fromthestretch

When we're paying his contract for a .600 OPS next year, I don't think I'll agree. Isn't that a bit overstating it there? From his last 3 years and splits, he is likely to at least be at 650 OPS next year, and possibly better. Still not good at all of course (and I expect more out of him, but it's a longer explanation why) but when the median shortstop has a 740 OPS, it's a lot better to be a 650+ OPS then to be a 600 OPS. 2005 was the only year in the last 3 that he didn't reach that number, and if you look at his splits where he was playing hurt (same as that you have to throw out Lee's numbers this year because half of the time he played he was playing hurt) Cesar's numbers are well over 650 for 2005 also. Agreed. And again, he's providing top notch defense with the ability to make contact in any count to help with situational hitting depending on his lineup slot. Neifi makes contact, too. Weak contact like Izturis. Neifi's great contact hitting helped him ground into 22 double plays last season. No one is arguing that Izturis is bad defensively. But his defense isn't good enough to make up for his complete lack of production offensively and the lack of production the Cubs are getting at other positions. If the Cubs had a much stronger lineup next year, they could afford to have a guy like Izturis playing everyday. However, that would require signifcant upgrades to at least two of the three outfield spots, a healthy Derrek Lee, Barrett continuing to hit, and Ramirez heating up sometime before June.

I appreciate your opinion and see where you're coming from. You can't hold Rusch and Neifi (and I guess Hendry) at fault for Izturis' contract, though. 4M for a GG SS isn't bad. I don't hold Neifi and Rusch responsible. They were offered money and they took it. More power to them. But we can definitely hold Hendry at fault for their contracts and Cesar's, considering he took on that contract in a trade. In my opinion, $4 million for a shortshop who provides nothing offesively is bad, regardless of the defense he provides. Theriot can give the Cubs a quality reserve infielder at a fraction of Neifi's cost. There are countless left-handers that could outperform Rusch for at or near league minimum. With Cedeno's age and pricetag, I'd rather stick him at short next year and see if he develops rather than wasting money on the worst of the two Izturis brothers. Izturis might be an upgrade defensively, but at the moment, he's pretty much a lateral move offensively and could be a downgrade if Cedeno improves with some experience.

When we're paying his contract for a .600 OPS next year, I don't think I'll agree. What is the continual fascination with a 4M contract on a behemoth organization like the Cubs? Besides, what you want up the middle (C, 2B, SS, CF) is defense defense defense behind a solid pitching staff. Corner OF and corner IF are positions to produce your offense. I'm certainly not saying a .600 OPS is acceptable from anyone, but if he has the luxury of hitting 7th or 8th in the 2007 lineup, it's totally acceptable with his Gold Glove defense. Honestly, I'm more concerned about Cedeno. I think the concern with the money is that it could be better spent elsewhere. You take his $4 million plus Neifi's $2.5 million plus Rusch's $2.75 million, and all of a sudden you have a decent chunk of change to use towards a decent hitter. The fact that a team has money to spend doesn't mean that team should throw it away on mediocrity. And while having good defense is nice and everything, you can't completely ignore having any offense from those positions when the corner outfield spots aren't producing consistently.

I was at the Friday and Sunday games of that series. Prior to the Sunday game there was what you referred to as a "ballpark hoochie" behind the Nationals dugout that appeared to be trying very hard to get the attention of anyone in a Nationals uniform. She also employed the use of ridiculously short booty shorts.

I've said pretty much the same thing in past threads. Walker doesn't just hold press conferences to say this stuff. He gets asked direct questions by reporters who know that he'll give a direct and honest answer. It's not like he's seeking out the reporters to give them quotes for their articles.

I'm sure you're right but he's one player; the example is hardly typical. Hawk also played 10 years at Olympic Stadium - classic turf knee. How many stadiums have astroturf these days? Also, you used the phrase "which hurt more". I'm certainly not saying professional baseball isn't hard or painful on the body after 162 games. I'm saying it's not nearly as physically grueling compared to the other major sports, which is why the day games excuse is so pathetic. The point is, I don't believe that it's more mentally exhausting than physically exhausing for a player to play a full major league season. If that's the case, I think you'd hear less about the usage of performance enhancing drugs. I'm not saying the long season doesn't take its toll mentally, but I think the physical effect is much larger.

