Backtobanks
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Everything posted by Backtobanks
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When I started this thread, I didn't think there would be all of this discussion over semantics. My point is that Lilly has been the best Cub starter all year, has been the starter to break all of the losing streaks, and continues to be the pitcher who gives the Cubs the best chance to win games this year. To me, that defines the "ace" of a staff. I'm not talking about next year, who has the best stuff, his flyball ratio, or whether he would be the "ace" on other teams.
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Ted Lilly has left no doubt about who's the ace of the Cubs' pitching staff. Congrats to Lilly and Kudos to Hendry on this one.
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I'm not defending Trachsel, but his last outing was actually pretty good and would have been very good if Lou would have pulled him instead of leaving him in to try to get a win. I'm not sure what Trachsel's record against the Pirates was, but I thought they were going to use him in specific situations (against a team that kills lefties). I think the idea of a modified 6 man rotation might work if you mix Trachsel and Marshall according to the other team's weaknesses.
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The Cubs this offseason
Backtobanks replied to marc_foust's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
I lookat the talent on that list and try to figure out what package I would ask for in return and then I try to think of happy thoughts. I have to believe that any talks involving Hawpe or Eitheir would start with Hill+. Burrell and the Seattle duo would also cost a bit and they are more like consolation prizes (a little less so with Burrell). Church, Quentin , and Baldelli may not be any better than Murton in the long run. With the right deal, I could see the Cubs thinking about trading either Hill or Marshall. They've done a pretty good job, but I'm not sure the Cubs want to go into next year with 3 lefties in the rotation. Also, one of their strengths seems to be young pitchers, so they might be expendable for the right player. -
The Cubs this offseason
Backtobanks replied to marc_foust's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
He does look like an interesting option, especially as a platoon player. My original suggestion was to convince Soriano to play RF and bat 5th for the good of the team. That way Murton or a Murton platoon would be more than adequate in LF. -
The Cubs this offseason
Backtobanks replied to marc_foust's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
Ya, you're probably right about the impact SS not being signed or traded for but I'm not sure about the Vet middle guy and don't they already have Blanco signed for next year? As I mentioned in my post, Renteria or Tejada might be options depending on what salary the other team will take back in trade (Eyre or Jones) or eat as part of the deal. Another possibility would be to trade someone like Eyre or Jones first and then go after Renteria or Tejada. -
The Cubs this offseason
Backtobanks replied to marc_foust's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
It wouldn't surprise me to see the Cubs go make a deal for someone like Renteria or Tejada, with Theriot sliding over to 2B. I would make Cedeno part of the package along with some young pitching. I was hoping Cedeno would make it, but he seems to be totally overmatched at the major league level. Also, I'm not sure where Patterson fits into the future of the Cubs, so he might be trade bait. I would think Jones, Murton, Ohman, Cedeno, Patterson, Marshall/Hill, plus prospects could be mentioned in trade talks depending on the other players involved. The other moves I would make would be to let Kendall go (start Soto) and move Soriano to RF and bat him 5th. -
You know, he's not in control of that. There is a manager around. If taking a day off today means he'll play the rest of the way, I'll take it. A manager? Really, what's that? Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot. Come on, if Ramirez wanted to play badly enough today, he would've been in the lineup and you know it. You do realize that he said just a couple days ago that ramirez said in the paper that if it was up to him he wouldnt take any off days until the end of the year because he feels the team needs him this last month. I would think that Aram would have begged Lou to put him in the lineup when he saw the flags blowing straight out. We watched the Dodgers take batting practice and just about everyone hit 2-3 homers.
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I don't understand resting Aram on a day against a tough team with the wind howling out and the offense in the tank for the last few weeks. I do understand resting Aram at certain points, but this looked like a day he should have been playing.
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How about Mark Grudzalanek? I always thought that he was underrated.
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I understand what you are saying, but I still think that Zambrano got booed for losing his concentration and focus and not for performance or lack of effort. Booing may not be the answer, but professional athletes should be able to concentrate and focus on their task for 3 hours.
