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The problem here is that it brings a much larger chance of Floyd's option vesting. Do you really want an overpriced, declining Cliff Floyd on this team in '08? I sure as hell don't. Floyd would have to average 3.17 AB's a game the rest of the year for even his first option to vest. I'm sure they won't play him against all the left-handers (when Aramis comes back, DeRosa will probably play some RF against LHP) and then when Murton comes back later in the year, there isn't that big of a chance that Floyd could have that many AB's to have the option kick in.

I don't see how anybody could possibly think it's not about the lack of consistent time. No kidding. Good track record in the minors. Good player in basically a full year in MLB. Suddenly can't find it when he's put in a platoon of sorts (a very random one, at that). Seems to me, if you're looking for a culprit, you have to at least start w/ the lack of consistent playing time, don't you? He was playing well in a platoon in July/August of last year. He played well in a platoon in July of 05. That's 3 of the best 5 months of his career in the major leagues. Murton showed consistently before this year that he could play well when he wasn't getting every at-bat. I don't see why that would suddenly change this year. it certainly wasn't a strict platoon last year... Murton had over 500 PAs and played in 144 games. He had a .351 OBP and a .787 OPS against RHP coming into this year. His OPS was over .900 the second half of last year. There's absolutely no reason that a young, cheap outfielder with numbers like that should be essentially demoted into a platoon position. I'm not saying that he should have been in a platoon situation to begin with. All I'm saying that he has shown that he can be a good player in a platoon situation because he had success in that role for parts of the last two years. He should have been given the chance to start more than he has. I think his slump is just that-a slump, and his lack of playing time means that it just took longer chronologically to get out of, because he hasn't had enough AB's to break out of the slump naturally. I hope he can get his AB's down there, break out of the slump, and then I think he'll have success when he comes back up to the majors if it be in a starter role or in a platoon.

I don't see how anybody could possibly think it's not about the lack of consistent time. No kidding. Good track record in the minors. Good player in basically a full year in MLB. Suddenly can't find it when he's put in a platoon of sorts (a very random one, at that). Seems to me, if you're looking for a culprit, you have to at least start w/ the lack of consistent playing time, don't you? He was playing well in a platoon in July/August of last year. He played well in a platoon in July of 05. That's 3 of the best 5 months of his career in the major leagues. Murton showed consistently before this year that he could play well when he wasn't getting every at-bat. I don't see why that would suddenly change this year.

I thought of Gallagher as well, but he did pitch last night, 1/3rd of an inning according to the box score. Good catch-I forgot he had to come in for Ohman and pitch to 1 batter in the 13th.

Hopefully Murton can get it back on track in AAA. He just hasn't come around so far this year. I don't think it's all the splitting time thing, because he didn't have a good grasp of his job in either 2005 or parts of 2006. Playing everyday though might let him figure out what's causing his slump and correct it. The Cubs could use his 2005/2006 numbers in the second half, and I still think he could be a valuable component to this year's team. Hopefully this means that Floyd gets most of the at-bats in right field for now.

There seem to be 4 decent options here: 1) Ohman. He gave up the run yesterday and he's the most likely person who Rapada specifically would be called up to replace. I'm not saying it's necessarily right that he would be send down/DL'd, but it might happen. 2)Wuertz to the DL-In all the other extra inning games, Wuertz pitched much earlier than he did last night. Did they want to save him because he pitched 3 days in a row Friday/Saturday/Sunday, or because his arm isn't feeling right? 3)Eyre release. The question is-why now? If they were going to do it, wouldn't it have been done a couple of weeks ago? 4)Gallagher demotion. Since he didn't pitch last night, and he's the long man, I don't know why they'd send him down tonight. It wouldn't make sense if the bullpen is tired to send down a fresh long reliever for a short reliever. All the other options are very unlikely.

I can't sort it by the number of outs, but here is a quick summary of how the team has performed with the bases loaded. Theriot has had the most opportunities-14. He is 1 for 14 with 1 BB and 4 RBI's. DeRosa has had 12 chances. He is 4 for 12 with 1 HR, 3 BB's, and 13 RBI's. Jones has had 12 chances. He is 3 for 12 with 1 3B, and 6 RBI's Lee is 2 for 9 with 1 HR, 1 2B, and 7 RBI's. Ramirez is 1 for 9 with 1 HR and 5 RBI's. Izturis is 1 for 7 with 1 RBI Nobody else has any more than 3 AB's with the bases loaded, and nobody else has a hit or a walk in that situation. The Cubs team has a .203/.284/.407 line with the bases loaded (59 AB's).

It was either double-switching Hill for Barrett, double-switching Jones for Pagan, or letting Howry hit for himself as the 2nd hitter in the 10th inning. Pick your poison.

