JC

How many people would think we would be above .500 with Nomar on the DL for the entire year. Kerry barely playing, Prior with a broken arm, Aramis with his balky groin, and Todd Walker out for over a month? If everyone stays healthy this team is an above .500 team. This argument goes to the point I made in the other thread. Chipper Jones missed significant time on the DL, as did John Thompson and Mike Hampton. In fact, Hampton, Thompson and Hudson were all on the DL at the same time. Prior has made starts commensurate with Hudson. In addition, the Braves lost Johnny Estrada to the DL for an extended period, and Kolb has sucked as a closer. Finally, Furcal was awful early in the year at leadoff. I don't want to hear how bad the Cubs were hit by injuries. Every team gets injuries. Heck, look at Boston. Schilling, Foulke, Clement, Wells and Nixon have all seen time on the DL. Their bullpen was in shambles and got underwhelming production from one position player (Bellhorn) who was arguably worse than Corey. The Mets have had injuries. The Marlins, too. Yet, they are still fighting it out.

It seems you measure Hendry's value differently some others. I don't look at this season and blame Hendry. He assembled a team that should have made the playoffs. Number of wins is a reflection on the manager more than the general manager. Omar Minaya assembled a quality team in NY, but how many wins would that team have if Dusty Baker was the manager there? I measure Hendry's worth in value of deals. Hendry creates the plan, Baker (fails to) execute it. That doesn't make the plan a bad one. But, isn't Baker an integral part of Hendry's plan? As far as I'm concerned, it was poor execution of a flawed plan.

I suspect Holla will be used primarily as a power LH bat off the bench who can play outfield when needed, and possibly some 1B. That would be a novel approach.

Most of their players aren't even old enough to drink beer, so I hardly see how that is relevant. :pint:

How can a team compete when it: -Has a key starter able to start just over ten games -Has multiple projected starters on the DL at once -Loses a key bat to the DL following an infield collision -Loses an All-Star infielder to the DL for an extended period -Forced to play several rookies, some straight from AA -Has early season trouble closing games -Has trouble with OBP at the leadoff position for 1/2 season -Despite having an MVP candidate on the team? Ask the Braves. 74-56, leading the NL East by 4.5 games.

Remember when it was chic to dump on Moneyballer Jeremy Brown? Well, in AA this year: Pretty much looks like a Billy Beane guy to me. Does anyone know if he is still catching?

No. $10-$15M for an aging center fielder who relies on speed to play in the jungle grass of Wrigley? Also, for that kind of money, I'd prefer my centerfielder be able to throw the ball all the way to second base on the fly from shallow center.

These guys don't clog our 40 man, do they?

I'm glad you have that kind of faith in Hendry, Hoops, because I sure don't. The only way this happens is if Beane initiates it. And, if thats the case, Hendry had better make sure that someone is with him so he leaves with his shirt. Do you really see Beane having an interest in Corey? It would be Beane's M.O. to grab a player while his value was low, but Corey's plate approach seems like it would terrify Beane. Now, I could see him targeting Dopirak very easily with the down year he has had and the fact that he is practically made to be a DH. Maybe something like Hill, Dope, and another arm would get Zito.

I've got no particular interest in Torre. If memory serves, his career record as a manager taking the Yankee's cash machine out of the equation is less than .500. Without an All Star roster, there isn't much to be excited about.

This quandry can really be traced back to AGon. Remember, in 2003, AGon and Damien Miller were like a black hole at the bottom of the order, especially factoring in the pitcher spot. Miller, in particular, really struggled offensively, falling well below his career norms. Luckily, even though AGon also fell below career norms, he played out of his head in the playoffs. Come 2004, the Cubs concluded it was easier to rid themselves of Miller than AGon's salary. This, in large part, is indicative of the Cubs' problem. Nevermind that the premier SS in the league was available that offseason, the Cubs could not swallow sitting AGon at the salary he was making. Instead, Hendry chased after one of his long coveted players, Michael Barrett. All of the pitchers seemed to enjoy throwing to Miller. And, in fact, they excelled under his watch. I don't know if there is a correlation for sure, but you have to wonder.

:lol: Now THAT I believe.

Blanco's game calling has not impressed me. If people want to be blame Barrett for the the struggles of this pitching staff, Blanco can also be blamed for Prior's struggles. He's not having a great year. That said, I think we can get a lot more than that for Walker and Barrett. I'd want at least one of their good pitching prospects. Just to be clear, I'm not advocating Barrett's departure, just stating what I think is likely to happen. I agree that Blanco hasn't knocked my socks off with his game calling. The trade suggestion wasn't meant to be serious. I was just coming up with something to get Bako back so the absurdity of a Blanco/Bako duo could be seen.

