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goonys evil twin

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Everything posted by goonys evil twin

  1. goonys evil twin
    What were the points?
  2. goonys evil twin
    I actually have my doubts about how smart that is. Andy and Jim have planned all along to build around pitching, and then to add offense when needed. The problem is they haven't really added offense. They've added individual hitters, but the lineup just keeps getting worse and worse as a whole. That's not good. It's tough on a pitching staff to win with no offensive support. Possible yes, but very tough. Practically every inning is a high stress inning. And aside from building around banged up pitchers, he's built around pitchers who surrender a ton of walks. I think the whole strategy has to be adjusted. They should not build on pitching. They should build on pitchng and hitting. They should have a top 5 hitting and top 5 pitching staff every year. Pitching is just far to inconsistent. The Braves did it, but it was a mistake to try and emulate what was likely a once in a generation type of staff. The Yankees, throughout all their success, have had only one stable pitcher, Rivera. The rest of the staff turns over every other year or so. The White Sox were built on pitching, but they were built on quantity of good pitching, not particularly great pitching, and they still scored a ton of runs via their powerful offense, which they also improved this offseason. The Mets are doing great because of their offense (and pitching). LA is doing well because of offense (and pitching). It's very difficult to win with just good pitching. I don't know why Hendry insists on trying to do it that way. You shouldn't limit yourself by saying you are going to focus only on pitching. The Cubs must address the offense.
  3. goonys evil twin
    Not really. That's the perception that people have after it happens. But there isn't a team in baseball that looked loaded in the preseason and has since bombed. Of course teams under and outperform expectations. But the point is you don't build your team so that it's only chance to win is if it outperforms. That's stupid. You build a team that is capable of winning 90+ games with little to no outperformance, and that can at least tread water if everything goes in the crapper. You maximize your chances. The Cubs have not maximized their chances. They are among the highest payrolls in baseball and came into the season with no better than an average chance of contending. That is unacceptable. At least it should be unacceptable. The Cubs didn't lose because of chance and underperformance. They've actually had several players who have met or exceeded performance levels, and very few who underperformed. They just aren't good because they were poorly built, not because luck.
  4. goonys evil twin
    Believe that all you want, but it was the tangibles that sunk this ship. Too many overly aggressive hitters. Too many guys who value putting the ball in play over getting on base. Too few baserunners, not enough power. And the pitching staff that has allowed so many baserunners in recent years simply imploded with the burden of constantly working under pressure. They don't have the benefit of an offense that will bail them out, and they always work with men on base because they walk so many. The Cubs problems center on the walk, they have for years. They don't take enough and they surrender enough. It's a very tangible problem that was never addressed because management doesn't see it as a problem. It's not intangibles that hurt, it's very real, measure commodities.
  5. goonys evil twin
    We are that awful. Your plan is to hope for the best. That's a bad way to build a team. You have to build a team by factoring in setbacks. You cannot build a team that will succeed only if people meet and exceed expectations.
  6. goonys evil twin
    That's why I think it's important to distinguish between what should, could and will be done. Vance asked "should" be blow it up. I say no, you should go for it because only a couple of good moves could make this team a winner. As for what will happen, well, there's no chance Hendry blows up and starts afresh. And there's only slightly more of a chance that he'll actually succeed in his efforts to build a winner.
  7. goonys evil twin
    I think they could contend for the NL pennant as soon as next year with just a handful of moves. There are lots of holes that could be filled. But even the best teams have a couple holes. They could build a 90 win team by next season and be right there. If Hendry stays on his present course, that's unlikely, but it's entirely possible if the right moves are made.
  8. goonys evil twin
    It's hard to differentiate between what should, what could and what will be done. You have to take into account that Hendry needs to improve things soon, so starting from scratch isn't going to happen. I believe blowing it up is an unnecessary step in the process. Back in 99/00 I was all for blowing it up, because there was not talent on the team. Now there is at least substantial talent, enough to form a core of players. The problem is too many crap role players. I think a good GM can get this team to the 90 win mark in 2007, and contending for the World Series soon after. The payroll is high enough to offer great flexibility for transactions. And the league is so weak, that it's a prime time to try and steal a pennant.