They should trade Heinrich, who probably has a better reputation and perceived value than actual value. I saw one report a few days ago that said that the Bulls are active in the trading mark, but Hinrich is their only untouchable (the link that I provided only says that Hinrich is untouchable, not their only untouchable, but I'm pretty sure I read the "only" in the link that I read a few days ago that I cannot find right now). I'll try to track that one down for you. Ok, I found a similar link to the one I read. http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/46427/20070609/bulls_active_in_trade_scenario_discussions/

10 team 5x5 league, 120 start limit Original team (autopick draft) C-Brian McCann 1B-Nick Johnson 2B-Luis Castillo SS-Bill Hall 3B-Mark Teahan OF-Vladimir Guerrero OF-Carlos Lee OF-Carlos Beltran Util-Johnny Damon Bench-Michael Barrett Bench-Michael Cuddyer Bench-Rocco Baldelli Bench-Edgar Renteria Bench-Nick Markakis P-Roy Halladay P-Rich Hill P-Daisuke Matsuzaka RP-Fransisco Rodriguez RP-Bobby Jenks RP-Todd Jones Now C-Brian McCann 1B-Adrian Gonzalez 2B-Brian Roberts SS-Miguel Tejada 3B-David Wright OF-Vladimir Guerrero OF-Carl Crawford OF-Bill Hall Util-Todd Helton Bench-Michael Cuddyer Bench-Dan Uggla Bench-Mark Teahan P-Roy Halladay P-Rich Hill P-Daisuke Matsuzaka P-Cole Hamels P-Ben Sheets RP-Todd Jones RP-Bob Wickman Open Roster spot (about to pick up a reliever to be in this slot)

Hell, even Ryan Church: .270 .367 .465 OPS+: 125. Hendry tried to get Church though. Was that really Hendry trying, or was it just the media and us wishing? Bruce told us that Hendry was really interested in Church and had tried to get him, but the Nationals were "asking the moon" for him.

Hell, even Ryan Church: .270 .367 .465 OPS+: 125. Hendry tried to get Church though.

Howry's last 7 outings: 8 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 6K/1BB Howry being good again really transforms this bullpen-combine him with Wuertz, Dempster, and Marmol, and the back end of the bullpen is pretty strong now.

It wasn't a walkoff-it was a 3 run homerun in the same game that Barrett's grand slam was.

I'm a bit surprised about the no Pie, but after 8-9 straight games it's all right to give him a day off, and a left-hander is the correct time to do that. Everyone else looks just about right against a LHP.

except, of course, the Cubs are playing a team that is better than they are well, hill is better than washburn, and judging by expected W-L, the cubs and mariners are about even. I really don't think the Mariners are a good team. I talked to a Mariners fan a day or two ago, and he doesn't think they are either. He said they are enjoying the run they are on right now, but that all the fans are waiting for the lack of talent on the team to show itself, and that nobody expects anything out of this club. Hopefully it's in the next 3 days here that their fall starts.

I agree with the other names (especially Guerrero and Beltran) but Magglio Ordonez? 7 years, over 100 million dollars, and he put these 2 lines up his first two years in Detroit: .302/.359/.436 (in only 82 games) .298/.350/.477 He wouldn't have been able to put up his monster season that he is this year in Chicago, because people would have wanted him traded already for making that much money for that little production. In fact, Burnitz's 2005 and Jones's 2006 are roughly comparable to Magglio's first 2 years, and they cost 20 million dollars less over that time. Magglio is also 33 with injury problems, and so the later years of that deal will not be pretty. So Vladimir and Beltran-yes, the Cubs should have gone after one of those. Magglio? It would have been a terrible signing, amazing year he's having so far this year or not.

Why are they moving a guy that has value at 2b to LF, where he'll have much less, if any value? Iowa is filled with guys who are alternating between positions right now. They want to get Patterson's bat up to the majors faster, but they don't think they can have a bench spot for him if he only plays 2B because he struggles quite a bit with 2B defensively, and so they are trying him in LF from time to time.

that's ok, he'll start again tonight Jones has started 13 of the 15 games where the opposing starter was a lefty. Unfortunately, he'll probably start again tonight. That cannot be right Fred. In fact, I just looked it up, and it's the opposite. Jones has only started 2 times out of the 15 games that the Cubs have had against left-handers. One was the time in May where Jones started against a left-hander and the next day Pagan came up to start against the next one, and the other time was last week when Floyd and Murton were both hurt.

If he liked Ballplayers he would play Murton insteas of Jones and Floyd. He's as old school as we thought. And just becuase he's better than Dusty doesn't make him good. Is Murton hurt? Looking at all of Lou's moves so far this year, the whole Murton situation seems out of place. Murton is the type of ballplayer that you would think Lou would love. My guess is that there is more behind the scenes than we are privy to. I think Lou and Hendry want guys with more pop in their bat in the outfield to drive in non-existent base runners. It's what the old school manager would do. Meanwhile, neither Jones nor Floyd are hitting the ball out of the park, or hitting the ball for that matter. Floyd's not hitting the ball? I posted this in the other thread: Murton (116 AB's)-.259/.338/.345 Floyd (111 AB's)-.306/.364/.423 So Floyd has been over 100 points of OPS better than Murton, and yet played less than him. Right now, Floyd's the guy who should be playing more if Lou wants to play guys who have produced. I agree with you completely with Jones-if Murton is not hurt, then Lou absolutely should not be starting Jones in RF.

