Backtobanks

The number of those contracts handed out by Hendry lately has been nearly nil. We are filling the bench with young players and cheap veterans. The bullpen is almost entirely home grown at this point. Grabow is really the only bad role player contract on the team right now and I wouldn't be surprised if he's shipped off before the end of the season to be replaced internally. Koyie Hill could be considered a bad contract, but it's probably better to have Castillo in the minors getting ab's anyway. And I have a feeling that with the glut of serviceable backup C's in the upper levels of the minors, Koyie's tenure with the team won't last all that much longer, anyway. A lot of the traditional criticisms of Hendry have been addressed the past few years. The plan for next year is pretty easy: put Pujols at 1B, a placeholder at 3B if Aramis doesn't pick up the pace and put Brett Jackson in the OF in Kosuke's role. The bullpen is pretty well set already, but Chris Carpenter will take Grabow's place and be another realistic late inning option. The big question is Dempster's spot in the rotation. We should have enough money to go out and sign a starter in addition to bringing in Pujols, but McNutt might also be ready for the role at that point. We should also have the assets to make a bold move for someone like King Felix if Seattle decides to shop him. Frankly, I wouldn't mind extending Hendry at this point to a very modest extension - say, 1-2 years - and letting him continue the current process. I certainly wouldn't mind a new GM, either, but I'd be very nervous about the hire. I'd also be nervous about it impacting the signing of Pujols or Prince, which is easily the most important thing this team has to get done in the next few years. You have to be kidding. Two more years just because the next guy may be worse? Fear is a terrible way to run a business. By this rationale we may as well keep the FO intact forever. You obviously didn't comprehend the post if that's what you got out of it. 1) Hendry has corrected many of his past faults 2) He has the team well positioned to be elite with the addition of a Pujols or Fielder 3) This offseason has that one critical transaction that I don't want interrupted due to a change in leadership 4) LASTLY, I'm concerned that with Hendry correcting many of the faults that previously led him astray, the next GM would be worse than the one we have. If you don't feel this is a concern, can you name a surefire elite GM who is available for hire? Tim, I enjoyed your posts because they explained everything in a calm, rational manner instead of the posters who are blinded by hate for Hendry. As for the posters who wonder what a low-budget GM (Beane or Moore) could do with Hendry's budget, they might be surprised to find that their strength might come from finding value in players to produce in a low expectation, small market city and not in a high expectation, major market, media driven city.

It does crack me up that for all of the "Hendry hate", the bottom line is Hendry is somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to GMs. As you stated, the results have wildly fluctuated. His weaknesses start with spending money on secondary players and following the advice of his managers too often. Hendry has always pushed for developing a better farm system and promoting through the farm system, but Chicago (Tribune, fans, and media) push for immediate results. It's the nature of the job to be criticized for every move you make or don't make. All of the discussion over the years about all of the brilliant GMs that could work miracles with Hendry's budget are just opinion since there's no way of proving it. As others have posted, Hendry has raised the expectation level, but failed to deliver. If Ricketts decides to fire him, hopefully it will be for a better GM and not one that's worse (Coletti).

From MLBTR: The Cubs released catcher Max Ramirez, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports (on Twitter). The 26-year-old backstop is a free agent after a turbulent year that has seen him claimed off of waivers twice. The Red Sox claimed Ramirez in January after coveting him for years. Five days later, they exposed him to waivers and the Cubs claimed him. Once a highly regarded prospect, Ramirez hit just .235/.300/.353 in 40 plate appearances at Triple-A Iowa. It's far from his career minor league line of .297/.394/.474, but the sample is small enough that another organization figures to give him a chance if he's looking for one. The Twins, for example, could sign him to a minor league deal.

an expiring contract? this isn't the nba. Wouldn't that potentially have some appeal to a team in serious financial trouble? Thank you. The mets are so bad off right now that they need to start shipping guys out quickly. I'm pretty sure they are 600 million in the hole and no one is going to their games. But yeah the mets would take some back lash for trading wright so they would at least need to feign competitiveness by picking up a deteriorating veteran who they arent on the hook for past this year. all the while picking up pitchers which is the biggest reason why they have sucked for the last 8 years. They are looking to sell a percentage of the team to get some ready cash. Making the team less valuable isn't in their best interests. I highly doubt they trade Wright but I could see Reyes go. Reyes and Beltran (if they can find a taker while eating some of his contract).

While most people (myself included) don't have serious hopes for contending this year, it is still early in the season. When you have the White Sox and Twins playing below .400 ball, 10 players in the NL batting .349 or better, Weaver at 6-0 with an ERA under 1, and Albert Pujols hitting .250, you know there's lots of games left.

True. I'd still love to make 100s of thousands of dollars pitching at Wrigley Yeah, there are tougher ways to make a good living than being on the Chicago/Iowa shuttle.

