Anomalied

Very. The first post in this thread almost reads like a fan fiction of the future written back in the dark ages of pre-Theo. But all of it actually happened in real life.

Happ + Jimenez for Archer Candelario + Cease/Clifton + Caratini/Zagunis for Gray Playoff rotation: Lester Hendricks Archer Arrieta Gray (Lackey demoted to spot starter/mop-up duty) How realistic?

The Cubs have no true untouchables beyond a handful of guys on the ML roster. It really probably can be boiled down to just Bryant and Rizzo. Practically speaking there is no untouchable prospect, but they likely will hold Jimenez in [much] higher regard than the rest of his peers. Agreed for the most part, but I think Russell is also close to untouchable status. I cannot envision any trade where they would let him go unless it was part of a package for Trout.

TexasCardsFan1 went private and locked his tweets. I can only imagine how salty he is right now. :lol:

Well that was...completely expected. It certainly would have made more sense before we traded Valbuena. But obviously if the plan for the future is Bryant in LF, Baez at 3B, Russell at SS, Castro at 3B or something like that, then its good to get him prepared for that. Just not sure who plays 3B this year assuming Russell isn't coming up until September at the earliest. If the long-term plan is Baez at 3B, they should start working him out there right away. I've always liked that idea anyway, with Baez's stocky frame and strong arm he could be a perfect fit there. La Stella and Alcantara can play second (their natural position) until Russell is ready, at which point Castro slides over to 2B and Addison becomes the shortstop. Maybe this time next year the projected lineup looks like: SS Addison Russell 2B Starlin Castro 1B Anthony Rizzo LF Kris Bryant RF Jorge Soler 3B Javier Baez C Miguel Montero (Kyle Schwarber eventually) CF Arismendy Alcantara (Albert Almora eventually) This news just surprises me because I thought their intentions were to keep Bryant at the hot corner as long as possible to maximize his value, and supposedly his defense wasn't half bad over there either.

I would say Rizzo in the 3-hole, but with the lack of power in the lineup I'd assume that they'd want him to be their main cleanup guy.

So with Murphy officially gone, my guess at the lineups is... VS RHP 1. Kalish / Lake (LF) 2. Castro (SS) 3. Schierholtz (RF) 4. Rizzo (1B) 5. Olt (3B) 6. Valbuena (2B) 7. Sweeney (CF) 8. Castillo © VS LHP 1. Lake (LF) 2. Castro (SS) 3. Ruggiano (RF) 4. Rizzo (1B) 5. Olt (3B) 6. Bonifacio (CF) 7. Castillo © 8. Barney (2B)

I was bored, so here’s my mock. I tried to keep it somewhat realistic. - Trade Alfonso Soriano. He is currently on pace to finish 2012 with 33 HRs and a .818 OPS. I find it hard to believe that there is no team interested in that, especially if the Cubs are willing to foot the bill for the majority of his remaining contract. - Sign Edwin Jackson to a 1 year deal with a team option for a second year. The hope here is that he pulls a Maholm in the first half and we can snag a decent prospect at the deadline again. - Sign Francisco Liriano to a 2 year deal. His career has been all over the map, but there are always stretches where he pitches like an ace. I think he would benefit from a move to the National League and he’s a guy that could fall either way as far as the rebuilding process goes. He’s still young enough to be a part of the next contending core, but he could also be trade bait if he throws lights out and another team dangles a solid prospect to get him. - Sign Melky Cabrera to a 1 year deal to replace Soriano. His reputation is tarnished and Theo & Co can buy low. The idea is he’ll be motivated to up his value and prove he can perform clean and could put together a strong first half, especially playing at Wrigley. Then, like with Jackson, Epstein can sell high in July (rhymes) and maybe get a nice return. - Stick with Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters. Luis Valbuena is not the solution at third, but Vitters might be (at least until Baez is ready). If he fails hard in the first half then demote him, trade him, bench him, whatever, but the Cubs are rebuilding and now is the time to allow a prospect like Vitters to have his at-bats and learn to adapt. Same with Jackson, although his performance has been more encouraging this season. I think hitting between DeJesus and Castro is a perfect spot for him to see a lot of nice pitches. - We won’t be contending yet so there’s no need to spend big on the bullpen or bench. Hopefully a few of the in-house guys pan out to go along with Russell. Perhaps Marmol could be dealt at the deadline too if he avoids too many of his usual meltdowns in the first half. 1. David DeJesus (RF) 2. Brett Jackson (CF) 3. Starlin Castro (SS) 4. Anthony Rizzo (1B) 5. Melky Cabrera (LF) 6. Wellington Castillo © 7. Josh Vitters (3B) 8. Darwin Barney (2B) - Steve Clevenger © - Dave Sappelt (OF) - Bryan LaHair (OF/IF) - Adrian Cardenas (IF) - Ian Stewart or Luis Valbuena (IF) 1. Matt Garza (SP) 2. Jeff Samardzija (SP) 3. Edwin Jackson (SP) 4. Francisco Liriano (SP) 5. Travis Wood (SP) - Rusin / Raley / Coleman (Long Relief) - Rafael Dolis - Jeff Believeau - Alberto Cabrera - Manny Corpas - James Russell (SU) - Carlos Marmol (CL)

