stitchface

I imagine if none of your students learn anything, you will be fired. I was mostly joking anyway but I don't see a whole lot of results from Rothschild that makes me think he would be missed if he left.

please name one cub pitcher who has improved under rothschild's tutelage? please explain why the bullpen is gruesomely mismanaged under Rothschild. He may be the greatest teacher in the world but I don't see any positive results. I continue to see young pitcher after young pitcher make no progress or regress under Rothschild.

I was kidding Cuse but really the bottomline is the moves the cubs make.

he'd be better than neifi.

Well, maybe he could do as little as he does now and be an improvement on dusty.

I agree and I think Dusty is a very tough read for many writers when it comes to his antidotes and explanations. I wish we had the antidote for Dusty-poisoning. Do you really think the Cubs will hire a manager with no experience? I am afraid to say Fredi's availability may be a moot point. The Cubs interviewed Machia (no manager experience) from Oakland when they had an opening so I don't see why they wouldn't do so again. I kind of fell that Hendry was overwhelmed when Baker became free and fell in love with the idea of Baker being the manager. Hey, I was pretty excited about it at the time too. Sure, they'll interview him. They won't hire him. Macha is not a very good manager anyway from what I can tell. Most A's fans I know don't like him at all.

heh, hughes looks closely at BA, HR and rbis, huh? just kidding.

I agree and I think Dusty is a very tough read for many writers when it comes to his antidotes and explanations. I wish we had the antidote for Dusty-poisoning. Do you really think the Cubs will hire a manager with no experience? I am afraid to say Fredi's availability may be a moot point.

ouch for the NL Central as they won't get to beat the snot out of him as frequently.

not to mention the fact that Bon jour is 2 words, no? non.

so you started a new thread to complain about too many threads?

You have Manny playing RF?

holy crap, all he said was the big ten would be competitive. You can make excuses for bad losses but no matter what you come up with, they indicate these teams are less than dominant.

I'm sure when there is new news, there will be a new thread.

That would leave the rotation awfully thin with no money sign anyone. I don't see why you would make that deal CFC. Mulder is a solid starter (though you don't seem to like him).

If Tejada is a Cub AND Walker stays to play 2nd, then I could definitely live with Corey and hope he pans out in right. I think this would largely negate the impact of getting Tejada. The enticing thing about Miggy is that you have production 1-8 in the lineup. Putting Corey in RF takes that away. I could live with a Burnitz type out there although I would still prefer Bradley or a high OBP option.

Pretty much. We're more likely to have to give up Cedeno than Pie anyway, because Baltimore doesn't have an in-house SS option unless they move Roberts over there, in which case Walker would be on the table instead of Cedeno. If Walker were traded to the Os, then the Cubs will have trouble signing any veteran free agents as long as Hendry is GM. EPatt would be a better choice to trade if Roberts were to move to SS. I don't think so - if Walker wanted an NTC, he should have asked for it. I don't think trading Walker will have any impact on the Cubs ability to sign FAs. Not that we are very good at it anyway.

maybe miggy isn't such a horrible person. from ESPN.com "I think he is right," Mora told the newspaper from Puerto Rico, where he is vacationing. "He says what he feels and that's pretty much what has happened. You let people go like nothing and you do nothing to help this club. And he wants to go someplace to compete. I don't blame him. We want [the front office] to do something."

I think they could get Abreu or Tejada. It's just not likely. If they want to give up Zambrano or Prior, which isn't going to happen. For what we are offering (Walker, Williams, Patterson, Welly, Novoa, etc.), I repeat anyone who thinks the Cubs have a shot at Manny, Abreu, Dunn, or Tejada is delusional. I'm not sure I understand how anyone could stand to cheer for this team without being delusional.

I think the 40 page Bobby Howry thread was out of control. There have been hundreds (guess) of pages on Dunn with no basis for fact. How is this any different? In any case, none of it has any bearing on what actually happens, so what difference does it make? I apologize if that's not what you are getting at nolan, but I'm getting a little tired of hearing people say "Don't propose Dunn trades, it will never happen." So what? Who cares? This is an interesting philosophical discussion so whether it could happen or not is pretty irrelevant. I just think these threads are an excuse for members to argue with each other for absolutely no reason cause he won't be a cub. If you want to argue, argue about REAL POTENTIAL MOVES, OR MOVES WEVE ALREADY MADE. Why? Most of the Cubs REAL moves are pretty uninspiring. I'll never climb mount everest but I still like to read about people who do.

