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I think the key point that you are missing is that you are assuming Hendry values players at the same level you do. And you know that just isnt true. While we think Izturis is a crap return, Hendry values Izturis way more than we do and thought he was bringing back something good. Which would actually be much worse than if he just was unable to get a decent player in return for him. I think it is probably a combination of both. Hendry likely overvalues Izturis, but I doubt that anyone was about to give up serious talent for mediocre pitcher in his 40's. We certainly have no evidence that some GM was considering it. Yeah, the reports coming out the day or two before the deadline was that there was mild interest in Maddux, but nobody was going really hard after him.

Maybe so, but the sad thing is that Izturis will still most likely be an upgrade both offensively and defensively over the Cubs SS's in 2006. Edit: Another thing-the fact that people who are watching Izturis in spring training and are "raving" about his defensive skills, including apparently Bruce, tells me that he hasn't lost that much if at at all from the injuries defensively. How he responds with the bat, and if he continues his offensive progression before the injuries will be the big key.

Uh oh-Thomas is sounding more and more like Gallery :D

I share that optimism, even if cautiously so. Lou seems genuinely to believe this is as much talent as he's had as a manager. I'm confident he'll put productive lineups together. The health of the pitching staff will determine much as will Ted Lilly being able to throw innings and keep the ball down and Jason Marquis to bounce back. I'm not among those counting Marquis out. I gues spring training really is a time of optimism. Bruce, heard you on the radio this morning raving about Izturis's defense. How valuable do you think that will be for this staff? since neifi is rated similar defensively, i doubt that it will be a big enough improvement to really be noticed. that goes for cedeno as well. just my 2 cents. Are you implying that Cedeno played well defensively last year? I would definitely disagree with that if you were. I think he has more defensive potential then he showed last year, but he struggled there for long stretches of time. Ronny made some brilliant plays last season, but the routine stuff gave him problems. He has the potential to be very much above average defensively at SS. The skills are there. The consistency is not. I would definitely agree that Ronny has the talent to be excellent defensively if he could just improve his consistency. i'm saying that defense is not going to be a problem, nor was it last year, so it's not worth discussing, imo. I think defense at SS was a problem last year, and I think it will be a big upgrade this year. How much impact will that have on the team? I honestly don't know.

I share that optimism, even if cautiously so. Lou seems genuinely to believe this is as much talent as he's had as a manager. I'm confident he'll put productive lineups together. The health of the pitching staff will determine much as will Ted Lilly being able to throw innings and keep the ball down and Jason Marquis to bounce back. I'm not among those counting Marquis out. I gues spring training really is a time of optimism. Bruce, heard you on the radio this morning raving about Izturis's defense. How valuable do you think that will be for this staff? since neifi is rated similar defensively, i doubt that it will be a big enough improvement to really be noticed. that goes for cedeno as well. just my 2 cents. Are you implying that Cedeno played well defensively last year? I would definitely disagree with that if you were. I think he has more defensive potential then he showed last year, but he struggled there for long stretches of time. Ronny made some brilliant plays last season, but the routine stuff gave him problems. He has the potential to be very much above average defensively at SS. The skills are there. The consistency is not. I would definitely agree that Ronny has the talent to be excellent defensively if he could just improve his consistency.

I was browsing around, and found somebody speaking about The Fielding Bible on a website. They threw out this statistic from it that simply amazed me and made me wonder at the same time: The 2006 Cubs were above average in outfield arms last year? :shock: http://mvn.com/mlb-cubs/2007/01/04/ten-things-ive-learned-from-the-hardball-times-2007-annual/

I share that optimism, even if cautiously so. Lou seems genuinely to believe this is as much talent as he's had as a manager. I'm confident he'll put productive lineups together. The health of the pitching staff will determine much as will Ted Lilly being able to throw innings and keep the ball down and Jason Marquis to bounce back. I'm not among those counting Marquis out. I gues spring training really is a time of optimism. Bruce, heard you on the radio this morning raving about Izturis's defense. How valuable do you think that will be for this staff? since neifi is rated similar defensively, i doubt that it will be a big enough improvement to really be noticed. that goes for cedeno as well. just my 2 cents. Are you implying that Cedeno played well defensively last year? I would definitely disagree with that if you were. I think he has more defensive potential then he showed last year, but he struggled there for long stretches of time.

