stitchface

not to mention that prior's flaws at limiting baserunners are far less detrimental to his success than patterson's lack of control of the strike zone.

Wuertz was way overused, no doubt about it. I think he still has good potential. I'm not sure where the Cubs "rank" in developing their own arms for these roles. Do many other teams do it better? I don't know. Or do other teams go outside and pick up veteran guys to pitch the seventh and eighth innings? I don't have the research in front of me. Farnsworth certainly looked to be one of those guys, at least for a while. It should be loads of fun watching him deal with New York and all of its pressures and pleasures. We'll see how that turns out. As much of a flashpoint as Neifi has been on this board, I don't think Fontenot would have been better. That said, there is no way in the world I would have given Neifi a two year contract worth $5 million, and I told the Cubs that (they told me I was entitled to my opinion). You raise great points, concerns and questions. I wish I had better answers. Not better, but $2 million cheaper. The Angels and White Sox stand as teams that developed devastating bullpens without spending a lot of money. The Angels internally and the Sox with spare parts. Turnbow would be another good example. I can't think of too many big-name relievers who have moved as free agents and had stellar performance - Wagner would be one. Foulke in 2004. Both closers though. Its an interesting question - however, I would say that if the Cubs did this better than other teams, they would have a huge advantage given their already formidable financial standing.

I just wrote a 5 paragraph rant describing my reasons for questioning the existence of and their commitment to any sort of plan, both in the big picture and for smaller details. And I've felt this way long before the White Sox had their success. It felt good to write it down, but deleting it will probably serve to reduce the unnecessary bickering about the points within that rant. Needless to say, I think they've strayed from the plan, have completely rewritten major parts, and when all is said and done, absolutely bungled a fantastic opportunity. Without reading your rant, I am sure I agree with it goony. Of course, the Sox had seemingly also blown a golden opportunity before last year. My problem with management is that they are not leaders. They don't seem to think for themselves. They are always chasing something or following someone else's plan. Leaders don't follow - they innovate. Williams has become an innovator and he got lucky for his efforts. The cubs seem almost paralyzed by their lack of creativity and willingness to take risks.

I won't keep copying in here, but part of my frustration is with the bullpen signings and the re-signing of Rusch. I find it difficult to accept that after drafting all these arms, the Cubs aren't able to develop players who can manage these roles. Ohman is a feel good story though and I retain high hopes for Wuertz - particularly if the Cubs can get rid of Baker. Similar arguments can be made for using Fontenot instead of Perez. It almost seems as if the Cubs just don't know what to do with players once they are ready for a major league role.

I don't know if "lack of direction and planning" are fair terms, and I'm not defending them here. The Cubs made it their plan to draft a lot of pitchers over the last several years. On the major-league level this winter, it was Hendry's plan to get a leadoff hitter, pursue Furcal, upgrade the bullpen and upgrade the bench. Had he gotten Furcal, he still would have pursued Pierre. I suppose you can throw "improve fundamentals" and "catch the ball" as part of the plan, like them or not. As we know, Furcal didn't come here, but I don't think it was for lack of planning or effort or direction on the Cubs' part. He took more money over the short term with the chance to test free agency again after three years instead of five or six. We can agree or disagree with a team's plan. But the Cubs are pretty diligent about their planning. Let's remember, too, that there are 29 other teams out there and market forces at work. And if not for the 2005 success of the White Sox and their perceived good off-season, would this whole planning thing be an issue? I don't know. What's disturbing is the apparent lack of understanding of the White Sox success. But I was referring more to developing players. The Cubs haven't had much success and don't appear to be changing their gameplan with regard to players earning promotions or the types of players they draft (and I will confess I know less about this than other posters). While they have drafted lots of pitchers recently, they haven't gotten a lot of success from those pitchers in the major leagues (that may be unfair since they do have three homegrown starters) but of the recent drafts and the highly touted prospects, we have seen little in the way of production. Amongst position players, the Cubs have only Cedeno to show for player development. Murton looks like one good move but I am feeling like they may have been more lucky than good.

I think that's true - however, all indications are Eric's makeup won't let it affect his play. I also think he will weigh his personal experiences more than Corey's experiences. Had he not already signed, this might have all posed a problem.

wow, that's a big investment for a high schooler!

Is there any indication Bruce that the organization understands the mistakes they made with Corey? Or do they pretty well place the blame on his shoulders? As UK points out, they seem to be on the same path with Pie although I think Felix outperformed Corey at West Tenn. I understand if you don't want to answer this publicly but I think many of us here are concerned about the apparent lack of direction and planning with this organization.

I realize I am looking at it from my perspective. We really should look at it from Eric's. 1) Corey whined about not being promoted when he was performing in a mediocre way at AAA. There is no way he should be complaining about this although I would say it was the number one way he was mistreated. If Eric is concerned about this, he should request to meet with Fleita and discuss the organization's plans. Being older than Corey was, Eric should have a distinct advantage in maturity and perspective. 2) Corey should have just played as well as he could. Had he performed better, no one would have brought these things up. Overall, the Cubs are wrong here and again show their ignorance about baseball. Very disturbing. 3) See 2. Shouldn't have mattered to Corey. 4) He embarassed himself. I don't see how being sent down should be construed as mistreatment. Eric should be able to see that Corey wasn't getting it done. The mistake was bringing him back. 5) This isn't true. 6) Baseball is a business. He should be thankful because he will make far more money as a result of this than he would have if he was non-tendered.