Maybe they'll take Soriano back. Or at least Fuku to appease their Japanese fans over the loss of Matsui.

Great, more ammo for internet Cub fans to hate on Theriot. Seriously, you'd think on a team where guys like Bradley and Zambrano pull obnoxious stunts with the press and guys like Soriano and Ramirez are constantly injured, the one player who has been consistently and quietly doing his job would get a break. Granted, he's never gone above and beyond but he's also done nothing to deserve the unwarranted disrespect he gets on this forum and others.

I think a package of Wells, Fox, Jackson, Colvin, and Flaherty is more than fair without surrendering Vitters, Castro, Cashner, etc.

This was a pretty cool concept I saw on sportslogos.net a few years back. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v340/AgnstAllOdds2004/Logo%20And%20Uniform%20Concepts/ChicagoCubsRedesign.gif

I'll run this by position. C: Despite the disappointing seasons by Soriano, Fontenot, Bradley, Zambrano, Harden, Dempster, etc... I think Soto's sophomore slump was the biggest letdown on 2009. Him returning to his rookie year form next season will be bigger than signing any free agent, in my opinion. Fingers crossed. 1B: Lee has carried this paltry team for much of the summer and I'd like to see him ride out the last year of his contract in Cubbie blue. Unless Hendry is blown off his feet by a team willing to buy high, I'd hang onto Derrek and his reliable bat and gold glove for 2010. 2B: After watching Fontenot, Miles, Baker, Scales, Blanco and the seemingly never-ending conga line of crappy Cubs second basemen this year, I'm on the Figgins bandwagon. He would finally give the Cubs the legitimate leadoff hitter they've lacked for the past number of seasons as well as their only real base-stealing threat. As long as the contract isn't outrageously long or expensive, I'd make Chone the top priority this winter. 3B: Already anticipating Ramirez's annual 15-day DL stint, it's relieving to know that Lou can slot in Fox's bat and not damage the lineup too much. SS: I love Reyes, but the Cubs already have a serviceable shortstop in Theriot plus Starlin Castro, Hak-Ju Lee, Ryan Flaherty, Darwin Barney, and a slew of other middle infield prospects down the pipeline. Plus dealing for Reyes would mean likely losing Vitters, Cashner, Jackson and other important pieces for the future. I'd stick with Theriot, hit him eighth, and wait until one of the farm kids impresses enough to steal his job. LF: I'd say there's about a 5% chance Hendry is able to find a taker for Soriano's contract, so I'm accepting the notion we're saddled with him for at least the next couple of years. Hopefully he gets his leg/vision/whatever problem he has ironed out by Spring Training and have a bounceback season in 2010. CF: Fukudome has been solid, albeit unspectacular in 2009. He's still overpaid but could post a high OBP in the two slot and score a lot of runs. If Hendry can trade him and fetch a decent return, I'd do it to clear payroll but otherwise Fuk stays. RF: The Bradley situation is so frustrating, as Cubs fans would be satisfied with him as long as he kept his mouth shut and stopped acting like a doofus. He's still managed to put up an .800 OPS and play average defense this year, so maybe Hendry can move him, but I figure we're stuck with him too. He's another candidate for a big time comeback. Bench: Hoff and Fox are probably the best and cheapest left/right-handed pinch-hitting tandem we've seen on the bench in years. Their power and versatility will save the Cubs a lot of money usually spent on crappy veteran back-ups. With just these two, the Cubs are covered at the corner infield and outfield spots as well as emergency catcher. With Hill, we're also set with a cheap, defensive-minded backup catcher. Any combination of Baker, Fontenot, Scales, Blanco can cover the middle infield and round out the bench. Rotation: Barring a miracle trade or one of our starters playing way over his head, we'll still lack a true ace in 2010. Zambrano will seemingly never reach his potential. Lilly will probably still be dependable and above average, but never awe-inspiring. Obviously Dempster regressed, as we all expected him to. He's still a decent, if expensive 3. The biggest surprise this season was the emergence of Randy Wells and I look forward to what he can accomplish with a full year on the staff. Gorzelanny is still an enigma. If he can have a renaissance year and put up 2007-esque numbers, that'd be huge. Harden didn't live up to his expectations, but he's had a strong second half and I'd try to resign him to a 1 or 2 year pact. But even without him, the Cubs have enough depth to still have one of the better NL rotations next year. Bullpen: Let Gregg and Heilman walk and collect the draft picks. Do your best to retain Grabow. Marshall can play the longman/spot starter role he has for the past few years. Guzman and Marmol handle the late game. Samardzija, Cashner, Patton, Stevens, Gaub, Caridad, Berg and others can audition for the remaining spots. I'd maybe look at Brandon Lyon for additional help if he's not too pricey. The pitching was never the problem this year, so this area and the rotation doesn't really worry me. Overall, we'll most likely be watching a very similar team take the field next spring. Hopefully they can put this whole mess of a year behind them and return to contention.

