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goonys evil twin

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Everything posted by goonys evil twin

  1. goonys evil twin
    And Goony's point is that getting Wilson is not acceptable. I respect his opinion. I think he's wrong on this one. He thinks I'm wrong. Either way, it will always be civil. Not if I can help it. (here's where I wait for my premium check to clear so I can use one of those smilies with the guy on horseback looking to battle) I'm passionate about my anti-Wilson stance. Similar to how I felt about Burnitz last offseason, and ever since you brought him up a while back, a little fire has been burning inside me, waiting to explode if he's brought in.* I will say this, if Wilson is brought in, but it's not for $5-6m per for multiple years, and significant upgrades are acquired elsewhere (Giles would be a must), then I could live with it. I just don't see them being stupid enough to sign Wilson while simultaneously being smart enough to sign Giles. If they Wilson, I see them showcasing him as a real coup, possibly the marquee upgrade in the offseason.
  2. goonys evil twin
    His numbers were not very good, in any context. He was bad, just less bad. He was terrible in 2004. He's fallen apart since some early success. He's just not a good baseball player, and at 31, I'm not expecting improvement. I think Hoops' point is that being less bad than Corey is still an upgrade, and that, given other moves, would be an acceptable move. Just trying to keep the peace! :-# I see that he's an improvement from 2005 Corey. Just about anything is an improvement from a 2005 Corey, including 2006 Corey. Wilson is no guarantee to outproduce Corey's career average, but he is a guarantee to cost a whole lot more money. And if he is signed he will also serve as justification not to go after more meaningful improvements elsewhere, because Wilson will be packaged as a star who hit a bump in the road, and not the underperforming hack that he is.
  3. goonys evil twin
    They should be 0%. But why haven't they already dumped him? They spoke glowingly of his play all season, and have not given any indication that they were unhappy with his production. The fact that he isn't already gone frightens me. Hendry has an inexplicable love for JB, and he's had it for years. Even if they don't exercise the option, they will pay the buyout, and possibly even another $4-5m to comeback. They like the guy with absolutely no justification. Just to reiterate, the Cubs were 12th, 16th and 15th in OPS in the NL from their LF, CF and RF, respectively. Yes, that's right, their RF produciton ranked lower than their LF production, despite all the talk about LF all year. And I don't believe for a second that Hendry is even aware of that stat.
  4. goonys evil twin
    His numbers were not very good, in any context. He was bad, just less bad. He was terrible in 2004. He's fallen apart since some early success. He's just not a good baseball player, and at 31, I'm not expecting improvement.
  5. goonys evil twin
    true It's not luck, fate or a curse that has kept this team from winning, it's gawd-awful personel decisions, repeated over and over.
  6. goonys evil twin
    It won't technically be a lie when he spends $5-6m on Wilson, $6-7m on a Burnitz clone (or, god forbid, Burnitz himself - no rational GM would wait this long to not exercise that option), $5-6m on a Trachsel/Tomko type, $3-4m on a reliever, $2-10m on some type of SS, $3-4m more on a couple bench players, and then piggy banks a couple million for the inevitable July trade for somebody else's problem.
  7. goonys evil twin
    Neither of us can guarantee anything. It's called taking a gamble. If I had Hendry's job, I would gamble $4M over a 2 year period (paying $7M to Corey over 2 years vs. $11M to Preston over 2 years) that Wilson would outperform Patterson. Why would you talk about signing Corey to a 2 year deal. It doesn't need to happen. $3m for this year alone is all you need to gamble. Preston requires far more than that, even though he's not anywhere close to worth it.
  8. goonys evil twin
    If Hendry wastes his time with Wilson, he's already screwing around with Burnitz type players. And if he spends the money to get Wilson, he'll say there wasn't enough to also go after a real RF. I have no problem with them getting rid of Corey. What I have a problem with is getting rid of Corey and replacing him with an overpaid Wilson who will still be an OBP liability and not offer anything of value.
