Abe Frohman

Stats wise, Rodriguez is far superior to Derrek Lee. I'd be willing to bet that a majority of teams would rather have Lee over Alex because of maturity issues. I have a hard time believing DLee is going to draw attention to himself the way ARod does - and that could be pretty much an intangible asset to a clubhouse. ARod draws attention to himself? You think he does that more than a guy like Jeter? ARod draws a lot less attention to himself than many big name players. If anything, he's more of a recluse than most. It's not like he's Barry Bonds with his own reality show. Come on, the gambling? The whining? The contract? You really don't think he doesn't draw attention to himself? When you sign a contract like that, you basically put a red x on your chest. Not saying I wouldn't have if I were him, and that I wouldn't love him playing SS or 3rd for the Cubs....

Stats wise, Rodriguez is far superior to Derrek Lee. I'd be willing to bet that a majority of teams would rather have Lee over Alex because of maturity issues. I have a hard time believing DLee is going to draw attention to himself the way ARod does - and that could be pretty much an intangible asset to a clubhouse.

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.

I think the "right" managerial hire is very important. The Cubs need a manager that is going to hammer the fundementals of the game and make sure that the players getting the job done are in the right situations. Dusty Baker was somewhat pathetic in this. Perez, Patterson, and Izturis should never have batted higher than the 6-hole in the lineup. There is such a thing as the "hit and run," which I really can't remember seeing the Cubs execute in 3 or 4 seasons. Girardi was one of the better H&R artists when he played, so I am sure that is part of his plan. As far as Zambrano throwing a lot of pitches late in the futile season (assuming that is the pitcher mentioned earlier), he was trying to improve his chances at winning the NL Cy Young, which would have been a plus for this horrible, horrible Cub team.

I corrected that for ya. We may have the Trib for owners but we are still NOT the Yankees. The problem with this team is that lately Hendry keeps acquiring the most mediocre players available at above market rates. Even though last years free-agent market was pretty weak, that is a very good point. The last two years have been pretty bad on Hendry as far as acquisitions (well, maybe not that bad). The years before that, I'd say were good. I still am happy with Hendry. For the most part. Will never understand the contracts given to Rusch and Perez.

Umm, Steve Phillips?

Since Theriot has 147 total ML at bats, doesn't he still qualify for the 2007 Rookie of the Year? Isn't the cut off 150 at bats?

I wouldn't be unhappy at all if Pierre was re-signed for the right price, but I really think the Cubs need to upgrade in the OF. If Jacque Jones can play a good CF, move him over and that gives you more options. I believe Matt Murton needs to stay put in LF, and unfortunately that is the only OF position he would be usable at. His arm is just not strong enough for RF. Pierre actually had a pretty good season (stats-wise) in CF. Zero errors in 162 games, with 379 putouts and 5 assists. For comparison, Andruw Jones played in 153 games in CF, and had 377 putouts, 4 assists and 2 errors. Torii Hunter played in 143 games in CF, and had 343 putouts, 8 assists and 4 errors.

670thescore.com Thanks a lot.

Is there a link so we can listen online????

I think it was the 2004 season.

...the season is over, the suffering ends, and the offseason begins (for the Cubs, early as usual). Does anyone else feel like they just finished a test, running a race, or mowing a lawn? Time for the "fresh start," the hope, the changes for the next season. It's good to be a Cub fan.

Are they better with him in the lineup instead of Ray Durham? Or Soriano? Probably not, but as many other people have said countless times in the 8,147 discussions on this topic, Theriot starting at second base would be much more tolerable if the Cubs upgrade the offense at other positions, such as SS, CF and one of the corner OF spots. I am down with that and totally agree. If you only gave jobs to guys who produce right away in short stints, you'd have a pretty poor distribution of talent in the majors. A couple Pujols/Cabrera/Jeter/ARods, and a bunch of random Roosevelt Browns/Brant Browns. The team is not necessarily better with Theriot in the lineup next year. It's entirely too early to make such a claim. Theriot doesn't have a magic run scoring ability. Focusing on intangibles is why this team sucks. This team needs tangible long-run production. I don't think that Theriot deserves a starting job based on his "hot start" (which has lasted nearly a quarter of the season, remember) - I am simply of the opinion that this team needs a new approach offensively. I think you would agree with me on that point. Like many here, I strongly believe that high OB% is very related to high run production. Getting on base and scoring runs is the name of the game. I loved Shawon Dunston, but hated the fact that he walked about 15 times a season. You know what I am saying?

