Abe Frohman

If you were Aramis Ramirez - what would you do? This is his ONLY chance as a free agent (in his PRIME) to really cash in. He is going to get $15 million, at least. Would you want to come back to the Cubs if you were in his shoes? Who knows, since we don't know what it is like to play for the Cubs. My guess is, he has had enough. I will be very surprised if Aramis returns. This whole organization - which seemed to be stepping to becoming a dominant club just 2 years ago - has flopped into the toilet. Mostly because of injuries, which may or may not have been preventable. I imagine Ramirez will be undecided for a couple months, which is tough for the Cubs since they have to rebuild the team. I am just hoping that we have a much more offensive outfield and can sign an All-Star SS. Hell, pick up Benji Molina and move Barrett to 3B. If he has the ability to play a solid 3B, there are plenty of holes to fill with power in the Cubs lineup. Go after Manny Ramirez or something. Get creative.

I have to say, Dusty is sounding a little more professional at the ESPN job the past few days. He was horrible the first few times, always reading from his notes and sounding frightened. Maybe someone encouraged him to take a few shots beforehand?

Unfortunately, the Cubs don't have too many prospects left to deal. I think the Pierre trade is going to be one of the worst on Hendry's record.

Congratulations to the Prior family.

I think Pie is trade bait. That is just me. I don't know, though. I don't like his plate discipline (at this point), but I do like his tools. I think he is 2 years away, if he isn't traded. There is a reason he didn't get a call up when the roster expanded - because he wasn't ready. I don't see a guy who doesn't get a late season call up being 1 year away. He has great tools, and is an exciting prospect - but so was Corey Patterson, Mark Prior, and Kerry Wood. They all have yet to really meet their potential. The Cubs need better people in the system developing these prospects. In my opinion, Pie needs to learn plate discipline. Otherwise, he is going to be at best, a productive bat in the 6 spot in the lineup.

Agreed Serena, and if you think about it - it is going to cost inside of $5 million of what it would cost to re-sign Pierre, to get Soriano. Most likely, anyway. I just wonder how badly Soriano wants to get back to the AL, or how much he (still) wants to play 2B. BTW - thanks for posting the link to the Piniella Presser the other day.

I have mixed thoughts on Pierre. *I don't think he seems to want to return to the Cubs. Maybe that changed with the hiring of Piniella and talk of improving the team, but his comments ("I won't rule out coming back") were less than convincing that he wants to return. *He absolutely stunk in the first half. IMO, a big reason why the Cubs were horrible - but it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Pierre finished strong, but too little too late. *He will surely demand around $10 million per year. I don't think he fits the Cubs plans since the Cubs now have options for a leadoff man (Theriot) at a cheap price, and the need for more power in the Outfield. *I would love to see Pierre return, but ONLY if Jones is traded and at least two SOLID power guys (a SS and RF) are required in addition to Aramis Ramirez being retained. Personally, I think Pierre is gone-pecan, and that is good since the Cubs REALLY need to improve the offensive production of the OF.

I like that a lot, but I would make a couple changes in the lineup. I would hit Murton 2nd/move Lugo down to 8th - and I would switch Soriano and Ramirez in the lineup (DLee is a SB threat, while Ramirez is not. No use in having ARam in front of Soriano on the bases when Alfonso is the best SB threat on the team). 2B Theriot LF Murton 1B Lee CF Soriano 3B Ramirez RF Jones CA Barrett SS Lugo That is a damned solid lineup with a pretty good mix of speed and power.

Ryne Sandberg was a great Second Baseman. Just like Alan Trammell was a pretty good Shortstop.

XM 175 came out SWINGING in the beginning. Their first guests on Dibble/Kennedy's show was Jose Canseco and Pete Rose - and this was the day his book came out. I don't listen as much as I used to, but that morning show has become a whipintheass since Bowa left. He was greatness.

Open to trades/free agency - need pitching for the first time in a while. On parting with Baker: tried to give him the respect he deserved.

Hendry will determine who they go after, and acknowledges that new players need to be acquired to complement the "good core." Seems open to some of "Piniellas guys" as far as pick ups. Aramis: contract will be adjusted and both sides want him a Cub.

Dibble doesn't have much to say (sumpin to do with his fight with Piniella??). I find that kinda funny. Hendry is giving Baker props and respek. Took blame for not putting a good team out there. Fitzsimons/McDonough said the payroll will not be going "backwards." Forcasts an aggressive offseason.

Jim just came on. So far, he is just saying stuff about the candidates. mentioned that Sandberg has shown interest in managing.....

To be honest, there isn't anyone in the game that I can think of that would be more desirable to me than Zambrano. Alex Rodriguez would be about #2 in line behind Zambrano. I wouldn't trade El Toro for anyone.