Thanks for the warning :D Seriously though, I think the most likely option is that since he's working on his mechanics a little bit, they want to give him some extra time to throw to live batters without the supposed "flaw", and also give them more information against live hitters for them to evaluate.

I think Lilly's going to need a long man more than Marquis-even last year, when Lilly was much better than Marquis, Lilly got pulled before the end of 5 innings 5 times, while Marquis only got pulled 3 times. In 2005, Marquis got pulled 5 times before 5 innings were completed, and Lilly got pulled 8 times. Twice Marquis got left in and lasted 5 innings to save the pen. At the very least he should have been pulled before 5 innings 5 times. That's true-I actually was going to note that as well, but forgot while writing the post. Thanks for the help!

I think Lilly's going to need a long man more than Marquis-even last year, when Lilly was much better than Marquis, Lilly got pulled before the end of 5 innings 5 times, while Marquis only got pulled 3 times. In 2005, Marquis got pulled 5 times before 5 innings were completed, and Lilly got pulled 8 times.

I disagree. Look at who they have brought in...Izturis, Soriano, and DeRosa. Izturis is ALL glove. Soriano was above average in LF last year and that was just his first year in the OF. I'm not sure of DeRosa's metrics, but I believe he's been just fine and can play a lot of positions usually which shows defensive proficiency. Its not like we brought in Adam Dunn or anything. For it to be Hendry's philosophy though, he would have to be bringing in people to fit his notion of good defense-I doubt he's putting that much value in defensive metrics. Izturis I agree with you about-Soriano was seen as average around the league, and he's moving to a new position. DeRosa's reputation is that of an average or above average defender. You forgot the 4th person though-Cliff Floyd. The more Floyd plays in the OF, the more the OF defense is going to suffer because of it. If you look around at many of the people writing articles, they all are saying that the Cubs are going to suffer defensively-could they be wrong? Sure-but their method of judging defense is likely the same one as Hendry's, and so he wouldn't put a team out there with this bad of a reputation defensively if he really wanted a team that could "catch the ball"

Wood was most effective when he did this. He'd induce easy grounders early in the count instead of getting a true outcome going deep into counts. Some of Priors really bad games were when he was flirting with the black the entire game. If you are getting the calls you are unhittable, but if you arent you need to ADAPT and start making the other team put the ball into play. If we are going to care so much about getting guys who can "catch the ball", we might as well try and get our pitchers to actually make a ball get in play. Well, from the looks of most of our defenders this year, I'm pretty sure that they have abandonded the "catch the ball" philosophy-considering that only 2 defenders on the squad are considered to be considerably above average, and then you have the outfield defense, which will likely be one of if not the worst outfield defense in the entire league.

Right, and I'm also not the programming director for the MLB channel. I'm sure they'll do shows on baseball legends and all the other stuff that NFL network does. But you're sort of making my point. The MLB network is going to be somewhat unremarkable, so why won't cable just put it in the basic package? Why try to make their customers pay more for something that isn't that great, and in doing so, cost yourself the revenue from EI? It's horrible business sense from cable Each channel has it's own fee per subscriber I know the NFL Network's fee is incredibly high for a cable channel (they want 70 cents from every subscriber, which would make it one of the priciest cable channels out there), and if MLB's network is the same way, than basically cable operators might have to raise everyone's basic cable bill by a dollar in order to make up for what putting those networks on what cost them. Since such a low percentage of people would want those channels, the backlash would be enormous on cable bills going up for what most people would see as a "worthless channel". They are only putting it on a special package because then the people who want it can pay the extra large fee for it . MLB wants it on the basic package because then they get that subscriber fee from every single person who has cable. Edit: Basically, to sum up what I'm saying is that it only makes sense for cable to add these channels if there is enough popular demand for them. A large percentage of their consumer base would have to beg for them (which is why the NFL network tried to put games on it so that enough people would complain) in order to justify the higher bill for everybody. As you said though, this channel will likely not be remarkable, so it makes no sense for cable to make everyone pay a higher bill for a bad channel.