All I care about is Theriot scoring runs. We all know that scoring runs and driving them in are TEAM statistics. The team is better with him in the lineup. Some intangible stats never show up in the books. I am a LSU fan, and I like what I see out of Theriot more now then I did when rooting for him as a Tiger. I never thought he would get higher than A+ or maybe AA ball. He seems to be maturing at every stop, unlike a lot of our other minor league/major league prospects. I don't care if Theriot is overachieving - in my eyes he has proven that he is ready for ML time, and let's face it - he is producing when given a chance. That is how you win a starting job.

Obviously. That's not the freaking point. You can't just take a short time frame and multiply it to determine what a guy will do. When's he going to cool down, my man? Maybe, just maybe, we might have something here. With all the numbers being thrown around here, why not just look at what he has done in the Minors, and accept the fact that the Cubs may just have a pretty decent ball player? Matt Murton is in the same camp. Build around these young guys who won't be costing the organization too much money for a few years. Murton is a pretty decent ballplayer, as is Theriot. I'll take performance over potential. Matt Murton and Ryan Theriot are not comparable. I didn't compare Murton and Theriot. I pointed out that they are both pretty good ballplayers who are young, inexpensive, and already on our roster. I understand what you are saying about the #'s projection, but I have a point. Spending money does not translate into having a good ballclub (as we see this season). The Cubs have got to stock this team with guys that produce. We traded away two great pitching prospects for Juan Pierre, and kept the ones that were more "promising" prospects (Guzman & Hill). It is good that at least one of them is working out. How many more prospects can the Cubs deal? How many top free agents are going to be consider coming to this trainwreck? My point is that it is time to build around the young guys. Murton is a good player to keep. Theriot, to me, looks like the type of ballplayer the Cubs can use (even if he is overachieving). Sign or trade for a good defensive CF with power, a couple of quality starters (if they can), and get a dependable SS, and things should start looking better.

Obviously. That's not the freaking point. You can't just take a short time frame and multiply it to determine what a guy will do. When's he going to cool down, my man? Maybe, just maybe, we might have something here. With all the numbers being thrown around here, why not just look at what he has done in the Minors, and accept the fact that the Cubs may just have a pretty decent ball player? Matt Murton is in the same camp. Build around these young guys who won't be costing the organization too much money for a few years. Murton is a pretty decent ballplayer, as is Theriot. I'll take performance over potential.

We could always just go with his #'s in AAA, AA, and A when he was hitting only righty. It's a higher level, and shows what he is doing now is pretty much inline with his projected improvement. OK, let's just consider this. Theriot 2006: 134 AB's 33 Runs 41 Hits 10 2B 2 3B 3 HR 13 RBI 16 BB 11 SB Theriot Projected (x4): 536 AB's 132 Runs 164 Hits 40 2B 8 3B 12 HR 52 RBI 64 BB 44 SB Gatdamn, I'll take that any day of the week.

Personally, I don't understand all this "Theriot is playing above his threshhold" stuff. About the only part of Theriot's game that is misleading is the 3 HR he has already. The guy is a ballplayer. He is playing the same way as he did at LSU (just a different level). I am convinced that he has matured at each level, and would be a solid starter on this team. I love the way he plays, and the pessimism associated with the fact that he came up and MADE Dusty play him every day is starting to get on my nerves. Maybe, just maybe, the Cubs system spit out a good Major League Ballplayer. It is time that one of our prospects actually played to his potential, or heaven forbid, above it. Embrace The riot.

