Backtobanks

Oh, I'm not doubting Hill's stuff, but he's had a real tough time locating anything other than that curve. A look at their respective WHIP and walks/9 really bears this out. Hill's minor league BB/9 is 4.8. Marshall's is nearly half that at 2.5. Add to this that Marshall is younger and shown success at the Major League level, I believe he is the one to hang on to, if given the choice. I post the same message everytime I see Hill's name mentioned: I have yet to see anything that makes him "untouchable" in trade talks. He shows some potential, but I don't think he's the second coming of Sandy Koufax.

RF and 1B (temporarily) are the only places to look for improvement right now. There is no way JJ is going to be here for 3 years unless he hits .300 with 25 HR and 90+ RBI. I think there will be quite a few teams interested in JJ depending on how much salary Hendry is willing to pay after this season. Don't forget he will be able to eat some salary assuming Pie (at league minimum) is ready.

I'm not a big Dusty fan, but let's give him some credit. There's no way he would sit Murton in favor of Jones now. Murton has been the most consistent clutch hitter on this team this season and Jones has striggled since day 1. It may have taken a lot of persuading to get Dusty to play the kids, but I think he's sold on Murton and Cedeno.

Carlos is safe as long as Prior and Wood spend half of their careers on the DL.

He does seem to be "overthrowing" on every pitch.

I'm getting tired of Zambrano's act. I keep hearing how young he is and how he has calmed down this year, but it still bothers me when he flips his mitt, smirks after a HR, and generally acts like everybody on the team has let him down. Many people picked him for the Cy Young this year, but I'm starting to wonder if he will ever have the maturity to win it. It's time to grow up and start taking care of business.

I don't think any professional team "loses" money. Look at the huge profit the owners turn when they sell a team after owning it for a few years. These owners are business people and they don't own teams as a hobby. Don't forget the tax write-offs they get on depreciating players over the life of their contracts.

Has anyone noticed that Jones' first move at the plate is to bring the bat back while the pitch is on the way? I guess it's too late to change, but it's amazing he hits anything against major league pitching with that hitch in his swing.

I don't know about "much, much better", let's say Bynum is a "somewhat" better player than Cloris Leachman.

We're 12-8 without Wood, Prior, and Lee. Pierre, Jones, and Ramirez haven't produced as expected yet. By the end of June, the Cubs could have the equivalent of #2 and #3 starters added to the rotation and an all-star 1B added to the lineup, plus (hopefully) a productive 3B and leadoff man. This is without adding in the possibility of Miller's return. Also, the showing of some of our young pitchers increases the possibility of a package deal at midseason for an additional bat (Abreu?).

That's what I was thinking, but as long as it's only a rumor, how about Maddux for Pujols even up.

Very good point. Hopefully, Williams will straighten out his act and Hill will get a chance to show what he can do. It not only gives Hendry a look at the future, but it also gives other GMs a chance to measure their ability in a trade situation. Success from Guzman, Marshall, and/or Hill could be the centerpiece for a deal involving someone like Abreu or Tejada. The Cubs will just have to win with that "youngster" named Maddux.

It'd be better to have a right handed power source off of the bench. I hoping Hendry can pull off some kind of miracle and get Craig Wilson. Perfect player for the situation the Cubs are in: 1B, platoon RF, and right-handed power hitting bat off the bench. On top of all that he doesn't have a long term contract, so Hendry can make the decision later in the year to sign him and bring him back for 2007.

Before Maddux singled in the next inning, I was hoping he would ask the ump to check the ball. That would have cracked me up.

Only Dusty can make 2 double switches and end up with a lineup including Perez, Blanco, and Bynum. Strategically he took out the correct players (who made the last out in the previous inning), but taking out Walker and Murton when Lee is injured, Ramirez is slumping, and Barrett isn't playing doesn't leave much hope of coming back from a 3-run deficit.

There aren't many people on that list that are going to get you much in a trade, especially since most of them have issues (Perez - benchwarmer, Williams, Pierre, Jones - slow starts, and Wood - health). I think the best possibility would be Craig Wilson from the Pirates.

The last thing Hendry needs to do now is to panic. Walker, Mabry, and Restovich can play for a few weeks and then Hendry can reassess whether a deal needs to be made.

I don't think we will be able to get Wilson now that Casey is hurt, but he would be the perfect fit at 1B now and later as a platoon RF.

Those comments sound alot like Aram before we got him from the Pirates. Many times stereotypical comments are made like that about Latin players.

