goonys evil twin

I couldn't do Hendry or Baker's job starting tomorrow. But give me 5 years working with a quality franchise and I think I could learn enough to be a competent GM (and a top 5 payroll wouldn't hurt). I'd never be able to manage, or coach for that matter (well, I could be a bench coach or bullpen coach, as long as I didn't have to teach anything). Baseball is very difficult to play well, and nearly as difficult to teach well. But it's not hard at all to understand the game, and what is needed to win.

I think Hendry would overlook the faults of those players, and the needs of the team. I don't think he'd accidentally keep Macias on the team, I think he'd do it on purpose. I don't know which is worse, but I do know the solution to both, cut him today. I think Hendy can allow himself to be convinced by the Hughes of the world that Walker isn't going to cut it at 2nd, and that Neifi will be fine at short, and that Cedeno/Neifi up the middle will be adequate. I think he can be convinced that Burnitz at $7m isn't all that expensive when you "already know what you are going to get" and don't know how expensive the talented Preston Wilson is going to be. The answer to all these problems is make the decision today. Cut the dead weight now. Decline options on the expensive hacks, pickup the options on the affordable producers. At the very least, why keep Walker wondering? This organization supposedly puts so much thought into how other veterans feel about the moves they make, why keep a productive veteran wondering whether his option will be picked up? If you decline that option, you're just dumb, and hurting the team. If you wait to the last second to pick it up, you're screwing with a good player, unnecessarily. If you pick it up now, and decide to trade later, you might be insulting the player, but at least you're doing what's best for the team. Waiting on on that decision does no good for anybody involved.

My question is why do you think it's a hurry? Other teams decline options on guys they don't want to bring back, why wouldn't the Cubs? You don't need to wait until you can acquire a replacement before you decide to get rid of the incumbent.

Where does haste come into play? It's a simple decision. Macias is a worthless baseball player. His presence on the team hurts the teams chances to win. Get rid of him. Burnitz's option is ridiculously overpriced, there's no good reason to bring him back next year. Decline the option. Walker at $2.5m is extremely valuable, pick up the option. Nomar is a nice option if he's cheap in terms of a guarantee, let it be known that you'd be interested in having him back.

Do you really think Macias is gone? I think they love his "versatility". And everyday that Burnitz is still taking up roster space I get more and more concered he will be back. This front office seems to be more concerned with insulting the people responsible for 83 loss than interested in acquiring people who can help this team to 95 wins.

I wish I had a dollar for everytime there was nobody on base in the first place. The problem is OBP, much moreso than what they do when a guy gets on base.

Hurry? The season is over. Teams let go of dead weight when the season is over. A lot of teams have already made moves, declining options, picking up options, outrighting guys, firing coaches, hiring coaches, claiming players. A lot of dead weight is gone by this time of year. The problem is the Cubs think Macias has value, and they will keep him. They think Neifi Perez is fine for SS. They think Burnitz is a fine RF. They think the problem was health, luck, chemistry and attitude. They have failed to recognize the single biggest problem on this team for years, and not one major front office person has been replaced, nothing makes me think they finally understand the problem and are willing to fix it.

I think Burnitz is something else in the hand, but it does rhyme with bird. I would like him as a 4th OF. If Baker has 3 solid OF's I wouldn't mind him being the 4th guy and the Cubs could afford it. If the Cubs can find a cheaper 4th OF that is as productive, which I think Burnitz would be in the 4th role, I am for it. I just think Hendry is covering his OF. Now...if he is waiting to see and make Burnitz a starter, I'm with you 100%. Also, can Burnitz play first at all? He didn't play there last year I know but that was because he was a "fixture" in right. You give me Hairston (also extra inf), Patterson and Burnitz as the extra OF's and I'll be happy with that. Let me also ask what the Cubs have coming up for the OF in the next couple of years? Pie in 2007 and is there anyone else? I think Burnitz as 4th OF is destined to fail. Baker doesn't demote veterans. He liked what Burnitz brought to the table last year, and JB would get at least 400 AB next year.

I think Burnitz is something else in the hand, but it does rhyme with bird.

Amen.

Well, even after all I've seen so far, I am still looking forward to at least the chance that some good will be done this offseason. I haven't given up all hope.

The problem is is that we have an ex-scout as a GM. Hendry is more interested in tools that numbers. I'm worried that as long as Hendry is here we're going to have to deal with mediocrity when it comes to OBP. I don't mind having an ex-scout as GM. What I do mind is having an ex-scout as his closest advisor, and nothing but scout/tools talking determining the direction of this team. This organization's utter disdain for anything related to the sabr side of things is frightening. I understand why you and many feel this way but let's see where Hendry takes us this off season and then crucify him if he signs the Wilsons and Jones. He's lost all benefit of the doubt with me (and I was a big Hendry supporter when he was hired, as opposed to Dusty, who I never wanted). He has to do good before I'll stop complaining about how stupid this franchise has been.

Not sure, but I'd bet it would have the worst ratings/population rank of city ratio in history.

