Backtobanks

I'm not trying to defend Mitre, but Baker needs to figure out how he's going to use these guys and then do it. Mitre has started and relieved at AAA and with the Cubs. Rusch has bounced between the bullpen and starting. Dusty had Dempster starting until he figured out that Dempster should be the closer. Figure out a role for each of these guys and then stick to it.

I'm thinking that Perez will be the first player signed by the Cubs during the off season.

I'm in total agreement with this. I wouldn't have a problem with Neifi one bit if he hit .280 in the 7th or 8th spot all year. That's where you hide guys who have bad OBP's. In reality, a guy with a decent AVG, but horrible OBP is better suited hitting behind the production guys, because he can turn those hits into RBI's. Unfortunately, it's Dusty Baker who put Neifi at the top of the line up, and it's decisions like that that will force Cub fans to watch other teams play in October. Neifi is a quality back up. He's done an alright job filling in for injured players. But, at no time should he have ever been considered for top of the order duties. That falls on the manager. I think a lot of the hatred for Neifi has a whole lot more to do with how Baker used Neifi than what Neifi has done with a bat. Neifi is what Neifi is. To the person who suggests that Neifi should have made some sort of adjustment when put in a top of the order spot, it's not that simple. He's never been a guy who had plate patience or good pitch selection. You can't change that. This team just doesn't grasp the concept of the importance of OBP at the top of the order. And they are sitting at home in October partially because of just that. Derrek Lee is having an incredible offensive year, yet he still has not surpassed the 100 RBI plateau. To give you an idea what Lee might have done with a couple of decent OBP guys at the top of the order, look at what Manny Ramirez has done this year: .280 AVG compared to Lee's .341. That's a 61 point swing in AVG. 64 XBH's to Lee's 88 XBH's. That's 24 more XBH's. Manny has 135 hits in 132 games compared to Lee's 180 hits in 139 games. Manny has 120 RBI's and Lee still hasn't broken 100. Now, how can this be? The Cubs OBP from the lead off spot this year is .300. That's not the AVG, that's the OBP. The OBP for the #2 hitter this year is .321. The Red Sox lead off hitters are getting on base at a .360 clip. The #2 hitters are at a .359 OBP. That's why Manny Ramirez has 21 more RBI's than Derrek Lee. Even though Manny is hitting .280, has less at bats and less XBH's. Between the #1 and #2 hitters, the Red Sox have scored 219 times (lead off 113 times and #2 hitter 106 times). The Cubs lead off hitter has crossed the plate 77 times. The Cubs #2 hitter has crossed the plate 79 times. That, my friends, is PATHETIC!! OBP is not the be all-end all stat. But, at the top of the order it sure is. If Derrek Lee had good OBP guys in front of him all year like Manny has, he would be approaching the RBI record. And that boost in RBI's from the #3 hitter alone would have meant a lot more Cub wins. Give the #4 hitter more RBI opportunities and that also would have provided even more wins. This horrible season is all on Dusty. You used statistics to say what I said a few pages ago....Dusty is clueless. Dusty is not to blame for this whole season, but his stubborness and cluelessness has cost the team at least 10 games which would put them into the playoffs as the Wild Card.

No matter what the topic is, you come to the same conclusion----Dusty Baker doesn't have a clue. Perez hasn't done a bad job as a substitute who was forced to start most of the year, but Dusty batted him at the top of the lineup. Macias isn't horrible as a 25th man, but Dusty uses him as the first player off the bench. Dempster has been great, but it took Dusty quite a while to figure out who the closer would be. I won't go on about Patterson leading off, Remlinger used as a LOOGY, etc., but you get my drift.

I think that a lineup that includes Nomar (SS, 3B, & LF), Cedeno (SS & 2B), and Walker (2B) rotating so that Cedeno is in the starting lineup 80% of the time would be great. Unless Ramirez gets into a good conditioning program, you know he will miss time by tweaking a quad, pulling a groin, or something. If Nomar is willing to add LF to his resume, the versatility of Nomar and Cedeno will be a plus. Also, playing Cedeno and signing Nomar to a high-incentive contract gives the Cubs a ton of money to spend on RF, CF, and pitching (whether the players come from trades or free agency).

It is interesting how statistics can be used in different ways. MVP voting is weighted by being on a winning team, even though another player has a better season. Pitchers who have a lot of wins are not necessarily considered as good as a pitcher who has a better ERA. I think there ought to be 2 awards: MVP (picked from a winning team) and Player of the Year (picked from any team). As for the argument about Maddux, I think we can all agree that he's not the pitcher he used to be and isn't worth $9 million next year, but he is still amazing to watch and his $9 million won't be the biggest problem with the Cubs next year.

Are you kidding me? If the Cubs get to .500, they will probably extend Dusty for 10 more years. He will get all of the credit, just like he has gotten most of the credit for the last 2 years of over .500 ball. I'm still watching and rooting for the Cubs, but any success will be proof that Dusty's the man and his system is working.

