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goonys evil twin

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Everything posted by goonys evil twin

  1. Plus, why would they want Welly? He's exactly the type of pitcher they don't need. Mitre would make more sense for them. Actually, being a fastball/changeup pitcher, he's a good candidate for relative success in Colorado.
  2. I'm starting to get sick hearing all these reports. Just awful news for Cubs fans if this holds weight. Terrible.
  3. The simple answer is yes. The less simple answer is look at what they've done: Corey in the Midwest League - .320 .358 .592, 45 BB, 115 K. That was at age 19. When Eric was 19 he hit .346 .438 .458 at Georgia Tech. In the Midwest League at 22 he's hitting .348 .426 .509, with 28 BB and 52 K. Eric has shown a bit better discipline, and much better bb/k ratio. He doesn't have the same power, but he's not a wimpy hitter. They both have very good SB ability. My guess is he'll be in Florida either by the end of this year or the start of the next, and quite possibly AA by the end of 2006. If he does not suffer any hiccups between now and the end of 2006, and he's put up solid numbers in West Tenn, then I would give him a decent shot at making an appearance in Wrigley by 2007. But that is the fast track. Personally I'd like to see him given a chance to succeed at each level, and not be rushed. If he started 2008 as the leadoff man and 2nd baseman, at 25, I'd be very happy.
  4. You assume Dubois will play though! Would you change it up more if Hollandworth was in there? Bat Barrett 6th and Holly 8th.
  5. It doesn't bother me at this point. Having Cedeno on the roster makes the team better from a PH standpoint alone. Wilson was garbage, despite his innate ability to help beat the Yankees. If Neifi keeps tumbling toward oblivion, pressure will mount for Baker to use Cedeno. At least now he won't be in a position where he gets a question from the media after a poor Neifi outing in which he defends Neifi, but the next day Cedeno is brought up and starting at short. I'm not worried about Cedeno's growth being [expletive]. The way he was pounding AAA, he can learn just as much in the majors at this point as continuing to beat up AAA pitching. I'd love to see a line up of: Cedeno Walker Lee Burnitz ARam Patterson Dubois Barrett I like the lineup, but ARAM would have an OBP of .900 from all the intentional and intentional unintentional walks he'd get. That's why I think it's important to get a solid bat to play left field. Why not let Burnitz protect Aramis? JB isn't deserving of the cleanup spot. He's been mediocre overall this year. Why not go DLee/Ramirez back to back? The righty/lefty thing is completely bogus. You could go Cedeno Walker Lee Ramirez Burnitz Dubois Patterson Barrett
  6. I may have been that person. Revisionist history? Explain that claim. Doesn't make sense. I'm talking about the present and future. Maddux has been in a decline since the late 90's, and it'll just continue.
  7. I just thought it would be nice to point out here that the Yankees are starting Matsui, Womack and Sierra in the OF right now. They're desperate out there. They might not have what the Cubs have, but they might be more willing to trade what they do have.
  8. Yes his numbers have slipped over the last 3 years but his 2nd halves have been pretty good even in those years. IMO, Wood is being overpaid more at this point of his career than Maddux. He (Wood) has yet to post an ERA below 3.20 ever in a season while Greg had 5 seasons of sub 3.20 ERA before the age of 29. Wood's 2nd halve ERAs over the last 3 years (02-04) 3.21, 3.21, & 4.27. While Greg's 2nd have ERAs over the same time 2.42, 3.03, & 3.48. You are advocating paying a player for what he did before, not for what he will hopefully do in the future. The Cubs didn't sign Maddux to be good in just July and August. I don't see why Wood is even part of this debate. Nobody is claiming Wood is outplaying his contract. It's a pretty weak statement of support for Maddux when people have to say he's not as overpaid as somebody else. Who cares? He's overpaid, it doesn't justify it if somebody else is more overpaid.
  9. Why does that matter? What about Detroit in March. They don't have to play there. This thing has disaster written all over it. I am so not looking forward to any Cubs players getting involved in this mess.
  10. Plenty of people have complained about Wood's deal. It's different than Maddux, however, because he was young and still developing when he signed the deal, and had not yet even reached his peak. Maddux was well past his peak, and pretty clearly on the decline. Also, Maddux was a guy they went out and recruited. They went out of their way to overpay him. Wood's situation was somewhat forced on the Cubs. Despite the criticism of his win total, Kerry was in the process of putting it all together when he signed that deal. He was throwing 200+ innings a year, and throwing well. And he was still several years away from when you'd assume he'd hit his peak. I do have a problem with Wood making what he's making right now, and not pitching. But the fact remains, there is a light at the end of the tunnel with Wood. Maddux doesn't provide that hope for the future though. With him, you have to assume he'll just keep declining, and if that's the case, he won't live up to the deal. Would anybody really be surprised if Kerry came out and dominated next year? I wouldn't. But with Maddux I would be very surprised if he came out next year and consistently pitched well enough to justify his deal. He'll throw some gems, I have no doubt. But he'll have too many stinkers as well, just like 2004, just like 2005.