The problem is is that we have an ex-scout as a GM. Hendry is more interested in tools that numbers. I'm worried that as long as Hendry is here we're going to have to deal with mediocrity when it comes to OBP. I don't mind having an ex-scout as GM. What I do mind is having an ex-scout as his closest advisor, and nothing but scout/tools talking determining the direction of this team. This organization's utter disdain for anything related to the sabr side of things is frightening.

That's how I feel. AA is for all intents and purposes the last stop before the majors. Anyone who can hit well in AA is gonna be fast tracked to the majors. I think Matt Murton showed what he can do straight from AA. And yet, the Cubs keep having guys skip high A. Why? What is the benefit? It certainly hasn't helped the big club.

Trading for Alfonseca, and then inexplicably giving him a raise to $4m after he showed how much he sucked. Trading for Macias, then giving him a raise after a terrible season. Signing Hollandsworth to be the primarly LF last year. Signing Burnitz to be the RF last year. Bidding against himself for the services of Dusty Baker last year. *Some more: Giving a piece of crap like Neifi a guarantee of more than $1m, then inexplicably giving him incentives for another $1.5 if he starts a lot. Hey, I got news for you, if Neifi is starting a lot, that's a bad thing, why pay more for a bad thing? Overpaying an aging and declining Maddux. Trading a promising young prospect for a terrible left handed specialist who can't even make the big club. Losing Andy Sisco because you just had to keep space for guys like Bartosh, Fox, Rohlicek, Koronka, Macias, etc. A top 5 payroll for 3 years, and just 88, 89 and 79 win seasons to show for it. I don't believe I said he has no clue. I have said repeatedly he overpays for mediocrity. $100 million, and 79 wins should be enough to support that claim. The Cubs have ranked near last in the NL in walks throughout his time with the team, and because of that, they've been near the bottom of the league in OBP despite a decent AVG. Because of that lack of OBP, they've been low in the runs scored department, despite a good SLG. Failure to address a glaring and specific problem over the course of three years and having the team's results suffer because of it, seems like a pretty clear indication that the GM is not doing a great job.

Stats like that will likely vary from year to year. Basing your personel decisions on how a guy did during the day or night last year is just asking for your roster to blow up in your face. It's not that hard. Get good productive baseball players.

I am first and foremost a Cubs fan. If the Cubs are in a playoff game of any kind, there's not a chance in hell I miss it. But I miss lots of other playoff games. If the series goes 5-6 games, I'll probably miss all of at least 1 game, most of another, and parts of all the rest. If the local high school is playing a game, I might stop for a couple minutes and watch, but won't stay for long. But if I got offered free tickets to a world series game, sure I'd go, no matter who is playing.

The first thing should be to stop complaining about how hard it is to play at home. Quit making excuses. There's no reason why they can't win at home, and there's no special team to build in order to win at home. Just build a lineup that gets on base and hits for some power, a defense that fields the ball, and a pitching staff that gets outs and doesn't give up walks. Baseball is simple, there's no reason to try and make it complex.

I think it's pretty clear that Giles is past his prime. But at his prime, he was one of the best in the game. Now, he's still miles ahead of hacks like Jones. I have absolutely no interest in seeing Burnitz return, and Jones is no better than Burnitz. It's up to Jim to find the alternative to Giles. But there's no reason to go to the 2nd choice while the 1st choice is still out there, which is the case with Giles. There are quite a few players better than Jones and Burnitz who could be available via trade, they've been discussed quite a bit already.

Believe it or not I would prefer to see our OF talent be upgraded via trade if we can't get Giles to a good deal. If they can't get Giles, they have to upgrade via trade. Status quo is completely unacceptable. No way can we go into the season with our OF the way it is right now. If we do, Hendry will be exposed. Not even just the way it is right now. To me, status quo is replacing Burnitz with somebody like Wilson or Jones, and settling on a second rate CF as well. They need somebody who is a real threat to have a 900+ OPS next season to play right, and is practically a guarantee for a .360+ OBP.

I thought Mulder was from IL. True, but Chicago qualifies as a big city, just not on the coast. He seems to have grown accustomed to the CA lifestyle from his OAK stint. He likes to golf also, so STL wouldn't be his choice. He also seems to prefer a younger team. Where you play doesn't have to be where you live year round. There's a ton of golf in the Chicago area and many other midwestern locales, I have to assume there's golf in STL. So during the season he can golf on his off days no matter where he plays. And if he wants to live full time in CA, he still can. There have been baseball teams in CA and TX for years and an enormous amount of players from those areas. But none of those teams seems to have gained any sort of advantage from their location. I think the whole close to home thing is overblown. Maybe guys tend to migrate home toward the end of their careers, but for the most part, they follow the money.

I thought Mulder was from IL.

defense. and we all know that the 2005 Cubs finished with a losing record because of defense. Is Jones a better defender than Burnitz?

I guess it was a bit much to ask Cards fans to go a whole month without patting themselves on their backs for their collective greatness.