CubColtPacer

I guess not everyone can put up Ryan Braun's .463/.542/1.000 line against lefties :D

I don't think it really was a problem that the suspension was reduced-it was the way that it was reduced that is not consistent with what MLB usually does.

Does he really get to pick when he serves it or is he serving now and you're saying he "picked' this time? I don't think it's a coincidence that Boras called MLB now right before the series with the Giants. While Prince has to serve the suspension immediately as a result of his agreement with MLB, he basically got to pick the appeal date. If there was an official appeal, MLB would have picked the date for him. So Prince got to pick when he would be suspended, but still also got to appeal and get the suspension reduced.

Yes, but technically Fielder dropped his suspension as well. I'm sure the Cubs would have liked to have called MLB and said "We'll drop our appeal if you lower the suspension number." This is absolutely ridiculous. Now Fielder gets his suspension reduced, but at the same time he got to pick the time and the place to serve his suspension. At least if he had to go to an appeal his suspension might have been at an inconvenient time-Fielder just got to have it both ways.

I'd rather he start and put Marquis for the long man. I doubt they suddenly pull Marquis from the rotation now, especially since in the last month he has stopped his downward trend.

I found this little nugget in the game notes yesterday that I didn't expect: I don't think that it would hurt, although I doubt it's going to be much of a help either. http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070823&content_id=2165554&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

Just to add on to that. The most games he's played in CF in one season was 33. I suspect it was because of an injury. In all other seasons he's played CF in less than a dozen games/year. He also played 27 games there in 2004 in addition to the 33 in 2005. In 2006 and 2007, he hasn't played much center, but that's understandable considering Granderson started 143 games there last year and has started 110 games there already this year. He's certainly played enough there to be considered a candidate out there, and both Lou and Hendry emphasized that he can play all 3 OF positions, so I don't think they will be hesitant to put him out there. In 2004-2005 the alternatives were Nook Logan and Alex Sanchez in CF. Agreed. Basically Monroe is kind of like Jacque Jones. Can he play CF? Yes. His true position is at one of the corners, but if your team does not have a true CF he can play there and not be awful.

How so? First and foremost, negligent usage by an inept manager that most likely led to some of his injuries. Secondly, the Cubs have more or less played along with the crowd who believes Prior is a wuss who isn't man enough to pitch through pain. They repeatedly said there's nothing wrong with him, when in fact, it turns out there was some serious problems. I agree with most of that, but weren't the Cubs recommending surgery a couple of years ago and Prior decided to go with other treatment options? I also don't recall the Cubs ever saying something like "There's nothing wrong with him, he just needs to go out there and pitch". They kept silent when the media attacked Prior because there was nothing to report. What were they supposed to say? There was an injury, they didn't know what it was, and they didn't know how long it would last. That's about all anyone knew.

Just to add on to that. The most games he's played in CF in one season was 33. I suspect it was because of an injury. In all other seasons he's played CF in less than a dozen games/year. He also played 27 games there in 2004 in addition to the 33 in 2005. In 2006 and 2007, he hasn't played much center, but that's understandable considering Granderson started 143 games there last year and has started 110 games there already this year. He's certainly played enough there to be considered a candidate out there, and both Lou and Hendry emphasized that he can play all 3 OF positions, so I don't think they will be hesitant to put him out there.

