98navigator

Link

I agree with Dempster and Marquis to the rotation and Lieber for bullpen duty. Lieber's open acceptance of a bullpen role does make Lou's decision easy. I can also see Pignatello getting Eyre's spot with Lahey being traded. Link

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080322-cubs-brian-roberts-orioles-chicago,1,5923514.story FYI, the columnist and beat reporters do not make the headlines/titles so the two can often conflict or at the very least appear inconsistent. I believe Dan McGrath, or someone on the editorial board, creates the Trib sports headlines.

He won 14 in 2003. Shhhhh, the truth doesn't matter in this thread. The point is, Wood is a sham and the Cubs are doomed. i figured i'd pull out 10 year old cliches about Wood, since that seems to be the thing to do in this thread No worries, I'm on your side. My comments were about the thread.

He won 14 in 2003. Shhhhh, the truth doesn't matter in this thread. The point is, Wood is a sham and the Cubs are doomed.

It was perfectly clear to me and many others here. Can't help it if you weren't paying attention like the rest of us. [-X [-X I simply want the Cubs to win the division, the league and the World Series this year, that's all. To put any hope on having Wood as the closer, given his history of DL stints and who knows how many games he wasn't or won't be available, is bad decision making. Again, he has ZERO saves in his career. I can't believe you're still running your mouth. In case you didn't hear, Wood pitched today. This thread was meaningless. Who cares how many saves he has in his career? I guess that means he won't ever get any... That is a ridiculous argument.

Blah, bah, blah, Kerry's hurt... This is silliness. After all this talk, The Score is now saying he's fine and will probably pitch today. I heard Scott Eyre on the Boers & Bernstein show yesterday talking about the pitchers using sledge hammers on Tim Buss' car; it wouldn't surprise me if that's how he tweaked it... Of course, he's had a bad back for years and it's never put him on the DL. podcast

What? That's what Lou said. He didn't want Kerry to sit on the bus and get a stiff back (that is, if he'd pitched in the first game of yesterday's double header). The question was about Wood potentially pitching in game 2. It was a split squad game. It wasn't a doubleheader, and nobody played in both games. The more established vets typically play in the home game, where Wood could have pitched if he was fine. I agree with the general sentiment of your post, but there was no way Wood was getting on a bus and potentially pitching in the 2nd game of a DH. The bus ride was about the game on Friday. They didn't want him pitching Thursday, then driving Friday and pitching again. I heard Lou say, on a sport update yesterday, that he didn't want Kerry to pitch and then ride the bus afterwards so I thought he was talking about the games yesterday. The idea that he might pitch in the next game was not clear but I know he allowed him to do so last season. Anyway, I just looked it up in the Suntimes and it was indeed for Friday. My point still remains that I'm not concerned about a stiff back. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/852305,CST-SPT-cub20.article

What? That's what Lou said. He didn't want Kerry to sit on the bus and get a stiff back (that is, if he'd pitched in the first game of yesterday's double header).

Lou says he can't pitch until Saturday at the earliest. 11 trips to the DL indicates a history to me. Let me know when you see the light. Wow, this is brilliant. Name one trip to the DL from a back ailment! You can't so stop trying to blow this up. I forgot about the day-night double header yesterday. They didn't want him to pitch then sit on a bus and get stiff again before possibly pitching in the second game so they've decided to wait. Again, you're comments are nothing more than an attempt to chicken little the board.

The amount is actually $4.5 million but it's still unconfirmed...

Per The Score. If this is true, it shows Kenny Williams is stupid because they just gave him $4MM this offseason. edit: now they're saying they never put him on the list.

It's a stiff back. The Cubs haven't ruled out his appearance tomorrow so I don't see the big deal at this point. The Score is making this into more than it is right now (as they always seem to do).