Yeah, unless they upgrade that offensive line I can't see any QB succeeding there-I doubt they will able to be trade down (the #1 pick is usually seen as too expensive unless there is a sure-fire person at the top) but they do need to build the line through either later picks or free agency.

That's pretty silly to say, though your definition of "that good" needsclarification. regardless... A. the Big XII is only ten years old. B. In that short time, it's posted 5 final four teams. (KU twice, OU, OK State, Texas) C. This year it has two legit FF contenders and one darkhorse. D. Texas and KU look to be consistent FF threats with aTm and KSU on the rise. OU and OSU are always threats to be good teams. That's true-I think the Big XII is at its best point that it has been in quite a while (thinking about the Big XII teams even before they joined the conference). Now, the number of titles that the Big XII teams have won in the last 50 years-that's an amazing statistic for a power conference. Does anybody know how many it is? 1? Yup-Kansas, 1988 (although I'm sure you knew that part at least :D) that statistic is still absoutely amazing to me even when I do realize that most of the schools in the Big XII have not been basketball powers for long. I'm sure that statistic will add at least 1 or 2 more in the next 10 years though.

If I'm an NFL GM and he's not working out after his recent slide, it makes me think he's got something to hide. This could cost him lots of money, but I guess if he slides he'll end up going to a better overall team most likely. I don't think so-this happens with top prospects all the time. Jamarcus Russell is not working out at the combine either. Russell's stock has been rising though. He had an excellent performance at the absolute right time, and also has the strongest arm in the draft. The hype machine is doing all of the work for him, his value is probably maxed out right now with him being a probably #1 pick. Quinn's stock on the other hand has had the bottom fall out of it. At one time he as thought of as the top player in the class, and while he is in no danger of losing the #2 QB ranking, he is in danger of losing a large sum of money. The difference in salary for the top 2 QB's from last year is almost $1million per season over the next 6 years. And that was only a difference of 7 picks plus both still went in the top ten. If Russell goes #1, the Browns take AD, and the Dolphins feel comfortable with Culpepper then Quinn could easily fall to Carolina at 14 barring a trade-up. True, but for QB's, individual workouts mean a lot more than the workouts at the combine. I know for example that VY skipped the combine last year (with the danger of VY slipping pretty far if he got past the Titans) and it worked out for him. If Quinn falls, which I think it is likely that he, I don't see how the combine is likely to make a difference in convincing teams of anything that his college career and individual workouts do not tell them.

That's pretty silly to say, though your definition of "that good" needsclarification. regardless... A. the Big XII is only ten years old. B. In that short time, it's posted 5 final four teams. (KU twice, OU, OK State, Texas) C. This year it has two legit FF contenders and one darkhorse. D. Texas and KU look to be consistent FF threats with aTm and KSU on the rise. OU and OSU are always threats to be good teams. That's true-I think the Big XII is at its best point that it has been in quite a while (thinking about the Big XII teams even before they joined the conference). Now, the number of titles that the Big XII teams have won in the last 50 years-that's an amazing statistic for a power conference. Does anybody know how many it is?

If I'm an NFL GM and he's not working out after his recent slide, it makes me think he's got something to hide. This could cost him lots of money, but I guess if he slides he'll end up going to a better overall team most likely. I don't think so-this happens with top prospects all the time. Jamarcus Russell is not working out at the combine either.

Uh, what? I know it's not your fault Vance (you just copied it), but that author who wrote that must have made a typo somewhere. If TB called heads, and it came heads, how did they not win the third pick? One of those facts must be wrong.