Detroit is speculating that it's Rapada. "Leyland stopped short of disclosing the traded player, but speculation is centered on Clay Rapada, who is 6-2 with a 3.74 ERA at Triple-A Iowa." link Rapada is on the 40-man, which means he'd have to clear waivers to be traded. Pretty doubtful that a cheap lefty reliever with decent numbers makes it through waivers. Which is why they made it a PTBNL deal so that they could trade them Rapada after the year. Personally, if it's a Cubs left-hander currently on the 40 man roster like Leyland said, then I don't really care if it is Eyre, Ohman, Cotts, or Rapada. They each have a small bit of value, but none of them have particularly great value now or in the future. And Monroe has more value? I don't really see it. I'm not against this trade I just don't really see much value in Monroe. I know he's hit LHP well this year but he's a career .277 hitter against LHP. I guess he gives the Cubs some "versitility"*. They seem to really covit versital players. * Versitility- ability to play more than one position. His career OPS against left-handers is .821. Jones's career OPS against left-handers is .632. That will be most of Monroe's value right there with that 190 point difference. The rest of his value will be in a right-handed pinch-hitting option. Since the Cubs have so many OF's that do not hit left-handers well (Jones, Floyd, Pie, Ward), it is really nice to have two options off of the bench that can pinch-hit for one of those OF's in a key situation, which allows one of them to pinch-hit for Jones for example when the team goes to a left-hander late and the other one can pinch-hit for the pitcher during the game. So does Monroe provide a ton of value? Maybe not, but the addition of him in the lineup instead of Jones against LHP will help the team in its struggles against that side of the plate. I think looking at his carrer OPS is a little decieving. In addition, I don't see him replacing Jones at all. He had two seasons where his OPS against LHP was above .900, but for the most part he's been in the .700 range, still better than JJ, but really not that good at all. In fact, I'd would say the difference in improvement is so small that over the course of the next 6 weeks we're likely to see no difference at all. However, his SLG is certianly better than Jones. At the same time, I have to ask, who will he be replacing? You seem to think it's Jones. I suspect it's Murton. After all it doesn't really make much sense b/c Jones is a lefty and Monroe is a righty. I think when Soriano comes back we'll see an OF of Soriano, Jones, Monroe/Floyd. If you compare him to Murton v LHP His numbers just don't stack up. Murton has an AVE, OBP, and OPS atvantage. So, I don't really see what value Monroe brings to the Cubs. I suppose if he replaces Jones @ lefties that would be great, but I doubt that will happen. You are correct that looking at career numbers is deceiving, but when combining what he has done overall in his career with what he has done this year, it seems reasonable to conclude that he's more likely than not to put up over a 100 point difference from what Jones is likely to do against left-handers. Why do I think it is Jones? Lou has tried to sit Jones against left-handers all season. After he was forced to start him against a left-hander a day in May (which was only Jones's 1st or 2nd start against a left-hander all season at that point), Lou said he can't keep doing that and Pagan was brought up the next day to be Jones's platoon partner. From then on, Jones got I think 1 start against left-handers for the next 2 1/2 months. When Pagan went down, Lou has been forced to use Jones out there again lately against all types of pitchers. Suddenly, Monroe is traded for, and it was emphasized that they can use him at all 3 OF positions. Murton meanwhile has started against most of the LHP this year with only a 3-4 exceptions. Since Lou has been so reluctant to use Jones out there against LHP unless he has been forced to, I think you'll see Monroe in CF against LHP, especially when Soriano comes back. Before that you might see a Monroe/Jones/Murton OF against LHP, but when Soriano comes back you'll probably see a Soriano/Jones/Floyd against RHP, and Soriano/Monroe/Murton against LHP. One last caveat: if Pagan comes back, he may take Murton's spot in the lineup, where Pagan plays center and Monroe plays right. If Pagan does not come back though, from the way Lou has used both of them this year I think Monroe will cut more into Jacque's time, not Murton's.