NL: Cubs, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants AL: Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, Athletics

Geovany Soto contributes a nearly identical line to his 2008 season and is only outmatched by Brian McCann as the best catcher in baseball. Derrek Lee continues his downward trend, hitting just 15 homers and driving in 75 runs... but still posts a solid OBP and plays outstanding defense while cutting down on hitting into double plays. Mark DeRosa struggles in his return to the American League and Mike Fontenot makes Cubs fans forget all about him, becoming one of the top 5 second basemen in the National League. Alfonso Soriano steals 30 bases and manages to stay healthy the entire year. His plate discipline remains an issue, but Cubs fans finally feel like he fully earns his pay check in 2009. Kosuke Fukudome and Reed Johnson do not output close to the same production as the Edmonds/Johnson platoon in 2008, but still manage to be one of the better tandems in the league. Fukudome improves marginally, especially when inserted in the second spot in the lineup. Milton Bradley thrives with Aramis Ramirez batting behind him and hits close to .350 for the early stretch of the season before succumbing to an injury in May. His brief stint on the 15-day DL is the only time he's hurt for the rest of the year however and he still earns a spot on the National League All-Star team. Carlos Zambrano finally becomes a 20 game winner, dominating the National League in the first half and earning him the honor of starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star game. He regresses a bit in the second half, but still manages a career year. Rich Harden suffers several minor injuries, but still starts 25 games for the second straight year. He wins 14, striking out over 200 with an ERA around 2. Ryan Dempster doesn't have as magical a season as his '08 campaign, but still remains one of the better 3/4 pitchers in the National League. Ted Lilly has his worst year as a Cub, winning just 12 games. Sorry, Ted... I had to make at least one negative prediction. Carlos Marmol begins the year as the Cubs closer and dominates. However, when the rest of the bullpen struggles, Lou begins using him again as the stopper... a role which he eases into for a third year. Gregg takes over closing duties and does a respectable job for the rest of the season. Sean Marshall begins the year on fire, a la Rich Hill in 2007. However, he begins to tire by midseason and is relegated back to a relief role when... ...the Cubs trade for Jake Peavy at the deadline, surrendering a package of prospects. Peavy isn't as excellent as expected and takes a while to adjust to Wrigley Field. However, he wins all of his games in September... ...as the Cubs cruise to their third straight National League Central division championship. And now I take off my rose-colored glasses.

I wish they'd re-work this logo into the uniform set. Maybe have it replace the walking bear on the alternate or at least use it as a shoulder patch. http://i44.tinypic.com/33lo6rr.jpg

Anyone else still playing MVP 05 with modded rosters? :oops:

So does this mean the logos will be painted over? If so, good news.

Ugh, I hate the Red Sox.

Well, it is an odd-numbered year...

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/12/11/2008-12-11_sources_yankees_to_trade_melky_cabrera_t-1.html Apparently another pitching prospect is headed to the Crew, as well. Didn't see that one coming.

I wonder who would replace him in the booth. God forbid Dan Plesac...

So then either use your ignore feature liberally or don't read the game thread. Or how about you contribute something positive once in a while instead of constantly bitching. Do you enjoy being miserable?

God, I'm so tired of listening to all of you cliff jumpers... just STFU. This game is not over.

That is a great picture though... an obvious Photoshop brush on the bottom though [-X