Comparing DeRosa's situation to the "average person at XYZ company" isn't really fair. The average person at XYZ isn't a public persona with interview requests and reporters following him daily. You are correct that voicing publicly the things DeRosa has said wouldn't go over well in the public world. I could get into a lot of trouble if I talked about every frustration I had with the media and then those frustrations were made public. On the other hand, I can't recall the last time anyone in the media, print or radio, ever gave a rat's ass about my complaints about my job, so for that reason I can bitch and moan to a few co-workers or my wife and leave it at that. On the other hand, if I were constantly on the radio or being asked about it by a journalist, from time to time, especially if I'm an open person that frequently shoots in a straight-forward manner, I'd probably say things that discretion says would better be left unsaid. You're taking the comment out of context. The previous poster asked me to relate DeRosa's situation to having worked on a career for a long time only to hear your boss is considering an upgrade. It happens. Also, I wasn't talking about the media in my XYZ Company example (which is why I switched gears to the media in the second paragraph). I was talking about outward frustration in the office--which can be related to this situation. Again, DeRosa isn't the type of player who will prevent a team from making a move. He's essentially been a career role player so he should know better than giving the media any fodder for columns (as it relates to the possibility of losing a starting role). He explained his position very well at the Cubs Convention and nothing else really needs to be said.

I'd like to see the quotes because it sounds unprofessional. He has a job to do. If he doesn't like the rumors he can elect to not answer questions about them (and stop reading the latest gossip as he has confessed to in the past). Yeah, stop being human, DeRosa! He can be human on his own time. He has a job to do. Allegedly making excuses about the trade rumors disturbing him, especially after saying as recent as last week that he wouldn't, is just stupid. He should keep those comments to himself. He's actually having a pretty decent spring, I think he's hitting about .294 and has an obp somwhere around .400. So I don't know that he's making excuses, because there is nothing to make excuses for. It's not like he's having the kind of spring like, oh, I don't know, Derrek Lee? He's not hitting below the Mendoza line. It doesn't matter. He should remain diplomatic about the whole thing. Roberts may well show up in the next two weeks; there's no reason for DeRosa, or any other player, to start talking about distractions. That's something a manager does to help deflect for the team (which Lou did for the younger players). I like DeRosa but he isn't the type of player who prevents a team from making a move. If the Cubs get Roberts, he will have to deal with it and be a backup. I'm sure DeRo can handle it, which is why I don't like hearing dissension this close to the end of Spring (when the trade could be coming close to fruition). He should just remain cool and not be baited by reporters. Let's say you have a career, a career you have been working at since you were 5 years old, training and working your tail off, giving it everything you have. Now let's say that your boss has gone publicly back and forth for 4 months saying that he wants to replace you. If I asked you how that made you feel and you said that you were alright with that, I would question your heart. I like the fact that DeRo hasn't come out and said that he's fine with being a bench player. He believes in his abilities and wants to play. That's called being competitive. If he had rolled over and said he hopes they get Roberts, a lot of people would be on this board saying he's soft, he doesn't have the desire to play. So if anything I'm glad that he would come out and say that of course he wants to play everyday, and the talks are a little bit of a distraction. The average person, at XYZ company, would keep his/her mouth shut. I am not denying human frustration its the public display that's unacceptable. There are many ways to view this situation but from a management standpoint; you can't have people outwardly chirping about how unhappy/uncomfortable they are about the current situation (that's something that should be addressed behind closed doors). In this case, the situation with the Cubs is still fluid. As we all know, there is still a chance Roberts will be added in the next two weeks. It wouldn't be wise for DeRo, or anyone else, to start giving the media reasons to report on problems. Should Roberts arrive, the media will definitely stick a microphone in DeRosa's face and ask him to react to the current situation and to his own previous comments. I think that is a greater risk than the Cubs still having this cloud over them in April...

Lou identified it was a distraction for the younger players like Cedeno and Gallagher. The talks have come this far, there's no reason to suddenly halt things. The truth is, the Roberts trade is only part of what should/could be done. Something is going to have to happen with the pitching staff as well because they have too many starters. It's apparent that some last minute moves will be made. This is an unusual offseason in general, not just for the Cubs, because other teams are also looking to make last minute moves like the Angels, Boston, and the White Sox to name a few.