I think it's a forgone conclusion that Perez will be on this team next year. Unless Walker is traded, I sure don't see Cedeno starting anywhere. With the discussions about signing Furcal or resigning Nomar and bringing back Walker, where do you put Cedeno. This is especially true with Dusty as the manager. Hendry has already stated that he thinks Cedeno should be able to start for this team next year at SS or 2B. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Perez will get an offer to start for some other team. As for Nomar, he really is starting to look like the Nomar of old. If the Cubs can get Nomar at a reduced rate, it might be a good signing with Cedeno getting a few starts per week for Walker and Nomar. Also, having Nomar might be a good idea to back up Ramirez at 3B with Cedeno playing SS. Hopefully, Hendry will realize that certain players (Nomar, Ramirez, Wood, etc.) have a tendency to break down and will be able to have players ready and able to step in.

Do we have dumb athletes or complicated systems? Cubs' players constantly miss signs, Bears' players take months to learn "the system" or how to run their routes (receivers), and the Bulls' players have trouble learning to play different forms of defense. All of these athletes have been playing their respective sports since they were 6-7 years old and then they get brain cramps when they come to Chicago. How tough can it be to watch the 3rd-base coach and interpret a sign in a series of signs? How tough can it be to learn a pass route, when you have been a receiver all of your life?

For all of you who think it was a "no-brainer" to not trade Walker, there are 20 pages of posts discussing the fact that "Walker is as good as gone."

I think Burnitz has busted his butt everyday.

For all of you Hendry critics, I hope you acknowledge that he did what was in the best interest of the Cubs by keeping Walker. I think it would have been an interesting year if Hendry would have managed the Cubs (or had a manager that agreed with Hendry). The final results might not be much different, but we would certainly have more insight on the 2006 and beyond Cubs team.

No they're not written down anywhere and subject to each individual's interpretation of what MVP means. That's why I suggested 2 awards.....MVP and Player of the Year.

I really appreciate his hustle and his attitude. Tracking down balls in the OF, hitting his cutoff man, hustling down the line on ground balls, and not blaming everyone else when things aren't going well are examples of what he has brought to this team.

This argument always comes up at this time of the year. I think there ought to be 2 awards.....Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player. The MVP would have to come from a team that finished 1st or 2nd in their division while the Player of the Year could come from any team. Obviously, one player could win both awards. That would solve the problem of whether to vote for the SS hitting .270 on the championship team or the OF hitting .350 on a last place team.

I'm surprized there hasn't been much mentioned about trading Burnitz. I would think that a team that needs an OF or a left-handed power hitter off the bench wouldn't consider him. He is the kind of hitter who could get hot for a month.

Why do so many of you think Lee is going to regress? I assume he won't forget now that he's learned how to hit those inside pitches. Will he hit .340 with 45-50 HR next year? Probably not, but I think over .300 with at least 40 HR is probable and that puts him in the top 3 or 4 1B.

I might still think they should be a .500 team if you told me that Lee was going to have a triple-crown type of year, that Zambrano would be as dominant as he has been, that Dempster would be as successful as he has been as closer, that Barrett would be the best offensive catcher in the NL, that Ramirez and Walker would have the type of years that they have had in spite of missing games, and that the Cubs would have the luxury of platooning (and then sending down) a player hitting about .360 with an OBP of about .450.

Also, Dusty will put up with a veteran that's in a 3-week slump, but let a rookie go 0-4 and he's back on the bench.

I don't blame Hendry because the harshest critics thought he had assembled a team that would be .500. Since .500 is looking like an impossible goal, it must be the way the players are being used. In other words, Hendry didn't assemble a team capable of winning the division, but Baker misuse of the players has this team near the bottom of the division.

I mentioned about 2 pages ago that I thought this team could have been 10 games better with a different manager. The way this team has played lately, it looks like those 10 games would put us at about .500 by the end of the season. I don't believe anyone didn't think that this was at least a .500 club at the beginning of the season, so I stand by my comment.

I hope they get Ramirez on some kind of physical training program next year. Can you imagine what he would be like if he wasn't so "soft".

I don't blame the whole season on Dusty, but I do think this team could have been 10 games better than it is with a different manager. The real problem with Dusty is now we don't have any insight into the 2006 Cubs. We won't know if Murton or Cedeno could fill 2 holes cheaply. The Cubs might be forced to overspend on veteran free agents just to please Dusty. Of course, overspending usually means over-extending the length of a contract which means we might be stuck with high-price 37-39 year olds in 2007-08. I just hope that players like Cedeno or Murton come out of spring training hitting about .650 because that will be the only way they will get the chance that they deserve next year.

As long as he isn't proven guilty with steroids, then yes he should have his number retired. Time heals all wounds.....look at Carlton Fisk.

Hoops, If Giles wants that much, it's time to look in another direction. I like Giles, but not at those prices.