Think the Stros and Cards will play .500 ball too though? It's not just what we do, it's what our opponents do as well. Last time I checked 3rd place is an automatic trip to the golf course in October. The Astros and Cards may not play .500 for the next 46 games, but they probably won't play .700 ball either. In any case, I still think 32-28 after 60 games would keep us "in the race". At that point, we could possibly be looking at the return of Lee, the full time services of Wood, Prior, and Miller, and the payroll and roster flexability to make a big deal at midseason.

Is there a reason you wouldn't expect Aram and Dlee to do what they did last year? Aren't the Cards expecting career averages out of Pujols and Rolen? You can't go into a season expecting your superstar player is going to get injured and be out for 6-8 weeks. Of course if you are the Cubs GM, maybe that assumption isn't too far fetched.

I guess I'd go with the lineup that has Hairston batting 2nd, but it might be interesting to see what Cedeno or Murton could do in the 2nd spot and having some protection behind them. They have both done well with batting without protection behind them.

Again, look at the schedule for the next 45 days. It's a pretty soft one. It gets much tougher in June and July, but asking the Cubs to stay in the NL Central race until June isn't all that unrealistic. Factor in Wood coming back within the next 2 weeks, and you've plenty of cause for short term optimism. The Cubs are 9-5 after 14 games. If they can play .500 for the next 46 games, their record will be 32-28 which will certainly keep them "in the race" at that point. There are a lot of "ifs" about the lineup, but with Wood, Prior, and Miller coming back soon I don't think .500 ball is out of the question.

Plus the fact that Aram won't be seeing very many good pitches if he is the only HR threat in the lineup. The only hope we have is that everyone on the team contributes a little more. If Jones, Pierre, and Ramirez can get going, with Walker, Barrett, Murton, and Cedeno continuing what they've been doing, we could be okay. Mabry can be very effective with spot starting.

Wow! I almost forgot that this isn't a message board for discussing baseball. Silly me. I forgot that if I don't have the insight to know what motivates Reggie Sanders when it comes to when, where and for how long to sign, then I should probably say nothing. Oh wait, this is a message board. Silly you. For the record, I didn't want Jacque Jones, Reggie Sanders, Juan Encarnacion or Jose Cruz. And if I want to criticize Hendry for his failures in landing the player that would help this team the most, I'll just go ahead and do that. If you wish to defend him as if he has never made a bad move in his life, it's your right. But, please don't tell me or anyone else how we should or shouldn't make posts. You are right. I have no idea whether Reggie Sanders would have signed a 1 year deal. But, if it came down to 2 years with a bottom feeding, going nowhere team or playing on a team that has a chance to go somewhere, I don't think it's completely unreasonable to think he'd take a 1 year deal. If you do, so be it. And I absolutely DO NOT frame every transaction in the light most unfavorable to Hendry. I think you have me confused with someone else. So, feel free to quit exaggerating about what I do or don't do. I will say that I have been 100% against a signing of Jacque Jones from the very first day it was mentioned. If it was a 1 year deal, I wouldn't have made such a big deal of it. It's not a 1 year deal. It's 3 years. I hope Jacque Jones hits .500 and hits 80 HR's this year. But, there is no way I'm just going to sit back and pretend like I have been in favor of his signing just because he's signed. If he proves me wrong for the next 3 years, I'll eat crow and be happy to do so. But, I've been a Cub fan since 1971 and I want to see a World Series championship before I die. I'm sure Hendry wants this Cub team to win just as much as I do. Unfortunately, I'm not sure he's the guy who will get them there. Each year they overspend in cash and years for guys like Neifi Perez, Glendon Rusch and Jacque Jones is just that many more years he handcuffs the team from adding players who can make this team a perennial division champion. I really don't think that overspending on players like Perez, Rusch, and Jones handcuffs the team. If you looked at the free agents available, Hendry needs to make decisions that are "somewhat" fiscally responsible. Offering Furcal $13 million per year for 4-5 years is ridiculous. Trying to bribe Giles to leave the West Coast with an offer of 17-18 million per year for 3-4 years is ridiculous. As for trades, going after Dunn, Abreu, or Tejada at the cost of Zambrano or Prior plus others is just as ridiculous. Everything I have heard or read has stated that Hendry will have the financial flexibility to add to the team at the trade deadline if they are in contention. I wish players like Rusch, Perez, and Jones were cheaper but if they manage to help the Cubs get into the playoffs, they will be worth the money.