fromthestretch

Yanking him off the field wouldn't have helped the situation. Giving him a day off tomorrow might not be a bad idea, but I don't see how pulling him from the field in the middle of the inning would have been a good idea. In the end, his bone-headed mistake didn't cost the Cubs a run.

Good thing we don't have to use our long reliever today, since we're going to need him tomorrow with Harden being on a limited pitch count. Oh wait...

Probably from his Theriot like baserunning gaffes. However, if he was ever your favorite Cub, than maybe the stupid label is misapplied. Didn't he get doubled off of 2nd base 3 times in a 2 week span? I think that was Moises Alou. Alou had some issues as well, but I'm pretty sure Jacque did the same or similar things. And I believe it was during his first couple weeks with the team. I don't doubt that, but I definitely remember Alou getting doubled off second multiple times within the span of about a month.

Probably from his Theriot like baserunning gaffes. However, if he was ever your favorite Cub, than maybe the stupid label is misapplied. Didn't he get doubled off of 2nd base 3 times in a 2 week span? I think that was Moises Alou.

They won the Big Ten tourney for the first time since '96 and only the second time ever. I would consider that a success. I said this in another thread also that I believe Phegley will be the best of the bunch. He will stick at catcher and the kid can rake with great strike zone awareness. He may never be an all-star like Outshined said but I'm confident he will be a productive major leaguer. The IU prospect I'm most excited about is Alex Dickerson, the Big Ten freshman of the year. Next year I see no way he is not a first rounder. If he was a true freshman this season, I don't believe he's going to be draft-eligible next season.

You might want to re-read the title :) It's still valid though. Ramirez probably won't be out the entire season, so you have to think about where Tejada would play when Ramirez returns. The logical answer is shortstop. If you still want to keep Theriot's bat in the lineup then, you could move him to second, with Fontenot getting some time there against right-handers.

Congrats! Our twin boys will be two-weeks old tomorrow. My sister-in-law keeps buying them Yankees clothing. Thankfully, my friends and family have come through with a ton of Cubs stuff for them.

What the heck does 2 showers or 4 showers mean? I really hope they aren't of the golden variety.

I believe injuries had more to do with his move than his defensive abilities.

No, but it definitely sets a market for him. Basically 2 top pitcing prospects and 2 PTBNL. Unfortunately, we dont have the 2 top pitching prospects. Wed have to see if Marshall and J jax would constitute that. If Shark didnt have that NTC, it could be a different story. Clayton Richard is a not a top pitching prospect. All I really know about Richard is that I remember him starting in the Futures Game last year and they were talking about him like he was the Sox future ace. You would think that for someone his size (6'5, 225) he would have better strikeout numbers. However, his K/9 in the minors was only 5.8/9 IP. He does have pretty good control, and he seems to keep the ball in the ballpark.

Hendry needs to try to inquire about guys there's no doubt about that. I never said Hendry should just sit back and not try to fill the hole. I'm just saying in this postion it's very hard to fill that hole and have it make sense. So I don't expect anything to get done at this point in the year. If you could get Branyan for a guy like Kevin Hart you make the deal. But if the Mariners want something like Wells and a good prospect I think it's too much. Wells has pitched great so far, but I know his potential is 5th starter/long guy. The problem is I think the Cubs really need a guy to fill that role right now so I don't like giving up Wells. Unless were adding another starter and putting Marshall in the pen. You're "go with what we got and suck it up" comment made me think you were opposed to even attempting to fill the hole. Sorry. That's the way I interpreted it, too.

Greinke is looking rather pedestrian today, giving up six hits and two earned through the first three against the Indians. He season ERA is up to 0.86 now.

I'm sure he would still have a spot, but he wouldn't get AB's or Hoffpauir wouldn't get AB's when that happens. With his contract he's a guy you need to play alot. There's only so many AB's at 1st, and corner outfield spots to go around. If the Cubs thought Wigginton can be solid at 2b and Fontenot keeps struggling then it might be realistic. But again I don't think the Cubs have given up on Fontenot yet. I don't think they've given up on Fontenot either, but I also don't think they'd be opposed to platooning him if they had a solid right-handed option at that position. Wigginton could still get plenty of at-bats, giving Bradley, Fontenot, and probably Ramirez a day off here and there. Miles' number of at-bats would suffer, which is a good thing.

Were gonna have to give up decent talent to even get Wigginton or Branyan at this point of the year. Wigginton is signed for next year as well, and wouldn't have a spot on the team when Ramirez came back due to Hoffpauir and not really being able to play good defense at 2nd(is horrible at 3rd to). Branyan probably makes more sense because after he's back you can just use him as a pinch hitter and still play Hoffpauir over him. But again he makes very little money, and it's still early in the season. The Mariners aren't just gonna give him away unless they get something of value. Ray Durham might not be a bad idea and it's worth a try. But at the same time he's old and hasn't played baseball since last year and by the time he's ready to produce Ramirez might be on his way back already. We can't sign Durham now and expect him to be a effective hitter for at least a month and he might have to go in the minors to get himself ready. Wigginton would definitely have a spot on the roster when Ramirez gets back. Freel's the one that probably wouldn't have a spot. I agree with you about Durham. There was something on MLBTradeRumors about his agent saying he would need some time to get ready.

