Backtobanks

But he was and its still Howrys job as our supposed best reliever to get him out. Hell anything but give up a home run to Adam Freakin Everett. Howry and Eyre have been horrible so far this year. Money well spent there. 7 games.... Give it a little more than a week into they year before we evaluate if it was money well spent. The real comedy is in the game threads, after each win or loss they are either losing 100 games, or headed to the playoffs. I totally agree. People were ready to trade Zambrano after the first game. It's a long season and what happens in the first month is sometimes the result of inclimate weather. Howry has been extremely consistent for the most part.

That's why all of these threads on worrying about the Cubs makes no sense. In Arizona's dry weather, the batters hit a ton and sinkers and curve balls don't break, but everybody was raving about our offense and complaining about Marquis and the pitching. With these weather conditions, you see that none of the balls are carrying and suddenly the sinkers are sinking and the curves are breaking. Eventually the weather will moderate and the good hitters will hit as expected and the decent pitchers will pitch as expected. It's hard to take any numbers seriously in spring training or in the first few weeks of the season.

I would love to keep Wrigley, but you're kidding yourself if you think that people would watch the Cubs "on a barge in Lake Michigan". One of the major reasons the Cubs have drawn all of these millions of fans while playing lousy baseball is that Wrigley Field has become a place to party. The Cubs would attract a lot of fans while a new stadium is "new" or while they have a winning team. If they played lousy baseball for a few years in a row, attendance would drop considerably. Look at the attendance figures for the Cubs during their lousy years (70's) and compare them to after the "Harry Caray Party Days". Please note that the quality of baseball in many instances wasn't very much different.

At this rate he might break Aaron's 755 this year.

Brenly noted that the Ump is notorious for calling a tight strike zone plus Zambrano tries to overpitch when his emotions take over (like on opening day). Zambrano will be fine.

He's had 3 official errors so far this spring, and has had several misplays besides that. I do think he will get better as the season goes along though. Obviously, Soriano won't be a Gold Glove CF, but misplays in the Arizona sun are pretty common for the best OFs. I would think the Cubs would try Pie in RF so Soriano doesn't have to learn a new position.

I have yet to see someone predict over 90 wins for this team. I would think that for someone to predict 90 wins for any team, it would have to be a real powerhouse team (Yankees, Red Sox, etc.). Of course that doesn't mean the Cubs (or any other team) won't win 90 or that the Yankees and Red Sox will win 90, it's just the possibility at this point is rather small. Personally, I think the possibility of the Cubs finishing 4th or lower is about the same as the Cubs winning 90 games. If the Cubs get their share of luck (and health), I really think they could run away with the division.

I'm not sure whether the lineup "says volumes about what type of manager Lou is going to be" or whether it says volumes on what king of manager we had here the last few years.

Have they really? And if so, to what extent? Besides Daryl Ward who looks downright out of shape or injured, the Cubs do look to be "in shape". Wood, Zambrano, Dempster and Eyre all lost some weight. Prior isn't back to being himself, but technically he's "healthy". Wuertz is in the same boat. Ward looks injured or just terrible. Wood is wood, or should I say glass. But besides those guys, Lou is right, the Cubs stayed healthy this spring. Last spring, the Cubs gave up 3.58 walks per game and drew only 2.80. This spring those numbers are basically reversed. They have given up 2.89 walks per game and drawn 3.71. We've all seen the improvement Ronny Cedeno has made in hitting to right field to advance the runner and being more selective. He has drawn 11 walks in 55 ABs while last spring he drew only 4 in 55. Is Lou telling the truth? Have the Cubs actually made these improvements? Can veterans be taught new tricks? Can patience and throwing strikes be taught and taught so quickly? Or is it that Hendry has brought in some guys, both FAs and from the minors, that through more strikes and drew more walks and were more patient? I'll believe more when it happens during the season as well. But comparing last spring's numbers to this spring's is all the imperical data we have at the moment. I hope the Cubs didn't sign Daryle Ward expecting him to be in shape. He's been a big fatty for a long time now. Hopefully, he will regain his batting eye. Being overweight never seemed to stop some players (Babe Ruth, John Kruk, etc.)