What the hell am I supposed to do with this damned Dusty Baker BP jersey I got back in 2003?

Would you rather have Ray Durham (2B) and Ryan Theriot (SS) up the middle, or Durham(2B) and Cedeno or Izturis (SS). I have always like Durham, especially when he was scoring 100+ runs and stealing 30 bases for the White Sox. But that was a long time ago.... I would be REAL happy with Durham and Theriot up the middle, with Cedeno and Izturis as backups.

Hell, his career may be over. He may bounce back. I was referring to his 162 game average over his career with most of those stats. Surely, he won't be reaching those average numbers - especially since he has the post-concussion issues. But if....

The St. Louis Cardinals Center Fielder Jim Edmonds has a $10mm option for 2007, with a 3mm buyout. There is a solid chance that he will be bought out and free to find a new home. Would Edmonds be a good fit in Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs lineup at 37 years of age? You bet, and here is why. Reason #1: The Cubs never had a true #5 hitter in 2006. Granted, the Cubs didn't get to enjoy Derrek Lee hitting 3rd in their lineup for most of the 2006 season (and may not have Aramis Ramirez at all in 2007, but let's just act as if this were a perfect world), but Jacque Jones was hardly a prototypical #5 hitter for this offense. Though Jones did have a solid season in 2006, he would be an excellent #6 hitter in almost any lineup. Jim Edmonds would be a much needed left-handed bat in the majority righty Cub lineup. The Cubs are desperately in need of batters with professional approaches at the plate (guys that understand that a walk will not "clog the bases," but translate into less outs and more runs scored). As it stands, there are only a few starters who seem to understand the importance of the "K/BB Ratio," and those are Ryan Theriot, Matt Murton, Lee, and Ramirez. Edmonds would provide the usual 100 runs, 30+ HR, 100 RBI, 75+ walks and .380+ On-Base % that the Cubs need to improve their offense. Imagine this lineup: 2B Ryan Theriot LF Matt Murton 1B Derrek Lee 3B Aramis Ramirez CF Jim Edmonds RF Jacque Jones CA Michael Barrett SS Cesar Izturis/R.Cedeno Reason #2: The Cubs need to change their hitting philosophy. As stated above, the Chicago Cubs are going to need a new approach at the plate. Scoring runs is the name of the game, and it is hard to score when you are consistantly getting the "4-3" groundout, or swinging at the first pitch and popping up. Even though Juan Pierre has greatly improved in the 2nd half of 2006, his 82 runs scored are not impressive considering he has a League Leading 194 hits (stats as of 9/25/06). Imagine how many more runs Pierre would have scored if he would walk more than 32 times in about 700 plate appearances. Nobody in the league makes more outs than Pierre, and nobody gets thrown out trying to steal more. The Cubs have a decent chance of success at the leadoff spot with the very impressive Ryan Theriot. Theriot may not steal 60 bases or have a high SLG%, but one point of his game has remained consistent through college, Minor Leagues, and his Major League time: he can get on base and score runs. In addition, Theriot is servicable at Shortstop, so the rich crop of 2B free agents can still be explored with plenty of backup in Cedeno, Izturis, and Theriot. The Cubs need to get on base more, and getting Edmonds will help them do that, as well as driving in more runners. Reason #3: The Cubs need the defense, and Edmonds is still above average. Yes he has lost a step over the past few years, and yes he may dive for balls that he doesn't need to dive for - but Jim Edmonds is still a quality CFer with a strong arm. Most notably, Edmonds surely can more than handle CF for a couple more seasons (ironically the same amount of time Jacque Jones is signed to patrol RF for the Cubs.), and that gives super-prospect Felix Pie enough time to figure himself out in AA and AAA. Edmonds could cover CF, then move over to RF when Pie is ready.

I think there is a distinct differnce as the Cubs are "playing like THE World Champions." Neither the Cubs nor the White Sox are playing like World Champions. Just being a dingleberry.

Say what?

True, but when you consider that Kerry Wood may be able to start some games, I think he is worth having.