I don't care what an unbiased report says. Fact says, Kent and Bonds got into a fight in the dugout, during a game. Fact says, Mercker, Walker, Alou and others got into arguments with the broadcast team. Hawkins trashed the fans and media in Chicago. Jones trashed the fans for booing. There were also speculations in the Baker era that Wood and Prior smashed Sosa's boombox. Baker himself was rumored to be feuding with Patterson, Sosa, Hawkins, and others in private. Baker being a calming influence is so unbelievably false. You can't pick and choose your argument. I take from your post that you don't blame him for not controlling Sosa and Bonds because of their egos (which, I'd be willing to give you that since Sosa was made a monster before Baker and Bonds is well, Bonds). But if he can't calm down the star, he can't properly discipline the rest of the team. You also don't blame him for the stuff I mentioned, which shows a group of veterans all running wild and complaining about any and everything while the team was getting beat. I think you're both right. Baker doesn't run a tight ship. He's very hands off with his players, thinking that it promotes clubhouse chemistry. From what I've read from a number of the Cubs players, the players seemed to really like and et along one another. There's a loose atmosphere and guys usually don't fight with one another. However, unless he has some player leadership, this gets out of control. Guys won't be held accountable for their actions, whether it's slumping or getting into really stupid conflicts with people outside the clubhouse, because Dusty either ignores it or implicitly encourages it. Cripes, Dusty himself embodies this! We've all seen his quotes where he'll make any excuse under the sun to deflect blame from himself. His players are the exact same way unless there's a clubhouse police officer who holds guys accountable. Why do you think Hendry was bemoaning the lack of Eric Karros in 2004? Jeff Kent is one of those guys, by all accounts. Guys like Bonds have massive egos and usually don't take well to being policed by fellow players. Two personality types like that can and will clash. Dusty allowed that exact kind of behavior from both of them and it led to that confrontation. So, Dusty runs a clubhouse that's so loose and hands off that his players will basically run amok without veterans policing the team. I have heard first hand from a guy who was teammates with both Bonds and Kent, surprisingly, that Kent is a gigantic A-hole and Bonds is a great teammate. I found that odd, but you have to realize that reality and perception are totally different things.

I think the whole "Dusty has a calming influence" thing has been debunked. The clubhouses got more chaotic the longer he stuck around. Debunked? If you say so. When was the last time the Cubs got in an in-house fight? It was all us against the world. Bradley did have problems with the fans, which Dusty wouldn't have prevented (look at Jones), but the bickering with teammates wouldn't have happened. Bradley would body slam Piniella. He ain't no Rob Dibble. Rob Dibble would crush Milton Bradley.

Remember how fat and out of shape Glendon Rusch and Ryan Dempster were when they reported to Spring Training? Both of them were pretty crappy last season. It is going to be interesting to see what becomes of Prior and Wood. 2 years ago, they were our ticket - now they are both trying to salvage their careers.

I have a pretty strong feeling that if Piniella makes a commitment to a team, he is going to stand by it.

Motivation is a hell of a drug.

Now that's a time change I could get behind! Hell, great idea since the last Cub season was up in smoke.

1 - Schmidt 2 - A Rod 3 - Matsuzaka (sp?) 4 - A Jones 5 - Tejada

May his memory be eternal. He was a great man, and I love hearing him talk about the old days. It's a shame he wasn't in the HOF before he died.

I am with the "Cubs need pitching" camp. Pitching has been the big problem for the Cubs, and clearly is the biggest challenge for them this off season. I would rank the Cubs needs in this order: 1) sign Schmidt 2) keep Ramirez 3) acquire a offensive force in CF (Andruw Jones) 4) quality manager I still like the idea of getting Girardi and paying him next to nothing so the Marlins pay for our manager, considering we gave them 2 solid pitching prospects for using Pierre in 2006. The Cubs need at least one big starting pitcher acquisition. Prior can not be counted on, and everything else is questionable besides the bullpen and Zambrano. The offense should be secondary considering Derrek Lee will be returning, and we already have a leadoff replacement in Ryan Theriot (I am pretty confident he will be effective).

Your mention of the hit and run just severely soured me on Girardi. The hit and run may very well be the worst call a manager can make, outside of choosing who plays. If the Cubs never again called for the hit and run as long as I lived, I'd feel much more confident in our ability to win a World Series before I die. No problem, there. It's just a form of baseball that I like to watch. I like the bunt too. The trick is, the players have to execute for that form of baseball to be effective. They did it in 89, and that is the year I fell in love with the Cubs. It's good baseball, and that is just my opinion. players are more effective when they're failing to execute bunts than when they're successful. whatever you've seen, it's wrong. ??????? Dustyism?