While Vizquel might be comparable, Smith actually had a few seasons where he drew a fair number of walks early in his career when he wasn't hitting for any kind of average.

In order for there to be an offensive resurgence, wouldn't that mean he would have previously had a good offensive season? A .710 OPS doesn't make for a good offensive season (by comparison, Cabrera's best was .807).

You have a point vis a vis the Cubs catcher, but that's the only position that requires stamina. The starting pitcher does as well, but at least he gets 4-5 days off in between. Baseball isn't soccer - it's a fast twitch sport that is probably more mentally taxing than physically taxing over the course of a 162-game schedule. I'm sorry, I'm don't mean to call out TWalk - I think the world of him and very sorry him go (one of the few Cubs with a clue at the plate) - but this line of thinking is pure bunk and a cheap excuse. Ask Andre Dawson which hurt more after a season, his brain or his knees. I guarantee he'll say knees.

Fingers crossed for Cezar Izturis... No thanks. It would figure though that if the Cubs are going to get an Izturis, it would be the worst of the two brothers. That's like dealing for a Molina and getting Jose.

This is the 3rd or 4th time (not on this board but overall) that I've heard the Red Sox are trying to work out a three-team deal. I'm very curious as to what other teams they are trying to involve.

What a deal! Now if we can only figure out a way to lock Neifi up for a similar price. Already been done.

Fixed.

In what bizzaro universe was John Koronka a top-tier prospect?

I don't think they would. Jacobs is relatively young, cheap, and productive at first base (Loney's position). As for Mathis, Willingham might be playing LF now, but he can catch. Olivio is doing a fine job behind the plate for them, too. Both are inexpensive. I highly doubt Florida would trade Cabrera without getting at least one top pitching prospect back as part of the deal.

Does anyone know when Isaac Pavlik joined West Tenn? I'm just curious because he pitched at Seton Hall the year I worked there. The guy is a 5'7 lefty that throws low 90s. I remember he was drafted by the Rockies, but I didn't really hear much about him after that. I doubt he's considered much of a prospect these days, since he's 26, but I'm just curious when the Cubs picked him up. As a side note, his nickname was "Flea", not only because of his height, but because he also somewhat resembles Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

C'mon. Everyone knows the problem is that the Cubs just don't have enough clutch hitters. Clutch hitters would hit home runs when guys are actually on base, not with the bases empty.

:lol:

oh boy, speaking of awful. have you ever heard that guy on xm? he needs to take a few public speaking classes at a local junior college...he stutters and stammers around like he's a fifth grader giving a speech. his interviews are too awkward to even listen to. as a whole, the guys on xm are possibly worse than the guys on espn. the only guy worth a crap is the guy who does the fantasy baseball show in the mid-morning. Steiner's show can be pretty good, although his guests aren't always the best. You're exactly right about Orestes. Mark Patrick is an average host. You could find better, and you could probably find a lot worse. New XM Baseball this Morning drinking game: Take a shot everytime Buck Martinez refers to someone or something as "interesting." You'll be drunk before the second hour of the show.

Hey, if you had to work side-by-side with guys like Kruk and Phillips on a daily basis, I'm sure the quality of your own work would suffer, too.

Perhaps that's why the Rangers dealt him. They couldn't justify paying several million dollars to a guy who can't hit half the pitchers in his own division.

Actually, Karl Ravech and his visible lack of patience with the others on the show is the best part of the show. Dang, I didn't know Karl still did the show. I've tuned in twice this season and some other doofus was hosting both times. I thought Karl finally had enough and got a real job. For the sake of his mental well being, I hope Karl got out of there. It's fun watching him when he's hosting BBTN and posing a topic that he knows is just going to lead to a disaster of a discussion. There was one time last season when he was hosting the BBTN right before the Sunday night game of the week. He was doing an interview with Joe Morgan and you could see the frustration on Karl's face when he couldn't get a straight answer out of Morgan on about five consecutive questions. I really wish I had recorded that interview.

Probably right. What else could we add? Think aloud, please. Williamson....oh wait.

Actually, Karl Ravech and his visible lack of patience with the others on the show is the best part of the show.

umm... who would our closer be then??? Howry, a better pitcher than Dempster. Howry is not a closer.... you would be setting him up to fail.. just like you did with Latoya HawkinsHas Howry ever been a closer? Just curious. Yep. He was for a year with the White Sox in 1999.