If I didn't know better, I'd start to suspect we aren't world beaters. Obviously not world beaters, but when you have 2/5 of your rotation as non ML-starters the results are pretty predictable. Eliminate the 12-2 and the 11-2 blowouts started by Coleman and Russell and you have a -14 run differential in 18 games. which is still ****ing terrible. So far the Cubs have shown they're a team flirting with .500, which is pretty much what everybody expected. It's still early, but things might get a little better when Cashner and Wells return, the other starters show more consistency, and production from Pena, Soto, and Byrd picks up. Of course, there's a good chance that Castro and Barney come back down to earth to negate some of the positives.

If I didn't know better, I'd start to suspect we aren't world beaters. Obviously not world beaters, but when you have 2/5 of your rotation as non ML-starters the results are pretty predictable. Eliminate the 12-2 and the 11-2 blowouts started by Coleman and Russell and you have a -14 run differential in 18 games.

I'd take a flyer on him if you need somebody to fill out a minor league roster, but not on the ML roster. As for career stats: Wood - 493 PA, .168 BA, 153/13 K/BB ratio DeWitt - 869 PA, .258 BA, 164/96 K/BB ratio

Unless he leads the league in hitting, it's going to be hard to make an ALL Star team with Tulo and HRam in the same league. you underestimated the vance factor Don't say his name... he needs his rest before the ballot opens. Then the beast awakens. Justafiable or not, I wouldnt be shocked if Castro beats those 2 in the ballots. As we learned in 2008, when Cubs fans are excited about a player(s), they tend to go nuts on the ballots. If nothing esle,, hed probably be the Cubs pity all star if it comes down to that. Castro might beat out HRam because the Marlins barely draw 10,000 fans to home games.

Unless he leads the league in hitting, it's going to be hard to make an ALL Star team with Tulo and HRam in the same league.

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From MLBTR: Pirates Designate Garrett Olson For Assignment By Ben Nicholson-Smith [April 15 at 1:34pm CST] The Pirates announced that they designated Garrett Olson for assignment to create roster space for another southpaw, Joe Beimel. After a stint on the disabled list due to elbow inflammation, Beimel is set to pitch for the Pirates for the first time since 2003. Pittsburgh claimed Olson from the Mariners in March and he allowed two hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings, striking out four and posting a 2.08 ERA. Last year, the 27-year-old posted a 4.54 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 37.1% ground ball rate in 37 2/3 innings of relief with the Mariners. Olson, a 2005 first rounder, started 33 games for the Orioles in 2007-08 before they traded him. As long as we're looking for pitching depth in the system, he's still young and the price is right.

I'm not sure he's going to be released very soon and obviously at a later date (when Wells & Cashner return) we won't need him. Then it's a hell of an investment for a guy we won't need in 2 months (hopefully at most) That was my point of not giving up much for him at this point. If the Red Sox would pay half of his contract and take Samardzjia, the cost would be $2 million this year and $5 million next year. That might be tempting to add depth to the rotation. Also, if he shows anything he might be tradeable at some point in the future with a really affordable financial obligation.

I'm not sure he's going to be released very soon and obviously at a later date (when Wells & Cashner return) we won't need him.

Usually, that kind of talk means they do in fact have interest in trading him. I dont think their big league club has any needs despite the rough start, but could a decent prospect package, not including McNutt, Jackson, or Vitters and pick up half the salary entice Boston? Maybe a switch out of the toghest division in baseball would be just what the doctor ordered. Id certainly rather give him a shot than some god awful combination of Coleman, Davis, Samardzjia, Russell, Diamond, god knows what else. I guess it all depends on what you call a "decent prospect package". The talk of trading him for another bad contract and denying they will release him sounds like we shouldn't be giving up too much. Maybe 2 of the names you mentioned (Samardzjia and Diamond) would be enough with them eating half of his contract. Convincing Samardzjia to waive his NTC would also save us $3 million this year. I didn't suggest trading any of those guys for Daisuke, just that I'd rather have him than any of them. Shark might entice them somewhat, but anyone who thinks that Diamond has any value whatsoever needs to get that idea out of their heads. Maybe Shark and a few fringers. Again, it depends on how motivated they are to get him out of town. In like a weeks time we went from a very good rotation with decent depth behind it to Casey Coleman, Doug Davis, and James Russell, so yeah, I'd definitely take out a flier on Daisuke. I realize you didn't mention those players as players to trade, but Samardzjia would be a good choice to go. Dierkes on MLBTR wondered if he was rushed too much and said he can't see Samardzjia in the Cubs' system next year. Might as well trade him now and save some of his contract.

I'm worried that he's going to turn out to be like Pena, but without the OBP. Low-average, lot's of power.