Some of them very well could be realistic.

Seriously? So you're saying that when a team expecting to contend loses one of its best hitters for what could very realistically be 2.5 to 3 months, they shouldn't look to fill that hole? I have heard 1.5 to 2 months(Ramirez had the same injury before and came back after 6 weeks) and if it happens this early in the season it's not much you can do. Teams out of the race might be just droping salary so you might get some average veteran to fill that role. But teams right now aren't giving away 3rd baseman and you can't go trade good propsects when Ramirez is coming back. Like I said before the Yankees had the same issue with A-Rod and the Mets would have the same issue with David Wright if he got hurt. When a guy gets hurt early in the season and is scheduled to come back you can't really do much. Sure if the Orioles wanna give up Huff or Wigginton or the Indians wanna give us Mark DeRosa for Kevin Hart and other crap in the minors. Then sure fill the hole, but teams at this time of the year just aren't giving away players for nothing. So like I said your just stuck and have to deal with having crap, unless you get really really lucky. That's a horrible approach to have. You can't just assume that you're stuck. At the very least, you need to explore the available options. Yes, there's a chance you won't find anything you like for a price you're willing to pay, and if that happens, you stand pat. But you can't just sit on your hands and assume that Ramirez comes back in a reasonable amount of time AND produces at the level he's been at for the past several years once he does return.

Of course. He's only signed through this season anyway, so there's no contractual commitment beyond 2009. His contract is quite pricey for this season though. With the way he is playing there's no way the Mariners wouldn't eat some of his salary this year. They may ask for more in return as far as quality of player(s) in order to eat some of that salary though. Depends on the asking price I guess. For what it's worth, I'd just really like to have DeRosa back. He's probably the most versatile of the bunch, plus Cleveland has pretty much made it known he's available.

Of course. He's only signed through this season anyway, so there's no contractual commitment beyond 2009. His contract is quite pricey for this season though.

Seriously? So you're saying that when a team expecting to contend loses one of its best hitters for what could very realistically be 2.5 to 3 months, they shouldn't look to fill that hole?

The posted list of available third basemen also includes guys that have some positional versatility. Wigginton, DeRosa, Tracy, and Huff have all played some outfield (DeRosa and Huff moreso than Wigginton). Wigginton and DeRosa have both put in over 100 games at 2B. They've all played some first base. Crosby can play short. If you acquire one of those guys, there's still potential for them to get playing time once Ramirez returns. You also need to consider that Ramirez will probably need days off here and there once he comes back.

What's to like about Beltre? Although a bit pricey, he is only signed through this season. Has always played his home games in parks that are more favorable to pitchers, and his road OPS is more than 100 points higher than his home OPS. Has posted an above average OPS+ the past three seasons. Solid defensively. He's also only 30, so his slow start this season probably isn't due to age. I'm not saying he's the preferred choice, especially with the amount of money he's owed this season. That said, talent-wise, he's not a horrible option to hold down the fort until Ramirez gets back. He's certainly not my first choice though.

A list of potentially available third basemen: Mora Beltre Atkins Wigginton Huff Tracy Helms Crede Blalock Crosby DeRosa Kouzmanoff Blalock might not be available with Texas in first. He's been serving as their DH, although it sounds like they are going to limit his at-bats against lefties moving forward. While not typically a third baseman, Crosby has played 20 games there this season.

Mental edge or not, the guy needs to develop better command of his pitches. He's walking over five hitters per nine innings this year (4.3 BB/9 IP for his career).

Their pitching is terrible, especially the bullpen. They can't get anyone to close things out in the ninth when they have a lead. Lannon and Martis aren't bad in the rotation. Neither is really the type you build a staff around, but they're both young and should get better. Jordan Zimmerman, who's only 23, should end up better than either of them. However, he still has a lot of work to do.

While you are right about Ohio State getting good crowds to games and being at or near the top every year, I think this statement says it all. When you look at those 2 numbers right there I can understand why the Ohio State coach would be the 1 quoted. Almost a 6000 person difference in average crowds. I mean if Ohio State is only averaging 1800 a game and they are one of the better Big Ten schools, thats pretty sad. Fair enough. That's definitely a big difference. Let's say they push the start date of the season to April 1. For many teams, any increase you have in attendance would be minimal the second half of the season. The bulk of the student population is gone by the first or second week of May, so you're really counting on the locals to come out and support the team after that. After several years, you might be able to build up more of a local fan base, but initially, you're not going to see much as far as fan support. On top of that, the month of April isn't exactly warm for a lot of northern schools. You're still going to have some games in brisk weather, although a lot of the northern schools would probably still play some early season games further south. That leaves the bulk of the home games for the second half of the season, when again, the students are gone. As far as recruiting, you would still see the best players going to schools in warmer climates, at least for the foreseeable future. One reason is the tradition those schools have. Another is that you can still practice outdoors during the offseason in a lot of those places. To me, that's a really big selling point. Furthermore, many tournaments held during the week of spring break would take a big hit. I believe there are a few in Florida and California. Schools probably aren't going to pay to send a team down to Florida for a week to play in games that don't count, and it becomes more difficult to hold those tournaments during a week when classes are going on.