  9. goonys evil twin
    I'm not certain Corey would put up that line, but he could. And even if Preston puts up that line and Corey doesn't, Wilson is not likely to be worth twice the cost. I'm more comfortable making real upgrades in RF and sticking with Corey in center, than wasting time and money on the bum that is Preston Wilson in center and inevitably settling for a second rate RF. There is just no way that Hendry goes hard after a big time RF if he goes after and gets Wilson. He'll package Wilson as a real solid signing, rather than the bumgap that he truly is.
  10. goonys evil twin
    The dude is capable of a .250/.320/.450 season, and he'll likely get paid more than twice what Patterson will make*. That's a huge upgrade over 2005 Corey, but I have to believe Patterson can at least put up his career average numbers next year, which aren't that far off from that line. And while I've given up on the idea of Corey as a star, I would not be at all surprised if Corey outproduces Wilson next year. *You know that if Jim goes after him he'll be more than happy to grossly overpay, as he has with so many other mediocre free agent signings. Considering Patterson made $2.8M in 2005, and will likely get $3.0M in 2006, I would have no issue if Hendry paid Preston Wilson $4.5-5.0M in 2006. Just as long as he's paying Brian Giles $11M or Adam Dunn $8M. Hoops This makes no sense. Compare the two head to head since 2003. In that year, Preston outproduced, but not by a ton, and he had the benefit of Coors. In 2004, Corey outproduced (while Preston still had Coors). In 2005, Preston outproduced, but only because Corey stunk, Preston still sucked in his own way (again, even with Coors). Take out the emotions of the situation, and there's no way you can guarantee Wilson will be the better player in 2006, especially not at twice the cost.
  11. goonys evil twin
    I'd rather pay Corey $3m than Wilson $6m. He's every bit as capable of pooping the bed as Patterson is. The guy couldn't even hit in Coors.
  12. goonys evil twin
    The dude is capable of a .250/.320/.450 season, and he'll likely get paid more than twice what Patterson will make*. That's a huge upgrade over 2005 Corey, but I have to believe Patterson can at least put up his career average numbers next year, which aren't that far off from that line. And while I've given up on the idea of Corey as a star, I would not be at all surprised if Corey outproduces Wilson next year. *You know that if Jim goes after him he'll be more than happy to grossly overpay, as he has with so many other mediocre free agent signings.
  13. goonys evil twin
    I know you are, which really makes me question your logic in every other thread. :wink: I don't think the Cubs will be better off with Wilson in center instead of Corey.
  14. goonys evil twin
    If I thought he was going to repeat 2005, no doubt I'd be very much anti-Corey. Also, if the concern is how Baker will use him, then perhaps the focus should be on ridding the team of Dusty before the renewal can begin, rather than one of his misused players. I'm all for an improvement in CF, if they can find it. But I'm not currently 100% anti-Corey. A small part of me wants to see one more try (with Hairston ready to fill-in if need be). What I wouldn't want is dumping Corey and then going hard after a guy like Preston Wilson.
  15. goonys evil twin
    It wasn't the shot to the head that hurt his season. Clement was stinking up the joint throughout July, with or without the beaning (8.88 ERA). Matt just isn't a very good pitcher. He walks way too many batters and is overpaid. It might work out for him in Boston, where they can put up with his frequent blowup starts with an offense that mashes. But with the shaky lineup the Cubs continue to employ, you just can't have a guy who all too often gets rocked early. I do not want Clement back. Not because I dislike him, quite the opposite. He just isn't the right fit now. But, I'd contest the not a good pitcher claim. I think he is one of those guys who will "find it" for a season or two and put together Cy Young Award worthy numbers during the stretch. I know he is 31, which is old for that type of thing to happen usually, but it's just a feeling I have. Regardless, he isn't right for Chicago. Note, I did not say he wasn't good. I said he wasn't very good. He's talented as heck, with wicked stuff. But he just cannot harness that stuff over the course of a season, which is why he can look like a Cy candidate for a month and be no better than a 6th starter the next month. A team that scores a lot of runs can use a guy like Clement.