Usually, that kind of talk means they do in fact have interest in trading him. I dont think their big league club has any needs despite the rough start, but could a decent prospect package, not including McNutt, Jackson, or Vitters and pick up half the salary entice Boston? Maybe a switch out of the toghest division in baseball would be just what the doctor ordered. Id certainly rather give him a shot than some god awful combination of Coleman, Davis, Samardzjia, Russell, Diamond, god knows what else. I guess it all depends on what you call a "decent prospect package". The talk of trading him for another bad contract and denying they will release him sounds like we shouldn't be giving up too much. Maybe 2 of the names you mentioned (Samardzjia and Diamond) would be enough with them eating half of his contract. Convincing Samardzjia to waive his NTC would also save us $3 million this year.

I think his fitness level makes it a fair concern. Once he's over the hill and declining, he could go from great to worthless in a much shorter time frame than most other elite sluggers would. At the end of the '96 season, Cecil Fielder turned 33. He played in 160 games that year, hit 39 HR, and OPS'd .834. By the time he was 35, he was done with baseball. (Granted, I don't know anything about any injuries.) I'm not saying that Prince is condemned to the same progression at the same age, but I think he'll see a similar rate of decline whenever that decline starts. 2-3 more great years for Prince is almost a guarantee. Another 2 to 3 is definitely very possible, but not necessarily a given, and anything past that is anyone's guess. Signing someone like Fielder to a 6-year-deal is nowhere near being in the same ballpark as Soriano's contract unless he just completely breaks down very early into his career. Hell, even an 8-year-contract wouldn't be the end of the world given the projected level of production and that he'd still be 36 at the end of it, though I really don't think he's going to get that many years. 6 years is probably what he'll end up with at the most, largely due to his weight, and the Cubs would be foolish to not go all in since they opted not to sign Dunn and if Pujols isn't available. Opting not to sign him to such a deal because he's fat and might suck for the last year when they have zilch on the horizon when it comes to someone manning 1B would be just yet another example of poor front office management by the Cubs. Come on, him playing excellent baseball between ages 28-30 is only "very possible?" I think you're dreaming if you think Fielder will end up with only 6 years. Whatever teams are bidding $300 million/10 years for Pujols aren't going to take a chance on losing out on both of them. Also, Fielder realizes that a 6-yr. contract will probably kill any chances of another big contract.

While I'll admit it would be great having a solid offensive 2B, the problem with the Cubs' offense isn't 2B. The reason I say that is the fact that there weren't high expectations for 2B anyhow. I know there's lots of discussion about the reality of "clutch" hitting, but the "clutch" hitting by many of our "high - expectation" hitters has been almost non-existent. Ramirez, Byrd, and Soriano are extremely streaky hitters, while Pena and Colvin have provided next to nothing. This team is certainly not a great team, but almost every team has 1 or 2 "holes" in their lineup offensively. If the other 7 hitters can meet what is expected of them, the 2B platoon won't be a problem.

From MLBTR: When it comes to long-term contracts for young shortstops, three names jump to mind (in recent years): Jose Reyes, Troy Tulowitzki, and Hanley Ramirez. Let's compare their stats through the first 132 or so games of their careers, the number Castro has played to date... Castro: .304/.350/.418, 33 2B, 7 3B, 3 HR, 10 SB Reyes: .283/.307/.407, 28 2B, 6 3B, 7 HR, 32 SB Tulowitzki: .271/.349/.410, 19 2B, 3 3B, 15 HR, 8 SB Ramirez: .279/.345/.447, 32 2B, 9 3B, 12 HR, 43 SB

So does that mean we can stop automatically assuming Aaron was "all natural?" Because that would be awesome. Oddly enough, Aaron's career arc matches up surprisingly well with other known PED users. Steroids and other PEDs were available when he was playing, so it wouldn't be particularly surprising if it turned out he used. That's the sad part of the steroid era, you start to question everybody's accomplishments. Are they clean or is it just they didn't get caught?

Some blogger wondered if Pedro Martinez might be a fit. From MLBTR: •Ivy Report asks if Pedro Martinez would be a good fit for the injury-riddled Cubs' rotation.

The sad thing is that even if this trade was offered to the Cubs, they'd probably turn it down because we couldnt take on all that salary. The six-player deal would actually require the Red Sox to take on salary this year. Soriano (18M), Pena (10M) and DeWitt (0.4M) are 28.4M total while Crawford (14M), Gonzalez (5.5M) and Pedroia (5.5M) are only 25M total. Even if we had to pay some/all of Crawford's signing bonus (6M), it would only be a small payroll gain for the Cubs. Obviously over the length of the deals for all six players, even before Gonzalez gets the monster extension, the Cubs would have to pick up a lot of salary. And think of all the money we would save by not having to bid on Pujols.

let me answer that for you - he cannot. Coleman could be a decent #5 pitcher for a short time. With off days and rain outs he might only be needed for 1-2 starts.