Detroit is speculating that it's Rapada. "Leyland stopped short of disclosing the traded player, but speculation is centered on Clay Rapada, who is 6-2 with a 3.74 ERA at Triple-A Iowa." link Rapada is on the 40-man, which means he'd have to clear waivers to be traded. Pretty doubtful that a cheap lefty reliever with decent numbers makes it through waivers. Which is why they made it a PTBNL deal so that they could trade them Rapada after the year. Personally, if it's a Cubs left-hander currently on the 40 man roster like Leyland said, then I don't really care if it is Eyre, Ohman, Cotts, or Rapada. They each have a small bit of value, but none of them have particularly great value now or in the future. And Monroe has more value? I don't really see it. I'm not against this trade I just don't really see much value in Monroe. I know he's hit LHP well this year but he's a career .277 hitter against LHP. I guess he gives the Cubs some "versitility"*. They seem to really covit versital players. * Versitility- ability to play more than one position. His career OPS against left-handers is .821. Jones's career OPS against left-handers is .632. That will be most of Monroe's value right there with that 190 point difference. The rest of his value will be in a right-handed pinch-hitting option. Since the Cubs have so many OF's that do not hit left-handers well (Jones, Floyd, Pie, Ward), it is really nice to have two options off of the bench that can pinch-hit for one of those OF's in a key situation, which allows one of them to pinch-hit for Jones for example when the team goes to a left-hander late and the other one can pinch-hit for the pitcher during the game. So does Monroe provide a ton of value? Maybe not, but the addition of him in the lineup instead of Jones against LHP will help the team in its struggles against that side of the plate.

Detroit is speculating that it's Rapada. "Leyland stopped short of disclosing the traded player, but speculation is centered on Clay Rapada, who is 6-2 with a 3.74 ERA at Triple-A Iowa." link Rapada is on the 40-man, which means he'd have to clear waivers to be traded. Pretty doubtful that a cheap lefty reliever with decent numbers makes it through waivers. Which is why they made it a PTBNL deal so that they could trade them Rapada after the year. Personally, if it's a Cubs left-hander currently on the 40 man roster like Leyland said, then I don't really care if it is Eyre, Ohman, Cotts, or Rapada. They each have a small bit of value, but none of them have particularly great value now or in the future. The PTBNL has to go to Detroit by Oct 15th though. Yes, and deals without waivers can be made October 1st, so they will complete the deal between the 1st and the 15th.

Detroit is speculating that it's Rapada. "Leyland stopped short of disclosing the traded player, but speculation is centered on Clay Rapada, who is 6-2 with a 3.74 ERA at Triple-A Iowa." link Rapada is on the 40-man, which means he'd have to clear waivers to be traded. Pretty doubtful that a cheap lefty reliever with decent numbers makes it through waivers. Which is why they made it a PTBNL deal so that they could trade them Rapada after the year. Personally, if it's a Cubs left-hander currently on the 40 man roster like Leyland said, then I don't really care if it is Eyre, Ohman, Cotts, or Rapada. They each have a small bit of value, but none of them have particularly great value now or in the future.

Monroe probably replaces Jacque against LHP. I fail to see how that couldn't be a good move. At Monroe's worst against LHP, he's still better than Jacque against LHP. Until Soriano comes back, he may replace Fox, and the same thing applies.

This isn't old. At all. Hendry's crappy signings are. Ted Lilly...good. Marquis...decent. Soriano...good. DeRosa...good. Howry...good. Eyre...decent. Rammy...good. Z...good. Neifi Perez...bad Glendon Rusch...bad Jose Macias...bad Mike Remlinger...bad Jeromy Burnitz...GOOD Jacque Jones...decent out of that group..when was the last deal made? what's your point? they were still deals made by Hendry. i fixed that for you, so that you didnt sound stupid So you're saying that the Jones signing was decent and the Burnitz signing was good? Burnitz had a .770 OPS that season he played for the Cubs. That's not good for a corner outfielder. Jones was decent last year, but has been pretty awful this year outside of a good couple of weeks. Jones was a big bargain last year and has been about the same amount overpaid this year. Through 1 2/3 years, he's given about as much production as could be expected for his contract. It will be the last 1 1/3 years that will figure out if it was a good deal or not.

I hope its not Coats, maybe Pagan to the 60 or he's the PTBNL it has to be pagan... collitis is terrible, no way he will be in game shape in time. If it is Pagan, that would explain even further why the Cubs had to make this deal now. No one wants to go into a playoff game and face that first left-hander and have to play Jacque Jones in CF because there is no other option.

I would imagine they would non-tender Cotts after the year anyway, so it certainly might be him. If Coats couldn't get a chance to get on the bench with all the turmoil this year, he probably doesn't have a future either. I can't see Pagan going on the 60 day because that would end his year, and I don't think that's for certain yet.

