goonys evil twin

Looks like he's heading back down to Earth. In his last 7 days going into today, his OPS was lower than Neifi's. .552-.610

Zambrano has the lowest AB/HR ratio of anybody on the team that has hit a HR, has as many HRs as Lee, Murton and Blanco, and more HR than 28 Cubs that have an at bat this year, 8 of whom have more at bats than him.

Jones, what was that? Ugly swing, roller back to pitcher. inning over

what happened? 4-3? Pierre walked. Then he got caught stealing.

I never cared for HR, but you're right. How do you know he's right? That's absurd. Odds are pretty heavy that they have more than enough reason to fire him. Companies don't just fire people without discussions going on. I've heard people who have had to deal with the repeated warnings, not to mention the attempted lawsuits that follow. You have absolutely no reason to believe ESPN just blindsided him with this with no support.

schocking start to the game

You should be ashamed of yourself. There's a difference between the courts, and the court of public opinion, not to mention the workplace. Business of all kinds work their tail off to gather enough information to support their firings. I know people who have had way more than enough reason to fire, but had to wait to get even more, because of liability. ESPN does not need to prove to you that a firing was in order. You can be pretty sure that they have a pretty thick booklet of info backing up their case if they made the move.

If the Cubs do trade Ramirez, they need to do more than just trade for prospects. They have to acquire a big time bat that has already proven its worth, maybe Burrell. They already need to add at least one significant bat, a Ramirez trade would mean they have to get at least 2.

Pagan overall .236 .276 .436 vs righties .229 .270 .514 in July .229 .289 .514 Murton vs righties .269 .327 .341 in July .372 .429 .442 Pagan doesn't even have the excuse of "knowing" the stadium. His OBP is abysmal, and that SLG is propped up from that mini streak before the all star break.

I think the "good friend" comment was just a way to make the joke work.

Barrett was a sub 100 OPS+ hitter when he came to the Cubs, and still below that for his career. His value has skyrocketed since the Cubs traded for him, and since they signed him to an extension. I would think Barrett could net a pretty decent price, especially from a team looking to get rid of a higher contract (because MB is very cost efficient).

Is Abreu even a better hitter than Barrett anymore? He's older, his OPS is way lower, and he's got 8 HR. and he plays a position where it's easier to find an impact bat. Personally, I don't see the benefit of pursuing a declining Abreu at the expense of one of our best players. Given their positions, Abreu is likely to sustain his production longer than Barrett. Catchers are always the first to decline. And going into this year, Abreu was a consistent 120 or higher OPS+ hitter, and usually much higher. Barret was 105 and 113 going into this season. I'd bet Abreu outproduces Barret the next two years. Plus, Bobby plays everyday, Barrett doesn't, and MB may or may not have a negative defensive contribution. MB has 30% fewer plate appearances a year. Even if his rate stats are a little better, the overall contribution from Abreu would be significantly higher. I don't think there could be a straight up deal. I think Philly would want an arm, but the Cubs could get more than Abreu for Barrett and an arm.

Your 2008 scenario is another reason to consider dealing Barrett this season. I don't think we will want him back after 2007, when he'll be 31, a common time for catchers to start their decline. Even though he got a non-tradition start to his catching career, he's really racked up the games and innings behind the plate. Even the elite guys, like Pudge Rodriguez, see significant downturn from their prime production to early 30 production after racking up the innings. And Barrett has never been an elite catcher. So your options might be: Trade him this season at his peak. Trade him next year, after he'll probably be a little less productive and with only a couple months left on his deal. Let him walk after his age 30 season (2007). Sign him to a new contract that would likely lock him up from 31-33. I, for one, don't think that Barrett in 2007-2010 will be as good as Barrett in 2006, especially not from 2008 and beyond. He might be good enough to justy a similar contract to his current one, which undervalues him. But besides the likely decline in offense, there is also the likely decline in defense, which is already a question with him at his peak. Given those options. I think I'd try and trade him now if I can get huge talent in return, and find an average solution at catcher. Next option would be to try and win big with him next year, then look to trade if the team looks to be falling short. Next option would be to try and sign him to a team friendly contract after 2007. Last option would be to let him walk after 2007. I would not even consider signing him to a big time deal after this one runs out.

:-k You can only pitch in the rotation if you dominate for 6 innings? I don't see any benefit to this plan. Guzman just needs to pitch, it doesn't necessarily have to be in the majors. Hill needs to pitch in the majors. Prior needs to work past his issues.

Giddy was just my sarcastic response to somebody pointing out that nobody is talking about Dusty saying the words, instead just maintaining their previous perception of him. I don't give him credit for saying the words. Because he's said stuff like "we need to give up fewer walks" before and nothing has been done about it. He's also talked about fundamentals, hustling, and winning, and nothing has come of it. Actions speak louder than words, and Dusty's actions put a damper on any plate discipline talk. Not to mention, his years of non-discipline words make it even more difficult to get excited about this.