Just because someone is offering you crap in return for a dependable arm, doesn't mean you have to accept the offer. An overpaid, arthritic, part time, utility infielder is a crap player and nowhere near the value of a pitching arm for a team attempting to make the playoffs. Neifi Perez at 2.5m and Glendon Rusch at 2.5m or Nomar at 5m. I'll take Nomar every time. It would have prevented Glendon from ever stepping on the mound, and it would have prevented Neifi from getting more at bats at the top of the order. And honestly, can we really complain about Nomar's sidearm throwing angle after watching Juan Pierre's girly arm and Jacque Jones' pathetic release point in two of the three outfield spots last year? Probably wouldn't have mattered whether we had Nomar last year or not. The team was still going to be lousy with or without him, and I have zero faith Hendry could have gotten anymore out of Nomar at the trade deadline than Maicer Izturis, Cesar's brother. I agree with the rest of your argument, but Nomar wouldn't have replaced Glendon and Neifi-he would have replaced Jacque Jones instead. I don't know who I would rather have had-Nomar was the better player when he was in there (although if Jacque had been used at least somewhat correctly it would have been close), but Nomar also missed a decent part of the season again even playing first. Knowing what we do now about last year, I'd still probably take Jacque over Nomar because of the health issue (Nomar might have been hurt worse in RF, and even if he got hurt the same amount, he would have missed more games trying to get back into playing RF with those leg injuries than he did where he was able to play first).

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-070222bears,1,6045629.story?coll=cs-home-headlines With his playoff performance, maybe we can get a 2nd rounder for Jones. I'd be amazed if Thomas Jones fetched a 2nd rounder-the Colts couldn't even get a 2nd rounder for Edgerrin a couple years back, and neither could the Seahawks for Alexander. Maybe the market for runningbacks has changed dramatically since then, but I don't think so-it seems like there's even more teams with set runningbacks now then ever before. I doubt they'd get a second but stranger things have happened. The Jets gave a second for Doug fricken Jolly. Well, when you bring that example up, I don't think I can argue with that one at all-you're definitely right, stranger things have happened :D

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-070222bears,1,6045629.story?coll=cs-home-headlines With his playoff performance, maybe we can get a 2nd rounder for Jones. I'd be amazed if Thomas Jones fetched a 2nd rounder-the Colts couldn't even get a 2nd rounder for Edgerrin a couple years back, and neither could the Seahawks for Alexander. Maybe the market for runningbacks has changed dramatically since then, but I don't think so-it seems like there's even more teams with set runningbacks now then ever before.

Chase Utley makes a heck of a lot more than the minimum. Anyways, that just goes to show you how easy it's been for teams to find cheap 2B talent. No need to pay big for such modest production. Which makes the time Neifi spent at second base even more incomprehensible. Well, I guess the only thing I can say is that they didn't expect Neifi to be playing 2B very much-they thought they had their starter there, and they didn't anticipate their starter at second moving to first in the middle of the season when second base help is not nearly as easy to find. From a production standpoint, Neifi has no buisiness on a ML club. He's hung around becuase he has a good glove and can play more than one position. He's also really likable. He talks to everyone fans, scouts, players from other teams, his own teammates. He always has a smile on his face and he hustles. I don't mean that in a bad way either. He's good guy. He talked to me for about 20 minutes in Pittsburgh after I approached him and scout during batting practice. In Chicago, I've seen him play with young children before the game on several occasions. He's very likeable. In baseball once you're in you're in unless you have a reputation as difficult to get along with. Which brings me to Todd Walker. Walker has bounced around a lot and is the mirror image of Neifi. He's moderately productive but doesn't seem to get along well with others. I haven't personally met Walker so I am basing this on what I've read. I would agree with all of that-I was just saying that the abundance of 2B talent and signing Neifi had little to with each other, since Neifi was primarily signed to cover short if they needed him again like they did in 05. Earlier in his career, Neifi belonged on a major league roster-now, he might have the talent to be on the very end of some roster, but certainly not at the money he's making.

Chase Utley makes a heck of a lot more than the minimum. Anyways, that just goes to show you how easy it's been for teams to find cheap 2B talent. No need to pay big for such modest production. Which makes the time Neifi spent at second base even more incomprehensible. Well, I guess the only thing I can say is that they didn't expect Neifi to be playing 2B very much-they thought they had their starter there, and they didn't anticipate their starter at second moving to first in the middle of the season when second base help is not nearly as easy to find.

Depends on why he had the bad spring (injury, couldn't locate his offspeed because it's AZ or what). I think he deserves quite some leeway after his second half last season. It would take an absolutely shocking meltdown this spring for me to even consider taking Hill out of the rotation. I mean like Rick Ankiel territory. Agreed-he's got a longer leash than spring training can break. A bad spring training would shorten that leash for the season, but I can't see him not making it out of spring for me at least.