything else. While the Cards, Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Dodgers, Mets, and Tigers get players...we get Glendon, Mabry, Neifi, and Freddie 'boom boom' Bynum... The players suck...the team sucks... If the manager sucks...the team can still be good.

Listing all these what ifs...that's the problem the Cubs have always had...what if Kerry gets healthy...what if Mark P isn't injured...what if Nomar comes back...what if DLee doesn't get hurt...blah blah blah. If the Cubs don't spend like drunken sailors and get any combo of Soriano, CLee, Zito, Schmidt, and/or trade for AJones, or anyone else who can get on base, then we are doomed to lurk around these message boards whining that Jim Hendry is doing the same crap all over again. Larry Dierker is right, this isn't rocket science. Spending money and NOT losing your own free agents and hiring a manager with a new outlook is the only thing that even gives a shred of a chance...and it's a small shred at that...

I'll take Bob or Joe. It doesn't matter who manages if Jim doesn't go out and buy some players that can play.

It wasn't Juan's fault that the team sucked. Just about everyone can take some blame here, mostly Jim Hendry for setting us up for failure.

Who is a manager all the geniuses on here would like to see? All I see is people cutting to shreds all the choices that are out there. All this stuff on here people say about all the badness of Dusty's managing, he had a piss poor team to deal with in the first place. It always amazes me how Dusty goes from hero in 2003 to navel lint three years later. There are not many managers that wouldn't have rode Prior and Wood like a bad horse during that stretch. And the Cubs chances are far more dependent on the players they have than the guy that's managing them. I'm entertained by all the negativity on here actually.

There are far worse options out there than signing Juan. If he doesn't demand 12 million a year that is. 2 years/18 million plus incentives maybe? Of course getting A Jones would be a better choice, but Juan did a fine job, plays stellar defense, and hustles. He's not our problem. Pitching is our issue, and bad fundamentals... They don't fix those two, then Juan becomes a moot point. Juan made this team better, not worse...i only have to point to Corey to know that. Until Corey turns into a HOFer with the Orioles of course.

Okay, maybe I don't post as much as some of you guys, like Dalgreen here. But when has Hendry last overpaid (in dollars) for a free agent? Or by signing someone after a trade? He's made a few dumb decisions in small amounts (neifi and fat glendon...bless his pulmonary embolused soul), but these were paltry amounts and didn't help the team. My assertion is that Hendry signed Aramis (after robbing the Pirates to get him) and signed DLee to an extension as well, both for fair amounts at the time. I don't think Jim will OVER pay for Pierre, he has shown his unwillingness to sign Furcal last year when the price went up. If anything, Jimbo will not be aggressive ENOUGH in the free agent market and won't throw money at a Zito or a Schmidt or a CLee like he should. Criticize the Red Sox and Yankees as you see fit, but they win every year and are in the playoffs every year because they get the Randy Johnsons and Mannys and Sheffields and Matsuis of the world. Until the Cubs realize that raising the payroll by 40 or more million dollars, they are doomed... Now go and point out the Dodgers...who spent stupidly...or any other example you can think of. The last several world series winners (except the Marlins) spent significantly more money and traded for significant players in the years preceding their world series wins. I don't see much credit given to Hendry...I only see focus on the bad things he's done...which is natural...they are losers.