:?: Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, confirmation hearings, pubic hair, can of coke, long dong silver...... any of this ring a bell? I think he was barely a teenage when this happened. At least Reynolds won't call this a "high-tech lynching." I was just in high school when it all went down. Yeah, but you were pushing twenty-one. Not the same thing. Why I oughta.... :club: Seriously, according to his profile I'm just a year older. Any self respecting teenager had some giggles at this story when it came out in 91.

I agree with you. I've beaten up on Dusty all season and was utterly shocked that the two words "plate discipline" came out of his mouth. I'll give him credit for this move. However, I want him to mention "plate discipline" to the whole team and not just Cedeno. Saying plate discipline doesn't mean a thing. Making mentions of things isn't what matters. People have been talking about this problem for 4 years and he just now mentions the words and we're supposed to get all giddy? Dusty's track record is set as far as patience at the plate is concerned. He would have to undergo a drastic change to make a difference for the better. Saying you are going to talk to somebody about plate discipline isn't the same as actually making a hitter better.

:?: Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, confirmation hearings, pubic hair, can of coke, long dong silver...... any of this ring a bell? I think he was barely a teenage when this happened. At least Reynolds won't call this a "high-tech lynching." I was just in high school when it all went down.

:?: Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, confirmation hearings, pubic hair, can of coke, long dong silver...... any of this ring a bell?

I'd consider dealing Barrett. It would all depend on what you could get in follow-up moves. Normally, offense at catcher is a bonus. But the Cubs offense is so poor that it's a must. They would have to fill-out the rest of the lineup in a way that makes up for whatever donwgrade they'd end up with at catcher, because they won't get equal offense. And you can't go into 2007 with somebody as bad as Blanco as the primary guy. They need to not only find upgrades elsewhere, but at least average production from a new catcher as well. An interesting idea could be with Philly. They have gotten nothing out of the catcher spot this year, aside from some decent spot duty from a 33 year old rookie. They also have some bats they supposedly want to trade away. I'm not sure what kind of catcher the Cubs could end up with after such a deal, but it is two teams with needs that would match up.

I'd rather Prior work through his issues the next 2 months to get a better idea of how he'll be in 2007. Guzman doesn't necessarily have to be pitching in the majors right now, he just needs to be pitching healthy somewhere.

A lot of people complained about the number of solo homeruns hits in recent years. Many, including Hendry and Baker, thought the best way to fix that problem was to try and hit fewer homeruns. The obvious solution is to give the homerun hitters more opportunities with men on base.

It's too bad that the Cubs are the only team in baseball to not develop players capable of playing 1B. If we would we wouldn't have to play veterans we have no intention of keeping while the team is 20 games under .500 man, that is just utterly ridiculous. put mabry at first, call up hoffpauir, give a turtle a glove and put him at 1b, whatever. who the hell cares whether the cubs' 1b hits .240 or .220 the rest of the way? this is the same logic that's going to "force" the cubs to keep maddux, thus squeezing guzman/hill out of the rotation when marshall and marmol comes back. i've never seen a team pride itself so much on trying to maintain a .380 winning percentage. pathetic isn't it Just trying to keep it respectable.

I don't like analysts who can't analyze. Guys who live in cliche land and simply follow the conventional wisdom of baseball, or guys who cannot admit that not all baseball players are great at playing major league baseball.

No, it's the date, after which the Cubs won't be making any meaningful trades. You don't trade perceived low end pieces after the deadline, you trade actual low end pieces for crap minor leaguers that don't do anything, just like he did last year. If you want the Cubs to make a significant trade, you better hope it's before July 31. The jist of the thread Gooney is this. Posters thoughout Blogland think Hendry is going to build a World Series Champion by trading Nevin, and Niefi among others, which is completely unrealistic. I believe what Hendry needs to do is to try and fill his most pressing need now. Even one trade, the rest of the season could achieve this. By doing so he can fill in the blanks through FA siging on the off season. He could trade for prospects and try to rebuild the farm system too. No he's not going to make a blockbuster trade. BUT, during the season is the best time to nab someones good prospect for your older vet because teams are trying to make the post season and load up on talent for the WS. So it can improve the team for next year in a way trading in the off-season can't. Think about guys we likely won't resign. Maddux, Nevin, ect. . If you can just get a couple decent prospects for them, you are actually getting something for nothing, because you won't have those players to trade in the off-season. Yeah! Someone get's it. Embrace the nothing!!!!! Obviously you don't get it. If you want to trade for meaningful prospects you better do it before the deadline.