Did the Cubs organization really treat Corey that poorly? I don't think they did... Yeah, the only thing Corey can really claim mistreatment from is the fans. I don't know if it qualifies as mistreatment, but he was grossly misused, and then scapegoated. He and Walker have been the Sammy and Farnsworth of 2005/2006. And in many ways, this all goes back to when Dusty inexplicably pulled him aside on the field for what looked like lesson time, after he won a game with a walkoff homer. Prior to that, he was still doing some things right. That's a good point. I don't think Eric will see it that way, but I think that's the way it is. The Cubs brought back guys like Neifi, Rusch, and others who were the real problem (not producing with too much PT) and seem to have a crusade to get rid of 2 perceived problems, at any cost, in Patterson and Walker, just like Sosa and Farnsworth before them. I really don't see any argument that Corey was mistreated. After his performance, he had no business being recalled from AAA. Whatever his fate, Corey brought it on himself with poor performance. To blame Cubs management would be ridiculous. maybe, but that may not be the way corey sees it. and i'd bet that his entire cub experience is not one he'll remember fondly. whether it's fair or not, i'd say that corey will not be leaving on good terms w/ the organization. probably, but he should buy a mirror. when he fails miserably everywhere else maybe he'll understand.

For me, I blame the Cubs for rushing him. This goes back to his amazing year in '99 at Lansing. I said at the time, he should've gone to Daytona (even for a brief stint) and worked with the best hitting instuctor in the system at the time (Zisk). He had a good, but great year at West Tenn, and despite being very young for the League, the flaws were there that are still there. To me, there's no doubt in my mind the Cubs made a mistake by rushing him. I hope they've learned their lesson with Pie, but if those reports of him being called up last year if he had not injured his ankle, scare me. At this point of his career, he is more raw after his stint at AA than Patterson was after '00 and that includes Pie going to Daytona unlike Corey. I agree with you UK, but I don't think Corey would classify that as mistreatment. This is one of the most worrisome things about Hendry and the Cubs, they seem to have no idea how they messed up with Corey and are going to repeat the same mistakes with Pie. Jim doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes.

Did the Cubs organization really treat Corey that poorly? I don't think they did... Yeah, the only thing Corey can really claim mistreatment from is the fans. I don't know if it qualifies as mistreatment, but he was grossly misused, and then scapegoated. He and Walker have been the Sammy and Farnsworth of 2005/2006. And in many ways, this all goes back to when Dusty inexplicably pulled him aside on the field for what looked like lesson time, after he won a game with a walkoff homer. Prior to that, he was still doing some things right. That's a good point. I don't think Eric will see it that way, but I think that's the way it is. The Cubs brought back guys like Neifi, Rusch, and others who were the real problem (not producing with too much PT) and seem to have a crusade to get rid of 2 perceived problems, at any cost, in Patterson and Walker, just like Sosa and Farnsworth before them. I really don't see any argument that Corey was mistreated. After his performance, he had no business being recalled from AAA. Whatever his fate, Corey brought it on himself with poor performance. To blame Cubs management would be ridiculous.

Everytime I flipped over from the USC-ASU game, dude was travelling. yea, I meant to call you and tell you to stop flipping over . . . CPatt gave me $5 to do my best to help the Spartans win. :shrug: If I had known you'd be that effective I would've given you $15 to force you to watch the whole thing. What? And miss ASU choke a 6-pt lead to USC in the last minute in Tempe? that's cute, they play basketball too?

Great, with those two available, we don't need to re-sign perez and can use the savings to go after giles!

guess I won't be buying you a beer at the WBC. :)

would be an interesting study if you expanded it a little.

Everytime I flipped over from the USC-ASU game, dude was travelling. yea, I meant to call you and tell you to stop flipping over . . .

ptbnl if tejada talks are ongoing.

I have no idea what they will do, but I think they would be crazy to not trade the pick (provided they get the kind of deal I think they would). Even a great running back has little impact to a bad team.

use 'em up and give 'em away for nothing. patterson will never be a star.

It's still winter break, that's why Assembly wasn't as loud IMO. Musberger is a human wasteland. Musburger sucks. AH just isn't that loud. Compared to the old chicago stadium at least. I was listening to the Illinois vs Arizona game from last year. The ILL-INI during one of the timeouts was amazing. It was crystal clear and so loud. Man, I wish I was at that game. That was at the United Center? I don't think I would have survived being there. Illinois vs Arizona was at Allstate Arena. Is that the old Rosemount Horizon?

Most became Cubs fans because of WGN which the Sox are on now. Yeah, I know it's trendy to like the Sox right now however some of those bandwangon fans will become hardcore fans. I doubt Chicago will ever become a Sox town however it's possible. WGN now doesn't have nearly the pull it did 20 years ago though when the cubs and braves were your only options. I don't think the limited sox games on WGN will win over too many fans.

is it just me or are there a lot of running backs going pro this year?

It's still winter break, that's why Assembly wasn't as loud IMO. Musberger is a human wasteland. Musburger sucks. AH just isn't that loud. Compared to the old chicago stadium at least. I was listening to the Illinois vs Arizona game from last year. The ILL-INI during one of the timeouts was amazing. It was crystal clear and so loud. Man, I wish I was at that game. That was at the United Center? I don't think I would have survived being there.

I wish this would just end already. And I'm sure Tejada would be happy about having to play a new position. If the Phillies get Tejada, maybe we could get them to trade us Rollins. :-k why would we want rollins?