Thats because he lets people like Knight fill out the lineups for his spring training games. And, we know how much you like Bobby! :P

Bump. NAME G GS W L Sv Hld IP H ER HR BB SO K/9 P/GS WHIP ERA Andrew Sisco 53 0 2 2 0 11 60.2 50 17 4 37 63 9.35 0.0 1.43 2.52 I thought this was interesting. I haven't checked on Sisco's stats recently and was wondering if he went in the tank during KC's extended losing streak. Evidently not. Right now, he boasts the best ERA on the Royals' staff. His WHIP is higher than you'd like to see it, but hopefully his control will continue to improve with age and experience. Regardless, his limitation of hits and excellent K rate offset his BBs. Someone please forward these numbers to Andy MacPhail to address his theory on building through pitching surpluses. Then again, I think the Cubs did realize $50,000 from the Rule V draft claim, right? Hooray.

I've thought for a couple months now that Barrett would be a goner. Its evident that he is not the staff favorite behind the plate, and his contract is too big to have him sitting. Maybe we can realize a Walker/Barrett trade for Kent/Bako? Aside from the general nausea of the suggestion, wouldn't the staff love a Blanco/Bako catching duo?

That can be done. Easily. Surely you've heard of Power Hour (60 shots in an hour) or Century Club (100 shots in 100 minutes). DOH! Never heard of power hour, but am familiar with Century Club. We didn't use shot glasses, however. I hated Century Club. I'd much rather go the (beer) bong route. Anyway, with that reminder, I think it was probably more likely the 20 minute time frame that made my friend blow. I'm impressed with anyone that can do multitudes of beer shots like you guys. That wasn't my bag.

Comments from MacPhail, Hendry and Dusty all are unsettling to me. They are all becoming increasingly defensive, desparately reaching for explanaitions and excuses. Its getting to the point were open supporters of the three are starting to feel insulted by the rather pathetic commentary coming from them collectively. Things are not good in Wrigleyville right now.[/newsflash]

There is some bet in which you wager that a person can't do 30 shots of beer in 30 minutes without throwing up. While it sounds easy, there is something with the air you take in on the shots that makes it difficult. I've never tried it, but I watched my buddy try it (who was an accomplished college drinker at the time), and he threw up all over the place. I think it was 30 minutes, but it may have been 20. Perhaps someone else knows for sure.

While that is a noble view, I don't agree in this instance. I think based on what we know of Bradley's personality, fair conclusions can be drawn. He is volatile, controversial, impulsive and loathe to accept responsibility. I would accept allegations of racially motivated behavior much more readily from someone with a better track record than I will from Bradley. That to me says you're discarding anything that has negatively happened to him in a racially motivated manner b/c of his several incidents where he lost control. His personality can't sway me from thinking he has been a victim of racism during his life, I don't think you can find an African-American who hasn't. He has a right to be on edge about racial issues, if I was a victim of racism, I'd be too. I have no delusions that Bradley has never been subjected to racially motivated behavior. However, his personality promotes a loss in credibility on proclaiming himself a victim in such circumstances, IMO.

I could be wrong, but I think the Lugo incident turned out to be false accusations by his wife after further investigation. I don't know if they were false, or she simply recanted. It certainly is not unusual in domestic violence situations for the victim to recant. That is the reason for new domestic violence laws requiring testimony of victims and now allowing them to dismiss criminal charges.

While that is a noble view, I don't agree in this instance. I think based on what we know of Bradley's personality, fair conclusions can be drawn. He is volatile, controversial, impulsive and loathe to accept responsibility. I would accept allegations of racially motivated behavior much more readily from someone with a better track record than I will from Bradley.

Wedge is a proud product of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He's representin'.[/failed hippness] I have a problem with it because it comes from him. Bradley has no credibility in my opinion. He denied ever having anger problems when he is an obvious powder keg. His anger makes him appear unintelligent, unreasonable and irrational. He has crossed lines previously with fans, umpires, managers and teammates. In addition, I don't want to hear people talk about how they should be respected. Too many people have too grand an idea of the respect they deserve. Respect is something that is given when its due, its that simple. Self promoting respect, or rather, pleading one's own case for respect never seems to be a persuasive argument. Perhaps it because of the people who make such arguments. In truth, Jeff Kent seems like a bit of a red neck to me. Take that for what its worth. At the same time, I've never seen Kent dog it, or play the game with any disrespect. Thus, perhaps Bradley's critic was off the mark here. At the same time, Kent may have mistakenly thought Bradley was dogging it when, in fact, he was injured. Regardless, mistakes don't need to be made into wars. Like Jeff Kent? :wink: Seriously, I don't think the Cubs have anyone on the team that could provide Bradley with the direction he needs.

His baggage frightens me to death. It would be difficult to root for the guy.

Link I'm sure everyone has heard of his problems with Milton Bradley by now. Thus, I think its fair to assume that one of them will be gone come 2006. I would bet anything that Dusty has taken Kent's recent words to heart about players who need to police other players. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if a move was made to bring Kent in to play 2B next year. In fact, I could see DePodesta having interest in Walker, particularly if the Cubs pick up his rather cheap option. So, if Hendry makes a move for Kent, how do we get the Dodgers to throw in JD Drew?