  11. Maddux has been a very good pitcher for a very long time. Wood hasn't been around near long enough to bring up in a debate about their respective win totals. Wood hasn't won 312 because he just turned 28. Of course Maddux has a lot to do with getting those wins. But the goal in baseball is for your team to get wins, not a specific pitcher. Maddux's win totals are not important. What is important is how well he pitches over the entire season. And overall, he's not pitching nearly as well as he once did, and will not pitch well enough to justify making $18 million in 2005 and 2006.
  12. I agree that he's better, but he's not $9 million better, and $9 million would go a long way to solving the corner OF problem.
  13. Well, except for the laws of nature. Tell that to Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson. Oh, and up to this year, Barry Bonds. Old age is no longer that big of an excuse for some of these guys. They are capable of performing well past the age of 35. Awesome, time has stopped, there is no more aging. Maddux hasn't been in decline. He'll go on forever. This is great news.
  14. Well, except for the laws of nature.
  15. 6 games left in June 16 games left until the All Star Break The Cubs are 10-11 in June right now. They are 2 back of the wild card, 9 back of the Cardinals. We have to stop pretending that it's an insult to talk about the WC. Champions have come through the playoffs as the wild card. I'm hopiong for a minimum of 9-7 before the ASG. 10-6 though should be a goal, while 12-4 would be fantastic. This is the way I'd throw out the pitchers, keeping in mind that I want Zambrano to get a little extra rest, and that Hill has shown he can get a start. Mitre @CWS Maddux @CWS Prior @CWS Williams MIL Hill MIL Wood MIL Maddux WAS Prior WAS Zambrano WAS Williams @ATL Wood @ATL Maddux @ ATL Prior @ATL Zambrano @FLA Williams @FLA Wood @FLA Wood and Prior get 3 starts to get on track. Zambrano gets 10 days between starts, let him regather his strength and hopefully heal from whatever may or may not be bothering him. Hill gets a showcase start perhaps for trade purposes, or to give Hendry the confidence to trade somebody else.
  16. I think the 40 or so points in OBP is significant enough to say, "yes" Kotsay is an improvement over Patterson. The question was not "is Kotsay an improvement over Patterson", the question was "is he that much of an upgrade over Patterson?" Depending on how you define that much, I don't think it's a stretch to say he's not that much of an improvement.
  17. He's no longer a Cub, but Latroy hit the DL today San Francisco Giants - Placed pitcher LaTroy Hawkins on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 10; purchased the contract of pitcher Brandon Puffer from Fresno (PCL).
  18. Why pretend? You absolutely must have guys producing above their salary level in order to win. You can't just say that Zambrano and Prior aren't getting paid what they deserve therefore we can just throw money around to vets to make up the difference.
  19. With all the pitchers they drafted, I would think they'd need undrafted position players to fill these holes.
  20. The other question though is even if that $9 million was available, would the Cubs spend it on guys who will get on base?
  21. Chicago Cubs - Signed pitcher Chad Underwood. Was this guy undrafted?
  22. No doubt. Kerry has not performed up to his salary level either. He needs to provide more to justify his spot. The difference is that 29/30/31 is around the time when a lot of pitchers reach their peak. Kerry still has room for improvement. The Cubs are paying him for what he has done so far, plus what he can do in the future. The Cubs are paying Maddux for what he did in the past.
  23. This makes the assumption that every GM knows exactly what he's going to get out of each and every free agent signing. Don't you think it's possible Hendry expected more? Why am I concerned about it even if they apparantly were not? Well, payrolls are pretty important things in baseball. Anybody not performing up to his salary hurts the team's chances. You need guys who out outperforming their salaries (non arbitration players producing solid numbers). When you have a guy making $9 million, he takes away a significant payroll percentage from a position where improvements are needed. I don't think people assumed that Maddux would have several disaster starts over his first season and a half back with the team. He has, on multiple occasions, virtually removed any chance the team had of winning. I highly doubt Jim thought he was getting a pitcher who would give up as many runs as innings pitched as often as Greg has so far. And it will most likely only get worse as he keeps aging and falling from perfection.
  24. I agree completely. Good post At what point do you stop just saying "he'll be fine"? I don't know who has been trying to bury him for 5 years now. In the past he'd have a bad game or two, but not like he has over the past year and a half. Down the stretch last year he had an ERA over 4. He didn't "come through" then. I am guessing he's got a great month in him still this year, maybe two. But you don't pay $9 million for a month or two of great work. You pay for the season. Regardless, you can't pull him from the rotation. The only way he doesn't get the option picked up is if he continues to suck so bad he keeps getting pulled in the 4th inning, or he gets injured. And obviously neither of those is a good thing. So maybe he'll retire, or they can trade him in the offseason. Or, they'll just have to find a way to work around that wasted $9 million salary next year.
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