  16. goonys evil twin
    This year was the first year in 6 years he has had less than 500 ABs. I'm not worried. But hip issues on a guy who relies so heavily on speed, has to be a concern.
  17. goonys evil twin
    There might be better options than Bradley, but I wouldn't call them plenty. I'm not big time Bradley booster or anything, but I can't think of anything better right now. The big difference between Bradley and Sosa is the 10 years of age. Nobody thinks Bradley can return to any glory, he's never had any. But they do think he can be a relatively productive CF. His attitude is definitely a concern, but it's not the most important thing. The Cubs need production, not chemistry.
  18. goonys evil twin
    Many fields have the "in any other park" factor. The bottom line is that's a bogus excuse, and completely ridiculous to bring up when insinuating the other team didn't deserve credit for the win.
  19. goonys evil twin
    Furcal doesn't do much for me. The upgrade from Cedeno to Furcal isn't big enough to justify not upgrading from a Burnitz to a real RF. That would be maybe 75-100 OPS points, maximum, at SS, but 150-200 OPS points in the OF. They cannot afford to settle on another worthless OF.
  20. goonys evil twin
    It wasn't the shot to the head that hurt his season. Clement was stinking up the joint throughout July, with or without the beaning (8.88 ERA). Matt just isn't a very good pitcher. He walks way too many batters and is overpaid. It might work out for him in Boston, where they can put up with his frequent blowup starts with an offense that mashes. But with the shaky lineup the Cubs continue to employ, you just can't have a guy who all too often gets rocked early.
  21. goonys evil twin
    I'm not saying those people aren't upgrades. I just think that if that's all you do, and you make the mistake of settling for crap in RF again, the Cubs will be putting themselves in another sticky situation. Murton is no guarantee to put up good numbers (although I'm perfectly happy with going with him if the other spots are filled). Bradley is no guarantee to be productive for a whole year (in fact, the closest he ever came to a full season was 2004 - 141 G, 516 AB, .267/.362/.424). And I will always have questions about Castillo's ability to slap happy himself to solid numbers on the thick Wrigley infield. Yes, they are individual upgrades, but they would not fully answer the questions. Make those trades, and sign Giles, then we're talking, but I think those trades, all alone, would leave this team short.
  22. goonys evil twin
    But defense is not the reason this team didn't win enough games this year. Not saying you are wrong, but I can think of 3 games off the top of my head that the defense cost us. An improved defense should be one of our concerns, especially up the middle. Every team's fans can think back at a few games that were lost due to defensive miscues. It wasn't defense that hurt this ballclub, it was the same quantifiable problems that have plagued this team for years, no walks or OBP on offense, too many walks given up by the pitchers. Solve those two problems and this team will go somewhere. Ignore them, and focus on other things, and they'll still struggle.
  23. goonys evil twin
    But defense is not the reason this team didn't win enough games this year.
  24. goonys evil twin
    That would be a very impressive offseason. And I'd be pleasantly suprised if it happened. As far as Milton Bradley being insane, the White Sox have dealt pretty well with Carl Everett, who's no model of mental health. I think Bradley just needs to be on a winning team in a supportive enviroment. My concern would be that Hendry wouldn't see the need for a big-time RF if he made the trade and landed Furcal. That would be my major concern after those deals. It would be an upgrade no doubt, but not an enormous one. Plus, I could see Jim being extremely satisfied with the team after those moves, then exercising Burnitz' ugly option (when does that have to happen?). I would not be happy with that OF.
  25. goonys evil twin
    Now that's blech. Low trade or value not, Patterson's got to go in order for the organization to start its renewal process. Why? I don't understand this thought process. Why does Corey have to leave for this team to be good? That sounds an awful lot like last year's "get rid of the bad apples" strategy that failed oh so miserably. If you want Corey replaced with somebody who is guaranteed to be much better, fine. If you're looking for more CF production, I can't argue. But the "he has to go before this team can win" theory doesn't add up. I think if you can get the necessary improvements elsewhere, they'd be justified in giving Corey another year to make something of his skills.
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