  9. goonys evil twin
    Is it any wonder why this organization is so incompetent? Middle of the order impact hitters walk. And the Cubs have never shown the slightest bit of ability (nor willingness) to "chisel down" an aggressive hitter. Freaking idiots.
  10. goonys evil twin
    I don't think so. not unless they find a way to dump a lot of bad contracts, sign all the top free agents, and go young everywhere else. do you see that happening? I think they can get back above .500 but they won't be any closer to winning the world series. I don't have much confidence in Hendry to identify and plug the right holes, but it could be fixed in one offseason with a top 5-7 payroll. We've had money for decades. Hasn't made a difference yet. Why would it start now? There is a difference between saying it can be done, and saying it can be done by Hendry. A good GM could absolutely get the job done in one offseason with this team. Hendry could not.
  11. goonys evil twin
    There's plenty of room for moves. A creative GM with an ounce of foresight would be able to make great strides this offseason. The current roster is completely unacceptable and only has potential for mediocrity. If your goal is to try and get back to .500, then maybe you can still relatively still. But that's a loser's goal and for this team to be a winner they need massive change.
  12. goonys evil twin
    I doubt Andy makes such a move, but it's entirely possible that Andy himself leaves for greener pastures, and that a new president is brought in who would dump Hendry. I highly doubt it will happen, but that's probably your only chance for Hendry being replaced this offseason.
  13. goonys evil twin
    .275 *.347 .363 .265 *.355 .331
  14. goonys evil twin
    Lee has been there everyday for 2 years and Dusty didn't have a problem messing around, and messing up the lineup.
  15. goonys evil twin
    He's not a 6 year old acting up. He is an authority with enormous influence over a team people care a lot about. His words and actions should not be ignored.
  16. goonys evil twin
    Dusty is lame duck. A new manager would be an interim. And teams hire interim managers all the time. What doesn't make sense is waiting to cut the cord. If you are going to do it, do it today.
  17. goonys evil twin
    His Cubs record is 310-309 right now, right?
  18. goonys evil twin
    Most real closers were average starters, or worse. There's nothing wrong with converting a guy like Dempster to closer. The problem is giving him a 3 year contract.
  19. goonys evil twin
    luckily you can't walk across home plate.
  20. goonys evil twin
    I would say that the best any team or manager can realistically hope for is to win as many games as possible. GMs should build their team to maximize its chances of winning the most games. Striving to win the divsion and make the playoffs is good as well, but in the case of the Cubs, their "contend within the division" strategy leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
  21. goonys evil twin
    He did. He got shelled. Trade value down the toilet. When did Rusch had trade value this year? His trade value was a turd in the toilet. It wouldn't go down initially. But after enough flushes and some plunger work, if finally went down.
  22. goonys evil twin
    I don't like how he uses "they" and how he is talking about the future Please don't leave Rammy. Almost all players use "they" when talking about the decision makers who are negotiating with their agent for a contract.
  23. goonys evil twin
    because I'd rather have two draft picks than a b-level prospect. Even considering the way this organization is operated? I'd think either option is just as worthless. Throw enough darts and you'll eventually hit a bulls-eye...even if you're throwing blind-folded! (of course, you might injure a few people along the way) You might hit the board, but there's no guarantee you'll hit a bulls eye.
  24. goonys evil twin
    Hadn't thought of that, you might be onto something there. Two questions: How is his clutch feeling? How big is his intangible?
  25. goonys evil twin
    Regardless of how pointless her stuff is, I do think it's possible to gauge the thoughts of the "typical fan" through what she writes. Many people out there share the thought that Cubs management really isn't doing anything wrong, they've just been hampered by: The Tribune being too cheap. Bad luck. Players just not doing their jobs. And many of them think that: Pierre and Jones are just dandy players who really help the team. Ramirez is replacable since he doesn't hustle. Bynum, Neifi etc are great role players. The team needs to find more clutch players who try harder and care more and know what it means to be a Cub, etc. The real problem is just too many rookies on the team. Those fans who have a great interest in the objective analysis of baseball and what the stats are telling us about the Cubs are still a minority. The bulk of thought out there is still very much of the conventional type, and there really isn't too much of an incentive for Hendry to change his ways with most fans supporting him. You notice a lot of "I know Jim Hendry is great, but what will it take to get him to improve the defense?" "Obviously Pierre is first class, how much do you think the Cubs should offer him this offseason?"
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