I think one thing Lou has shown is that he can read splits pretty well. Jones got a lot less time against left-handers than any year in his career, until the last couple weeks when the only other option (Pie) was worse than he was. Ward is the first pinch-hitter against right-handers and the last against left-handers. Lou stuck with his plan to only give Fox starts against left-handers because of his splits, while he gave Murton more starts against right-handers because his splits weren't nearly so extreme. Seeing all this, I don't see how Monroe starts against more than 2 right-handers this year. Lou attaches too much value into the splits to disregard Monroe's.

Well, from the column apparently the rest of MLB does not think Prior is worth 3-4 million. The only problem with the Cubs non-tendering Prior is that I'm not sure Prior wants to sign with the Cubs as a free agent to a lower deal (which is all he's going to get from anybody). There might be bad blood still between him and the organization.

Jock can't hit LHP can he? Monroe's good good power and splits vs. lefties. His splits against lefties in his career .277/.321/.501/.822 aren't anything special. He has only hit 2 hr's since the break. He's the right handed Jacque Jones. I just dont see the point of this trade. My comparison is based on what he brings to the table, which is the same as Jacque overall. Does anyone honestly think Lou will use a straight platoon? He hasn't all year, why would he start now? Lou has used a straight platoon at times this year. Jacque/Pagan for example in center was a great example of a straight platoon until Pagan went down. Murton/Floyd was somewhat of a straight platoon earlier in the year (Murton had some at-bats against right-handers as well).

When Lou simply yanked Fox last night without even a double switch, a move did seem somewhat imminent. I can't see Monroe getting much if any PT against right-handers. Soriano, Jones, and Floyd are all easily ahead of him, and Ward, Murton, and DeRosa might be ahead of him as well. Left-handers though are a different story, and that's where Monroe becomes valuable. It also adds a right-handed bat off of the bench, which is needed with both Ward and Pie on the bench most days and Jacque and Floyd some days (with none of the four being able to hit left-handed pitching).

Yesterday's doubleheader took the Rangers from their expected record being 2 games over their actual to 4 games over actual. Considering they only won the 2nd game by 2 runs, that 2 game difference was caused by the blowout.

I think great is probably out. He might be effective. If they tender him what will it cost the Cubs? I am guessing the payroll is getting pretty tight already and the need for another OFer is more important than a questionable starter/reliever. If they tender him, it will cost the cubs a mininum of 3 million (which is right about the maximum 20 percent drop), and possibly up to 4.

Exactly what I came here to ask. Jones and Floyd in the lineup against a tough lefty? The Fontenot came in 2/3 of the way through the game? Did Lou know something I didn't know? What was brutal is the Giants used lefties in relief too. Really showed in that Jones AB in the 10th. Brutal. Jones was embarassing yesterday. Floyd had the key hit so I don't see that argument at all. Sure in hindsight it worked, but statistically speaking, thats a curious decision to start those 2 against a lefty. Jones is going to start against every left-hander right now considering the alternative is Pie, who is even worse against lefties. He's out of the discussion, so the only really curious move was starting Floyd.

Exactly what I came here to ask. Jones and Floyd in the lineup against a tough lefty? The Fontenot came in 2/3 of the way through the game? Did Lou know something I didn't know? What was brutal is the Giants used lefties in relief too. Really showed in that Jones AB in the 10th. Brutal. I still don't quite agree with the decision, but it was a left-hander that is tougher on right-handers then left-handers. Also, Fontenot came in as a replacment for Fox because Fox had just batted (the fact that he simply yanked Fox in the middle of the game is bad news for Fox), and Lou wanted to save Murton for the pitcher's spot which was due up 3rd the next inning. So that's the rationale for those moves, although I would have still started Murton over Floyd (I'd try to let Murton work his way out of his big slump right now). Those 3 went 1-7 with a double and a walk, which is similar to what everyone else did last night.