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Zambrano got booed for losing his focus and concentration, not for having a bad game. I'm not a big fan of booing the home team, but fans should be allowed to voice their displeasure when a player with a ton of talent isn't concentrating on the task at hand.
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I wouldn't call walking a ton of batters antics. I'd call it bad control. I'm more concerned with that. I think it's more being a complete headcase which leads to many of the walks. The guy just can't control his emotions. It is a case of not being able to control his emotions. Look at how many walks, hits, and runs come immediately after a bad call, an error, a botched play, or a mental mistake. It throws off everything for at least an inning while he tries to get his emotions back under control.
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Zambrano has a $100,000,000 arm and a $.50 brain. I'm starting to think that the fight between Zambrano and Barrett was a battle of mental midgets. Maybe Trachsel should replace Zambrano for a start to send him a message about getting his head out of his arse.
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Eckstein = #1 target for Kenny Williams?
Backtobanks replied to Brian's topic in General Baseball Talk
This ties into the thread on how bad KW is as a GM. If Eckstein is their #1 target, they will positively be a 4th place team next year. -
You gotta go with who's hot and look for good matchups. If you were a manager with a soft-tossing lefty, wouldn't you try to pitch him against the Cubs?
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Moore was a top prospect for the Cubs????? Moore wasn't even going to get called up this week. Both Cherry and Moore are old AAA players who had no future with the Cubs. To put it another way, if Trachsel wins 2 games this month the deal would be considered a steal. If he wins 1 game, that would be fine because Cherry and Moore weren't going to contribute anything this month. Also, consider the fact that this was a 30-day rental, because Trachsel, Moore, and Cherry wouldn't be part of the 2008 plans anyhow.
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Well, if he passed waivers, than that means everybody had a chance to take him for nothing but didn't. That's not necessarily true, is it? If someone claimed him, the Phillies would then try to work out a deal with that team. Maybe nobody wanted Burrell at his salary and what he would cost in trade if they claimed him.
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He'll probably homer off of Trachsel in the DH game.
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I think Lou had a lot to do with this deal and the last few deals. Lou has done a good job of incorperating some kids into valuable members of the team, but when push comes to shove, he trusts veterans at this point in the season. It has worked with Kendall and the jury is still out on Monroe. We'll have to see what happens, but the Cubs didn't give up anything of value.
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His real value would come when your down by 5 runs after two innings and a heavy downpour is one hour away.
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I don't think the Cubs would "collapse into awfulness" as quickly as the White Sox. The core of the Cubs are still in their "prime" years and the pitching staff has lots of young arms waiting to replace someone who falters. Obviously, the Cubs could regress after winning big, but not to the extent of the White Sox.
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Lefty, no mlb experience, and his velocity is down. Sounds like he is a Cub killer for the next 10 years.
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I think Kenny Williams got very lucky in 2005. He wasn't considered a great GM before that and now is regressing back to his "below average" status. I think he really blew a chance for the WS to go young next year and compete in 2009-2010 by not making deals last off season and at the deadline this year. It was obvious at the deadline that this team was not going to rebound and would not be in contention for 2008. Williams then traded Iguchi for nothing and resigned an aging Dye. As another poster mentioned, he could have traded Crede last year. I would have asked for more in return for Iguchi, traded Konerko to LA, traded Dye for a decent prospect or two, and traded Contreras to anyone who would take him for next-to-nothing in return. This off season, I would trade Garland, Uribe (if anybody wants him), and anyone in the bullpen not named Jenks. With the trades of Crede, Iguchi, Konerko, Dye, and Garland, you can't tell me that they wouldn't have enough major league ready players to have a decent team in 2009. As it is, the best they can hope for is 4th place next year behind the younger and more talented Tigers, Indians, and Twins and there isn't much on the horizon for 2009 and beyond.
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Today's Tribune hinted that the Cubs might want to add another veteran OF for the playoffs. Anyone have any ideas on who that might be?