You could put Pie in RF and leave Soriano and Murton where they are.

If he's healthy, he could have that by midseason.

Actually it is much better than replacing Izturis with Rolen or Andruw Jones because it is spread over the whole lineup rather than concentrated in one position in the lineup.

That was assuming injury and or poor performance by someone else that would send them to the DL or Iowa. Now that Cotts has been added, Wuertz has recovered, and Wood still has a shot to be on the active roster, there doesn't appear to be anymore room for Cherry (or Guzman). What does this mean? Has Cotts been assured a spot? You can suck, as long as you're a lefty.

You can question a lot of things about the 2007 Cubs, but pitching depth is certainly not one of them. To tell the truth, I would think the Cubs have one of the deepest staffs in baseball. Now if you want to argue about the quality of certain pitchers, that's different.

Barmes is the best option of those 4 names. I wouldn't trade a whole bunch for him though. I suppose it would be nice to have a defensive 25th man, but personally I'd like to see a guy who might get a base hit on occasion.

I saw some suggestions that looked pretty good on another site: Mark Bellhorn - non-roster invitee for the Reds Eric Bruntlett - not listed on the Astros depth chart Joe Inglett - reserve IF for the Indians What do you think?

Soriano and Murton both ranked as two of the best LF in baseball last year. Most advanced metrics had Jones at above average, too. The outfield defense will be fine. As long as Floyd isn't playing.

Let's make Izturis earn his money because he won't earn it at the plate.

I guarantee you that if the Cubs put Prior on waivers, all of the other teams would be lined up to claim him.

I agree. If the Cubs are battling the Pirates for last place, all of these positive grades will change quickly. On the other hand, if he's got the team playing .600+ baseball, he will be the undisputed toast of the town.

Then it's agreed. Theriot at 2B with Derosa as super utility man and platoon RF. I stated in another discussion that some AL baseball people thought RF was Derosa's best position.

What about Alberto Callaspo in a trade with the Diamondbacks. Foxsports' Ken Rosenthal reports that they think he is ready for the Majors, but their young infielders would probably not allow much playing time for him. His OBP in the minors was .404. I'm not sure what the Snakes would want, but relief pitchers seem to be their biggest weakness.

I agree, it's not like he's a .220 hitter with no power. Unless you get an offer that will definitely help the team, keep him and spot start Derosa in RF. Floyd is a total butcher in RF especially with bad legs. Use Floyd as a spot starter in LF and backup for Lee. Theriot should play 2B if Derosa is in RF. I would think that if Pie is ready at midseason, there will be a better market for Jones, especially in a package if other players (Miller, Marshall, Cedeno, Dempster) become expendable. Not sure if I missed something but I think Ward is the likely primary backup at first.Otherwise, I agree with everything you said. Today's Tribune lists the likely bullpen candidates and then goes through the bench. I wonder if it was an omission that they didn't include Ward's name. Also, in the Cub's notes section, they talked about Ward really struggling and if he doesn't get it together he could be replaced by Coats (who also wasn't mentioned as being on the bench). They did include Cedeno as a sub.

Going by Dewan's Fielding Bible, Jones is one of the worst outfielders in the game. He's got to be head and shoulders ahead of Floyd (especially with bum legs).

I agree, it's not like he's a .220 hitter with no power. Unless you get an offer that will definitely help the team, keep him and spot start Derosa in RF. Floyd is a total butcher in RF especially with bad legs. Use Floyd as a spot starter in LF and backup for Lee. Theriot should play 2B if Derosa is in RF. I would think that if Pie is ready at midseason, there will be a better market for Jones, especially in a package if other players (Miller, Marshall, Cedeno, Dempster) become expendable.