The batter pitcher matchups do not look pretty. Soriano is 4 for 25 with 1 HR, 1 BB, and 5 K's Izturis is 3 for 11 with 1 2B and 1 K Floyd is 1 for 10 with 5 K Jones is 3 for 10 with 1 2B and 1 K Derosa is 2 for 9 with 1 2B, 1 BB, and 1 K Barrett 0 for 3, Ward 0 for 2, Ramirez 0 for 2

It's not that they've performed better, it's that they've gotten a chance to perform. But even that has been out of a lot of necessity for Lou. Lou should get more credit than that. He still has the option to play JJ over Pie in CF and Izturis over Theriot or Fontenot at either MI position. Dusty would have forced the veterans even when it seemed like it wasn't possible, by plugging Macias at any position. Fine, but it would be hard to play the young guys any less than Dusty played them, so I don't know how much credit there is to give. Lou is better at it than Dusty, but being better than the worst isn't exactly a benchmark to get too excited about. Lou still doesn't give Murton the playing time he should be getting to develop, he still plays Izturis far more than he should, and if you recall, Pie was sent back down for a chunk of time because Lou was hardly playing him. It's only when the veterans are very clearly failing to produce that he's gone to the young guys, and even then the vets still get a good amount of starts. Pie stopped playing because the player in front of him was out-playing him. The same has happened to Murton until the last week (Jones should not be starting consistently in front of him, but Floyd has been better). As far as Izturis-yes, Izturis has started more in the last month than would have liked, but a lot of that was due to necessity-Theriot has had to play another position quite a bit over that time due to injury/days off/etc. Izturis has started 19 times out of the last 29 games. If you take all the days that Theriot was not playing another position and could have replaced him, that takes away 7 of those starts. Sprinkle in 3 off days for Theriot during that time, and it means that Izturis has started a total of 4 times where he wasn't either an injury replacement or giving a day off to Theriot in the last month. 4 games like that is a little annoying, but not a big deal. As far as even when the young guys who are producing still give up a fair amount of starts to the veterans, I disagree with that as well. Pie has started 9 games in a row now. When Theriot was producing, he was getting just as many starts as DeRosa was. When they stopped producing is when the veterans started stealing their starts again. First of who is outplaying Murton in RF? Secondly, when was Murton given the amount of starts in a row like Jones has been given to try and find it? Floyd is outplaying Murton in RF in the same amount of time that Murton has had: Murton (116 AB's)-.259/.338/.345 Floyd (111 AB's)-.306/.364/.423 Against RH's, the order should be Floyd/Murton/Jones Against LH's, it should be Murton/Floyd/Jones

It's not that they've performed better, it's that they've gotten a chance to perform. But even that has been out of a lot of necessity for Lou. Lou should get more credit than that. He still has the option to play JJ over Pie in CF and Izturis over Theriot or Fontenot at either MI position. Dusty would have forced the veterans even when it seemed like it wasn't possible, by plugging Macias at any position. Fine, but it would be hard to play the young guys any less than Dusty played them, so I don't know how much credit there is to give. Lou is better at it than Dusty, but being better than the worst isn't exactly a benchmark to get too excited about. Lou still doesn't give Murton the playing time he should be getting to develop, he still plays Izturis far more than he should, and if you recall, Pie was sent back down for a chunk of time because Lou was hardly playing him. It's only when the veterans are very clearly failing to produce that he's gone to the young guys, and even then the vets still get a good amount of starts. Pie stopped playing because the player in front of him was out-playing him. The same has happened to Murton until the last week (Jones should not be starting consistently in front of him, but Floyd has been better). As far as Izturis-yes, Izturis has started more in the last month than would have liked, but a lot of that was due to necessity-Theriot has had to play another position quite a bit over that time due to injury/days off/etc. Izturis has started 19 times out of the last 29 games. If you take all the days that Theriot was not playing another position and could have replaced him, that takes away 7 of those starts. Sprinkle in 3 off days for Theriot during that time, and it means that Izturis has started a total of 4 times where he wasn't either an injury replacement or giving a day off to Theriot in the last month. 4 games like that is a little annoying, but not a big deal. As far as even when the young guys who are producing still give up a fair amount of starts to the veterans, I disagree with that as well. Pie has started 9 games in a row now. When Theriot was producing, he was getting just as many starts as DeRosa was. When they stopped producing is when the veterans started stealing their starts again.

Yes, he is, but he's starting at 2B for somebody who is light on other second basemen (or third basemen for that matter) and I doubt he'd give him up for anything less than a king's ransom.

I actually tried to pick up Lidge yesterday-I was about an hour too late. I have still decided to make the move though-I need a boost to get back in this, and Wright might be a big help in that.