Backtobanks

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.

Zito just doesn't excite me. Instead of overpaying Zito, I think the Cubs have many in-house options that I would try first.

I started this discussion, but I suppose the same questions could be asked of Wood. What if he comes back healthy and wins 14-15 games, looks like his former overpowering self, and leads the Cubs to the playoffs. Do the Cubs offer him a contract or let him go?

Let's say Maddux continues his amazing season and wins 16-17 games with a 3.5 ERA and leads the Cubs to the playoffs. Does Hendry re-sign him? Let's say Maddux is willing to give the Cubs a "home-town discount" for a 2-year contract. Deal or no deal (and possibly face the PR fiasco of letting Maddux leave the Cubs a second time). How much would the Cubs be willing to give to Maddux? Now change that scenario to Maddux leading the Cubs to the WS (or to a WS win). Could the Cubs "afford" to let Maddux leave?

I agree although I'm guessing he wouldn't have come here for that (not that that's a bad thing!). I don't care that Reggie Sanders could be someone's grandfather, I'd still rather have signed him for 1 year than most of the other options out there this offseason. There's no way Jones would have accepted that offer. If I remember correctly, KC wasn't the only team going after Jones. It seems to me that the Cards were also rumored to be after him. I still think Jones will straighten out enough to have a "career average" year for him and that the Cubs will be able to trade him after the season (perhaps by eating some of his contract).

The subject of why he was on the tradeblock has been widely discussed in these forums for the last few months. The Cubs wanted to improve defensively up the middle and with Walker's production and his very attractive contract, Hendry thought he would be a valuable trading chip. Hendry wasn't going to let Walker go for nothing though, I am glad he held onto him, and I was wrong when I said I thought he would be traded before opening day. One of the rumors had him going to Baltimore for Matos who is hitting about .180. As the old cliche goes: "Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make."

I really believe Jones is gone after this season, assuming Pie is ready. Jones at $5 million per year for 2 years should be tradable. Also, a platoon of Jones/Mench, Kearns, or Ibanez would look pretty good. With the decent outings of Marshall so far, I would have no problem trading Hill.

And not really "proven." There are lots of 20-year-old pitchers who don't reach their potential, due to injuries or other things (like Doc). Felix has a very high ceiling, but being a pitching prospect means he also comes with a great deal of risk. It's not like you're dealing all of those guys and getting a guarantee that he'll have a Clemens-type career rather than an injury-riddled one. True, I'm very leery of pitching prospects injuries wise however I think Felix's talent is too great not to do the deal. Think about where the organization would be after doing that trade. We'd have basically nothing in the system worth trading, and we'd be up one stud pitcher. It'd take years to get the system back, and the Cubs aren't one Felix Hernandez away from winning the pennant. If you were that committed to trading all those guys, you could probably get better value receiving multiple players in return. I guess it all comes down to how much you value Wuertz, Hill, Guzman, Pawelek, Pie, Harvey. Personally I don't think it's a very exciting bunch. I also disagree about getting better value with multiple players in return. Again, Felix is one of the greatest pitching prospects in the history of baseball. That said, I certainly understand your position. See Brian Taylor, JR Richard, etc.

70 HRs in a season by Dunn if the Cubs were ever able to get him. 5 losses this season by Zambrano because of emotional mistakes.

Those are 3 pretty big "IF's".

Today's game was a disaster from the start, but Dusty shows why he's a lousy game manager. First he left Rusch in the game far too long. The first 6 hitters hit flyballs that averaged about 360 feet (2 were HRs). Secondly, he brings in the lefty Ohman to get through Griffey (L), Aurilia ®, and Dunn (L) and then decides to let Ohman pitch to Encarcion ® with the bases loaded and no outs with a right handed pitcher (Wuertz) warming up. After the grand slam HR, he leaves Ohman in to face another right-handed hitter (Kearns) who promptly hits another HR while right-handed Wuertz is still warming up. Obviously, it wasn't the Cubs' day, but Dusty was totally clueless with handling the pitching staff today.

Agreed. I look at his motion and think he's a Tommy John surgery waiting to happen. As opposed to Mark "Perfect Mechanics" Prior.

I do think the Cubs will end up trading Jones, but not in a deal for Abreu. I'm sure the Phillies would want all young prospects for rebuilding purposes. Taking Jones and his $5 million contract would run counter to rebuilding and dumping salary.