I think the 40 page Bobby Howry thread was out of control. There have been hundreds (guess) of pages on Dunn with no basis for fact. How is this any different? In any case, none of it has any bearing on what actually happens, so what difference does it make? I apologize if that's not what you are getting at nolan, but I'm getting a little tired of hearing people say "Don't propose Dunn trades, it will never happen." So what? Who cares? This is an interesting philosophical discussion so whether it could happen or not is pretty irrelevant.

How much $ would the Cubs have left after the deal? And now is where I regret my laziness in updating my contract info. Quick and (definitely) dirty calculation says that they would have about 12 million to fill RF, a SP if Z/Prior/Wood/Maddux/Rusch isn't good enough for you, and the remainder of the bullpen and bench(Everyone except those that have guaranteed contracts) Sounds good to me. Washburn for $8 leaves you $4 million! :D I don't think the cubs payroll is a dead set maximum though. Suggestion: If you aren't interested in the thread, don't read it. Why does it bother you that other people want to discuss the topic? Also, what on earth makes you think you can't predict prospects success? If that were the case, why not trade everyone since they all have the same odds of being successful?

why is his being 30 a problem? He'll be 34 when the contract runs out - times out pretty well if you ask me. Why not get a player in his prime? I think the options are there to fill RF and SP. Seriosuly, who are you going to trade for to play RF anywy? There isn't much there. You made it about Rusch because you are trying to avoid him pitching. Well, if you don't want him pitching, don't sign him. At this point, he will be pitching for the Cubs. So if you can improve the offense, by all means do it. I don't see how we're crippled. Wilkerson or bradley is not exactly a world beater in RF so how much worse are we really going to be. You can go get Washburn or Millwood to solidify the rotation.

They should be though because they will never overtake NY or Boston with their core. None of those guys you list CPatt, Hill, Williams, Pie, Cedeno is likely to ever be a difference maker. Tejada is for 2006. Normally I agree with you but I think you are crazy if you pass up a chance to win in 2006 to keep those four. Oh I agree, I think the O'sshould be in dump mode - I just don't think they see it that way. If I were the Cubs I'd pull the trigger. even if they were in dump mode, I don't think those prospects would generate enough excitement. Only Pie has star potential and that seems pretty unlikely at this point (I hold out hope given his age).

The point is that we shouldn't be saying "get this guy, no matter the cost" when he's going to give you an .850 OPS, average at best defense, and is about to leave his prime for 4/50. I won't literally give up the entire farm. And I'd try my best to hold onto my best guys. But I give up a heck of a lot to get Tejada. I agree, I'd like to get Tejada too. However, a multitude of people in this thread are saying what I said above, or more specific deals like Pie, Hill, Williams, and Cedeno, maybe more. That sort of thing would cripple us, as I outlined earlier in the thread. I wouldn't start at that package, but if forced I'd probably do it, maybe minus one guy and do not think it would cripple us. Pierre is here for the long haul and Pie is no corner OF. Cedeno would have no purpose. None of these guys is likely to be as good at his job as Tejada is. The window is closing and all of them have backup in the system. Cedeno could move to 2nd, but EPatt is right behind and just as capable. This makes the Cubs better in the short-term (at least 2 years) and when that 3rd year comes up there would be multiple guys available who could be just as capable of filling in where those prospects would be expected to. My deal with that trade is that it now forces us to use Rusch as a starter, and now Wellemeyer and Guzman are our only conceivable options to back up the rotation. Plus, we have 12 million fewer to use on the sparse FA market, and aside from Guzman and Ryu, we have nothing to trade that's close to Major League ready. I don't think that makes us so much better that it's worth hampering us so much. washburn and millwood are both still out there. To not make this deal to avoid using rusch is just piling stupidity upon stupidity (the initial stupidity being signing rusch in the first place). Rusch is going to pitch for the cubs this year so you might as well improve the offense.