I'd like to see the quotes because it sounds unprofessional. He has a job to do. If he doesn't like the rumors he can elect to not answer questions about them (and stop reading the latest gossip as he has confessed to in the past). Yeah, stop being human, DeRosa! He can be human on his own time. He has a job to do. Allegedly making excuses about the trade rumors disturbing him, especially after saying as recent as last week that he wouldn't, is just stupid. He should keep those comments to himself. He's actually having a pretty decent spring, I think he's hitting about .294 and has an obp somwhere around .400. So I don't know that he's making excuses, because there is nothing to make excuses for. It's not like he's having the kind of spring like, oh, I don't know, Derrek Lee? He's not hitting below the Mendoza line. It doesn't matter. He should remain diplomatic about the whole thing. Roberts may well show up in the next two weeks; there's no reason for DeRosa, or any other player, to start talking about distractions. That's something a manager does to help deflect for the team (which Lou did for the younger players). I like DeRosa but he isn't the type of player who prevents a team from making a move. If the Cubs get Roberts, he will have to deal with it and be a backup. I'm sure DeRo can handle it, which is why I don't like hearing dissension this close to the end of Spring (when the trade could be coming close to fruition). He should just remain cool and not be baited by reporters.

I'd like to see the quotes because it sounds unprofessional. He has a job to do. If he doesn't like the rumors he can elect to not answer questions about them (and stop reading the latest gossip as he has confessed to in the past). Yeah, stop being human, DeRosa! He can be human on his own time. He has a job to do. Allegedly making excuses about the trade rumors disturbing him, especially after saying as recent as last week that he wouldn't, is just stupid. He should keep those comments to himself.

I'd like to see the quotes because it sounds unprofessional. He has a job to do. If he doesn't like the rumors he can elect to not answer questions about them (and stop reading the latest gossip as he has confessed to in the past).

The problem with that, absent trading Cedeno, is he is out of options so the Cubs may be forced to keep him on the roster or lose him...

I just discovered that this game is on Comcast Sportsnet (originally my listing said a White Sox game was scheduled)!

From what I understand, the State owns US Cellular Field. I do not want this deal to be consummated because it is to the benefit of the future owner(s) of the Cubs, and Cubs fans, that Wrigley Field and the team be sold together. The new owner(s) will have the ability to maximize income streams without being hamstrung by a 30 year State lease in addition to the other longterm television and radio leases that have already been put into place. However, I agree that the deal being "on life support" does not mean that it is dead.

Giving Fukudome a few starts in CF, during Spring Training, is an insurance policy against the Cubs not being able to get the backup CF they want. They will have no backup CF once Fuld is sent to AAA. Cedeno was suppose to fill that role, in the event that both trades (for Roberts and a second bench guy or platoon partner for Pie) didn't come to pass. However, Lou is now giving hints that Cedeno's injuries have elimanted his outfield chances and put him behind Fontenot, Cintron, and Patterson for an infield job. Of course, the Cubs may be forced to keep him on the the bench if they can't trade him because he's out of options. I think Lou is considering the possibility of keeping Hoffpauir's LH bat for a corner outfield bench role (specifically for RF when Fukudome is resting or on the days when he might play CF). Hoffpauir has played in every Spring game for a reason... If Ward were more mobile, Lou would be inclined to use him out there but I think DWard will get more starts subbing for DLee than Fuk (considering I read that Ward got some understanding that he'd have more starts this year). Also, I see Fontenot pushing out Cintron for the infield reserve spot (heck, they might keep them both unless, the Cubs finally do get Roberts and are forced to take Payton as well). Starting pitchers: 1. Zambrano 2. Lilly 3. Dempster 4. Hill 5. Lieber Bullpen: 6. Lahey 7. Eyre 8. Wuertz 9. Hart 10. Marmol 11. Howry 12. Wood Starting Hitters: 13. Soto 14. Lee 15. DeRosa 16. Ramirez 17. Theriot 18. Fukudome 19. Pie 20. Soriano Bench: 21. Ward 22. Murton/Hoffpauir 23. Fontenot 24. Blanco 25. Cedeno/Cintron/Patterson If the Cubs can't get a few trades completed in the next 2 weeks, Marquis will be the fifth starter and Lieber will be in the bullpen (sending Lahey back to the Twins). Cedeno and Murton will be on the bench with Marshall, Fontenot, Hoffpauir, and Patterson all returning to the minors (Cintron will be released unless he agrees to AAA).

Welcome :)

Yeah, I was just about to say; I thought the O's were going to sign him?